#might sell a small set of stickers???

[kingdomsaurushearts]

Friends.

It’s Spoopy Time.

[ebonytails]

GOT ACCEPTED INTO A LOCAL CON.. BABY'S FIRST ART MARKET

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst

One of the great unknowns about the 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst is exactly how many cars were built. Estimates put the total as low as 485, and as high as 502 cars. Regardless of what the figure actually is, the car itself is a pretty special piece of machinery.

The 300 Hurst is a giant of a car at 19′ in length. All of the Hursts rolled off the production line finished in Spinnaker White. The cars were then shipped to the Hurst factory in Warminster, Pennsylvania, where a substantial transformation was performed. The first change to be made was the removal of the standard Chrysler steel hood skin, which was replaced with a fiberglass unit. This featured a decorative hood scoop and the obligatory set of recessed hood locks. The deck lid was also removed, and once again, a fiberglass replacement, complete with a spoiler integrated with the rear quarter panels, was also installed. The White paintwork was complimented by the addition of Satin Tan highlights and contrasting pinstripes, and the wheels were adorned with the same Satin Tan color in the centers. This Hurst is a clean car, with a small area of rust visible in the lower section of the driver’s side front fender, and surface corrosion present on the car’s underside. The Spinnaker White paint appears to be in good condition, but there has been some deterioration of the Satin Tan paint on both the hood and the deck lid. The exterior trim and chrome all look good, while the tinted glass is close to perfect.

The 300 Hurst was a premium car at a premium price, so naturally, it required a premium interior. In this case, seat upholstery was available in a single type and color. Continuing the exterior theme, the color is Saddle Tan, and the material is leather. The plush front seats are not standard 300 items but have been pilfered from the Imperial parts bin. While the original intention was for a Hurst shifter to be part of the interior features, this is something that never eventuated. The interior of this Hurst is close to perfect, with a single discolored spot on the dash pad being the most obvious fault. The rest of it presents in virtually as-new condition, and as befits a luxury car, it is loaded with luxury touches. These include air conditioning, power windows, six-way power seats, cruise control, a remote trunk release, and I think that there also might be an 8-track player hanging under the dash.

The 300 Hurst was the biggest of the muscle cars, and as such, it needed a big motor to get it moving. In this case, it is the TNT 440 engine, pumping out 375hp. The Hurst also features a 727 TorqueFlite transmission, a 3.23 rear end, power steering, power brakes, heavy-duty rear springs and front torsion bars, and sway bars. The exhaust was a full dual system, ending in quad tips. This Hurst hasn’t seen a lot of recent use, and documentation confirms that between 1986 and 2019, it managed to accumulate a grand total of 20 miles! Since being removed from its climate-controlled storage, it has undergone a meticulous mechanical check and recommissioning, and it is now said to run and drive perfectly. The owner does suggest that while the tires look good, they are pretty olds, and replacing them might be a good idea. He also says that the Hurst may need mufflers fairly soon. The car does come with a fair collection of documentation, including the original Build Sheet and Window Sticker, a pristine Certi-Card, Owner’s Manual, as well as dealer paperwork and other assorted items.

While there has always been some question surrounding the build totals for the 1970 300 Hurst, one thing is certain, and that is that there are less than 300 cars in existence today. Pristine examples can fetch sums in excess of $30,000, and even a rough example in need of restoration can still sell for anywhere around $13,000. This one doesn’t need a major restoration, but it does require some cosmetic work. I’m not sure where bidding is eventually going to go with this one, but I would suspect that it will be somewhere around the low to mid $20,000 mark. Even at that price, it probably wouldn’t be a bad buy.

[antisocialxconstruct]

I gotta leave for a concert soon but I've been buying thinking a lot about "blind box" collectibles lately and it got me onto an Idea™ I think could be fun... I want to do a bunch of little bespoke i-dog/i-cat designs to get made as stickers and maybe also small keychains, and they would each be different colors/patterns (some that were actually made and some that are just original and fun). Then I could sell "blind bag" sets where you get like three or five or so but it's a surprise which ones specifically. I might make some a little fancier (more elaborate patterns, holo finish or raised foil details, etc) and more rare, but you'd always be guaranteed to get at least one that's not just a plain color 🤔 and maybe if you don't want to play the gacha game and really just want the full collection I can sell that too for a higher flat fee lol

[lorbanery]

Privately judging and laughing at every first year event with the nerve to charge vendors $300+

Listen

To all you first-time event coordinators out there

Yes, okay, the vendor fee is, in a literal sense, meant to help pay for the space

BUT

It also a promise to all of your vendors that they will make at least that much money in sales during your event.

