The new site is a WordPress blog with the OMG-so-awesome (and free!) ComicPress theme and ComicPress Manager plug-in to make updates and management a breeze. I redesigned the templates to simplify and keep the comic in the forefront. That said, I couldn’t resist going a little designy. It’s certainly a mild evolution over the old Tumblog. Someday I hope to do a more comprehensive design, but sometimes you gotta just get these things done!

Check it out. Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Phil.

If you still need some presents to round out your eight crazy nights, or maybe you subscribe to other festivals of decadence and celebratory merry-making at the end of the month, have we got the answer for you! Starting tonight, Richmond’s Craft Mafia is hosting their annual Handmade Holiday at the Visual Arts Center (here is a map).

Tonight’s preview show is open to the public (with a $10 suggested donation to support our lovely host site, the VisArts Center.) Tomorrow it’s free to get in, and you’ll get to shop the wares of 42 local craft-type peoples. Get something for your brother! Your mother! Yourself!

The pertinent details:

If you haven’t already heard, there will be a special guest star appearing at the booth this weekend. If that’s not enough, we’re giving out free candy canes! (Awesome, I know.) And you can meet Toda, the giant flying squid, complete with wings and goggles.

This is our last show before the end of the year, so come out and see us! If you’re not in the vicinity, please stop by the Etsy shop for your funky gifting requirements. If you haven’t checked it out in awhile, you might have missed our scarves, hats, custom apes, OMG Bear! digital print, and other new awesomesauceness. Orders through next week should arrive before Christmas, and if you order after that, we’ll ship every darn day in an attempt to get your orders to you on time.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and thanks for a crazy 2009!

-Phil & Meghan & Ella the wonder-pup

New Apes!

The weather is looking a little frightful, but these new monsters are so delightful! Come by the booth and mention this blog post and we’ll give you 20% off your purchase! Here’s the deets for the weekend beat:

Friday – Charlottesville
3pm to 10pm
Downtown Mall
We’ll either be at The Southern (located in the former Gravity Lounge Space) at 103 South 1st Street, or we’ll be set up at The Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar (aka Tea House), located at 414 East Main Street. We won’t know for sure until we arrive this afternoon, but the two locations are just a short walk apart.

Saturday – Charlottesville
10am to 5pm
Downtown Mall
We definitely will be at The Southern on Saturday.

Sunday – Richmond
12pm to 6pm
Gallery 5, 200 W Marshall (a block north of Broad and Jefferson)
$2 admission (to benefit the Fan Free Clinic and Gallery 5, they need a new roof!)

We have some new apes, prints, and a slew of monster scarves and hats. Hope to see you out there!

I picked up my new shirts yesterday and I’m pretty excited about it. Big thanks to Jenny and Carly at Affordabilitees for making them happen so fast.

You can grab one online at the Etsy shop. And in person at the DC Craft Mafia Holiday Heist, the Charlottesville All-Star Holiday Show (Dec 4 and 5 on the Downtown Mall), or Richmond Craft Mafia’s Handmade Holiday.

Hey everyone! I’m doing a webcomic called I Heart Bears. It’s about some bears and it’s totally rad. I’ve been doing it for almost 4 weeks now and I’m having a lot of fun. Check it out!

It’s Whiskerino time again. That means I’m growing a beard from a clean shave for 4 months and taking pictures of myself every day. It’s a narcissist’s dream.

The last Whiskerino was a boon for me creatively and is the inspiration behind Whiskerbears. This time, I’m excited to see so many old friends and I’m already inspired again. I’m working on my photo skills more this year. Shooting in RAW and “developing” them in Photoshop. It’s fun.

I’m not going to set any lofty goals this time, like a Whiskerbear for every day or anything like that, but don’t be surprised to see some beard-inspired art flowing forth!

Huzzah!

I just got back from Gallery5 where Plushozoic has been de-installed. It was a little sad, taking apart something I put so much effort into, but overall it was an amazing experience. I mean, I got to be on TV!

Here are a few lessons I learned in the process of creating the show:

• The cost ($65, in my case) of a vinyl sign for the wall is all-encompassingly worth it. It looks muy professionale.
• The majority of the traffic for a gallery show (at least in this city) happens on opening night, so make sure your price list is prominently placed and legible from the get go.
• Poster Tack doesn’t stick shit to a painted brick wall for more than a day.
• Foam core is second only to duct tape as the most versatile substance known to man.
• Spray adhesive gets on everything within a 10 foot radius (including you) no matter how careful you think you’re being with it. Use it outside. My sewing table is still tacky.
• Fur or fabric slipcovers for plinths and pedestals are faster than spackling and painting and they look friggin sweet.

Sure, I wish I could have sold a few more pieces (I mean, seriously, what am I going to do with an eighteen-inch, wire-armatured, prehistoric Whiskerbear mounted to a furry plinth?) but I’m glad to have the inventory back in time for Crafty Bastards.

I want to thank Amanda, Kim, and Kevin from G5 for all their help and support. Extra special shout-out to Tiara for sewing loops in all my plushies on the Friday of the opening. Crucial! And thanks to all the people who helped whose names I’ve forgotten. Seriously, there are a lot of people there!

You guys need to support Gallery5, even though they’re in a registered National Historic Landmark, they operate entirely on donations and private funding, with no help from the state or federal government. Plush they’re just awesome people and they have very good shows there and a pretty amazing and ever-changing beer selection.

And I have to thank my BFF, Oura, and little Max for helping me finish the paint job. I would have been painting right up to opening night, if not for them.

My lovely wife, ever the crafty business mind, is working on a plan to get the Plushozoic show into other galleries. Keep watching this space for a press-release or something like that.

So here’s a rundown of what we’ve been up to and what we’re getting up to shortly, cribbed mostly from my latest newsletter:

I’m a Crafty Bastard!

