Strawberryluna

Come see us at Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this weekend!

Hello Windy City, we can’t wait to see you again!

Join us and over 300 other best of the best, amazing Makers from around the country (and beyond) at the always superb Renegade Craft Fair – Chicago Edition this Saturday September 6th & Sunday September 7th in Wicker Park. Renegade Craft Fair is a bona fide not-to-be-missed show, hooray! It’s free to attend, with lots of family (and dog!) friendly fun too.

We will be vending from Booth #30 on Division between Damen & Wolcott, with loads of our hand printed hand pulled silkscreen Art Prints, hand screen printed Rock Posters, hand pulled Alphabet Prints, Lunch Bags, Test Prints and more. So do come and say hello!

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The Details:

What: Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, one of the largest curated gatherings of indie craft makers in the US.

When: Saturday 9/6 and Sunday 9/7 from 11am – 6pm (both days).

Where: In the Wicker Park neighborhood Chicago, IL between Damen & Paulina Avenue.

Who: The best and the brightest of Handmade Makers in the US.

For more info about the hands-on workshops, food & beverage vendors (including wine & beer), and entertainment click here.

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Below is a handy map of the Fair (click to enlarge) for you, and click here for a Vendor Listing as well. We’ll be hanging out at Booth 30, see you there!

CHI-SEPT-MAP-BACK-01

New Poster Release: Feist Show Poster

Lovely, tough and feminine, Feist. And with the most beautifully textured voice around, the awesomely talented Feist. Featuring a Steeltown-tough Tartan plaid Tulip pattern in black & gold & green against a night-black background.

This is our all hand silkscreen printed, limited edition gig poster for the amazing Feist’s show in Pittsburgh on July 14th, at Stage AE, on Bastille Day.

  • Size 16 x22 inches (45.7 cm x 61 cm).
  • Edition: Limited edition of 120. Each print is hand signed and numbered by strawberryluna.
  • Inks: Hand printed in 3 colors with hand-mixed Steeltown gold, summer green and midnight black non-toxic water based silkscreen inks.
  • Paper: Archival, no-acid, recycled content, American made Cougar Opaque White, 100lb cover weight.
  • Fits beautifully into either a standard 16″ x 20″ frame by trimming the border, or into an 18″ x 24″ frame as is with a matte.

This 3-color all hand screen printed rock poster for Feist is now available for purchase in our webshop here and also in our Etsy Shop here $25.

  • Additional photo below shows how this print might looked framed. (Sold unframed & without a matte.)

New release! Bright Eyes silkscreen poster

New! Our 4-color, hand silkscreen printed poster for Bright Eyes, Click to purchase or for more info!

 

Brand spanking new and fresh off the press, it’s our new poster for Bright Eyes for his show at Stage AE in Pittsburgh,

The music of Connor Oberst and Bright Eyes is like a beacon of individuality, sweetness, anger, and passion, at least that’s the way I hear it. When I first began printing at the community studio Artists Image Resource (AIR) in Pittsburgh, Bright Eyes was on heavy rotation during Open Studio nights and his voice still reminds me of that awesome time toiling away in that funny early stage of learning printmaking where you learn to love mistakes as much as you do successes.

In homage to all things organic, wise and bright this fella is our all hand silkscreen printed poster for the singular sound of Bright Eyes with hand mixed midnight black, teal, acrylic screenprinting inks. Edition: 150, each of these limited edition posters are signed & numbered (by me, strawberryluna) Size: 16×22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Now available at my website here or also in my Etsy shop here.

Dig screenprinting? Have no clue what the hand printing process is like? Below are some process shots that I took while silkcreening this poster in my Flickr account:

1st color ink in the screen for our hand printed poster for Bright Eyes. (Click for more info & photos.)

t 2nd color printed for our hand printed poster for Bright Eyes. (Click for more info & photos.)

3rd color ready to go for our hand printed poster for Bright Eyes. (Click for more info & photos.)

3rd color printed for our hand printed poster for Bright Eyes. (Click for more info & photos.)

All done! 4th color printed for our hand printed poster for Bright Eyes. (Click for more info & photos.)

 

New poster released: My Morning Jacket

3-color poster for My Morning Jacket. (Click for more info or to purchase from my website.)

We are thrilled to be working with the incredible My Morning Jacket once again.

