Last Minute Art Party at GAS Gallery

This is a great show and sale with really interesting artists including Dan Fenlon, Gale Mahoney, Nancy Tobin and Elizabeth Winchester.

Come and party at GAS in Maplewood, NJ

Original BeastlyBeasties drawings at GAS

At GAS Gallery. That's a Dan Fenelon behind me on the right.

Style Me Pretty

I did the calligraphy for this wedding featured on “Style me Pretty”.

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Photography by Christian Oth Studio.

Hurry! Don’t Miss 15% Off BeastlyBeasties Tees on RedBubble

The Dragon Na

I just received this offer from RedBubble so thought I would pass it on. Offer ends November 14th.

The Art of Ben Cuevas

I just got sent a link to this by my Book Art’s group. Check it out, it’s awesome!

transcending the material by Ben Cuevas created and installed at the Wassaic Project

“Pistol” Pete Kaufmann at SOMA Artisan’s Guild

On October 21st., a small group of SOMA Artisan’s Guild members gathered at Parteaz on Springfield Avenue to hear what “Pistol” Pete Kaufmann had to tell us about getting ourselves out of a rut, getting motivated, following our passions and being successful. With a name like “Pistol”, cool tattoos, I especially liked the dragon… and as a successful musician, and lifestyle coach we were all intrigued to meet this “out of the box” guy and hear what he had to tell us. We were not disappointed.

“Pistol” brought a great energy in to the room, much of what he had to tell us, as he said so himself we had all heard before. Much had drifted over our heads and not been acted on. “Pistol’s” delivery brought the importance of these various strategies to life for us and for me at least, energized me to hopefully follow through this time.

A big thanks to Katie Clayton for organizing this event.

Some Tips from “Pistol”

• Make sure you have multiple streams of income. When one dries up – which it will – you will have something to fall back on.

• Doing a fund raising event through your web site or Facebook page is a great way to bring potential customers to your site.

• Pay someone to put an e mail sign up link on your Facebook fan page.

• A newsletter is a great marketing tool.

• Choose a specific market. If you want to make money, you basically have to target the wealthy.

• Shy about asking the amount you would really like to be paid for your product or service. Write a check out to yourself for that amount and stick it on your fridge or somewhere where you will see it every day. It will be much easier to ask for that amount when the time comes.

• Be honest with yourself: Do you have the talent and knowledge to succeed in your chosen business. Not sure, ask your friends and family for an honest opinion.

• Self belief.

• Model what other successful people are doing or have done.

• Read autobiographies of successful people that you admire. Learn from them.

• Build up your social contacts. Contact at least five people a week by e mail, text message, telephone, etc… You never know where these contacts will lead.

• Read… Educate yourself… self help books, how to books, biographies, business books, blogs, take classes… there is a wealth of information out there.

• Live where your industry is.

• Make your 30 minute elevator speech to define what you do and who you are.

• Think outside the box.

• Set goals, whether it is how much money you want to make, or stores you want to be in etc…

• Make sacrifices… you will have to go with out to get to where you want to be…

• Take risks…

• Above all take responsibility for everything that happens to you.

All of you who could not make this meeting missed a really great evening, we all came away energized and I think with higher expectations of our selves and more confidence in our own individual missions.

Resources:
Books
The Answer – John Assaraf
“‘The Answer’ is inspiring… it motivates you to go after the grandest version of the greatest life and business you ever envisioned for yourself with the knowledge that it is absolutely possible. ‘The Answer’ gives you the tools to change your life. This is one of the most exciting books I have ever read.”

-Suzanne Somers, former television star, New York Times Best Selling Author

Rework, by Jason Fried and David Hansson.

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY*NER*CHUK)

Get Paid for Who You Are by David Wood

About “Pistol”

“Pistol” Pete Kaufmann is a professional musician, writer, lifestyle enhancement coach and motivational speaker who spends his time between New York City and Los Angeles. For almost a decade he’s toured America as the drummer for Amandla – led by Claude Coleman Jr. of Ween. He is also a contributing writer for Modern Drummer Magazine, having written more than a dozen articles, two cover interviews and a plethora of educational pieces focusing on the musician’s mind and thinking.  He is owner of Rockin Lifestyle – a motivation company dedicated to creative people and creative living. Kaufmann has been coaching clients privately for over 10 years (including many well known artists) and teaches workshops internationally on reaching one’s full potential in life.  He passionately believes that the attitude and power of rock ‘n’ roll can be applied to daily living to improve one’s overall state of happiness and success.

Don’t Miss BeastlyBeasties at GAS Gallery in Maplewood, NJ

This is a Halloween group show it is open now through November 2nd, the Day of the Dead.

BeastlyBeasties’ Tees Now Available on Redbubble

Redbubble is a print on demand company featuring artist’s work that started in Australia, it is now global. On Redbubble, you can choose which BeastlyBeasties design you want, then decide which color and style of tee you want. Hoodies and baby clothes are also available. Once placed, your order will take about two weeks to reach you. All tees are printed on American Apparel tees. If you have any problems with your order, contact Redbubble and they will be happy to help you and resolve the issue. Tees arrive nicely packaged with a tag telling you the name of your tee and the artist that designed it.

