Howdy!

Some new things we did for Running Rhino. Several new designs, available as die-cut counter cards, boxed notes, and journals.

The Pen Keeps Moving Until The Lights Begin To Dim

When you're sitting in an audience, waiting for an event to begin, it's always good to have a sketchbook at the ready.

SoBlee

Early summer. Might be nice to take the hound for a little walk around SoBlee (south of Bleecker.) But at the moment, New York is thousands of miles away. Luckily it's also quite nice to be right here in Seattle. WaWeBlee -- WAY west of Bleecker.

Rain Or Shine

This is a new design we did for Sunrise's 2009 Father's Day collection. The streaks of rain have a very subtle clear foil detailing. We love doing these "half and half" images (rain/sun-- day/night--summer/winter, etc.) especially when there's a strong central image to tie the two halves together.

Dino Flannel

Just got samples of this new fabric we did for Fabric Traditions. It's flannel!

As we worked on this design, I was remembering a visit to the Henry Doorly zoo when I was about five years old. For some strange reason there was a dinosaur theme going on (at the zoo?? Hmm....) Anyway, they had one of those cool machines where you could make your own customized, injection-molded plastic toys. You slide in your money and then choose the shape you want. My brother chose the Triceratops, I chose the Stegosaurus. Then you choose your color. My brother chose grey, I chose that not-found-in-nature, not quite red, not quite fuchsia, cherry Icee color. Which is actually more of a raspberry color than a true cherry color. The injection process left a hole in the base, and so you were supposed to carry the toy upside-down for half an hour--until it dried completely. But of course a five-year-old who wants to play with his Stegosaurus right now and a 90 degree Omaha day was just the right combination to leave a trail of raspberry dots from the monkeys to the lions to the camels...

From The Sky

In the Tang Valley of Bhutan, way up near the Tibetan border, there's a magical little village called Namkha that we were lucky enough to visit one sunny autumn day. Our hike began early that morning in Bumthang Valley's misty village of Nang Lhakhang. Walking through fields of colorful prayer flags, moss-draped cedar trees, and frozen waterfalls, we sang loudly to announce our presence to the curious Himalayan black bears rumored to be sharing the trail that day. By the time we crossed over Pepe-la pass, we had just about run through our repertoire of songs we know by heart. (songs popularized by Blossom Dearie, Dorothy Shay, and Brigitte Fontaine led the pack!) When we got to Namkha, the caretaker of the village temple interupted work in her field of mustard to allow us access. Inside the temple, we were surprised to find a very non-Bhutanese-looking Buddha--with Thai characteristics. It was delightful to learn that the word "Namkha" means "it fell from the sky." Cool! How else would an ornate Thai Buddha find its way to central Bhutan 50 years ago?

A Flocking Of Happy Birds

This is a brand new addition to our Sunrise Elliott Bay line. Sunrise has been able to add some really interesting processes lately-- all the white areas on this design are flocked! Very dimensional and tactile.

Tattoo For Joann

Received samples (many yards!) of this fabric we designed for Fabric Traditions. We love this design-- the printing looks as good on fabric as it did on catalog covers! This fabric should be available at Joann stores pretty soon...

Animals Love The Holidays

We've designed a series of 12 happy (holiday-themed) animal designs. (Peaceful penguins, celebrating squirrels, rejoicing roosters...) Here are some of those designs -- a portion of Running Rhino's brand new 2009 holiday line. If you're at the Stationery Show in New York next month, be sure to check 'em out...

We Love Letterpress

Here's one of the designs we've done for Sunrise's new line of Premium cards. We love the thickness of the paper stock. And the toothy texture. The super-deep embossing really gives the feel of real letterpress. And, oh, did we mention one of our designs from this series has been nominated for a Louie award??

Also Came Across...

...this drawing of some much-loved steps in the heart of Seattle's Pike Place Market. This drawing was done during the time that we were both lucky enough to be taking classes (drawing, painting, and design) from this guy. (And, hey, come to think of it... this drawing was also included in a coloring book!)

Happy Graduation, Mom

Just got a big box of samples from the folks at Sunrise Greetings. Some nice cards we designed for Graduation and Mother's Day. Especially like how this Mother's Day design turned out. There's a very, very subtle clear foil on the white flowers. It provides a surprising contrast to the quiet chalky background colors. This new collection should be hitting the shelves soon.