super-epic mega disappointment

Hey, remember that really huge and much needed opportunity that I was all kinds of excited about? Well, my dream of having a studio/retail space at Artist's Row in downtown Salem is 98% smushed. I applied and was not awarded a unit.

I can't say I'm not bitter. I'm totally upset that I did not get the spot. I was told that the reason I didn't get it was because I was applying by myself and the panel deemed the responsibility of having the space too much for one person. There were four units up for grabs and all four units went to the same four groups that had them last year. That is hard to swallow. I know I could have done an excellent job running the space and I'm frustrated that I was even given hope to apply if they disfavored solo operations and gave preference to returning artists.

I've been moping around for a couple of days since I got the news. I'm trying hard to figure out a new plan but I just keep mourning the loss of this perfect opportunity. The way I'm feeling is akin to being rejected from your first choice college and not having a second choice.

Double Disapproval!

My mother-in-law sent me a jubilant message the other day letting me know that she'd seen my "Danger For Breakfast" print on DisapprovingRabbits.com and that I was now probably famous. I was, of course, ecstatic to see my illustration on one of my all time favorite blogs. My excitement doubled when my video of Hodge and Yoshimi sleeping was posted to the Disapproving Rabbit's blog shortly after! Double feature! Wowee!

My head is spinning a little (in the best possible way) from the sudden influx of orders that come with such a stupendous feature. It has made me reassess my shipping and packing procedures for maximum efficiency in rush times.

It has also made me realize the true power of a blog mention! Disapproving Rabbits found out about my prints because someone sent them a link to my shop (Thank you mystery friend!) and I started thinking that I should take it upon myself to incorporate introducing my work to blog authors as a regular part of my rather spare promotion attempts. The process makes me feel a little awkward and self-concious but I think it will be worth it!

PequitoBun and Ranunculae are nice!

I made it safely to Design Hive thanks to the heroic helpfulness of my upstairs neighbor. Whew!

The event was tidily organized and all the vendors were real pros. I also had the lucky surprise of sharing an extra-long table with Sherry of PequitoBun. I met Sherry a couple of years ago at the ReCraft fair and we bonded because we both have beloved pet bunnies (her little black lop is named Pequito). I had a happy laughter-filled time catching up with her and geeking out about our pets.

I also met fellow gocco-printer and blogger Maeg of Ranunculae. She was very friendly and I hope to see her again soon at the Twist Fair in Northampton (I'm crossing my fingers that we both will be accepted as vendors!).

These two new friends made the event worthwhile even though business was slow. I am hoping that it was just the foul weather that kept the customers away. I still have high hopes for my future dates at Design Hive.

Vampire Hedgehog!

It has been months since Justin and I adopted Acorn (our curmudgeonly hedgehog companion) and I announced that he would surely inspire many Argyle Whale illustrations as our bunnies have. To my surprise, having him around didn't give me any ideas for hedgehog illustrations.

Acorn is kind of a hard guy to get to know. For starters, he's primarily nocturnal and even when we'd take him out to play, his idea of fun was crawling under a blanket to take a nap. It wasn't until I got a quick peek under his chin that I noticed he had a pair of little fangs and a slight overbite.

The discovery of fangs paired with his nocturnal ways finally triggered my imagination and I started picturing Acorn as a vampire. I considered the pairing of adorable woodland creature with the sexy dark imagery associated with vampires and realized that Acorn didn't have what it takes to be an immortal bloodsucker. Clearly he was disappointed but I was happy to finally have a hedgehog illustration!

So, I am delighted to present "Almost Vampire" featuring our dear Acorn sporting a high-collared cape, looking into a mirror and coming to the tough realization that "Little fangs and a satin cape do not a vampire make." His reflection mocks him with his own personal reality. *Le sigh*

I promise that I'll make him a more triumphant character next time.

Blahg giveaway!

I just wanted to make a quick post alerting you beloved blog followers to the fact that *at this very moment* there is a giveaway at Blah Blah Blahg for my "take a deep breath" whale print. So, for the love of scoring nice things for free, I urge you to stop by and answer my question "If you could bestow your pet (or favorite animal) with a super-power, what would it be?". I think it's a fun question and I'm enjoying reading all the responses so far.