No matter what they sell, how niche, how small, how cheap. Whether they're selling $2 stickers of state birds, or fully framed fine art paintings.

Because here's the thing! Vending is a huge investment! Not just financially, but also an investment of time and energy. You have to make/buy stock, loading up their vehicle, traveling, unloading the vehicle, setting up displays and stock and sometimes tables and chairs (oh you better be providing a table and at least 2 chairs for $300), you have be in customer service/salesman mode for anywhere from 3 to 10 hours at a time, if it's a multi-day event depending on the venue you might have to pack up your stuff every night and set it up all over again in the morning, then of course there's the load out and traveling home.

It's a lot! And on top of that there's also just the financial cost of traveling, because even if you're local you still need food and are probably using gas to get to the venue with all your stuff. But if you're traveling from further away there's also tolls and hotel and parking fees!

Vendors just aren't gonna come if they can't be pretty confident that they're going to make those costs back. And $300 is also a lot for the kinds of self-employed, small businesses, individual makers who usually vend at these events!

So if you're charging $300+ you better have a solid idea, an experienced event organizer, a sure customer base, and a KILLER marketing strategy.

Because for a new event? Folks are only gonna give you one chance, and if they don't even break even? Especially if they're communicating with other vendors and hearing that a lot of vendors didn't break even? Not only are THEY not coming back? They're also warning folks in their circles away from your event. 'Cause none of us wants any other small business/maker essentially throwing that much time, energy, and money right down the drain.

[porcupine-girl]

TeePublic: Making changes but WAY more reasonable than RedBubble

RedBubble and TeePublic are owned by the same company, but TP has always operated very differently. When RB originally bought them, I'd actually been hoping that the better parts of both sites would find their way to the other, but that never happened.

The main difference for artists is that TP pays flat fees for items. For example, for classic T-shirts, you get $4 per shirt or $2 if it's bought on sale. For stickers, it's .75/.50. No percentages, nothing you set yourself.

After RB's recent ridiculousness, when I saw an email from TP about changes, I was worried. But it's actually pretty reasonable, if they have to increase fees.

Tiers (but not as bad)

Yes, they are doing tiers like RB. And like RB, they won't give the exact formula or let you pick your tier, BUT the criteria are far better.

The lower "Apprentice" tier, it sounds like, is mostly for accounts that spam them with hundreds of automated designs or that have a normal number of designs but almost no sales. NOT for regular small-to-medium accounts like RB's lower tier.

I have 56 designs that I've slowly added over the past five years or so, and I make maybe $10/month on TeePublic. And I am in the higher "Artisan" tier. I don't know what might get me bumped down, like if I don't sell anything for a few months in a row or something, but for now I'm good.

So if you're a small-to-medium artist with a couple dozen designs who sells a few items a month, there's a good chance you'll be Artisan tier.

Fee changes (but also not as bad)

As for the fee changes, they're more reasonable, too. For Artisan accounts (which, remember, little ol' me qualified as) they're just standardizing the artist cut to $4 ($2 on sale) for all apparel and home items. Which means for the most popular items, like the classic tee, there's no change! The biggest cut here is on hoodies, which will drop from $8 to $4. Which sucks, but I've only sold a handful of hoodies in several years so it's not a huge hit. Most other cuts are just going from $5 to $4.

For Apprentice tier accounts, apparel and home items will be $3 ($1 on sale). Which is more of a cut, since nearly all of them were at least $4 before, but it's definitely better than RB's 40% fee, and seems unlikely to hit most regular artist accounts.

There's also the fact that while RB closed my account with no warning or explanation and ignored my appeal, TP has done no such thing. As a fanartist I've also had far fewer DMCAs on TP, probably because it's less popular than RB so companies aren't monitoring as closely.

So anyhow, if you're a RedBubble refugee you might want to check out TeePublic! I'm in the process of uploading whatever designs I had on RB that I hadn't put there already. It definitely has downsides (the search is absolutely awful), and again it's owned by the same company, but for the moment it's staying more artist-friendly than RedBubble apparently.

