Author Illustrator Designer
They’re the luckiest people in the world! Speaking of which, there’s a whole magazine just for People, you know? And, in June 2010’s issue, sandwiched between Joran van der Sloot and Tori Spelling you’ll find a handy dandy gift guide for Dads featuring my Pizza Boss 3000, which is a pizza wheel that handles like a circular saw.
And do you know why you rock, Ms. Rachael Ray? Because you choose cool items to feature in your magazine, and you chose one of mine again!
Here’s Twiggy, which is a silicone basting brush shaped like a twig. Hence, the name.
It’s in the June 2010 issue…get your barbecue on, people!
Took a day with Mom and went to the antiques haven that is Brimfield. If you like to scrounge around through old stuff, then this is the place for you!
Hundreds upon hundreds of dealers…thousands of weird items…
Here’s my mom considering a new sewing machine:
They have things you wished you could take home:
Any home would be enhanced if it had a ride-on squirrel! Continue reading “Brimfield!”
Rachael Ray, you’re the tops. Once again, one of my designs has turned up in her monthly magazine, specifically April 2010!
The item is called Budget Cuts, and it’s a piggy bank with various budget-related “cuts” outlined on it. Get it?? Haha! So you, too, can save your pennies for lottery tickets and donuts. Mmmmm, donuts.
Here’s how it looks all by itself, from the FRED site:
Hello, Mr. Blog…it’s been a long time!
There is all kinds of fun, crazy, mostly-good-stuff going on here, leaving me little time to post. Be that as it may, let me show you some pictures that my lovely sister-in -law sent alllllll the way from Brussels, Belgium. She found a few good shops with a bunch of my product designs in them!
Key Shirts and EarRing!
PastaSaurus!
MonKeys! FreaKeys! Do Europeans have a lot of keys?
Ah, how I wish I could stroll through some of these shops right now. