Up

I'm up way too early (by at least a lot). These are the photos that go with yesterday's blog. I'm finishing packing now, something which i'm very bad at. I always forget the big things AND the small things.

One thing I won't forget, though, is the copy of British Glamour my sister gave me. It's the publishing equivalent of a cream puff, which works out well on a plane.



Have a good day everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

August 14, 2006

I've had a fun past few days. It started with the Christie's Art Show, & ended with an outrageous Rebecca & Max evening (including, but not limited to dancing & new friends). On Friday I was the lucky other half to Rebecca & we walked all around the city, ending at Gisel & Nadav's for food & even better company.

If you haven't done so recently, please check out Gisel & Nadav's websites. They've both been doing some terrific work lately! And Gisel's been setting things on fire! F-A-T-E!

GiselFlorez.com
NadavBenjamin.com

Saturday & Sunday I worked on the T-Shirts, setting more screens, & printing fabric. The smiley faces will be cut into cloud shapes for yellow baby tees. Things are finally coming together - I won't have everything ready by the October Fairs, but by X-Mas everything will be done.

Tomorrow, I'm off to California for business (Car Sale), in Monterey, which is a beautiful place. Afterwards, I'll be visiting Big Sur & San Francisco (my favorite). I'm expecting a lot of Liz Maher & a lot of burrito(s).

My posts will be delayed until I return, on the 23rd. Unfortunately, my wireless connection is hiccuping too much for me to upload images, so please imagine everything I've written about.

And in the meantime, have a great night/weekend/week everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

Test Print

This is a test print I did from my newly set silkscreen. The larger type is the label on adult shirts, & the smaller type is for the baby clothing. In the past, I've used woven labels, which look nice, but are too time consuming.

The lightning bolt is the first half of storm tees. For the shirts below, the cloud & lightning bolt were hand-stitched. By silkscreening the lightning bolt, I save a lot of time, & can lower prices.




Oh. And a reminder about the Christie's Staff Art Show. If you're in the area, please stop for the opening tomorrow night! I have six small paintings in it.

And in very upsetting news, I just realized I missed Project Runway!!! This time slot isn't working for me.

Have a great night everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

Practically Wednesday

Unfortunately, during the week, my job takes up all of my time, so there's not much to report on arts/crafts. I will say this, however - after much agony & despair, I am now the proud owner of a correctly emulsified/exposed silkscreen. The set-up was changed, including the emulsifier, light, & orientation, which worked wonders.

This weekend, I'm having a craft "shut-in" that involves silkscreening & making t-shirts for 48 hours. So fun.

I've also stopped eating salt. At least on my food. And maybe dairy too. For now.

Short post. Have a great night.

xoxo
Strongie

Totally Monday

For sure.

Have you all heard the band Smoosh yet? They're sisters, ages 12 & 14, & possible the most incredible thing to hit the music scene since Hanson. Do yourself a favor & get addicted to their songs. Now. As in right now. Stop reading this blog.

Okay, & for those of you that already know Smoosh & are still reading, please let me know how much you love them. This can be in either pictures or words (but not gestures).

Oh, & if someone could throw in a silkscreen miracle, I'd appreciate that as well. Tonight, I went to Pearl Paint to purchase more supplies for my neverending silkscreen saga. Yesterday, I let the emulsion remover sit too long on the screen, & it permanently set my stencil, which means I will have to stretch a new screen (something I was hoping to avoid).

Complete silkscreen failure, however, is no reason to give up. In the past, when I've silkscreened, I've either done the at home method using drawing fluid/screen filler, or in a studio using a vacuum & QTX. Now, I'm working in a small darkroom that's not quite set up to handle my mess & I don't have quite the right equipment. I strongly believe, however, that I'm making progress.

The first craft fair is October 7th, which is very close. I'll be away, for work in CA next week, then on vacation in CA the beginning of the following week. Then back in NY, & on vacation in Iceland the first week of September, which means I'll barely have time to prepare for the fair, & it's all my fault. Thankfully, I have inventory from Renegade.

Sometimes it's just nice to go to Providence, though (fair location).

Well. I hope everyone had a nice Monday. Please listen to Smoosh.

xoxo
Strongie

Short Post

Today, I'm going to the foot doctor, & eye doctor, so you know I'm having weekend fun! Last foot doctor appointment I passed out from a shot, so I'm hoping it will be less traumatic this time. And the eye doctor. I need new glasses/frames. Maybe some with rhinestones...

After that, I'll be doing silkscreen stuff. I've been having some problems exposing the screen (my lightbox is homemade), so I need to do a test(wedge) exposure. Then, I'll be able to start silkscreening on the fabric & tees.

I can't believe it's already August. Every year (of my entire life), I've always been surprised that Summer has flown by. And every year, it seems like this is the first time this has ever happened. Winter NEVER flys by. Ever. Torture.

That's all! Please enjoy this picture of a cake until the next post!

xoxo

Lots of Mess

I just cleaned my room. And closet. And workspace, which, from the photos, you can see is still a total mess. I have a lot of weird stuff, & a very small room. In it, I have a drawing table/chair, bed, 2 bookcases, table to make t-shirts on, computer desk, computer station, & large radiator.

