show time.

this has been a very button-heavy week. i've had a lot of outside orders to complete. first off, this batch up top is for (can you guess it?) laugh sabbath. laugh sabbath is a weekly comedy show in toronto and a collective of local comics of diverse practice (stand-up, monologue, video, improv, sketch comedy) who create a truly exciting string of shows and micro-bits. most of the associated funnies are also very good friends of mine. the rest are (equally funny) enemies. just kidding; there are some new folks who i do not know very well. if you are in toronto or visiting, this is one of the comedy shows i would easily send you to. it certainly fits into the "alternative" brand (whatever that means) so if you prefer awkward comedy and pathos to misogyny and frat ethos (as i do), this is your show.

and trampoline hall has been invited to do a one-off show in vancouver again. since the show needs to present its entire package to those westies, the merch display is also being packed in a hanging folder box and crossing the continent, too. my old pal johnny b will be manning the table which will house the trampoline hall back catalogue of pinback buttons, the last of the comic zines and these new buttons made just for the vancouver instalment. i shifted the colours just for vancouver (to what i consider a sea-to-sky blue) and made the normal run of buttons to celebrate are the lecturers and lecture topics. will bruce willis be lecturing or will he be discussed? i guess you should go to find out. really, you should go. trampoline hall is one of my favourite things and its presentations out of town are becoming awfully rare.

shipping news.

i just got back in from sliding around the icy streets of parkdale. i was out for an afternoon of prototyping with the workroom's laser cutter. lasering stuff is not my usual production method of choice (with an exception here and there) but karyn and i have been plotting this special project for a while now.

as a person who ships a lot of work through canada post as letter mail and small packets, i often have to trundle down to the post office daily to see if my bundles will fit through their special measured slots to qualify as small packets. those of you in the same position will know how irritatingly time-wasting this can seem. enter my own custom-made canada post standard measuring device.

karyn and i now have a matching pair.

of course, there is more information involved in shipping - stamps need to be placed properly, space needs to be left at the bottom for post office markings, rigidity is an issue and aspect ratio comes into play. why make it simple? but these measurements here cover the basics of letter post for most purposes.

let me know if there is an interest in these. the prototyping proved these to be a fairly laser-consuming enterprise, so the full boards would probably have to be priced in the neighbourhood of $40. if there is a demand, i could also make smaller, more portable versions with the two slots and measurements. those would be more cost-effective, too. if these items are of interest to you, please let me know by leaving a comment.

oh, and what trip to the workroom would be complete without some poking around? congratulations on the ceiling-teasing extension of the fabric wall, ladies!

unassuming sale.

i am having an unassuming sale of mega-cheapness over at the etsy shop. two days only. 40% off everything. most zines ship for free with another purchase. you been eyeing something? it is now magically almost half off - but only for a heartbeat of time.

cleaning is all around. as i get set to make some new artist set releases, the shop and my studio need to clear out.

your discount code is: jan2011. use it to your hearts' contents, internet friends.

making spaces.

progress.

so, it would take a lot of work to turn myself into a minimalist but i have managed to dig enough space out in my office to start making in there again. obviously, there is much work to be done but this is a step. in the process of sorting, i have accumulated a nice big heap of craft (mostly sewing) supplies for the love & rummage trunk show. and there is much more to come. as cluttered as it may be, i am really happy to be back at my desks. work begets work and being in the mess makes me clean the mess.

this week i have a lot of buttons to make, too. trampoline hall, laugh sabbath and a new artist set from matty "8080" cipov are all there on the table working towards being squished, packed and/or sent out into the world.

memorandum.

as i sift through my stuff and try to make order of it (and gleefully eject the things i don't want to cling to) i have, obviously, been rediscovering various little treasures of mine. these were not deep into the mess. no, those chasms are reserved for more mundane things like paperwork and receipts.

pictured here is 4/5 of my collection of memorial buttons. being a buttonneer has made me uniquely interested in the origins of my 'craft'. it is a little weird to call button-making a craft since it was not designed to be a skilled trade. instead, it is the imagery used on the buttons that required skill to create. making a button is just grunty labour.

these little artifacts represent some of the earliest days of pinbackery. politics and smoking also played their parts in the development of the ubiquitous pinback button but i have always been more drawn to these ghostly images. ever notice how smiling for photos didn't come into vogue until the 20th century was a little more underway? i particularly like that about these images.

i have been working on my own memorial button project off-and-on for years now but it just never seems to work. my standards are high and my vision clear. it is also hard to have a specific vision when it requires a skill set that you don't have. basically, if one of my pals out there has mad photoshop skills and a high threshold for working with nightmare artist-clients (with no money) i want to hear from you. i will hold my breath until the phone rings...without smiling.

smtwtfs.

progress.

news from the campfire.

it's a million shade of grey today. maybe it is because i don't have to commute, but i am really into this winter so far.

today i want to share a few choice pieces of news that have come to me from others.

1. airin mcguinty is on the cusp of launching mcguinty's mending service for toronto residents. the mending service will run every monday by appointment beginning on january 17. appointments must be made by sunday. sounds pretty perfect to me.

2. shannon is having a big moving/studio/liquidation sale at her old place on january 30. she is promising cheap art and even some new stuff from willy (my favourite soon-to-be-ten-year-old). the goal? she needs to buy a van so that she and willy can take a very special road trip to california before his formative years have formed. but before they go there, they have to drive downstairs where they are going to be my new neighbours. all of this is very important. i dare you not to take advantage of deals on shannon's work.

3. cortney in milwaukee is also poised to launch printshop forever, what looks to be a seriously bank-busting project of limited-run art editions by meticulously selected artists. the first edition? painted and sequined antlers by another amazing wisconsin artist, cassandra smith. pretty darn tempting. and the prices are beyond reasonable for her work. i found out about this launch through faythe. my soul thanks you, faythe but my feeble budget and acquisitive eye do not.

photo by mike goelzer