The final days of Bob Slate

There is a small chain of three stationery shops in my neighborhood called Bob Slate. Two are in my local area, one is in the Square about a mile up the road.  The business is family-owned, and though I know they haven't been around forever, they have been around long enough for the stores and the name to have become something of an institution around here.






I am posting about Bob Slate Stationers because, at the end of this month, they are closing their doors for good. A small chain of independent stores like Bob Slate closing is one of the sadder prices we pay for todays everything-on-demand culture.  I can't complain about technology—I love technology, it's changed my life, and it has changed things for everyone. But sometimes, clearly not for the better.






In the case of Bob Slate, the owners have been searching for a buyer for a couple of years now. No one has bought, so they are closing. This week is their Swan Song. Here are some photos of the shop emptying out.






Some of my favorite things about Bob Slate:

It seems that you could buy just ONE of ANYTHING here. One 30x20 envelope. One manila folder. One sheet of... whatever. Where else can you do that? Not Staples!

They carried cards and paper products that you really can't find in many places. They had many pop-up cards by Up With Paper among other companies, any kind of planner, calendar, kid's birthday invites, birthday cards put out by both high-end paper companies, quirky but well-known companies, as well as the tiniest, sweetest little greeting card company you had never even heard of (yet). ANY and ALL occasions of invites, many, many types of sketchbooks and journals, the aforementioned single-serving office supplies, plus art supplies, too. 

In fact, this the place I discovered Marvy's Artwin markers. These markers have the coolest colors on the market for markers. (Seriously! I don't know why they are not more well-known). They had a HUGE selection of  Marvy's Artwin markers at their Church Street shop. I spent so much time on that marker wall on Church Street's Bob Slate,  picking out just the perfect colors of the fifty or so Marvy Artwin markers in my collection..

They had a fountain pen desk as well— one of those big glass displays which showed off the product and was often manned with s sales associate ready to help you find just the right pen. Now THAT'S a throwback.

One thing they weren't known for is their sales... So the above photo is something of an anomaly.

Good bye, Bob Slate. I will miss you!

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Northcott Fabrics

I am SO, SO excited to share with you that I have partnered with Northcott Silk, Inc., a wonderful fabric company out of Canada (with another office in NJ). Northcott produces high quality, gorgeous fabrics for quilting, home sewing, craft, and DIY sewing. They have worldwide distribution and their lines are carried in dedicated fabric shops all over the place. I'm thrilled to now be a designer with Northcott. My debut collection is set for Fall 2011 release! I can't wait to share my art in this way with you, and I think this means I'll have to take up sewing myself! I won't be able to resist!

I will share more information here, as I am able.

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Artists helping with Japan relief

I have come across some neat ways artists are doing what they can to help raise money to fund relief efforts for Japan. I want to share them with you. If you choose to take part, whether you're donating art or purchasing it, you're helping. That's pretty great. Please feel free to leave any additions to this  list in the comments. Thanks!


Call for Art: Art for Japan
The "Art For Japan" auction will be held in early April 2011. The call for art is happening now, so if you are an artist interested in helping with your art, here's one way. All funds will go to AmeriCares. AmeriCares is a nonpartisan and nondenominational organization which uses 99% of its revenue on its charitable programs. Art for Japan's organizers did homework to find a charity to donate to that upholds certain important standards and they found that AmeriCares rated four stars on CharityNavigator.org. I appreciate that fact. Art For Japan does not a web site yetbut you can  email artforjapan2011@gmail.com for more info. If you would like to contribute, deadline for receiving donations is March 31, 2011. I will be donating a couple of prints myself, so please stay tuned!

Raffle: Japan Quake Appeal by Bari J.
Bari J., a fabric, sewing pattern and surface designer extraordinaire, is holding a Japan relief raffle on her blog. The prize is fantastic - a beautiful handmade purse she made herself with her own Country Lane fabric. It is even made with one of her own sewing patterns (Hell-ooo! It this too cute, or what?!) She is also adding a pack of her Country Lane fabric as well as some cool charms to the raffle prize. Donating and joining the raffle is easy to do, and because you complete your donation before you officially enter the raffle, it's a nice feeling to know that your donation is already in the pipeline. Instructions are on her blog post (please click here and then scroll down to the second blog post on March 16, 2011.) The drawing will be held on March 26, 2011 so if you want to enter the raffle, don't wait!

