theology&geometry

Saturday morning at 6, I will rise out of bed like a very large, potentially grumpy phoenix and make my way to Cooper-Young to set up my booth for Cooper-Young Festival. I’ll be in C7, which is over by Cafe Ole on Cooper.

I’ll be selling the same sorts of things that are available in my Etsy shop: photo prints (framed and unframed), quirky art prints, crafty things, note cards, recipe cards, posters, magnets, and opportunities to sign up for custom work. I’ve never sold any of my stuff in person before, nor have I ever manned a craft-fair booth, so this should be all sorts of learning experiences rolled into one. I honestly have no idea what to expect, so I am going to keep the bar nice and low and not expect too much. Just some networking and socializing and people-watching, and hoping people like my stuff at least enough to stop by and take a card. I keep reading online that people don’t buy photos at craft fairs. Uh, or at all, really. But I figure I have to put myself out there and at least try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.

Later this week once I get everything organized, I’ll post a preview of what will be for sale. There will be several things not available in the Etsy shop.

So if you’ll be at C-Y Fest, come say hello!

I have such an addiction to the jewelry Angie makes. I already have a ring I bought from her a couple of years ago, and I have relied on her for more than a few birthday and Christmas gifts for friends. I have lusted after those earrings for months and months now, and then when I saw the yellow butterfly necklace, EVERYTHING GOT BLURRY and before I knew it, I was clicking buttons with wild abandon, and getting this awesome stuff in the mail. PayPal is a dangerous thing.

[Project 365]

They are on South Main, obviously.

[Project 365]

I was so excited to start making and selling magnets made from my photos, until I did a couple of test batches and realized that the glass marbles I bought have lots of bubbles in them. I’m thinking people will see the finished product and think the bubbles are something I neglected to fix when gluing.

So now it’s back to square one. I bought some larger marbles that are a nice, substantial size, but the magnets I am using are just strong enough to hold them to a surface decoratively. There is no way they would be able to hold up anything heavier than a sheet of paper.

So I need some less bubbly marbles and some stronger magnets. I’m having lots of fun doing this stuff but it’s kind of ridiculous for me to be spending all this money when the goal is to make money and pad the ol’ income.

Feh.

Finally, after wanting to do so for a long time and just never really being able to pull the trigger on it, I’ve opened an Etsy shop. Right now there are photo prints available as well as one framed collage-type item, but I’m busting ass to add more things that, hopefully, people will want to buy. Eventually I want to add customizable stationery designs, but that’s going to take some time since the few designs I had started prototyping disappeared in the Great Hard Drive Crash of Aught Ten (Back Up Your Files, Please). Still, I’m excited about the possibilities and having fun figuring out how to set up the shop and price and market stuff (and reading about self-employment taxes, whee!). I’ve got lots of little creative projects kicking around in my head lately and it feels good to be working on things again after a museless (but still really awesome) summer.

So please mosey on over to the shop and have a look. You tried and true Etsy buyers and sellers may have tips for me. I’m all ears. And forehead. But ears too.

Twice now I’ve noticed a yellow tape robot placed somewhere conspicuous in an urban core: Once in Chicago near Millenium Park (left) and once in Portland near Powell’s (right). The Chicago robot, which probably measured a foot or so in length, was spotted around New Year’s Day, 2010, while the Portland robot — much smaller at maybe three inches tall — was spotted just Sunday.

I’ve been Googling and Flickring like mad to try and identify the common thread that would put a yellow tape robot on a sign and on a busy street thousands of miles from one another, but have come up with nothing. Is this a pop culture icon I’m not familiar with? A hip underground tape graffiti collective that’s on the verge of blowing up? Something completely benign? Some snarky way of marking touristy spots? Some completely random coincidence? One person with yellow tape who travels to the same cities as I and marks where he’s been?

I must know.

Instant update: Only thing that comes close that I’ve found is an image in this post. Of course no explanation accompanies it.

Instant update 2.0: A fellow LT directed me to a photo on Flickr and I followed a tag rabbit hole and found this collection of what is apparently known as Stikman. Hot damn, I love the constantly pulsing internet brain. Now to figure out what this little dude means. If anything.

I pulled this video for the song (“The Bunker” by Beirut) but then realized the video is pretty cool too.

I wish I could paint.

I really meant to link to this last week but I have that, you know, brain thing.

Shane‘s awesome papercraft skills + Curt and Chris‘ awesome comic skills + my photos = BEHOLD! Basically the funniest/cutest thing you ever did see.

My pal D salvaged this street art for me. The cat is winking. Tee hee.

[Project 365]

Another fabulous Shane McDermott papercraft project. This one’s in conjunction with the annual advent calendar. I’ll post a link to the online version as soon as it goes live. The calendar is here!

[Project 365]