Holiday Shopping

The Holiday shopping season is in full gear now. We are past Black Friday. Cyber Monday is passed. Still need some gifts? I know I still have some to buy. I have been trying hard this year to find some handmade items for the gifts I am giving. It has been harder for the little ones, but so far have been doing OK for the adults. Definitely a work in progress.

If you are like me, and live in Rochester, there is still hope! Jackbear Stamps will be selling at two shows this coming weekend. I'm excited for these shows because I get to do them with other members from our RNEST team.

The first is a Holiday Shopping Fair at the University of Rochester, from 10 am - 4 pm in the Hirst Lounge of Wilson Commons. This is a perfect one for the students, staff, and faculty of the UR to get a few items over lunch or on a break. Parking is pretty goofy during the day, so if you aren't already on campus that day, skip to the next paragraph. This show will have, "jewelry, holiday cards and stationary, posters, hand blown glass, ornaments, buttons, magnets, mirrors, purses, totes, scarves, hats, gloves, soap, tea and herbal blends, chocolates and more."

On Saturday, I will be at the East Rochester High School at the Advent Craft Show. This one runs from 9 am - 3 pm. This one is advertised as, "jewelry, original art, home decor, children's items, bath and body products, fiber art, hand carved rubber stamps, stained glass, pet items, handbags, accessories, and SO MUCH MORE!" This sale benefits the East Rochester Community Resource Center. The community Resource Center provides a food pantry, used clothing center, furniture and household items, crisis funding and transportation to those in need in the East Rochester community.

If you can't make it to a show locally, you can always shop on my etsy shop!
Happy Holidays!

Mayday Mayday Mayday, caught in a Frankenstorm!

Sorry for such a stupid title to this post, but it kind of sums up this week for me.

First off, I have been getting ready for my next show on Saturday, November 3, 2012, the Mayday Underground Art + Craft Show. This show is a truly awesome collection of indie artists from the Rochester area and beyond! This is the 6th show, and I'm very honored to say I have been accepted into 5 of those 6 shows (actually, I had a time conflict with the other one or I would have done that one too!). Can't say enough about how great this show is, and that is because the organizers, Casey and Amanda go the extra mile to get wonderful artists, and cool customers. So if you are in the Rochester area, swing by the Main Street Armory at 900 E Main St from 10am-5pm.

Next, I have been having a bit of fun with the "Frankenstorm." I created an artist card called "Frankenstorm Survivor" and have 20 for sale in my Etsy shop.

First, let me say that I have the utmost respect for weather and nature. I am truly grieved by the agony and loss Hurricane Sandy has brought upon our feeble human experience. My thoughts to out to those who have lost loved ones, have lost homes, have had property destroyed, and who's lives have changed because of this meteorological event. I mean no disrespect.

That said, I do believe there is room in our grieving process to smile. How often are we cheered in a dark hour by an off-color crack? I originally made these cards to mock the absurdity of the word "Frankenstorm". I mean how do we take this perfect storm seriously with a name like that! However, after going through the wind and rain of the storm (and by no means was it the worst the storm would dish out here in Rochester) I think these cards also have a deeper meaning now. I think they can be sent to a loved one to say, "Hey, I know times were tough, but you have a friend thinking about you." I think part of the healing process is the acknowledgement that you are still alive, and that its OK to smile again.

They have caught some attention on Etsy. My card has been in three Treasuries:

1. Frankenstorm

2. Waiting for Sandy

3. Batten Down the Hatches!

Then to my surprise, this morning I got contacted by writer Veronica Wong of Bloomberg Businessweek and she was putting together a short article about Hurricane Sandy memorabilia. So I got a little mention here (that's me at the end of the article). Awesome!

So I'll have these cards at Mayday Underground show (I assume I still have some of the 20 made left). Or grab one of them on the etsy shop, this is a first, and last, edition.

June Lay-Over

This June is kind of a lay-over on the this amazing metaphorical art trip I'm on.  I had a VERY busy May, with lots of custom orders.  I was very pleased, and I got a ton of stamps done for happy customers.  However, I need a little break in June because I have some other events going on.

First, let me start with the stamp pictured.  This is a custom logo stamp I made for Jessica Cole in New Hampshire.  She owns Sumner Brook Herbals and they live on Sumner Brook Fish Farm (a trout farm) in Ossipee, New Hampshire.  Her shop there is called Sumner Brook Landing, so that is what is on the stamp.  When she was describing the design she wanted she said:

I am also an herbalist, so the theme of our shop is a mix between trout and herbal medicine! I would love it if I could somehow incorporate both things into the image, and also have our shop name, and perhaps address if it all fits. I always thought it would look neat if I had a trout jumping out of the water and blowing a dandelion, with the little seeds blowing away. It'd be nice if a dandelion leaf was noticeable too, as they are very medicinal!

