And now for something completely different... July 10, 2014 11:04

So with San Diego Comic Con almost here, it's time to introduce the things we'll have at our booth!  In the quest to stay fresh, I challenged Jess with some unusual design and manufacturing requests.  Throughout the year I see things I'd like us to have in our shop, and have pretty much no idea where these things come from, so it's up to her to start researching and then the process of contacting and building relationships with manufacturers.  But this year she also had some challenging shipping situations, and I'm happy to report that not only did she get everything made, but got everything to California as well!  Here we are a couple weeks out, and every product is safe and sound in our warehouse, waiting for the day we'll drive it down to San Diego!

The first of the new products you can pick up at our booth is the T-shirt we previously posted about.  It has a detailed and vivid reproduction that we felt was worthy of the Koi Girl illustration.  Jess has been wearing hers almost constantly and it's still looking bright.  My advice - never ever put things you love in the drier.  We wash that shirt a lot, but only air-dry it so the blacks stay black and the colors don't get fried.  Anyway, on to more new stuff...

Every year we take a chance on something completely new, and this would be one of those things!  I hang out in any store that sells stuff from Japan, and I've been seeing a certain something for several years now - beautifully printed plastic folders.  Strangely practical, yet so attractive I always buy them just for their covers!  Any papers you put in them, from a grocery list to a water bill, suddenly become happy and fun to have around.

So this year we're offering an identical folder of our very own.  Made with heavy-weight plastic, ours are designed to safely hold 8 1/2 x 11 paper.  Jess chose Koi Girl to adorn its cover.   I've been using these for a month now and not only is it a welcome sight each and every time I pull it out of my backpack, I've also noticed that things don't get lost anymore.  If there's something you want to keep track of, put it in one of these folders and it becomes mighty easy to find.  Guaranteed to raise eyebrows and start conversation!

Should these sell well we'll follow up with a series of other girls and animals so that it will become even easier to organize your life!

T-Shirts on the horizon January 27, 2014 12:28

A peek at something new in development.  We've completed a test batch of Koi Girl T-shirts with excellent results.  Koi Girl is a new centerfold in the updated "Sketchbook 3."  We were so happy with that image that we thought she was a good candidate to launch a few new products.  We're currently taking a poll to gauge what shirt sizes we should produce and in what quantity.  If you might be interested in purchasing Koi Girl when we go into production later this year, drop by our poll and log your personal shirt size preference!  Thanks!

More Nimue Production Photos December 2, 2013 10:49

Seeing as it is Monday, I thought I'd show you all a few more production photos from our Nimue statue run. I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things in the world is to see things being made. Whenever we print a new sketchbook I always visit the press a few times during production. Ostensibly to approve the print proofs, but really it's to see the huge machines working and pages piling up, lining up. etc. In this case there aren't machines doing the work, but in some ways I think this is even cooler. Much more like Santa's workshop, which is appropriate for this time of year.

Nimue production photos! November 28, 2013 11:27

Well, as the holiday season is officially opened and all, I wanted to catch everyone up on that swell mermaid statue. Things at the factory are going well, and the first wave of Nimue is nearing completion. Everything has been running smoothly and on time, we're happy to report. For everyone who got in on the pre-order, your statues will be the first to ship when completed. We did the whole pre-order so that we could gauge what ratios we would need of the different versions - blonde and green. Once we understood those ratios we closed the ordering and went into production.  As soon as every last mermaid has been painted, numbered, boxed, and the pre-orders have been delivered, we'll open up ordering again. By waiting for completion we'll know exactly how many statues of each color remain in stock and we'll be able to load those numbers into the store's inventory.

When that time comes we'll notify everyone through our Facebook page and this blog that ordering has opened again.

Anyway, here are a few photos of the work in progress. Happy Thanksgiving!

Introducing Nimue, just in time for San Diego! July 11, 2013 00:03

I've always loved Mermaids, and I've always kept an eye out for a great mermaid sculpture wherever I go. Particularly when I show up in places like San Francisco, Seal Beach, or the Outer Banks, where mermaids abound. I'll always run across a couple in little shell shops or maritime bookstores. But I've never found the one I'm looking for - the right combination of fluid, cute, sexy, and hopefully with some sea friends nearby. But you know what? I've never found her. The ones I stumble across are always lacking something - they're sorta stiff, or have rather dire faces. Sometimes they're pretty good, but attached to a lamp or a wooden sign that has beachy witticisms like, "In dog beers, I've only had one."

So I've never found my mermaid. Till now.

For all of you who may have had a similar experience, I proudly introduce Nimue, the mermaid sculpture I've been looking for.

Nimue ("Nim-way") is the first collaboration between myself and Anders Ehrenborg (www.andersehrenborg.com), who sculpted her. Anders works in New Zealand, which means he's beset by mossy trolls and tiny glowing sprites that play tricks on him, stealing his coffee mugs and enticing him with bewitched objects that if touched, will enslave him to the fairy kingdom for a thousand years.  Imagine. Even with all that distraction and danger, Anders created this object of fluid beauty that, as far as I am concerned, finally got it right.

How many sailors would have given their last weevily biscuit to capture such a creature in their sea-chests? Anders based this sculpture on a mermaid drawing from "Sketchbook 3." However, credit for this goes entirely to him; translating a sketch into a dimensional sculpture is the realm of genius and witchcraft, if you ask me.

Also, I owe the creation of this to Jessica Steele, who is also a creature of the deep. She spends most of her time with dolphins and sharks, and was sick and tired of my whining about the failings of seaside shell shop mermaids, and thus pushed me to find a way to produce one that will keep me quiet. Her notes and advice were invaluable as Nimue took shape. Jessica knows all things in the ocean, and kept me properly focused on fins and scales and hair that maintained fluidity.

Nimue is a limited-edition resin. She is 7.25 inches tall, and comes in four versions. Blonde hair with blue tail and blue shark, green hair with green tail and grey shark, and a topless variant of each, for those that like their mermaids without shells. The baby manta ray is a slightly darker blue on the green version. Jessica named the fat baby shark Clarence.

So that makes four versions to choose from. I'll post the topless variants tomorrow. The ones pictured here are the prototypes, and they will be in San Diego if you happen to pass by our booth (which is #5534, just like last year). We will be taking pre-orders in our online store.  Statues will ship starting January 2014.