ART CRUSH: ROB HODGSON

This Rob Hodgson graveyard print taunted me from my Etsy favourites list for quite some time. You know when you see something and you're immediately in love with it and kinda jealous at the same time? Well, this one can now haunt me from the comfort of my home. It's the perfect mix of pretty and spooky. What a beauty!

Rob Hodgson is an illustrator from Bristol. Check out his excellent work here: website / shop / blog

PROGRESS REPORT: GARDEN.

The haphazard fences protecting my two garden boxes look a little intense, and they're kind of a pain to navigate around, but a family of raccoons frequently tramp through my yard like they own the place. Scrambling up the fence in a line 5 deep, hanging out under my deck, making their noises. Watching the little guys learn how to climb fences and get their sneak on is actually kind of cute though...

So, I've worked through my lettuce and done some replanting. Been harvesting radishes and beans. Made some pesto from the basil. I hate being all growing food is cool blah blah blah boring blahhhhh, but it kind of is. Jalapenos and tomatoes are popping up all over the place. Chard, kale, and cucumbers are coming along too. And there are even a couple pumpkin plants in the very back of the yard. It's a (mini) jungle out there!

Fact: tomato leaves are hands down one of my favourite smells. If I go in the backyard, feeling up the tomato plants is job one.

FRIDAY NIGHT SIGHTS.

I've kind of been kind of missing in action on the design and printing front lately - been busy the past couple of weeks soaking up the summer, doing some music stuff, and generally avoiding excessive extra curricular computer use. But there are some things going on behind the scenes - reprints, general scheming, and maybe a collab with a friend? In the meantime here's a more extensive peek into where I've been spending Friday nights lately...

We recently moved into a new practice space on tha East side. Dennis' band practices here too. Highlights include (but are not limited to): the crazy doll lamp, the old Babydolls sign, The Notorious B.I.G., the yarn installation from a past show, the woodsy mural, the guy that rides through the halls on his homemade electric bike, and the old school piano. I don't think we'll end every practice with a trip to McDonalds, but sometimes you just need to have a heavy dose of sugar and salt, ya know?!

ART CRUSH: LUKE BEST

Double sided cards that tell the tale of a dangerous journey... One dedicated, agile man and one brave, spider killing woman risk their lives to retrieve perfect tokens of love - one precious rock and one special little tree. To the top of the mountains and to the bottom of the oceans, people. I plan to frame these guys and hang them up in my claustrophobic bedroom. Off-kilter lines get me every time.

Luke Best is an artist from London UK. His catalogue of work, style, and colour choices are all super excellent. Inspiring stuff!

GARDEN PARTY.

Slices From The Past Few Days: Garden Edition.

1. This gnome resides in one of my herb/flower boxes. He's my urban scarecrow. He guards against squirrels, raccoons, and keeps shit generally real. Full lips, two teeth, and an attitude. 2. Patio flowers and other newly planted things that I hope will grow. That chair and table were left by the previous tenants - score. 3. My pal Shayna on our overcast day trip to St. Jacobs market. She's like a flower, but instead a human woman I like to eat poutine with. 4. Flower stand at St. Jacobs Market. I bought a truly impressive assortment of delicious food stuff that day. And enjoyed one of my faves - a pickle on a stick. 5. One of my garden boxes. Things are actually growing! I feel like gardening, while time consuming and kind of unexpectedly expensive at times, makes me feel awe in the same way I did when I was a kid. Like, I'm shocked to watch plants actually grow. My faith in not killing things around me is generally very low, ha.

COOL LOCALS: KID ICARUS.

kid icarus // the screen printing duo from stillmotion on Vimeo.

Just dropped off a boatload of cards at Kid Icarus. If you live in Toronto and haven't stopped by the shop yet, you should definitely add a visit to your future destinations list. They've got a wide selection of handmade goods/screen printing supplies, are enthusiastic supporters of all kinds of makers/designers/etc, and they also offer screen printing services (which you'll see happening right in the store). Michael and Bianca recently celebrated Kid Icarus' 4th anniversary, and this gorgeous video by StillMotion gives you a great peek into what they're all about.

WE HEART HANDMADE.

The We Heart Handmade event this past weekend was a hit. Thanks so much to everyone involved: Etsy, West Elm, Anabela, Mildred's Temple Kitchen. And thanks to all the cool people that came out to eat snacks, hang out, and support independent makers of all kinds. As per usual I completely forgot I had a camera in my bag, so this photo of my talk show style comfort zone was punked from Fieldguided's blog (they actually used their camera - pros). It was really great of West Elm to join forces with Etsy and promote independent makers in their store.

Check out Fieldguided's post about the event for a more thorough visual documentation. Also: Beaux Mondes, Wicked & Weird, and West Elm.

By some small miracle, I only came home with one souvenir. I was incredibly tempted by a necklace by Big Tinsel and a backpack by the super charming Wool, Leather, and Wood - mark those things down on my items to procure in the future list. I did pick up this peachy pouch by Scout & Catalogue though. That's one hot summer pouch. All of Bre's stuff was excellent.

Also thanks to Shayna, Tallulah, and Rob for loitering like pros on the couch with me for the majority of the day. You guys are the best. And to those of you who said hello or introduced themselves - it was nice to meet you.

FLOWER POWER.

New things: brightly coloured floral cards (from the Acid Trip Flower Shop?) and mountain/cave pattern postcard packs. Made these guys for the Etsy/West Elm pop-up this Saturday. What's with all the intense colour? Must be feeling the summer vibes.