(If you already have a TP account, it might be helpful to mention in the notes which tier you're in [it should say in the email you got] and how big you are, so others can gauge what's likely to happen to them. I'm curious to see if anyone around the same size as me got bumped down to Apprentice.)

[isadollie]

Heya! I’d be curious to get a matchup? If you’ve got time! Many thanks in advance! 💜

Fandom: Obey Me

Name: Walker

Pronouns: he/they

Sexuality/preference: demisexual, boy please

Likes: coffee, cats, Halloween, metal music, documentaries, scary movies, cryptids

Dislikes: crowded places, early mornings, sour foods/drinks, loud noises (except music)

Free time: video games, baking, drawing, working out, journaling

Aesthetic: dreamcore/liminalcore and Halloweencore are my favorites! (Warning: if you look them up, liminalcore and dreamcore can make people with dissociative issues feel weird, so be careful if that’s something you deal with!)

Appearance: averagely built trans guy, sorta messy brown hair, green eyes, the sun is not my friend (ie: pale!), a few black-ink tattoos on my arms/chest, small ear gauges, glasses

Personality: Quiet and maybe a little shy at first, but chill and easygoing once I’m used to someone. Kind of protective ‘older brother’ vibes, very responsible but not overbearing - I am there for support but won’t be pushy about it. I laugh easily and love jokes/puns, can be very playful once super comfortable with someone. Love casual touch but unlikely to initiate it, not a fan of clinging, but happy to be used as a pillow.

MBTI: INFJ

Dream bday present: probably some mix of practical and fun. Something I need at the time (small appliance, clothing, whatever I’m needing to more efficiently exist) along with something ultimately useless but enjoyable (cryptid stuff, plushies, stickers, etc)

Love Language: I show love by gift giving and acts of service. I like receiving acts of service and words of affirmation.

Zodiac: Libra!

Songs: “Be Gay, Do Drugs, Hail Satan” by Super Cassette || “Antipop” by gürl/Onlyfriend || “Barbie & Ken” by Scene Queen/Set It Off || “Father” by The Front Bottoms

Again, thank you so much! Have a wonderful day!

— matchup —

if you'd want a matchup too, make sure to check out this! link

also, a quick reminder that requests for headcannons and/or scenarios are open!! please go check it out!!

i match you with...

Mammon!

★ i have a feeling that Mammon would be the absolute king of halloween. he'd love to scare people, dress up, go trick or treating (even though beel would end up eating all the candy anyway)

★ oh he'd love your tattoos, 100%. would love to look at them, ask their meanings and details, trace them with his fingers

★ Mammon is super scared of all kinds of horror movies (which is funny cause he's a literal demon), but he will act like he's not. "The Great Mammon scared of some movie? Don't make me laugh!" but then he'll cover his eyes throughout the whole movie. will still agree whenever you ask him to watch it with you lol

★ your love language is gift giving? say no more. he's into that lmao

we all know him as an avatar of greed, who only ever wants to sell whatever will bring the most money. he could sell literally anything, but not a present you gave to him. he cherishes those way too much

★ he'd love to watch you getting more comfortable with him, especially if he sees that you get along with him better than with his brothers. such an ego boost lol

★ will laugh at all your jokes, sending a glare to anyone who, in his opinion, isn't showing enough interest. will definitely complain about them later. Levi only smiled instead of laughing out loud? "When i tell you, this man has NO sense of humor-"

★ he loves to see you being an "older brother" who's protective towards others. mostly because he think he's like this too.. or at least he also wants to be seen this way. my man just wants his demon brothers to appreciate him for once:(

★ one of the reasons why i chose Mams for you, is because of your dream bday present! i imagine he'll make a list of things that he knows you might need, and another list of things you two could do together. so in the end, your birthday becomes a whole day of receiving different things you needed, with doing a lot of fun things in between

your second match was levi btw! hope you like it:)

[phayz]

pleeease keep talking about toys...i think this is interesting and smth i've never thought too hard about but it makes sense and i like to hear your opinions on modern toys

(ask pertaining to this post)

holy shit okay !! i would love to ramble on so, i shall!

okay im no expert on toy sales history, this is all just observation from my life experiences and i'll try to keep each part i want to go over relatively short!