And with that! I present our new poster for My Morning Jacket’s show in Pittsburgh on August, 27, 2010.

Waves of natural sound, light, and imagery, that’s the amazing sounds of My Morning Jacket. We love this band, and we’re thrilled to be working with them again on a poster for our hometown, Pittsburgh.

Screenprinted, limited edition poster, designed for the force of nature, My Morning Jacket with bright green, sky blue & black inks. Edition of 166, signed (by me, strawberryluna) and numbered. Size: 18 x24 inches (45.7 cm x 61 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar Cream 100lb cover weight.

For more information, or to purchase, click HERE.

New poster released: Beach House

4 color, all hand screenprinted poster for Beach House (click for more info or to purchase)

We love Beach House, so so much. Semi ethereal, almost otherworldly-ghostly quality that I (of course) really dig, You’d have to close your ears hard not to notice that their lyrics often involve the sea, salt water, and drifting oceanic themes, like a ghost-ship, the kind that are found abandoned at sea carrying on alone.

And therefore, you are looking at my all hand screenprinted poster for the incomparable Beach House. It’s my 4-color, all hand screenprinted poster with ocean-sky blue, deep sea blue, and timber brown hand mixed and non-toxic water based screenprinting inks. The dark ocean blue overprints the timber brown of the ship to make a 4th color, overprint magic!

These posters were sold at the show. Didn’t get one there? Lucky you, I have a few copies left for sale. This limited edition poster is signed (by me) and numbered. Edition of 98. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Now available at my website here.

And, here are some process photos for you below, also more are on my Flickr account too.

1st color screen, ready to start printing. (click for more info)

1st color being registered. (click for more info)

1st color for Beach House poster, detail. (click for more info)

2nd color ink in the screen, ready to start printing. (click for more info)

Registering the 3rd & final color to be printed. (click for more info)

Overprinty goodness in the waves over the ship on my Beach House poster. (click for more info)

Rock Show: iPad app for Rock Posters

Rock Show, view and buy posters from your iPad. (Click for more info or to download Rock Show from the iTunes store for FREE!)

Dangit! I’ve been meaning to post about this for a little bit now.

Right before SXSW & Flatstock in Austin, TX this year, I was approached by a software development team from Neutrinos in Portland, OR. They were getting ready to release a pretty cool (and FREE!) new app for the (then) upcoming iPad called Rock Show. The new app Rock Show was being debuted at the Interactive portion of SXSW, just a few days before the Music segment of this huge Festival begins.

Examples of posters on Rock Show to view & purchase. (Click for more info or to download Rock Show from the iTunes store for FREE!)

After talking with Rob from Neutrinos, we signed on as one of the first wave of artists submitting posters to be shown and sold via the Rock Show app for the iPad. It seemed like a big step, but we could tell that the team behind Rock Show was committed to making a great app for music, poster and art fans that would also support rock posters artists like us, and help gain more exposure for the artists involved and the resurgence of rock posters in general.

So what is Rock Show? They describe it best:

“Exclusive to the iPad, Rock Show is an awesome way to view, share and purchase concert posters. Rock Show is the best way to view, share, and buy concert posters. All the posters featured in Rock Show are available for sale directly through the iPad. Posters are often signed, numbered, and shipped by the original poster artist. All of the concert posters in Rock Show are available for purchase securely from the app.

Hold your iPad however you want to get the best view of high resolution, full screen artwork. Learn more about a band using the app’s quick Wikipedia link.

I naturally got on board being A) A rock poster artist B) An Apple and Mac person and C) Wildly excited about the iPad and the new horizons it’s opening and D) Impressed with Neutrinos approach for Rock Show. I’m proud to say that we were among the very first poster artists to sign on and start working with Rock Show and uploading posters.

Currently, we here at strawberryluna have about 15 titles listed under ‘strawberryluna’ in the Rock Show app, and there are tons more poster artists partnering with Rock Show and adding their work up for viewing and purchase as well. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Using your iPad, you can search Rock Show posters by poster artist and also by band names, as seen below:

Rock Show is an amazing way to explore the variety of art and design in the current rock poster movement with the large and frankly beautiful resolution and clarity of the iPad screen, as well as being a great new way to connect artists and fans, be they musicians or artists, or best, all of the above.