Personally,
-I would give Hodge the ability to effortlessly float in the air.
-I would have Yoshimi be able to speak Japanese and English and she'd become my under-arm translator.
-I think Acorn would enjoy the ability to shoot himself out of his cardboard tube with the force of a cannonball. He really can be dramatic in that way.

Miss B. of the Blahg has managed to create an entire month's worth of unbelievable giveaway's. What a treat! I hope I win this print.

Marceline's zine challenge

Earlier this month, Marceline of Asking For Trouble made a post in her blog that initiated a challenge to her readers to create their own zine. Marceline is a self-proclaimed "zine evangelist" and has been creating zines for a good long time. In her post, she made her challenge especially pointed at four makers who she would really like to see create their own zine and I was one of those she selected.

When I read her post, I immediately busted out my finest Mufasa interpretation and roared "Is that a challenge?!" at my monitor. Then, I accepted her call with pride and determination because I've always been tempted to try.

So far, I have sketched a few ideas but I am finding this task to be more arduous than expected. I'm not an avid zine-reader so I feel a bit lost. Thinking of a topic or theme seems to be the hardest part. I suspect I need to read a few more zines for inspiration so I'll be more familiar with the genre. I love this kind of research and required reading suggestions are more than welcome! I'd also love a few ideas for what to make my first zine about. So far, my only concepts are a tribute to french toast with techniques and recipe ideas and another about really absurd tips for having a happy relationship with your bunny companions with lots of illustrations of rabbits wearing romaine-leaf capes. So yeah, I need a little help.

Up again :)

Yesterday's post must have been cathartic because I woke up today with more enthusiasm and motivation than usual. I expect part of that was due to all the supportive messages you beloved blog friends sent me and part of it was because I was contacted by a very nice person who requested permission to get a tattoo of my Strawberry Love Bunny design! The idea that someone will be permanently displaying my illustration on their body for the rest of their life makes me feel like I've hit some sort of milestone.

I also am thrilled to report that a whole bunch of my prints are going to be on display in the Ello Gallery in Portsmouth, NH as part of their "Cute Show". Byrdy, the curator, saw my work at Bazaar Bizarre and invited me to be a part of the show. This is the first time I've had the honor of showing more than one Argyle Whale print in a gallery setting.

I guess I need to get used to the manic highs and lows of piloting Argyle Whale.

Feeling a little bit blue

I've heard that this week is proven to be the most depressing week of the year and I admit that I am feeling it's true for me. I wouldn't say I feel depressed but I am experiencing a general dullness paired with a bit of disappointment in myself.

Every morning I make my tea and sit on the couch to write out my list of plans and goals for the day. I love this morning ritual but lately I have paired it with an evening ritual of looking at the list for the day, seeing how little I have accomplished and going to bed feeling like I'm failing. I think I set myself up for this by having unrealistic ideas about how much I could achieve once I was full time on Argyle Whale. It's probably amusing that I thought that my day job was the only thing keeping me from creating every day, making home cooked meals, having a spotless home and being a better friend and a sharp dresser!

I bet I'm not the only crafty entrepreneur who left her job and found out that there were still only 24 hours in a day.

Tomorrow I'm making a smaller list.

New stationary sampler set in a pretty blue box!

While I was selling at Bazaar Bizarre, I had the invaluable opportunity to talk with customers directly and see what they wanted. I was making all sorts of mental notes about customer preferences and one comment kept being repeated. So many people liked my cards but didn't want a set of 4 of the same design and suggested I make a sampler. I thought this was a great idea but I wanted to make it a little more special than my usual presentation of cards in a cellophane bag because the variety of sizes and colors would look messy together.

I finally found the perfect boxes earlier this month and now the 10 piece stationary sampler is prettily packed and available in my shop! I'm glad that people let me know what they wanted. Ask and you shall receive!

I forgot to mention these:

Last week I was overindulging in a fantasy about home ownership and pining away for one particular 1920s cottage for sale in our neighborhood. I was browsing the listing photos online and imagining my stuff in it's rooms and my garden in it's yard and especially my relaxed self in it's claw-footed bathtub. I dove so deeply into this dream that I began wondering what the neighbors would think of us when we moved in. I sketched a friendly little note to them and pictured myself putting it in their mailbox and them being utterly charmed by my neighborly-ness.