Other sites: Kelly Light's Ripple Blog
the Ripple blog art auction started as a response to the New Orleans Gulf disaster. It was successful at both raising funds and connecting spirits to help New Orleans in its deepest time of need. Though Ripple is no longer an active "auction for relief" site, founder and creator Kelly Light is still posting new info to Ripple regularly, but this time she is sharing other web sites which feature similar ways for artists and art appreciators alike to help Japan in their time of need. Click here for info on Ripple about "Artists Help Japan","Illustration Rally", and "KidLit4Japan". For more additions to this list, please check the Ripple blog main page.
 

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It's time...

Surtex! That's right!!

Today, it is exactly two months until Surtex 2011, which takes place May 15-17 at the Javits Center in NYC. Believe it or not, for about six weeks after AmericasMart I was quite consumed with correspondence and follow-up from the show ( I am not complaining! :) No complaints here, nope, nope nope.) But now, the whip-lash is setting in— it is a mere eight weeks from my Surtex debut! (Wasn't last week January?)

I'm very, very excited for Surtex, I have to tell you. I have had the goal of exhibiting there for over five years now (I first discovered its very existence in mid-to-late 2005). To be in the position I am in today, about to exhibit at Surtex, *and* already having had my first art licensing trade show exhibition earlier this year, what can I say—it is a great feeling. I'm confident, I am proud of how far I have come, and I'm looking forward to the show BIG time. (Fun fact: Who knew I would enjoy the 'people' part as much as I do? Who knew? I love it!) You never know until you try, and when I decided to show at Atlanta, and finally exhibit, just exhibit, PERIOD, and break my streak of "dreamer-dom" into "doer-dom" when it comes to art licensing trade shows, it was very much like being at the end the diving board of a very large, very deep swimming pool... Now, throw on a blindfold.

It is cool what happens when you step up to your life that way, with conviction, belief and a never say die attitude... You certainly gain a better sense of yourself and what you have the power to accomplish... Doors open. And from a more practical perspective, sometimes you just have to dive in to see how you measure up, period. Also, there is no better litmus test to see where your work best fits in the market, or doesn't,  than to gauge who and what companies are attracted to your work.

We are lucky to live in the age of information and easy communication. Studying web sites is great. Email is great. What would we do without it? But if you want to row in the boat, you have to be in the boat to begin with... and to be in the boat, you simply have to exhibit, or have representation, at an art licensing show.  Hey, it's not easy, and why should it be? It's a business like any business. And nothing really worthwhile is ever easy anyway. You gotta want it pretty bad to commit to starting an art licensing business, especially in this day and age. Hopefully potential future exhibitors will study the markets very well, and come into it with lots of preparation and a fairly defined vision for their brand and their place in the market. This will help their own success and will also help to elevate the industry on the whole.

I am sure I will get more palpable nerves as the time comes closer. I feel much calmer and more stable  about Surtex than I did about Atlanta, even though in terms of exhibitors and visitors, Surtex is so much larger a space for the art licensing exhibitors, though on the whole, Atlanta is behemoth. (It's hard to describe AmericasMart in words.)

The situation in Atlanta was so different— it was my first show, sure, so that adds some stress by default. But it was very unique because of the logistical hurdles we encountered. I had to actually get on a plane and not just a train.. And what with the huge, gigantic  snowstorm, the flight cancellations and then delays, the storm snowballed the trip in every direction— one big storm mixed with one big trade show in one city unprepared for said snowstorm is one potent and unpredictable cocktail!

Anyway, Atlanta was amazing and great, and I certainly plan on exhibiting next year. I am so glad to have it under my belt right now, but something tells me that down the road in the next few weeks I will still have my share of stress, hurdles and hoops to jump through to get myself ready for Surtex.

Atlanta was also my first time putting up a booth, and I was content with how it came out for my first show (nothing is ever perfect!). I had plenty of time to study my booth during the show and decide what I felt was working and what wasn't, so I made a detailed list of Trade show booth Do's and Don't's for "Next Time". Well, "Next Time" is right around the corner now!  I might even take a whole different approach this time, but I'm glad I've already done this once before... and I am gearing up for the merry-go-round once again... Okay, I've already boarded it!