There are complete descriptions for each poster, such as the band name, date & location of the show, the medium of the poster, and more. Rock Show‘s payment gateway is secure, so it’s a seamless process, with posters shipping directly to the customer from the artists’ themselves, often within a day or so of order receipt.

It’s pretty sweet! We’re having fun with it, and if you own an iPad or know someone who does, check out the FREE app Rock Show and have some pretty fun too.

Rock Show is always looking for new poster artists and designers too. If you are interested, drop them a line here.

Flatstock & SXSW: Here we come Austin, TX!

The strawberryluna booth at SXSW Flatstock '09, so come see us this year too. (click for more info)

It’s really Spring! And for us that means the first Flatstock of the year, in Austin, TX during the HUGE music festival SXSW. We’ll be working part of the time and having a blast the other. Come on and see us and close to 100 (that’s right) poster artists from all over the world, showing our work and talking shop with music industry folks, poster art fans and the wide open general public.

We will be debuting new posters and new art prints as well as bringing a slew of Test Prints too, so it’s going to be rad.  Come say hi!

Co-presented by the American Poster Institute (API) and SXSW, Flatstock 24 will display the works of more than 100 artists from across North America and the globe. Posters representing decades of styles, colors and techniques will be on display and for sale as well as additional merchandise. Show up early and be ready to be overwhelmed with amazing posters. (You might want to bring some dough since you won’t want to leave empty handed!) The exhibition is free and open to the public. Check out this year’s exhibiting artists.

Big ol' fisheye view of a Flatstock in Austin, TX, photo Jen Soto. (click for more info)

The best concert posters have always captured both the essence of the music they promoted and the spirit of the time in which they were produced. Flatstock provides an ongoing series of opportunities to see fine poster art in person and to meet the artists who created it.

Making SXSW a true music collector’s paradise, don’t forget to set time aside for the Austin Record Convention in the same exhibit hall and the Texas Guitar Show in the adjacent hall.

The legendary Smokey Robinson will visit Flatstock 24 on Thursday afternoon following his keynote address to sell his limited edition prints designed by Shepard Fairey. Swing by to get your one-of-a-kind poster signed by both Smokey and Shepard.

Screenprinted art print of the legendary Smokey Robinson by Shepard Fairey.

The Important Details!

Schedule & Hours:

  • Thursday. 3/18  HOURS from 1:00pm – 6:00pm (includes Smokey Robinson & Shepard Fairey appearances.)
  • Friday. 3/19 and Saturday. 3/20 HOURS: from 10:00am – 6:00pm

Location:
Austin Convention Center Level 1, Exhibit Hall 1, on the Ground Floor.

About the API: The American Poster Institute is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to serving the poster artist community and promoting the art form. The Flatstock shows provide the American Poster Institute with a way to present poster artists collectively while showcasing the breadth of styles they represent.

About SXSW: The first South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) was held in 1987 in Austin, Texas. Despite the fact that Austin was not a Top 20 major market at the time, the background and character of the city made it a perfect location for the conference. SXSW’s original goal was to create an event that would act as a tool for creative people and the companies they work with to develop their careers, to bring together people from a wide area to meet and share ideas. That continues to be the goal today whether it is music, film or the internet. And Austin continues to be the perfect location.

Vintage Japanese Industrial Expo posters


Grand Exposition in Commemoration of the Imperial Coronation – Kyoto, 1928 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

One of my favorite thing about the interwebs is stumbling onto incredible things that I would otherwise never see. Recently I came across the Pink Tentacle’s fantastically beautiful blog post featuring Vintage Japanese posters produced for several different industrial expositions throughout the late 1930’s and into the early 1940’s.

I can’t gush adequately or explain my fascination with propaganda in general, let alone describe the thrill of looking at poster art such as these pieces. They are just stunning. I really love the ways that the themes and imagery run from incredibly dark, heavy serious (much like the word “industry” can conjure such connotations as well) such as the two examples below:

National Defense Science Exposition – Hyogo, 1941 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

The above being especially chilling given that the imagery evokes Japanese-American connection to each other and WWII via Pearl Harbor both in theme and the year of the Japanese National Defense Science  Exposition, 1941.

