Frantic Meerkat and Mincing Mockingbird at Unique LA

I know we went got into Unique LA for the holiday show, but we were still holding our breath to see if we were accepted into the spring show May 2 & 3. The acceptance email arrived at 6:50 p.m., and of course, both Mincy and I had been checking our email every five minutes since 9 a.m. (Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration since I did go to work and all, but it was still a lot).

Anyway, Unique Los Angeles is an awesome indie craft show in downtown LA at the California Market Center. They're having 250 vendors and sponsors include Etsy, Pabst, Izze, LA Weekly, among others. The holiday show was our last one of the season, so we were a bit worn out by then, but this is the first craft show we've done since then and we're ready to go and show off all our new cards, magnets and prints. So if you're withing driving distance of LA, stop in and see how much creativity LA has to offer. Click here to get details.

You Got Great Legs

I've been very lax in the blog-updating department. I did manage to create one new card amidst all the National Stationery Show planning. The perfect penguin pick-up line.

Vote for my Outlaw Lovebirds!

I just got word from Katie at Etsy that my Outlaw Lovebirds print is included in their April Fools Pranks & Gags contest. Here's the scoop, Etsy collects 60 items and the ones to receive the top votes will be featured in the Gift Guides and on the Etsy blog.

So even though you won't get a cool "I voted" sticker, or juice and a cookie like when you donate blood, you will get my undying thanks and the satisfaction of a job well done, so get out there and vote!

You can read the Storque article here and vote here.

National Stationery Show - Full Speed Ahead!

Okay - I know we should have been planning for the National Stationery Show in NYC this May for quite some time now. Some would say we should have started back in 2001. Well, the Frantic Meerkat and Mincing Mockingbird work best under pressure, which is why we had our first "staff meeting" about the show last night.

Oh, we've done the important things like applied, sent in our money, and made plane and hotel reservations, so we can show up and stand in our booth. But planning the booth? Making up line sheets? Ha! Ha! We laugh in the face of line sheets! And after sitting down and figuring out costs, we'd better start doing everything to raise the cash to pay for this endeavor including giving blood and having bake sales (black bird pie, anyone?).

So we sat down and made a big calendar of when things have to be done by and what we have to do. Next up is figuring out what color we want our walls. And what kind of lighting. Luckily Mincy worked as an art director for a special events company, so he knows how to set up temporary spaces and make them look fabulous. I think I'm going to rely on him for a lot of that. Me, on the other hand, I'll be the one designing the price sheets and brochures. Oh yeah, and web sites.

Sigh...now I'm tired.

A New Place to Buy Frantic Meerkat!

I decided to take a stab at expanding my online selling opportunities and opened a shop at Big Cartel. I love Etsy, but it gets pretty expensive selling cards for $3.50, when paypal and etsy both take a cut. Big Cartel is basically just a shopping cart site. They take no cut of your sales, and the cart sends buyers directly to Paypal.

You set up your shop and for $20 a month you can list 100 items. The catch is that YOU have to drive people to your shop. There's no one else promoting your site, and people don't really browse big cartel like they do etsy. I'm planning on linking it to my website www.franticmeerkat.com, but just haven't had time. So I'm not surprised that after a week I still have no sales. Hopefully tonight I'll update the link and will see if I get any additional sales.

Joe Didn't Like School

This is another piece I have the Forty Shades of Green show at Cactus Gallery. Until I held up both pieces side-by-side, I didn't even realize they were both holding a cigarette.

To Hell With The Neighbors

Here is one of the pieces I will have at Cactus Gallery for their Forty Shades of Green show opening this weekend. Mincy and I will be there for the opening Saturday night.

A New Way To Say You're Sorry

A new card in my shop.

Go Green at Cactus Gallery!

Mincing Mockingbird and I will both have pieces at the Forty Shades of Green Show at Cactus Gallery. The opening reception will be Saturday, March 14 from 7-10 p.m. We plan to be there for at least part of the evening, so stop by and see some great art!

"I, Too, Once Keenly Felt The Crushing Monotony Of Existence"

A new painting by The Mincing Mockingbird.

Mincing Mockingbird was cranking out in the studio yesterday. Here are just two of the paintings he finished. This piece is "Laughter Is The Best Medicine, Though Prescriptions Are Not Covered By Your Current Plan".

Mincing Mockingbird in Country Home

About six months ago Country Home magazine contacted the Mincing Mockingbird about using his prints in one of their makeover articles. The current copy on the newsstands finally shows his prints, though, unfortunately they're not terribly prominent. Even so, he had someone email them because they recognized his work. See his blog for his take on the article.

Who Has the Luck o' the Irish?

Imagine my surprise, when clicking an etsy twitter update, to find my drunken monkey St. Patrick's Day card at the end of the article. It's also good to see twoguitars is having a sale (the good luck horseshoes). I met Two Guitars at the San Francisco Bazaar Bizarre craft show when we had the booth next to theirs - a very cool and fun couple.