This weekend is going to be nuts. Nuts in such a great way though! Playing a show on Friday, reppin' at the Etsy/West Elm event on Saturday, attending my pals wedding brunch on Sunday, and playing softball on Sunday/Monday nights. Does anyone have any recommendations for maintaining energy that don't require sleeping at home, sleeping at my day job, chilling out, or eating well? Please forward all suggestions to sandiisgoingcrazy@gmail.com (not really!).

Anyhow, I hope to meet/hang out with some of your nice faces this weekend at West Elm! Please say hello and we will enjoy each others company and talk about things. Potential topics include (but are not limited to): screen printing, Etsy, Toronto, the weather, your favourite beers, what you can't stand the smell of (me: coconut oil and cilantro), summer trips, home remedies, family secrets, and what I'm sure will be your impeccable sense of style. Until then!

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS.

Started off this weekend in band mode with a practice on Friday and a recording session on Saturday. Two new songs recorded: Fine Lines & Magical Thinking. Pretty stoked to finish these two.

On Saturday evening I finally started to get my garden together. I'm not typically a handy person (I'm way too hasty and impatient for all that fine measuring), but I actually managed to put something together that will work. I think.

Unpictured: a late night card printing session for the upcoming Etsy/West Elm event! My basement printing dungeon is absolutely terrible for photo taking - gotta get some light up in there.

Ghost Cat with her weird, translucent grey coat dropped by while I was building on Saturday. I love when she visits/hangs out/forcibly enters my home. Cabbagetown is full of free roaming felines.

Sunday morning I got one 3X6 square foot gardening box fully assembled and planted, and the second one in the works. I had to put this large wire fence up because my yard is a haven for squirrels, raccoons, and cats. I bet this won't stop them (and it looks a little intense), but I've gotta protect those peppers and tomatoes of the future. Operation Backyard Oasis is officially underway.

And this weekend ended like every other weekend this summer will be ended - by playing with my Sunday night softball team The Rebels. This team is comprised of a lot of Steamwhistle employees, who bring a lot of Steamwhistle to the game - so the good times tend to roll with these guys...

ETSY + WEST ELM POP-UP.

Looking to spend an afternoon perusing the wares of local TO Etsy sellers, refreshing yourself with drinks, satisfying yourself with snacks, enjoying good company, and window shopping (or shopping for real) for your home? Well, Etsy and West Elm have paired up and organized a pop up event (something they've done in other cities) with the curation assistance of local taste master/maker of romantic goods extraordinaire, Fieldguided.

You can RSVP here or via the Facebook page. You don't have to RSVP to attend, but this does give West Elm an idea of how many drinks and snacks to have available. I don't know the full list of participants, but I hear that Scout & Catalogue, Big Tinsel, Bookhou, and Fieldguided will be there (me too). Sounds good, right? Hope to see you there!

HEBREW LESSONS.

I just finished up my latest (and largest) project yet! Designing and printing 500 cds for Fine Canadian Forces. Thank you to Rob for all the printing help (a new master of squeegee wrangling!) and to Rob, Dennis, and Tim for such expert assembly assistance. I've got myself a bit of a repetitive strain thing going down and I couldn't have done this without the help of my extra supportive, super helpful pals. Best dudes. I'm definitely happy with the way things turned out, and as always, it was quite the learning experience. My bias is huge, but screen printing just slays digital printing every single time!

A WITCHES BREW (OF INFORMATION).

Here is my latest fiery promotional item for City Of Craft announcing event dates and encouraging applications. Kid Icarus did an excellent job printing up a huge pile of these guys. The cauldron will be bubbling all summer long - make sure to apply by August 31st!

And though I did my best to keep my paws out of my purse this weekend, I did manage to adopt some things at The Spring Trunk Show this past Sunday at The Workroom: a new summer jean shirt and zine from Lemonade, a birthday card by Petra, and some postcards by Kid Icarus. Good hangs, good snacks, good times.

ART CRUSH: CHARLOTTE FARMER

Charlotte Farmer is a UK illustrator/screen printer (with super excellent handwriting) who describes her work as a combination of low tech printing methods, small intense detail, contrasted with mistakes, imperfections & a bit of more gestural mark making.

Via the magic of the web, Charlotte and I recently crossed paths, and a couple weeks ago I got some excellent mail. Above you will see my sweet new jazz guy tote, a fantastic hello postcard, and the bright stripey bag things came in. I've definitely got a thing for scratchy drawing and screen printing that's intentionally imperfect and full of texture, and Charlotte really hits the mark on this! I grabbed a few images from her website & blog below for your perusal - aren't the snow globes amazing?

Cat Tote

No Bulls Were Harmed In The Making Of This Print, Ole.

Teabag Teatowel

Kate & Wills Teatowel

Jane Hearts Isambard

MARKETING.

A few photos from The Drake Spring Market. Thanks to everyone involved for such a great day.
After (what felt like) weeks of rain, it was such a relief to see clear skies.

Petra's excellent gocco cards and a simple, genius display idea: boxes with chalkboard paint!
FYI: Petra will be selling her pouches and cards at The Spring Trunk Show next weekend.

One of the best parts of any outdoor event? Dogs. Look at this guy!

Mini donuts review? A++.

This apron is currently for sale at The Drake General Store. I designed the image and they printed it up and hand dyed (!!!) the fabric. Need a luck promoting gift for that messy, culinary adventurist in your life?

SYCAMORE STREET PRESS Q&A.

I recently answered a few questions for Sycamore Street Press for their MONTH OF PAPER.
Sycamore Street Press makes letterpress cards, prints, invitations, and more.
Check out their extensive collection of letterpress goodies here.
Thanks Eva!