Japan-Manchuria Industrial Exhibition – Toyama, 1936 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

Or, a much ligher aspect of “industry” can be called forth, as in the Tourism Industry Expo poster seen here, where even a Buck might be enticed into playing tourist:

Tourism Industry Exhibition – Nara, 1933 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

And here is an interesting combination of both heavy, militaristic and mythologically represented industries in the form of a Sea & Air Expo:

Sea and Air Exhibition – Tokyo, 1930 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

Beyond the heavily represented military-based industries & expositions, of which there seem to have been numberous. Check out the poster  for an exhibition for the Second Sino-Japanese War below, which weirdly had only begun the year previous to this Expo’s poster and continued on for another 7 years:

Second Sino-Japanese War Exhibition – Osaka, 1938 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

There were also some really lovely commemorative exposition posters produced for potentially simpler and more peaceful (t0 a degree) endeavors like the new (at that time) Hakata port construction, an international gateway port for centuries in Japan:

Exposition Commemorating the Construction of Hakata Port – Fukuoka, 1936 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

And then finally, there are some posters whose lettering just really catches my eye. No, I read no Japanese and don’t know a thing of Kanji. Even so, I find the idea of reading letters a pretty amazing feat as they rarely formed the same way twice when rendered by hand or in different fonts and lettering style. When you stop & think about it, it’s practically a miracle that humans read really. Case in point, the lettering examples below are so stylized and almost wrought with objects and illustration or have parts of the illustration itself crossing into the formation of the letterforms, that even I can see how non-traditionally styled they are:

Nagoya Pan-Pacific Peace Exposition – Nagoya, 1937 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

The National Products Progress Exhibition – Kagoshima, 1931 (click to see more posters & for more information.)

Above all else, I am in love with the colors, opacity & transparencies and relationships of shapes in all of these posters. They are just phenomenal. Thanks to Pink Tentacle for posting so many and feeding my eyes. To see more posters, visit the always interesting Pink Tentacle blog here or click on any of the images above. And as always, feel free to comment!

Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School opening!

This is one of those stories about when two souls meet and see their counterparts in one another. It really is.
A couple of months ago I was contacted by a lovely woman & fellow artist named Jeanne on Etsy.com (check out her shop Three Paper Pigs here! and her beautiful collage below) who had some questions about a few of my posters.

"Circus Everywhere" by Jeanne of ThreePaperPigs. (Click for more info!)

After conversing back and forth, she placed a rather large order (to my amazement and delight) of posters and told me that she and her partner were opening up a brand new art & music space in Los Gatos, CA, in the greater San Francisco Bay area, in the form of a new guitar school and art studio. I was thrilled and honored that these two artists chose a bunch of my work, from all of the talent they saw on Etsy to help decorate their new endeavor.
At the time, they were still working furiously to completion, but now, it’s all done, ready, and up and running so I’d like to introduce you all to the Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School.
Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School open & ready for you!

Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School open & ready for you!

Jeanne (an artist and designer) and Chris (a musician, ceramicist and guitar teacher) describe their new venture as a true labor of love here on Three Paper Pigs blog:
Chris and I just had our grand opening last weekend and it was truly a blast. We celebrated the opening of Chris Bryant Guitar School and Twin Soul Art Studio in downtown Los Gatos, CA. We had two weeks to prepare the school and studio before the celebration, so you can imagine how busy we were after Christmas until the day of the event on January 10th. I took care of putting up all the wall decals (Dali Decals on Etsy) and my sister helped me design the Twin Soul Art Studio logo as a main focal point for the back wall. I prepared the appetizers for over 100 people and loved how everything came together. My family was a great support and they flew out from Hawaii just for the event. The weather brought sunshine, lots of traffic, happy hearts and awesome music. Chris put together a five-hour playlist of Indie artists – The Decemberists, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Brett Dennen, Tristan Prettyman, Meiko, Joshua Radin, Belle & Sebastian, Matt Costa, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, The Dandy Warhols, We Are Scientists, Bishop Allen, As Tall As Lions and Ben Harper to name a few! And, I was happy to also put up tons of gig posters by the talented and down-to-earth artist Strawberry Luna on Etsy.

Artists an co-creators, Jeanne & Chris.

Yum! And so much natural California light too.