I thought this was a great vision, and based on where she was, I thought an Arts & Crafts style frame would suit this vision well.  The mountain was an afterthought that Jessica had, and it fits GREAT in the image.  This is not a small stamp either!  It measures around 5 inches high by 4 inches wide.  This is probably the second or third largest stamp I have done for a custom order.  Sadly, this design fell to the bottom of pile of orders I was doing, and so I had to apologize to Jessica for not getting to it for over a month!  I'm hope she likes it, I think it turned out really nice, and I think she intends to stamp it on some of her shopping bags.

As for the rest of June, I'm finishing up a few stamps for friends, and some stamps for a letterboxing gathering I am hosting at the end of June.  This event has over a hundred letterboxers coming from all over the area to seek out hand carved rubber stamps hidden all over the woods, so I need some time to finish carving, planting boxes, and getting clue books written up.  I'll be back at the carving table in July to work on more custom orders.  
Thanks for all your love an support this past spring!

Jackbear Get's Interviewed!

I found this great new podcast a few weeks ago when looking for something new to listen to.  It's called the Etsy Conversations Podcast.  I have been looking for a long time for a podcast like this one, and was excited when it popped up on my search a few weeks ago.  After catching up on the three episodes that were already posted, I emailed the host, Angela Holden, to see if she wanted me to be a guest.  Actually, I pitched myself as a "dude" since we are a bit harder to come by on etsy.

She was excited, and I was excited, so we "skyped" last week and laid down the tracks.  It was really fun!  I was excited to share my story.  I wish I had mentioned all the things I had thought of saying (like how awesome the teams are I am involved in), but maybe I'll remember it all next time.

Anyway, the episode gets posted on Sunday (May 13).  You can listen to it at the Etsy Conversations Podcast site, or you can subscribe to it in iTunes (or whatever other podcatchers you use (I like Downcast app on my iPod)).

OR, and this is what I REALLY want to mention, is you can join other like minded listeners on Sunday, May 13th, at 9 pm EST and listen to the episode and chat along.  Yes, we are having a little "listening party".  I have set up a Ustream feed that you can click on, and we will listen to the podcast together, and we can chat along in the chat box.  I hope you can drop by and listen.
Free desktop streaming application by Ustream

Mayday Wrap-Up and Shop Overhaul

Mayday Underground Arts+Crafts show is now over for another season.  I met so many great people at the show!  I am working on a stamp for Dark Horse Coffee who are located in the Village Gate where the show was, also for Badfish Consulting, and a few others I am probably not at liberty to discuss just yet.

I also met an amazing man named Chet who gave me a loaf a bread.  Yes, he was a complete stranger, and he gave me a loaf of bread.  It is a very tasty loaf of white if you must know, and he made it himself, along with hundreds of loaves he makes each week.  He gives them away.  No, he doesn't fancy himself as Jesus, in fact, he told me he is a bit of an atheist. So if you want to learn more about this mystery man, check out Breadtime Stories.

Now that the dust has settled from the big show of the Spring, I am focusing on my etsy shop.  Dick Beery of 3 Oaks Enhancements, and my wonderful father-in-law, has helped me ENORMOUSLY by helping me with photographing some of my stamps.  I have been wanting to change the look of my pictures for some time, and he was kind to took at a bunch of ideas I had, then help get a good background, good light, and help me take some photos.  I am very pleased with the direction this is going.  Thanks so much Dick!

Mayday Underground this Saturday!

Jackbear Stamps will be set up at the Mayday Underground this Saturday, April 28, from 10-4 pm at the Village Gate in Rochester.  This is one of the shows I look forward to the most.  Amanda and Casey are the organizers, and they take great pain to find some of the most fun and different art/craft around.  There will be 50 vendors to shop from, and the first 50 gatebusters will get free swag bags.

In the swag bags will be a hand stamped postcard from yours truly.  Don't worry, if you are a late sleeper, you can still get a free postcard at my table.  You can just ask, say "Hey jackbear, I read your blog, can I have a postcard."  I'll saw, "awesome, thanks for stopping by."

Oh yeah, don't forget Mother's Day is just a few weeks away, this would be a good place to find your mom/wife/grandma/etc. something.

Hearts and Crafts for Valentine's Day

Looking forward to setting up some stamps for sale at the Hearts and Crafts market at Java's on Gibbs Street this Sunday from 12-6 pm. This is a cool small scale show that is truly a local display of artists and craftspeople who are doing what they love. This is a handmade heaven! Hope to see you there!