I didn’t think we would get a card together this year. Mary had this idea at the last minute and got us all organized to knock it out one evening. If you’re a child of the 1970s, or even close, you may remember the thumbprint books from Ed Emberley. See below.
This post is starting with a photo of the finished product. I’ve been lugging around a pair of Bose 901 Series IV speakers I got from a neighbor for more years than I care to admit. The cabinets are solid wood and are in great condition. But this “high tech” for-its-time speaker had problems. The primary one being that it holds nine (!) small speakers and every one, in both cabinets, 18 (!), has a foam “surround” connected to the speaker cone that had decayed over the years. There are kits available to restore these, but I decided to go for a modern upgrade instead. Vintage Bose fans will hate this. Most audiophiles, which I am definitely not, don’t consider these to be great sounding or “accurate” so I had no guilt about cutting them up.
I already had a Sonos Play 5 I and love it. I also love the funky retro-modern look of the Bose 901, especially when paired with a chrome speaker stand. The Bose cabinet is plenty big to hold a Play 5. By putting them together I got the look I want and great Sonos functionality. Plus, no speakers wires necessary! Just plug it in to a close electrical outlet and you’re good to go.
They may appear similar, but there is a difference. Being a perfectionist/uptight/anal retentive even “conscientious”, particularly with regard to things that are not life-changing or life-threatening, causes internal stress and anxiety. Being disciplined reduces stress and anxiety. I often confuse the two.
Check out this short video where SAXX Apparel founder Trent Kitsch explains how he got free national TV coverage by throwing a pair of boxers to Richard Branson at a live MTV event. As interviewer Andrew Warner, “How far would you go to get promotion for your company?”
Bye bye Mr. President. I hardly got know you. POTUS Obama and posse left just in time for him to deliver a eulogy at the memorial service for the 29 men that died in the coal mining accident earlier this month in West Virginia.
Those drivers really put the “motor” in motorcade. Hammer down through my neighborhood. My house is just a few doors down from this intersection. Once they started closing streets everyone figured they were about to depart. It turned into a regular block party. My (favorite) neighbor, who will remain nameless walked back to her house and mixed up some mimosas for the adults and lemonade for kiddos. Here’s to you President Obama. Don’t be a stranger.
P.S. Thumbs up for the Asheville Police Department, at least the guys at this intersection. They were, very, serious when it was called for, but the rest of the time they were chatting with the crowd and giving out various APD trinkets to the all the kids.
We interrupt Tracy’s regularly scheduled broadcast of Beastie Boys and KISS to bring you something for the ladies — the single ladies, to be more precise. I really dig this cover of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” even though I’m not the biggest fan of the original. The singer Nataly has a great voice and Jack is amusingly manic. The part that really does it for me is that it’s got a very nice DIY feel. They characterize their productions as VideoSongs because their are no hidden sounds. They show you every sound that makes it into the mix whether it’s a splash cymbal, a kiddie xylophone, or a puppet on a bass drum. Speaking of which, the puppet gets some good screen time on this cover of “September” originally done by Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Eleven year old (almost 12) renaissance man Mars Sigler has embraced a new medium: handmade monster toys. He is calling this product line “Monster Buddies.” The fellow pictured here is named “Marky” and he is the second original, sounds better than “number two,” in a series Master Sigler has dubbed “Locker Buddies.” Toys in the “Locker Buddy” line are small enough to fit into a school locker.
Mars learned his pattern making and sewing skills from his mother, but the creative concepts are all his. Always innovative, Mars opted with “Marky” to put the seams on display, essentially turning the toy inside out, even though the fabric isn’t. The light blue element below the simple line mouth is actually fabric drool.
In an interview today Mars revealed that he intends to produce more “Monster Buddies” and begin selling them in various outlets in the near future. Master Sigler said at this time he has no plans to sell the first two “Monster Buddy” creations.
“I want to tell everybody a true story.” — Gogol Bordello
Here is how we made this first run of Jackpot Pillows. If there’s anything else you want to know just leave your questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer. Or maybe someone else will.
I was brainstorming ideas for triplet pillows and the somewhat obvious slot machine motif came to mind. We were tired of trying to get screenprinting to work for us on some other projects and planned to test digitally printed textiles. The long hunt began for just the right style of art.