As you can see from their photos for the opening, they’ve created an incredibly positive and warm space to foster creativity on many levels. We here at strawberryluna wish them the best of luck and are so honored to have  such an array of our work gracing the walls of the Twin Souls Art Studio and the Chris Bryant Guitar School.
If you are in the Bay Area in California, please check them out! Get a guitar lesson, or schedule a time for a fantastic hands-on art learning experience. The new Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School is located at:
644 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Suite #9
Los Gatos, CA 95030
40-354-7400

More details for you and websites about this rad couple that you should check out:
Chris Bryant Guitar School – all information about schedules, hours, Chris, the guitar school, directions and more are here.
Three Paper Pigs – Jeane’s line of custom stationary and her super cool collage pieces in mixed media and more.
Three Paper Pigs on Etsy.com – a good selection of Jeanne’s currently available collage pieces are here.
Three Paper Pigs Blog – you know what a blog is! Lots of great stuff to be found there.
Chris Bryant’s pottery can be found here.

Gigposters.com is awesome, and needs your help!

Click on it! Go to Gigposters.com today!

Click on it! Go to Gigposters.com today!

Gigposters.com is just about the best website one the entire internets. I know, I’ve looked at almost every site out there. (No, really…) Not only is Gigposters.com my home away from home, the reason that I do what I do for a living as a rock poster artist, it’s also the most comprehensive and amazing resource for art, design, bands, artists, wise-acres, designers, and people who just love lively conversation and dig art. Straight up.

And, Gigposters.com needs your help. Desperately. With over 107,000 thousand posters currently (and literally growing every day) for over 98,000 bands this incredible website takes a good amount of time and maintenance to keep running smoothly. And that means money honey. So, this is my  personal drive for support and plea for anyone who is already familiar with this kickass site, or to anyone who is perhaps just becoming aware of it now, and sees how rad it it from this link to Gigposters.com here.

If you love posters, screenprinting, design, kittens, bacon, cheese, intelligent wit, music, bands, and love and/or are a currently working designer, artist, or illustrator, this site is for you. Help support one of the most innovative and cool websites that gave every single working poster artist today a chance to grow and shine. We could never have done it without Gigposters.com.

Ways to help include becoming a Premium Member (with rad benefits), buying the new and fantastic Gigposters Book Vol. 1 (complete with exclusive prints by the wonderful Jay Ryan), buying merch or making a donation, no matter how small.

Look! I made it easy for you!  

This might be the coolest book ever.

This might be the coolest book ever.

Jay Ryan exclusive Gig Posters Book print 1

Jay Ryan exclusive GP Book print 2

Jay Ryan exclusive Gig Posters Book print 2

Jay Ryan exclusive Gig Posters Book print 3

And tons of other really cool and fun stuff, like colorings book with illustrations by over 40 underground artists, (Vol. 2 pictured below) 3 delicious volumes of playing cards with a different gig poster designer doing art for each card (also pictured below), a pin up calendar (hubba hubba!), t-shirts, hats, hoodies,  mouse pads and more.

Gigposters.com Coloring book Vol. 2 (Vol. 1 is also still available.)

Gigposter.com exclusive Card Deck # 3, uncut sheet art.

Gigposters.com exclusive Card Deck # 3, uncut sheet art.

And so much more. Please visit Gigposters.com today and check out the super cool Merch section, and consider making a donation to this amazing, excellent and vibrant website that supports SO much of the art and design you love. Feel free to pass this information along or post to your own blog. Every bit helps!

Venus Magazine interview; Spotlight on women in rock posters

Miss Amy Jo

Miss Amy Jo's take on poster art & artists. (Click for a larer view.)

So, wow. When the extremely rad, Chicago-based Venus Magazine contacted me at the end of the winter about doing a feature on women in the rock poster scene, I was floored. But, also, in true strawberryluna fashion, pretty sure that not a whole lot would come of it. I mean, come on, Venus is a great magazine dedicated to women, art, music, culture and the places where they collide. It seemed too cool to be true.

Well, I was wrong. Happily. After talking on the phone with Christine Bejasa for about 45 minutes one very grey, dreary and cold Pittsburgh afternoon, I was pretty excited. And now, I can share my stokage.

Some things that I said about posters...

Some things that I said about posters...(Click for a larer view.)