that being said lets start with a small one that i've personally noticed as a canadian: Kinder egg toys! i remember when they used to come with like 4-8+ pieces, and you needed the included step by step manual to assemble them. they would often come with sticker sheets to decorate them with, and they would often be articulated or be set on wheels or have some sort of fun or movement or general functionality to them:

dont those look awesome? wrapped in 2 kinds of chocolate, and for only like 2$! i remember they would come in all shapes and sizes, all sorts of animals and vehicles and sometimes freaky little abominations, as you can see above, and sometimes even puzzles! they were such a special treat as a kid.

but kinder eggs now? come with a maximum of like 3 pieces that just snap together (usually the front and back of the toy, and then the platform they stand on). and thats all they mostly are now, stiff toys that stand on platforms wahhooooo yippeee

idk just look at the quality difference from the old ones above compared to some of the new ones:

like..... these are..... nothing! literally nothing. just a figure snapped to a pole/platform and thats it! not very interesting for more than 3 minutes max.

now i know what you're thinking: "not ALL of the old kinder toys had to have been bangers" and you'd be right, some were lame as hell, but even the lame ones from before look more intricate than the ones we have now, like can you see what i mean, just detail-wise?

it just feels so cheap and shitty, i could go on and on but more is explained later. point is, it sucks.

anyway that's a very small example and we can move onto bigger and better ones, and maybe even one that everyone else might have noticed by now; McDonald's toys! remember when they were actually toys?

and not just stiff figurines?

(the minions franchise was like CRACK for companies who love making profit off of nothing but stiff rounded plastic. probably the cheapest form of "toy" i can think of)

and yeah, again, its not like there werent figurines back in the day too, there's ALWAYS been lame as hell mcdonalds toys, but looking among many modern mcdonalds toys, you dont see anything as cool as the old ones. literally every major modern movie/franchise right now is nothing but figurines. the most recent actually interactive mcd's toy ive seen is when they collabed with hasbro games

again, companies just seem to be pumping out quantities over quality.

but why?

well, for starters toys are becoming cheaper (both in price and quality) because prices have sky rocketed and stores are forced to only stock cheaper things, therefore the cheap things sell the most, and then more of them get made, and statistics get fucked, etc etc the cycle repeats.

but toy companies know one thing, and that's that things that are "cuter" always sell more. "cuter" being used with vitriol because their idea of 'cute' is 'more glitter and sparkles and rainbow colours and obnoxiousness' oh, and dont forget the huge soulless bug eyes on all of them!

i know that people love these things, but theyre so..... uncanny. their stare is piercing, their stance is so stiff, i always felt bad actually playing with the only one of these i had growing up, and not just because it freaked me out, it just genuinely didnt feel good to play with.

and i knoowwwww people are obsessed with these things, but come on, you have to admit theyre SO unoriginal! theyre just cookie cutter shapes!

these things are horrifying and, at best, belong on a shelf.

these "beany boos" are so woobified and almost feel like a flanderized version of a stuffed animal, and they've completely taken over "beanie babies", which were wonderful soft little things that actually had movement and weren't stiff to cuddle! I also feel like they're almost trying to copy what webkinz was, in a way, as some of those were stiff too (but still loveable and not burdened with an uncanny, vacant stare)

anyway this is getting insanely long and im sorry but i feel like im going insane every time i see new toys nowadays. the like.... "cuteification" of everything is driving me insane, and the fact that they are simply just lower quality than what we used to get, because of prices rising and causing easy-to-make things to become more and more popular.

examples to further prove these points:

extreme woobifying or "cuteification" by almost completely removing all horse anatomy in favour of thin limbs, heavy makeup eyes that are now on the front of her face, and modern influencer eyebrows. on a horse.

and the extreme-simplifying of toys can be seen quite well on those mini polly pocket sets!! see this one here?

almost allllll of those little plastic things could be rotated or rearranged or moved or fucked with in some manner, it was awesome. i loved these miniature houses they always came with so much shit. wanna guess what the newer ones look like?

you guessed it, like shit!!

man even beyblades used to come with like, all sorts of different pieces both metal and plastic alike, and you had to assemble them yourself and you could interchange pieces to obtain a different weight which would affect your attacks against other beyblades, etc etc:

and looking at them now? they seem to be mostly made of- yep, you guessed it, hard cheap plastic.

anyway holy shit i literally reached the 30 image limit on a single post tumblr really said thats ENOUGH !! i cant believe i just spent that long talking about the worlds most pointless thing but at any rate i hope you enjoyed it and i hope you see my vision. because like i said im not insanely knowledgeable on any of this in particular, but its hard not to notice the decline in quality of all of todays modern toys.

[candiirabbitart]

I think its so cool that you have your work in so many stores! Do you have any tips on how to get art into a local storefront? I've been wanting to do it and cold called two businesses once, one straight up said no and the other seemed interested until I gave my pricing (maybe it was too high? idk). I have keychains and stickers that would go well in game shops I feel like

Thank you so much! I am actually quite lucky to live in an area where there are many opportunities for independent artists like myself.

I actually have been rejected by a few places, and I tried contacting a store with their applications open THREE times and never got a response, and even tried my local manga shop that sells a variety of anime and japanese culture goods but they said they currently had no intentions of working with local artists. So you're not at all alone!

There are SO MANY places nowadays that are open to artists. Small business, bookstores, coffee shops, cafes, comic/manga/game stores, nerdy stores, artist collectives, markets, conventions, galleries.

Try to get connected with artists in your area, they might know of places and things you've never tried. please make sure you have a portfolio ready to show ANYONE that includes your main focuses and best works. If you're going in person, please bring some of your products to show as examples.

Please make sure you have bio/description of your brand/services ready to go "I am candiirabbit, a self-taught illustrator. Creating cute and whimsical art in a nostalgic retro anime style. Pulling inspiration from rabbits, jfashion, magical girls,  and fairy tales, I make a variety of goods and art that celebrates the magic in life." you want to make sure you use descriptors that encompass your style, products, themes, etc to make it easy for them to understand quickly what you're offering.

Some places will have you rent a space with possible extra commission fees. (e.g. $25/month + 10% fee on sales) Some will go by consignment, which will be you get the majority of your sales, while the store keeps whatever percentage you've agreed on. (e.g. 60/40) Some will buy wholesale, so you will make your money upfront in that purchase, but it might not be as much as other routes, but it is a guaranteed sale.

People recommend AROUND 30-50% your retail price is general wholesale price. This will differ from person to person, you decide. Please make sure you know what your production cost is so that you are not losing money. (e.g. $10 production, $20 wholesale, $30 retail) This helps to make sure you're still making money even through wholesale, especially if you have a lot of expenses in your art business. Please make sure you have a list of wholesale prices ready IF YOU ARE OFFERING WHOLESALE. Generally people will have a minimum purchase for wholesale like $100+.

There is another option if you don't have many places in your area. Some collectives and stores will have artists from out of state or another country mail their goods to them. Usually I find that these places will be VERY strict with quality and theme/aesthetic/styles, so please be aware of that.

Some places will have you creates your own set up and displays. You might even have to package and label your own goods in a professional way. And always remember business cards!

I hope this was helpful, please reach out if I missed something! Good luck and have fun!

[em-dashes]

i gotta think about what's next for suddence.

FIRST: get an ISBN. draft2digital offers free isbns but functionally idk what's the difference between getting it from them and getting my own aside from convenience. i think i do want to try getting my own just to ensure it's mine for real.

SECOND: figure out where d2d prints their books so i can put it in the copyrights page. ideally i would have liked a publisher that prints in canada, but there isn't really one that's as accessible and affordable as d2d.

THIRD: figure out preorder stuff. i already have sticker sheets test-printed and i'm wondering if i should do bookmarks too. they'd be homemade bc i can't justify spending like $100 on a bulk order of 500 bookmarks or whatever but i'd make it as legit as possible. i think i have tassles in the house somewhere...

FOURTH: mini comic! i gotta figure out what to do with it. i emailed a local print company for a quote on a small amount of zines (again i can't justify spending $100 for 50 zines especially since i don't even know if they'll sell). if it's affordable i'd probably get liiiiike 10 copies? 15? it's hard to say. i'd have it print-exclusive for a bit and then have it online eventually. i don't know if i'd make it a preorder gift. maybe a giveaway gift? 🧐

FIFTH: almost forgot but i do want to do a giveaway once i get the physical release all sorted out! i'd probably order like 10 author copies from d2d and give one away with the extra goodies. the rest i want to sell at a local convention!