Artwork
I found these killer vintage-style slot machine icon illustrations by Roy Konitzer at iStockPhoto. He also has a site at GiantRobot.com. Then I paid for the license that would allow us to use this artwork for commercial purposes. You can read all the gory details about the various licensing fees at iStockPhoto.com, but the bottom line is we paid roughly $80 for enough “credits” to do this and we had a few left over. Of course there are plenty of other sources for art, some free, if you are not going to create it yourself. Vecteezy.com is one such site.
I’m not an illustrator, and I had a very specific vision for these pillows. So, I looked for what I needed and Roy’s illustrations were exactly what I had imagined.
Manipulating the Image Colors in Illustrator
That said, they were multi-colored as you would expect and I wanted something monochrome. Our plan was to make the pillows available in four different colors: red, blue, green, brown. I wanted the images to be monochrome to tone things down a bit and make it easier to coordinate the pillows with the rest of whatever space they would be in. I took the illustrations into Illustrator where I used Live Color to convert all the colors to shades and tints of blues, reds, etc. Not as easy as it sounds, but after much tweaking and experimentation I achieved the desired colors.
Digitally Printed Textiles
This is a very cool technology with few of the limitations of tradition printing, but it’s not cheap. You can even print photographic images on fabrics, or “grounds,” such as cotton twills, sateens, etc. Also interesting is that pattern repeats can be as large as you want, at least in theory. In traditional printing the repeat can’t be longer than the circumference of the printing drum.
I contacted numerous companies that print custom fabric and found that most of them are not that interested in our business, for whatever reason. Sourcing is always painful, but I finally came across a couple companies that were very responsive and helpful. We did test prints of the Jackpot Pillow prints and decided we got the best color and customer service from Digital Textiles Northwest. Their web site may not have a lot of info, but trust me, they will do whatever it takes to get you exactly what you want.
Expect to pay in the vicinity of $40 per yard of printed fabric. It really depends on the ground fabric you choose and of course the company doing the printing. Prices vary widely. Look around.
Pillow Forms: The Search Continues…
What a hassle this has been. First we found someone (nearby!) that offered a green pillow that used a “biopolymer” with the brand name Ingeo. The sample we got looked and felt great. We (Mary) started making the pillow covers based on its size. Then, to make a long story short this product suddenly became unavailable, and we couldn’t find another supplier that had it. Eventually, pragmatism reared its head and we decided to use a typical polyfill pillow insert, or form. We’re still looking into sourcing a really green insert and have a couple leads for Ingeo and Kapok inserts. Freddy&Ma use kapok pillow forms from White Lotus. The Freddy&Ma pillow I have is very well made but the insert is a little too flat for my tastes, even for a “decorative” pillow.
As far as sizes and the order of production, my advice is to not produce the cases until you have an inventory of inserts or at least a very reliable, consistent source. If you can find the Ingeo pillow forms they will probably be close to $4 each in some reasonable quantity. We have no direct purchasing experience with kapok goods. From the companies I have talked to I would expect more Ingeo goods to be available from more sources soon.
Woven Labels
Another sourcing challenge when you are getting started. We looked at a lot of companies and went with Cruz Label. They were pretty responsive and helpful, and the final product was accurate and high quality. They send a proof or test to be approved before they manufacture the real deal. So, it takes a while, but you’ll get what you want. They’re on the west coast; we’re on the east coast. Ideally we will eventually be able to find someone closer to us.
A basic label is not that expensive, maybe $.25 each, but you’ll probably have to buy at least 500.
Production and Assembly
We assembled these Jackpot Pillows so that with every jackpot set the three other sides will all be different. Our intent is that people can choose the color, and jackpot triple they want, and we will provide non-matching flipsides for more variety. Mary decided that since the inserts are also washable that we should eschew using zippers. Instead, she hand stitches each pillow closed after inserting the pillow form.
Next time you jump on the couch will you land on a jackpot? That’s up to the last player of the couch slot machine.
The Brain Surgery Experience
Want to know what it's like to have brain surgery? Well here's the long version of my experience. Complete with pictures and videos! Read all about the Brain Surgery Experience.