Profiling Miss Amy Jo of Minneapolis, Judge from Chicago, and myself, strawberryluna, straight outta Pittsburgh, the article was a fun read and definitely sheds some light on not only what’s it’s like being a working rock poster artist, but in being part of a larger world of printmakers, illustrators and designers making a go of this weird life. For larger and easier to read images head over to my Flickr site here!

Th art & words of poster artist, Judge.

Th art & words of poster artist, Judge. (Click for a larer view.)

The article is on news stands now, in the summer 2009 issue of Venus Magazine. If you like it, and dig the issue, consider a subscription. I promise, this magazine never fails to be rad.

Thank you Venus Magazine! Keep rockin’ the awesome!

Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century, new book!

It has finally arrived!

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Freshly published and totally incredible. I’m so proud to be a part of this rad book, as is taken from the imaginations of, and containing the work and words of 101 working, contemporary and kickass rock poster artists from around the globe. All compiled into a nifty book format. Just for you! Each poster artist talks about their work, influences and process as well as providing a full page format, perforated page tear-out poster. It’s a lot of awesome, and not just because I’m in it. In fact, I would venture to say despite the fact that I’m in this book.

Published just this May, you can now find this fantastic book at booksellers everywhere. Or, you can order a copy from the following websites:

Directly from me, at my website here, NOTE: personalized and autographed by me, just for you, with a bonus set of stickers, over 15 designs in all.

Directly from the author at Gigposters.com here. NOTE: BONUS ART PRINTS (While Supplies Last!!):
Order now from GigPosters.com and receive an exclusive limited edition screenprinted art print by Jay Ryan! Jay has created 3 different 10″x13″ art prints for the book release. The first 900 orders get free art prints! (300 of each) *Order the 3-pack to assure you get one of each art print!*

Directly from the publisher, at Quirk Books here.

Directly from the publisher, at Chronicle Books here.

Publisher’s description: 11×14 inches, paperback, 208 pages.

Since 2001 Gigposters.com has been the Internet’s first and best resource for rock-show poster art; their massive online database showcases more than 90 000 posters from 7 000 different designers including all of today’s top poster studios. Gig Posters Volume I highlights the 700+ best examples in their collection including 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters for bands such as Radiohead Wilco the Decemberists the Shins Arcade Fire Sleater-Kinney and TONS more. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and one hell of a cheap way to decorate a dorm room or apartment). Author Clay Hayes is the founder and proprietor of Gigposters.com. He lives in Alberta, Canada.

Designers included in Volume I:

3d Glasses, Adam Turman, Aesthetic Apparatus, Alan Forbes, Allen Jaeger, Amy Jo, Andrio Abero, Andy Vastagh, Beyond The Pale, Billy Perkins, Bobby Dixon, Bongout, Brad Klausen, Brian Ewing, Budai, Burlesque of North America, Casey Burns, Cricket Press, Crosshair, Dale Flattum, Dan Grzeca, Dan McCarthy, Dan Stiles, Daniel Danger, Delicious, Denny Schmickle, Diana Sudyka, Dirk Fowler, Drew Millward, Drowning Creek Studio, DWITT, Eleanor Grosch, Emek, Engine House 13, FarmBarn Art Co., Firehouse, Furturtle Printworks, Gary Houston, Gregg Gordon, Guy Burwell, Hero Design Studio, Invisible Creature, Ironforgepress, James Rheem Davis, Jamie Ward, Jared Connor, Jason Goad, Jay Ryan, Jay Vollmar, Jeph, Jermaine Rogers, Joanna Wecht, Johnny Crap, Jon Smith, Josh Rickun, Judge, Justin Hampton, Justin Kamerer, Largemammal Print, Leia Bell, Lil Tuffy, Little Jacket, Lonny Hurley, Lonny Unitus, Luke Drozd, Lure Design, Malleus, Mark Pedini, Mat Daly, Methane Studios, Micah Smith, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Mig Kokinda, Mike King, Nate Duval, Patent Pending, Powerhouse Factories, Powerslide Design Co., Print Mafia, Rob Jones, Ron Liberti, Ryan Nole, Sasha Barr, Scrojo, Seripop, Squad 19, Stainboy, Steve Walters, strawberryluna, Tanxxx, Tara McPherson, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, The Heads Of State, The Little Friends Of Printmaking, The Small Stakes, Thomas Scott, Tim Gough, Todd Slater, Vahalla Studios, Zach Hobbs, Zeloot

Thoughful oversized, yet lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book.