SIXTH: (this should have been an earlier step) set a physical release date. april or may. gotta do research into preorders. make sure there is enough time to get author copies mailed to me.

in recent news i got some more feedback from my friendos! there are some notes that are like. i KNOW this might be a problem for some readers but also i did do it that way on purpose/there aren't many ways for me to sidestep the issue so i'll bear the criticisms that will come (mostly for pacing in the beginning). the hard part is figuring out if that's reasonable or if i'm just being lazy/defensive. that's the woes of getting feedback. i also added an extra illustration bc in hindsight it makes perfect sense!

i'm getting sleepy now. suddence part 2 is out feb 18th!!

[d3monicas]

Hello! I wasn't sure exactly who to ask this, but I know you've sold your art at some cons so I thought you might be a good person to start with.

I want to eventually sell my art at cons, but I've never actually been to one so I don't know really what does well. By which I mean, what stylistic things do most if the artworks have there? Do ones with backgrounds/scenic ones work well, or is it better to focus on the characters face/body with lots of detail to that? Do multiple characters do better than just one in a print? Do keychains sell better than prints? What sorta poses/characters work best? Sexy? or cute? or smth else?

Sorry for all the questions, and there is no need to answer them all, just tell me your thoughts. I'm just very curious on this :D if you know anyone else who might also have input if you could send me their way it would be very helpful

from my personal experience. my audience is anime & comic fans. it may differ for every artist

type of art that sells best:

individual characters (think stickers, photocards, keychains) - have a range of characters for smaller items. customers tend to be like "omg that's my fave character! i want that!"

multiple characters in one artwork (think prints, posters)

style - depends on what you want to be known for. sexy, cute, stylistic, etc. sexy art does well from seeing others sales lol.

scenic/background art - if it's not character-centric imo it doesn't do well. you can draw scenic art but characters must grab attention

experiment and trial and error. start with a small range of merch first.

you say you've not been to cons, i suggest visiting and taking notes of the artist alley. see how they set up their booths, how they display items, what kinds of products they sell

above all do what you like to do, not just for sales

[ghosttotheparty]

random life updates for anyone interested:

- starting my last year of university next week; beyond freaked out bc idk what im doing with my life, but finding little mercies in the mundane to keep me sane. coffee, kissing my dogs nose, waving at babies in shops, etc. i have yet to start my dissertation but i have shifted my original plan from ai ‘art’ and why it sucks to the importance of having an open mind when it comes to dadaism and the idea of what art is in general. this is mainly due to lack of resources around generative ai in regards to the art community

- started a website for my artwork! still have to pay for the domain name, but i have a few blog entries and a portfolio and a page for commissions. i have to contact my aunt, who i did three commissions for this summer and who has yet to pay me, because i want to use the money from those comms to pay for the domain and starter inventory for my shop, where im hoping to sell prints and stickers

- travelled overseas by myself for the first time this summer, and got a (kind of) job! i actually enjoyed the flights (i watched bottoms for the first time!) and security was not as scary as it used to be. (is it bc im on medication now? probably but also the airports were fairly quiet (which was crazy bc i left from heathrow) and i had direct flights which was nice). i worked in a local art gallery and gift shop in retail and i got to help set up an exhibition and it was a rly great opportunity to meet artists and get experience in retail. i found that im fantastic at chit chatting with people and definitely have a chameleon effect w southern accents.

- got officially diagnosed with tourette’s. will i be writing another eddie w tics fic bc of this? mayhaps

- started digital art and have been working on it fairly regularly; still trying to figure out an art style but i think i might be getting there— i finally got an apple pencil (everyone say thank you robins grandma) which has been marvellous

- learned how to crochet; i cannot for the life of me read crochet patterns so ive only made a hat for my brother (using a youtube video as guidance), half a scarf bc i ran out of yarn, and a small throw blanket, but it’s v fun to just fidget while watching movies and stuff— im going to make another hat for my brothers xmas gift using yarn from my friend

- i found that i am crazy good at recognising voices; my grandparents listen to almost exclusively classical music so they started playing pandora radios during dinner while i was with them, and my darling grandfather would quiz me about who the artist was and what the song was called. i often would name the artist based on their voice (usually only knowing one song by them) but wouldn’t know the song and usually hadn’t even heard the song before. my grandpa was continually impressed. he’s my #1 hypeman

photos from my summer:

1. one of the commissions for my aunt; peter rabbit for her upstairs area with bookshelves.

2. my grandpa preparing some figs left by their next door neighbor; i found that my dislike of fig newtons is just my dislike of figs. but they were pretty.

3. went on a ‘moth walk’ with my grandparents; there’s an arboretum near their house, and some people showed up to listen to a moth expert talk about moths. he’d set up equipment to attract moths and it was sososo fun. this is one of the moths (i don’t recall what it was called, but the leader had his own nicknames for them all) that i got to hold. i also got to hold a firefly for the first time. it was magical.

4. my grandma is a quilter— this is her piecing together a small quilt that we made together for a friend of mine that had a baby recently.

can’t think of any more updates but i’ve realised that i’m spending more time on twitter these days than i am on tumblr so <3

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Monday, 24 July 2023:

Palomine (30th Anniversary Edition) Bettie Serveert (Palomine) (released in August 2023; original album released in 1992)

Matador just reissued this on vinyl and I wrote about it on 27 June. This is the two CD version which only came out in Sweden (and the Netherlands) and it contains a bonus CD of demos. The Matador reissue contained a link which allowed you to download these tracks, but I'm an old man and I never play downloads, I prefer the physical media. Yes, I have this on my iPod and I will play it on my iPod, but I still want an actual physical copy of this set. Carp all you want, but when I'm dead, someone will certainly want this item (especially in Central Illinois) so it won't go in the landfill like your tote bags will.

There was a shop in Sweden that was selling this worldwide, but as I've mentioned in the past, Bettie Serveert is one of my all-time favorite bands and I'm a member of their fanclub Under The Surface. To members of said fanclub, the item was offered to a small number of fans and the band agreed to sign the cover. I'm not normally keen on autographed album covers, but I was fine with this. I talk a lot with the fanclub president and the last time we spoke he was on his way to dinner with the band where they planned on signing about 30 copies of this set. The whole process couldn't have taken three weeks, and that might be an over-estimation. Anyhow, I am thrilled to have this set sitting here in my music room!

The photos above reveal the album cover with signatures for all four of the original band members followed by a gatefold with the CD in lace. The third photo shows what the gatefold looks like without the CD and the back of the set, which is yet to appear on discogs, shows up as the fourth photo.

What really surprised me is that they put the CD (which is a digipak of course) inside a high quality plastic sleeve. I keep all my digipak CDs in plastic sleeves to keep them pristine (I'm that guy). But an even bigger surprise shows up in the next two photos: the original shrink wrap with hype sticker and then a close up of said hype sticker.

I know most people might not appreciate that the original shrink wrap was included, but this boy sure does. I even wrote Ron van den Boom (the president of the fanclub) to thank him for the plastic and the original shrink wrap. People need to know they are appreciated by nerds like me for the little additions that were provided! Below is a photo of the CD that contains the original album. Note that the track Brain-Tag appears as the third track here, but in the US it was merely a B-Side. Matter of fact, I'm not even convinced it was the third track in Sweden. Hmmm...

The bonus disc is included here inside the sleeve that serves as the cover. There is also a booklet pertaining to said bonus disc. See the booklet, the gatefold and the back of the booklet below.

And I'll close this entry out with a shot of that all important bonus disc!

[neztchi]

SHOP UPDATE~☆

It took a while due to a lot of irl things, but I've just about got my shop site set up!

Got a lot to say about it so I'll include a break cut to not spam y'all's feed:

At the moment, I will probably set up shipping for US-only as it's my first time selling online and I want to make sure I get a good system going for managing orders and whatnot before opening up international shipping. However, I do want and plan to do international shipping in the future so I'll keep y'all updated on that!

As of right now, it'll just be the Trey pins that'll be up on the site to keep things simple and I will gradually add more products such as stickers and keychains over time (I've got tons in mind for future products hehe)

HOWEVER I wanted to do one last poll to decide if the pins will be pre-orders or in-hands. They will take around ~2 months to produce; and I understand that as a first-time seller, pre-orders might sound a bit riskier since I have no trust as a seller yet.

For this, I have set up a second blog "@neztchi_shop" for any and all shop updates! (These posts will also be rted on my main account too btw!)

If y'all decide you'd prefer pre-orders, then I can have the site opened sometime within the next week or two. Or if y'all'd prefer an in-hand drop, then I will wait to open the site until after the pins have arrived to me and I have taken proper pictures of the finished product for the site. (For in-hands, I will order a small set amount of pins, but pre-orders will determine the amount of pins I have to order and may allow for a larger amount. But I can always order more at a later date as these will not be LE!)