Sadly, I don't reasonably see Justin and I having the opportunity to buy our first home for quite awhile but that didn't stop me from printing the cards up anyway. For maximum sweetness, I was given permission to model the houses after Jessica from Petite House's little sculptures.

The story of shitshark:

I made this sketch of the shitshark awhile ago and have taken my sweet time to get around to printing and putting it up for sale in my shop and I wanted to share a little anecdote about the origins of this print because I finally am comfortable enough with the situation to make something of it.

Last month, I lost my retail job at a baby goods store. I was actually fired. I've never been fired before. Admittedly, It was not a good fit for me and I was happy to go, but, the experience stings nonetheless. So, I walked home and when the panicky feeling of an uncertain financial future began sinking in, I set out to make a list. The list was going to include all the places I could look for a job, ways to cut down on spending and just a big brainstorm of solutions to help me feel like I was going to be ok.

I started at the top of the page where I usually put my list title and I wrote (in my finest script):
"shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"
Followed by:
"I don't know what to do."

I stared at this page for a moment feeling lost before noticing that the cursive i's looked like waves. Then I drew a shark jumping out of the i-waves at a startled seagull. The sketch amused me and summed up how I was feeling at the moment. I never got around to making the rest of the list. I spent the day drawing and realized that this job loss was an opportunity to try to make Argyle Whale my career.

I wish I had the chance to prepare for the transition and save up a bit more money but as scary as the endeavor is, things are going well. I feel very optimistic about 2009!

Goal completion = bigger goals!

I am so pleased to announce that I've just succeeded in making my goal of 200 Etsy sales in the year 2008. I have been running Argyle Whale since January at about half speed due to other jobs and so I'm doubling my goal to 400 Etsy sales for next year since I'm only working a few hours per week now. That would really be something!

I think 2009 is going to be my most ambitious year ever. I have big plans.

These are my big plans:

- Jenn and I are totally revamping argylewhale.com and adding a checkout.

- I am soliciting boutiques nationwide to develop wholesale accounts. My goal is 10.

- I am joining a street team and an artist's association.

- I am getting my own studio outside of my home!

- I may (If I'm accepted) do an artist's residency type thing in my town where I do workshops and get a mini storefront. A little Argyle Whale store for real!

- I am expanding my line to include items in a variety of price points. Big prints + little buttons.

- I am taking screen printing and letterpress classes so I can be prepared to transition out of Gocco printing when my supplies run out.

- I am hopefully going to go on semi-tour and have a full lineup of craft shows to vend at.

Holy frijoles! I have never written it all down in a list like that. I better get going!

I need advice.

I am trying to put work harder and expand Argyle Whale so that it can sustain me as a full time job but I seem to just be running around in the same circles just more frequently (ie Etsy, this blog, Flickr). I need to find new places to be seen. I especially need to find more boutiques to sell my items and new websites to advertise on. If you can think of any stores around the country or websites that you think my items would compliment, I would be grateful for the tips.

Here are some of the shops I already have in mind:
Magpie
Renegade Handmade
Cog & Pearl, Brooklyn
Rare Device
Jenn and I made these nice little solicitation bundles (see pic above) with a letter, a journal and some notecards to send out to the shops and hopefully peak their interest.

Here are a few sites I plan to use to get myself seen a little more:
Pika Package
Illustration Friday
Paper and Stitch
Modish

Any advice on how to proceed or hints to where my items would be welcomed are gratefully accepted!

Ok, the explosion is sort of a pop.

I'm working on it though. I mentioned that Argyle Whale would be exploding soon since I'm putting so much more energy into the business but, of course, these things take time and generally slowly build instead of becoming huge because I say so. But, I am happy to report a gentle expansion in my web presence due to me joining Twitter. I really like using Twitter so far but it makes me feel a little exposed. These fun internet pursuits seem to make things awfully convenient for stalker-types so I would like to make a stalker-deterring statement to make myself feel more comfortable.

I have acne, a muffin top and a ferocious husband!