I’m super-psyched to be a vendor at the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair in DC next month. They say you have to apply three times before you get in, but it only took me two. HA!

As a special treat for you, all Whiskerbears will be only $20 at Crafty Bastards. That’s 20% off, holmes. See you there!

Plushozoic

If you’re not in Richmond, you may not have heard about Plushozoic, my installation at Gallery5’s newly reopened GallowLily’s shop space. It will be up through September 25th, so if you’re in town, go check it out.

Here’s some press about the show:

Interview on MashUp

Style Weekly Calendar Feature

I’m also going to be on CBS 6’s Virginia This Morning on September 22, sometime between 9 and 10 am, to talk about the show. Set your DVRs!

Where in The World?

Here’s where I’ll be over the next month or so:

Bizarre Market @ The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Richmond, VA – September 20th, 1-4pm
The Market Umbrella’s First Friday Market at Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA – October 2, 6-10pm
Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair, Adams Morgan, DC – October 3, 10am-5pm
Crafty By Nature Outdoor Indie Craft Market, Lancaster, PA – October 4
The Ballston Arts & Crafts Market, Arlington, VA – October 10

Also, don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter (the Whiskerbears are on Twitter too!) and become a fan on the Faceyspace.

Laters,

Phil.

Sandi D saw this photo on Flickr recently and asked me about my tent setup. I started writing such a long response on Flickr, I decided to write a blog post instead.

To start, I would very much NOT recommend the above or any other angled-leg tent. Technically it’s a 10′ x 10′ tent but because the legs are angled, it only has an 8′ X 8′ canopy. It’s like going outside in the rain holding an index card over your head. It also wasn’t tall enough, which is why I had to make the ghetto bucket risers. Yes, the angled-leggers are cheaper, and they’re definitely a preferable alternative to standing in the sun all day, but it’s worth it to scrape a few more dollars together and get a straight-leg tent.

We bought this tent a few weeks ago in an emergency situation (more on that in another post). I don’t like making big purchases under pressure, but as it turns out it’s a pretty good tent. It can be raised up high (I think the highest is 8 feet to the bottom of the canopy). And it has a little vent at the peak that should help us stay cool on the hot days.

The only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s too light. How is that a problem, you ask? Light is great for getting it around and setting it up and breaking it down, but when the wind comes, the whole thing sways like crazy. Plus the aluminum legs feel like they might snap if I look at them wrong and the awesome new sign I made makes them bow ominously.

I recommend looking at models from EZ-Up and Caravan and check Craigslist and Ebay for second-hand deals.

Here are some features I strongly recommend:

• Push-button or lever-activated legs – those little metal buttons that snap into the holes in the legs hurt your fingers when pushing and have a tendency to get stuck or even break off inside the leg. Get a tent with nice fat buttons or levers or something that’s friendlier on your fingers.
• A carrying case with wheels – for obvious reasons, this makes transportation much easier, especially for heavier tents. Our case also has backpack straps, which seems odd, but is a pretty easy way to carry the tent, since it’s so light.
• A tall tent – get something that will give you 7 or 8 foot clearance at the entrance. The last thing you want is customers banging their heads on the tent. Plus it feels less claustrophobic.
• Walls – usually sold separately, but they’re totally worth it. When the rain is coming down sideways, you’ll be glad you have them. There’s a variety of styles. I’ve seen walls with windows, screen-sections, some that roll, zip, flip, what have you. Bonus Tip: when shopping Craigslist for used deals, many sellers include the walls.

Three more things to do once you have the tent:

• Seal the seams – new tents come without the seams sealed and will leak until you do so.
• Get weights – most bigger shows and fairs require you to have weights, but you’ll want them anyway. corner weights, sandbags, plates, or cinderblocks are a good place to start, but for better stability, try something like these DIY weights or these fancy (and expensive) ones.
• Set the tent up before the first show – it’s best to know how it goes up beforehand. Plus you need to set it up to seal the seams, right?

Talk to other vendors at the markets you go to and ask them about their tents setups. Everyone has different opinions. We met a lady at a market recently who says she goes through 2 or 3 tents per season, so she went back to buying cheap ones. They’re a disposable commodity to her. She also hangs about 300 pounds of merch from her tent, so that might be part of the problem.

Feel free to add any tips you have and let me know if I missed something. Happy marketing!

We learned some lessons from Art Star, and here’s a new, quickie “Secret of an Artist’s Business Manager”:

1. Caravan brand tents seem to be the way to go. We know we want to upgrade soon, and this brand has pull-out buttons on the leg (instead of push-in buttons, which can be difficult), and there’s a tent bag with WHEELS and a pull handle. Granted, we have more research to do, but we were definitely lusting after a fellow vendor’s particular setup.

2. To raise our tent, buy 4 heavy-duty buckets, and drill holes through the bottom. Sandbags or other weights can be hidden under the buckets, and the tent can be bolted to the buckets. Our weight plates will still fit on top, which will make a nice, heavy-duty, but not-difficult-to-store-or-carry tent pole solution. We’ll post pics once the set-up is complete.

3. Sunscreen. Put it in your go-to-market box. We had SPF50, and were ever-so-glad to have it.

4. The awesome shelf that Phil built to show his Whiskerbears needs to go. I’m not lying, it cost us 20 minutes in the parking lot trying to fit that into the back of the car. Phil’s got a hatchback Civic, so room is important. Plus, it’s heavy. We’ve got some new collapsible designs in mind.

5. The tall director’s chairs were a total win. I scored them on Amazon for about 1/2 the cost of other models. They were super convenient, and very light weight.

This week’s show is at Quirk, in the parking lot, as part of the Market Umbrella’s First Fridays market. We’ll see you there!