[nichelleyoung]

Artistic Liberty | Surgelle + Pilar

@surgerodriguez​

While Nichelle had been packing up her belongings in her shared apartment, she was also preparing the afternoon for the other part of Pilar’s birthday present. Her schedule had been busy and she’d also been gathering boxes so working out a time that would work for Surge to bring Pilar by had been a little tricky, but they’d finally worked it all out. Nichelle’s roommate was out for the day, so the three of them would have the place to themselves; Nichelle was nearly finished setting everything up. She’d transformed the living room into studio for photo shoots, complete with a drop cloth, faux backdrops at the ready, and some props in the corner. Nichelle had rigged her Polaroid equipment so Pilar wouldn’t have to wait to have any photos she took in hand.

In the kitchen, Nichelle had set up some snacks on the regular table, but had a small table that Nichelle usually used for setting up additional camera equipment. She’d draped a disposable table cloth and set it up with crayons, markers and colored pencils and various colors of construction paper, as well as stickers, glitter glue and safety scissors. There was also an easel with a few large poster-sized sheets of paper clipped to the top, and primary colors along with black and white paint cups sitting in the well with a water cup and paintbrushes at the bottom of the easel. Nichelle had gotten an apron and draped it over the top of the easel for the newly turned 4 year-old. And while her bedroom was mostly filled with packed boxes and storage containers, Nichelle had the good sense to keep them stacked against the walls so she could still get to her bed until she was fully moved out. She had a TV in her bedroom and decided to keep a small stack of Disney blu-rays at the ready that she figured Pilar might want to watch with The Princess and the Frog sitting at the top of the stack. While waiting for Surge & Pilar’s arrival, Nichelle checked her apps where she’d posted her furniture she was selling that her roommate didn’t want and that she wasn’t taking with her for the move.

[earnmoneyonlineseo]

10 Ways To Make Money As A Graphic Designer

There are tons of ways to make money online as a graphic designer, no matter what niche you’re interested in! If you’re wondering how to become a graphic designer, have a look at this list and start selling or making some of these items.

1. Create and Sell Templates

This is arguably one of the most profitable ways to get passive income for graphic designers. With this approach, all you have to do is make templates of any kind, which could be for ebooks, posters, invitations, or Pinterest graphics. Then, sell the templates online.

Many small business owners and bloggers who are always in a time crunch or who don’t have the skillset to create their own designs from scratch love purchasing these products because of how simple it is to customize them.

2. Share Knowledge Through Workshops or Webinars

Online learning is at an all-time high, and I’m sure many of you reading this would even attend an online workshop on ‘How to Make Money as a Graphic Designer.’

If you’ve studied graphic design or feel that you know enough about it, then sell access to online courses, workshops, training, or webinars where you introduce others to the topic who may not know a whole lot about it.

Even if you just discuss basics, you’d be helping out many people and making some money along the way. Learn about the best online platforms for selling courses here. Teachable and Skillshare are great platforms for creating online courses. Learn more here. 

3. Sell Stickers

Due to the recent popularity of TikTok, small sticker shops are on the rise. To make stickers, all you need access to is Photoshop or Canva to make text-based stickers or an iPad for illustrative stickers. 

The great thing about creating stickers is that you can use dropshipping, which essentially means that you don’t have to be in charge of packing and sending them out if you don’t want to.

You can hire a third-party vendor to manage all your sales, and you’ll still get more money in your pocket at the end of the day.

The best places to sell stickers include Etsy, RedBubble, and Society6. You can also consider hosting your own website with your designs on Shopify.

4. Be A Design Consultant

If you want to make money as a graphic designer with high-ticket items, then becoming a design consultant might be the job for you.

With this, you essentially sell an hour or two of your time to someone who wants your opinions and ideas on graphic design for their own business. You set your hourly rate and coach and advise potential designers — giving them advice and pointing them in the right direction. 

You can find jobs as a design consultant on FlexJobs, Upwork or Fiverr. 

5. Design Fonts for Creative Market or Etsy

Fonts are a great way to make passive income for graphic designers if you’re interested in typography. There are many ways to easily make fonts, even just with your own handwriting, which you can then sell for up to $100 on websites like Creative Market or Etsy.

Here are some of the best ways to make money by graphic designing now.