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Art Licensing Blogs

Look it up!

 I am always happy to learn of a new blog on art licensing, especially if it's a good one chock full of useful information. When I began studying art licensing in 2006, there were no blogs to speak of, and no informational websites, save for one lone Yahoo group called The Art of Licensing. I had only been privy to learning about that one due to a Joanne Fink seminar I took at Licensing International Expo that year. Isn't it ironic that I went to a big conference and took expensive courses to gain this cost-free information? But those were the times. (The rest of the conference was good, too. Money well spent.)

Back then, this Yahoo group was the saving grace of social media for art licensors. It's still in existence now, though there are other social groups these days such as The Art of Licensing on Linked In, and there's probably one on Facebook as well. So I am very pleased about this growing trend. Of course, you always must use your best judgement when reading people's opinions, but that goes for any blog or post on a niche subject. The way I see it is, the more information sources we have available to us to sift through, the better!

Here are some of the more shiny new blogs I've discovered more recently. I enjoy reading them and I have gained some valuable resources and information from them.

• The Business of Art Licensing blog by Lance Klass of Portersfield's Fine Art Licensing
• J'Net Smith's All Art Licensing Blog
• Two Town Studios' blog of Jim Marcotte

Here is a short list of my "good old", solid stand-by blogs. These blogs are much appreciated for the information and resources that they have regularly and consistently provided for several years now:

• Kate Harper Greeting Card Artist Blog
• Joan Beiriger's Blog
• Tara Reed's Art Licensing Blog

There are also several artists who keep their own blogs. I have some linked in my side bar, but it is just as easy to check one artist's side bar and visit their peers that way to discover other art licensing blogs. Voila, instant art licensing community. Last but not least, you can just Google it!

Do you have any art licensing blogs or message boards that you would like to share? Please leave them in the comments!! Information is power!

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You can learn a lot from an animation-savvy three year old

Even though I am a visual artist, I tend to not watch too many animated films. I really love a good one, I just have a tendency to be wary because, though there is a lot of good animation out there, there is also a lot of reeaally mediocre (okay, sometimes just bad) animation out there... and when it comes to character design and overall animation style in animated features, my taste tends to run hot or cold. I am either instantly attracted to it, or I am really not. I LOVE it or, I just really DON'T. And the thing about animated features is that the visuals need to come first. The story itself can knock your socks off, but if the delivery system- the animation and character design and development- is not there, I'm not sticking around for the story. That said, it does seem as if every animated film that I have embraced in the past ten or so years also has great story and character developent behind it. As for the mediocre animated flicks I have seen trailers for, I really can't speak for those-I really do avoid them if I can't get behind the art!

Anyway, all this build-up... Today, we spent time with our friends and their lovely (and oh so smart!) three year old daughter. Of course, they have every cool new animated feature on DVD that has come out in the past few years. There is so many I have missed, and I got schooled in a couple that I have been missing! I highly recommend these based on seeing most of each of them today...




Secret of The Kells

WOW. This animated feature is simply breathtaking, in every way. The patterns, the design, the depth in the atmosphere... it is just all around amazing. I could just stare at this film, pay no attention to the story, and be perfectly happy. To be honest, It actually was challenging to follow the story while playing with a three year old and also being blown away by the artwork at the same time, as it whooshed by on the screen. But my friends say that the story is also very good too. It was Oscar-nominated as well, so as amazing as the animation is, I am sure the story also had a hand in that. I also love that the work feels so inspired by classic animation styles as well as by graphic design. Yet it truly feels like all of these influences and inspirations and have been utilized to take the art of animation into a brand new medium. It just feels completely evolved. And totally original.

If you have ever seen the animated television show Samurai Jack, which had a really stark, boldly crafted design style, the aesthetic of The Secret fo The Kells is in the same Encyclopedia set but feels like a later, more advanced book in the set.



A good Secret Of The Kells review (with more art stills)





Kung Fu Panda

This one might be more of a surprise due to its commercial nature, but what a fun movie and fun story! But the biggest happy surprise for me of Kung Fu Panda was the quality of both the animation in general but also the quality and artistry in the character design. I did not see the full film but I loved what I did see and am now eager to see it in its entirety as well as the sequel which will be released April 2011.

What are some of your favorite animated features of the last few years?

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