Sherbo Menra is a baby dragon, she is extremely cute, but one day she will grow up to be quite fearsome… She is full of character…

 

Sherbo Menra the Baby Dragon tee as it arrives from RedbubbleSherbo-Menra-Tee

 

 

Sherbo-Menra-Tee

 

 

Sherbo-Menra-Tee-Detail

 

 

Bickham Script

George Bickham the elder (1684 – 1758), was a famous 18th century writing master and engraver. Bickham was taught writing and copperplate engraving by John Sturt (1658 – 1730). Bickham published at least eighteen titles, most of them made up from his own calligraphy. He is famous for his manual The Universal Penman, first published in parts from 1733 to 1741, a complete reprint was published in 1743 in one volume. The manual is the finest of it’s day and consists of writing exemplars from 26 English writing masters. It helped to popularize the English Round Hand script.
Bickham Script is often used for wedding invitations and other formal occasions.

Below are some samples I recently did for a wedding.

Wedding Reply Card Envelope in Bickham - Black ink

Wedding Invitation, Table Number and Seating Cards in Bickham - Royal Purple

Table Number and Seating Cards in Bickham - Royal Purple

Table Numbers in Bickham - Royal Purple

Escort Cards in Bickham - Royal Purple

How to Set Up a Display at a Craft or Art Sale

I recently participated in The Artist Studio Tour, as usual I had a space at the Baird  in South Orange. In order to better display my t-shirts and prints, I did a fair amount of research, which I put to good use. As a result I had many complements on my set up, and drew quite a crowd into my little corner. The only draw back was that it took me longer than I had expected to set up and take down. However the benefits were well worth the extra time.

Prints displayed on the back wall

Create an Enticing Space
The most important thing that I learnt was that one should never place oneself behind a table. This creates a barrier and is very uninviting. Think of your space as a mini store. You need to create a space that people can walk into. I put my tables perpendicular to the wall and created a little corner store that people could walk into and explore.

The artist with prints and t-shirts hanging from brackets attached to the wall

Make Your Display Interesting From All Angles
I made sure that my display looked attractive from both sides of the table.  All my tables were designed to be walked around. I devoted one table to cards, books and prints and the other to t-shirts.

t-shirts displayed on manikin on left and make shift manikin on right

Make Sure That You Have Items At Different Levels
This is important as it keeps your customer interested, and moves the eye around your “booth”. I hung prints on the walls gallery style, some were framed and others were not. I grouped similar items together to make a comprehensive and attractive display. When hanging images, pay attention to which colors look good next to each other.

To add interest I had a couple of brackets that I had found whilst rummaging around our basement attached to the wall. Perfect for hanging t-shirts on hangars from. I put one inside the “store area” and one out side. This made it possible for customers to browse a range of shirts and to see the full design with out having to unfold the ones on the table.

Awesome Dragon Bag displayed on manikin

Multiple Forms of Display to Add Interest
In the past I have just laid my t-shirts out in rows on the table sorted by size and design. It looks flat and gets untidy pretty quickly. My solution this time was to use a manikin that I was lucky enough to borrow for the day. I had also been on the look out for cheap manikin substitutes. I found these at Marshalls on clearance for $7.00 a piece. I think they were meant to be some kind of bathroom rack, perhaps to hang hand towels on. I had some lengths of plastic tubing from an old kids tent that I was able to lay across a pair of hooks. Perfect for putting through the arms of the t-shirts. A couple of scarfs artfully arranged and they looked great.

Instead of putting all my shirts out, I just put a couple of each design out in each size. I then replenished from a box hidden beneath the table when things sold. This made for a much more manageable table and a much more sophisticated look.

To add interest, and so that customers could see the t-shirt designs without unfolding them I used my lengths of plastic tubing to hang t-shirts from on the wall. I balanced the tubing on a push pin. It worked great and looked a lot better than using hangars. This method also avoids stretching the necks of the shirts. I like to use children’s hangars for hanging t-shirts as far as possible. They are smaller and are less likely to stretch the neck holes.

Arranging T-shirts
I arranged the shirts organically around the bases of my manikins. I put the darker t-shirts to the front, and the more colorful ones towards the middle of the table. The eye will see the dark shirts and then be drawn in to the colorful shirts in the middle. I always put the white shirts away from the edges of the table as they get grubby easily.

Table Coverings
Use an attractive cloth covering to your table. It should cover the table and then fall to the fall on all sides. This enables you to hide your boxes underneath. I have found flat Queen size bed sheets to work well as under cloths. To smarten these up I used some sari lengths that I had bought in India years ago. I had quite a few compliments on them!

Use Attractive Displays and Props That Fit In With The Look of Your Merchandise
To hold bookmarks I used an old wood cigar box that I had found at an estate sale in Cape Cod. I also had a wire basket to hold cards and a duck wicker basket to hold buttons and magnets. They made for a fun display which fitted in with my merchandise, but did not dominate it.

Payment and Packaging
If possible have a separate small table in a back corner of your booth for paying at and packaging. Use a receipt book with two copies – one for you and one for the customer. I always get the customer to write out their e-mail and name for me at the top of the receipt. I then write out in detail what they have purchased. For t-shirts, I write the size, design and color. This makes it much easier to keep a track of inventory when you get home. For prints, I write out the name, color and number in the edition. This year I purchased some small paper bags to put the t-shirts in. It looks a lot more professional than not using anything. For prints, I have a protective sleeve, cardboard stiffeners and a stiff cardboard envelope. Always put a business card in with your customer’s purchase.

The artist and the back wall

A Final Piece of Advice
Greet your customers with a smile and let them know that you are there to help them if they have any questions, then leave them to browse. Never stand at the entrance of your booth. This is intimidating, a bit like getting past the bouncer. People will be more likely to walk if they are made to feel uncomfortable.

BeastlyBeasties.etsy.com

Calligraphy

I have been doing a lot of calligraphy recently. Here are some samples from a recent wedding job I did.

Calligraphy for a wedding in Venice - Copperplate in Venetian Red

Reply Card and Envelope - Copperplate in Black Ink