If I had less stuff, it wouldn't look so messy. No matter how much I purge, or toss, though, there's still a growing base of things I can't part with. Like my NFL Football Phone. Or stuffed Owl Collection (don't worry, they're synthetic!).



It used to be a lot worse, too. I've toned down my pack-rat ways considerably. Like removing my 400 piece Pez collection from the wall of my room & placing into storage. And having garage sales. I've also moved every year for the past few years, which helps me throw out stuff.

My astrological sign is Virgo, which means even though I may or may not be organized, it drives me crazy if I'm not! I'm constantly making messes & cleaning them up. This is my entire life. In a nutshell.

On a brighter note, Rebecca called with some wonderful news - she has a new job, as a Jewelry Designer! Congratulations Rebecca!

And, in other news, I reclaimed my silkscreen tonight (i.e. removed old stencil). I'll be setting the first screen for the new T-Shirts this weekend, & I'm very excited. My Mom & I will also be dog-sittting, for my brother & sister-in-law's dog, a Boston Terrier named Kong.

He's very cute.

Goodnight everyone! I'm going to try & figure out how to download my first podcast.

xoxo
Strongie

Lots of Wednesday Fun

Please enjoy this picture of socks my sister gave me recently!

Just like hairstyles, I've also been through various phases with my socks. In high school, I had to have patterned socks with characters on them. Then, in college, I liked mis-matched socks (with sandals - don't ask). I was horribly reminded of this flipping through old photos with Rebecca the other day.

After the sandal fiasco, I went strictly white. Then black dress socks for work - With white socks for fun. Now, I'm moving back into fun, colorful socks (this time without licensed characters!). Target has a nice sock selection (Danielle, don't worry - I'll pick up shorts for you while I'm there!).

Speaking of Danielle, she was just telling me about a new reality show on the Discovery Channel, in which the participants are cab riders in NYC. When they get into the cab (unbeknowst to them), they enter a game of trivia for cash prizes! Kind of makes me want to start taking cabs...

RANDOM LEMON CAKE BLOG INTERMISSION



And back.

I've fallen in love with the ease of internet buying, & have purchased several things recently (silkscreen materials). This has resulted in a large accumulation of boxes, some with peanuts, some without. But, thankfully, it means things are coming together (sort of).

I have a huge learning curve with my new T-Shirts for the Fall. In the past, everything was one-of-a-kind, hand-stitched, all pieces cut out fabric. This process is extremely time consuming, so I've made some changes in design.

The designs will be made in quantities of more than one, in different sizes, which was a problem I ran into having only one T-Shirt, in one size. Also, several elements will be silkscreened rather than stitched (think eyes on cloud & mouth on tiger). I've also decided to silkscreen the labels on the shirts rather than handsew woven labels (also time consuming).

I'm making them in a factory manner, where the the parts are broken down. This, hopefully, will speed up production & allow me to make more T-Shirts in the same amount of time.

I'll be in two fairs in the Fall (definitely) - The RISD Alumni Craft Fair during Columbus Day Weekend in October, & the RISD Alumni Holiday Sale in the Convention Center on December 9th. Rebecca & I will be sharing a table for both, & I'm very excited.

And I'll be debuting BABY CLOTHING!!!!
*Blue Octopus
*Pink Rabbit
*Yellow Cloud

The Adult Line will be:
*Brown Tree
*Black/Gray Lightning Bolt
*Hamburger
*Patterned Hearts

As things progress, I'll post pictures of them.

Have a great night everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

Heat Wave

That's me on the left, & my sister on the right, back when we were pirates. Some of my favorite memories involve drawn on mustaches either on myself, or on my friends. Max had an especially impressive mustache last Halloween, as a construction worker.

Take a peek at his myspace picture:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=4822057&imageID=939905915&MyToken=1b938e01-6f19-4667-8da4-5025ee2e8bd3
Tonight I worked on preparing the acetate pictures & stencils for silkscreening. I'm trying to stay organized, & am looking forward to making more shirts.

Oh. And I posted that the Christie's Staff Show was on Friday. It's next Thursday, August 10th. Please let me know if you'd like to come & I'll forward you the information. There will be an open bar & popcorn.

Also, please take a look at a fantastic blog, Funky Finds:

http://funkyfinds.blogspot.com/

There's lots of great stuff on here. Be sure to check it out!

Have a great night everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

New York

Home. Safe & sound from CA, & (unfortunately) back to work (i.e. grind).

A nice surprise, however, was waiting for me when I came home today - the T-Shirts I ordered wholesale had arrived! More silkscreen materials should arrive this week, & I will be able to begin work this weekend.

Sara gave me some very helpful tips & I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Oh. And if any of you are in the NYC area, I will have work in an art show this Friday, at Christie's Auction House, 20 Rockefeller Plaza (Staff show).

Please let me know if you're interested, & I will forward details of the opening. I will have several small pieces in it.

And I promise my next blog will have pictures. Lots & lots of pretty pictures (think kittens).

Have a great night everyone!

xoxo
Strongie