Thoughful oversized, yet conveniently lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book by Clay Hayes.

Thank you Austin Texas!

Man, whew! I’m beyond tired. We had such a great time at this year’s SXSW Music Festival and Flatstock Poster Convention in good ol’ Austin, Texas.

Lots and lots to tell, but overall the show was really successful. I feel like we all got to talk to a lot of new folks, see some happily familiar faces and once again get people jazzed about posters and music and the art in between them. Such a great feeling. Especially since the Flatstock show was 4 days long this year, up from the former 3-day event.

Dan, from Crosshair Press, photo by Mary Sledd

Dan, cool cat from Crosshair, photo by Mary Sledd

The Austin Chronicle’s Audra Schroeder wrote up a very nice piece about Flatstock and it’s tradition with SXSW here with some super photographs accompanying the article by Mary Sledd, above and below.

Me, strawberryluna, doin my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Me, strawberryluna, doin' my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Flatstock is a really crazy mix of super hard work and high-energy talking, particularly the SXSW version and then…so much fun. We bunked up with our best pals from Hero Design Studio, as per usual, and the laughs seriously never stop. Just when you think it’s bedtime and you can’t take any more? BOOM. The North American Free Trade Agreement becomes the funniest thing to happen all week.

Studios we adored hanging out with afterhours and that you should check out: Mike Budai, Delicious Design League, Design Medicine, Doublenaut, DWITT, Hero Design Studio, Largemammal, Brian MercerMiss Amy Jo, Popfuel, and good ol’ Dan Stiles,

Places we ate, and so should you when in the Austin area: Juan in A Million, The Salt Lick, Rudy’s BBQ, Mama Fu’s (they delivered to us in the Convention Center, thank you forever!)

We loved Austin so much that we made a very special stop at Cavender’s Boot City in Austin (with the world’s loudest women’s rest room EVER) on the way to taking our good friends, the Doublenauts to the airport on our last full day in town. Check out the boots that I could not pass up.

Takin a little bit of Texas home with me.

Takin' a little bit of Texas home with me.

Hope to see you all next year!

Flatstock, Part 1 The What Whats.

Part of my booth at Flatstock, SXSW in Austin, TX 2008

Part of my booth at Flatstock, SXSW in Austin, TX 2008, photo courtesy of Hero Design Studio

Sooooo, if you are a keen reader of this blog, you’ll notice that it’s been a few days since I’ve written a new post. Apologies about that. It’s not for lack of work or a spate of boredom though, trust me. This time of year, usually starting in mid-February right after the winter lulls, is what I like to call the “Pre-Flatstock Craze”. Just as new work starts rolling in as bands begin tour season, I’m starting to get ready for SXSW Flatstock by printing tons of new work, pulling, packing (safely! fingers crossed. yipe.) and shipping years worth of work down to Austin ahead of me. What is Flatstock you ask? Ahh yes. Let’s talk about that shall we?

Flatstock is an ongoing series of poster shows and events that happen at different music festivals throughout the year, starting with SXSW in Austin, TX In March, then during the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Il in July, followed by Seattle, WA over Labor Day weekend during Bumbershoot, and then in September in Hamburg, Germany. Flatstock is part convention, part exhibition, part show, and a lot of tell where the top currently working poster artists from all over the world converge to show and talk about their work. All of the poster artists and studios involved in a Flatstock show are members of the the American Poster Institute (API), which helps produce Flatstocks, but is also a guild of sorts for the gigposter art industry.

Look for more Flatstock info coming over the next month. If you are in Austin or heading down to SXSW, come by Flatstock and say hello to your favorite poster artists! We don’t bite, unless you have a tasty breakfast burrito, that is.

Flatstock Schedule:

  • Thursday March 19 from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm.
  • Friday March 20 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
  • Saturday March 21 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
  • Sunday March 22 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Here is a list of exhibitors who will be selling their posters, prints, and talking with folks like you!

And here is a floorplan layout to help you find your must-see studios.

Flatstock in Austin, TX
Rows of rock’n’Roll goodness at Flatstock in Austin, TX