That should do it.

Now, I would be so pleased if the rest of you who were not deterred by the above proclamation would follow me on Twitter and I'll follow you back and we can run around in chatty circles!

This is me: http://twitter.com/argylewhale
The button above was made by Ainsmar.

There's more! I just did an interview for Maria of NoSideUp which you can see here. Maria is so talented and I'm very thankful that she took the time to feature me on her blog.

"Bunnies Adrift" is back in blue

I have just finished the second edition of "Bunnies Adrift" and I've changed it up a bit. I chose a cool colorway this time around and it really gives the drawing a different feeling. The first edition was a bit sillier using traditional party balloon colors and this one has a more calming feeling of gently floating through a blue sky. I actually think this edition is more aligned with my original intentions for the design and I may even like it a tiny bit better. I'm curious to hear your opinions. Version one of this design can be viewed here.

strawberry-munching mini bunny love notes

I can add my newest card set to the long list of items that Hodge and Yoshimi (my bunny companions) have inspired. They are endlessly producing adorable scenes that I feel compelled to share. The formation illustrated in these bunny-heart cards is seen pretty regularly in my home when Hodge and Yoshimi are sharing a treat. Though, they look only vaguely heartlike in real life because Hodge is more than double Yoshimi's size so their heart shape is awfully lop-sided (heh. Hodge is a lop-ear as a matter of fact).

Today will be rabbit-centric as I have also decided to begin printing my second (and a little different) edition of "bunnies adrift" as well. Bunny days are my favorite kind.

Guinea Pigloo Card Set

I have made another item featuring my favorite rumply-furred, petal-eared creature. I will always adore the humble guinea pig and guinea pigs will always adore sleeping in their plastic igloos. I'm selling these wintry greeting cards in a set of five with matching envelopes in my Etsy shop.

If you're thinking, "is that all she did?" the answer would be, "Heck No!". I told you I would become a crafting machine and I have much more to report. I spent a good part of the day assembling promotional packets with Jenn and we'll be sending dozens out to the press and especially to boutiques all over the country in hopes of acquiring more wholesale accounts. I've been meaning to do this for such a long time!

We also printed another new set of cards which will be debuting tomorrow. They are small and sweet and are embellished with (you guessed it) bunnies! I'm excited to show those off but I will hold back out of respect for the guinea pigs.

Dance of a thousand hearts

I got some bad news recently that put me in a fretful state but I got a big dose of cheer when I came home today. My Argyle Whale shop has accumulated ONE THOUSAND hearts (also known as favorites). I can't help but shout a little because that is a big thrilling number of folks who like what I make.

I appreciate every single heart that has come my way and I promise I will reward the attention with a bunch of new treats to share. Going to my first big craft fair and hitting this milestone has me more inspired than ever to make make make!

I have more time and enthusiasm than ever and (if I may) Argyle Whale is about to explode. I was pushed off a cliff that I planned on jumping off of anyway (someday) and I am equal parts thrilled and terrified.

Argyle Whale is now my full time job. I must turn myself into a crafting animal.... a machine!

New little tidbit

I am shamefully late-coming with this idea. But I figure, better late than never! I've introduced this sage colored scalloped ornament adorned with scarf bunny to the ol' shop. She says "my favorite things are handmade" and perhaps if this little hint is hung from your tree, you'll find bundles of lovingly handcrafted goodies in your present pile.

Bazaar Bizarre was super!

I'm so happy to report that the Bazaar Bizarre was a big success! Jenn, Justin and I had a long chilly day but it was full of people smiling and enjoying my work so we have lots of stamina for that kind of thing. It snowed for hours and the crowds still showed up and waited in a line that was two blocks long (so I hear).

My greatest enjoyment was meeting a few fellow vendors I really admire. I wish I had the chance to mingle more. I also was really pleased to meet folks who already knew about Argyle Whale and were eager to meet me. That was a neat feeling for sure!

Being a vendor at Bazaar Bizarre has been a big goal of mine for a few years (even before I had a business!) and it was every bit as good as I'd imagined. Gigantic heaps of thanks to the organizers and volunteers who made the event so spectacular.

Photos from the event along with all the loot I brought home can be found here.