Author Illustrator Designer
As a product designer, I am never sure where my items will show up, and I must say, it’s frequently a surprise.
Here’s the Winestein in the hands of Hoda and Kathie Lee on the Today Show!
If you follow this link, you can watch the whole opening sequence in all it’s glory… towards the end, they actually play with their Winesteins and talk about them. WooHoo!
Do you like paper dolls? I loved them as a kid, as well as any kind of cut-out craft like “build your own town/diorama” books like that. My daughters seem to have inherited that gene (the gene for wanting to cut and assemble stuff). I recently found this odd vintage set on Ebay:
OK, so it’s a set based on the 1968 movie version of “Finian’s Rainbow”, which starred Fred Astaire as Finian and Petula Clark as Sharon. It also starred one of my movie favorites, Tommy Steele as Og, the leprechaun. Yes, there’s a leprechaun in it. Needless to say, this is one weird movie. It’s got a very fun musical score, and a very bizarre story line. But in 1968, you could get paper dolls based on it! And wow, only 29¢. What a deal!
I wouldn’t cut such a lovely thing up, but I WOULD scan it and print it onto card stock so my girl could cut it up!
I particularly like how the characters each have outfits from the movie, and also extra outfits that are just stylin’ sixties garb- vests and scarves, oh yeah!
I miss the times when paper dolls were seen as legitimate entertainment. Well, they still are around here.
What do you think of Valentine’s Day? Luckily for my husband, I do not go in for jewelry (diamonds aren’t THIS girl’s best friend) or cut flowers (they are one step away from being dead). Chocolates… well, OK, maybe. Belgian ones!
On the other hand, a day spent making pink and purple cookies with my girls and a bunch of their wonderful friends is a day well spent!
I collect vintage Valentines because I adore the graphics of bygone eras, especially the 30s and 40s. I also like the idea of kids having Valentine’s day parties in school and exchanging them in little envelopes, or putting them into specially made bags or boxes. Kids still do this when they are very young, I guess, but they seem to outgrow the custom very quickly. How sad.
The handwritten names on the backs of these are precious!
As much as I love those very vintage ones, my favorite ones are the ones I’ve had for 35+ years. I kept all the cards that were given to me in grammar school.
I remember each and every one of these. I still remember who gave me most of them.
The names on the back are hard to read because I have stuck and unstuck and re-stuck them into albums over the years. Now they reside in binders like my other flat ephemera.
Sally, Becky, Gail, Jimmy, Jeff, Keith, Chris, George, Chrissy…just some of the names. It was perfectly legitimate to exchange cards like this right through sixth grade. I can’t imagine today’s sixth graders doing it.
I like to look back at these every year, and keep life in perspective.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
It’s been a wee bit busy around the studio lately. I have been working on educational art, new product designs, a trade book, attempting to update my website, and stuff like that. Oh, yeah, and writing.
Rough sketches for educational workbooks.
I tend to sketch on tracing paper for rough stuff, and usually clean the drawing up onto marker paper, using a Cool Grey 90% Prismacolor pencil. Actually, a lot of them.
Even these little babies are still usable, though- see those wooden things at the bottom of the picture? Those are General’s pencil extenders! They are nifty little devices that your pencil nub fits into to give you a new handle. They let you sharpen the last bit out of your pencils. And that’s good, because there’s a lot of drawing still left to do. Yes, indeedy.
I found this fab Bjørn Wiinblad tile at Savers the other day:
He was a Danish artist who cranked out a great amount of decorative ceramics and art. What’s not to love?? He had such a charming style, very distinct. His ceramics are sometimes printed with his line work and sometimes rendered in 3-D:
He also illustrated posters and prints like these:
He lived a good, long life, apparently- born in 1918, he only died in 2006 after creating decades of design. What do you think about his art?
The cookies are just sitting there, unattended.
You know you are powerless.
Surrender. Surrender to the sweet, sweet call of the cookie!
I tried to not “overthink” this and just sketch quickly. It has been noted recently by my
art gal pals that even my rough sketches look finished.
I guess it’s true. I surrender to my own style!
It’s that time of year again, kids! It’s the new Spring Line of the Fred company. One never knows from season to season which items will manage to make it allll the way through the design and manufacturing process and become real products. The process reminds me of The Bill from Schoolhouse Rock. Your proposal could get vetoed, it could die in committee, it could be argued about indefinitely. Only, I’m not making laws, just products!
Anyhow, good news! Here are a few of my new items that made it through! They will be making their debut at this week’s New York International Gift Fair, and at a number of other nifty shows across the continent.
AristoCakes are silicone cupcake bakers that are perfect for your next royal party. William and Kate should definitely consider using these for the Royal Wedding.
TropSticks make eating with chopsticks easier, if you are chopstick-impaired. They also make eating more… tropical. Yeah!
Here’s GloBoy. This one took a long time to figure out technically speaking, and I never thought it would see the light of day (ha)! He is a solar-powered nightlight. During the day, he’s sleepy and recharges. At night, flip him over and he’s wide-awake and glowing. He’s designed in a way that you can take his arm and pick him up for midnight bathroom trips. Shiny!
You can currently see the latest products on the Fred Facebook Page.
And there you have it! Spring is in the air, product-wise. NOW, if we could only ditch this infernal snow!
OK, so, it’s merely snowing today, and my author copies don’t exactly amount to a “blizzard”. But they finally are here!
Real, printed copies of What Does A Seed Need?
They look nice when stacked neatly…
OR, when you toss them up in the air and let them land on a blue Snuggie™!
Inside, you’ll find flap, tabs and pop-ups designed for preschoolers. I adore books for this age group! Little discoveries on every page.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me with their enthusiasm upon it’s release!
I haven’t been able to take part in Illo Fridays lately- but the word of the week is “Dusty,” which reminded me of this:
It’s a scene from an old book dummy of mine called (what else?) Dusty.
In it, a little girl bonds with a giant dustball she found under her bed. It was a good exercise; I taught myself a lot about digital art while making this proposal.
I had the chance to go see Jarrett Krosoczka today, who was at Friendly Neighborhood Comics in Bellingham, Mass. signing books. Jarrett’s been making books for ten years now, and I remember going to his first big signing waaay back then! It was fun to see him dress patrons up as Lunch Lady characters and do quick gesture drawings of them. He has always been a great, dynamic presenter.
You can see some of Jarrett’s original art behind us, as won by the comic store owner in the Joe and Shirl Scholarship auction. It should be noted that this is a FABULOUS comic shop with a lot of attention paid to carrying a diverse selection of books: the usual faves, but also well-chosen children’s books, European comics, classic volumes, and the best selection of graphic novels I’ve seen in a while. Plus, they have author/illustrators come to visit! Well worth the trip.
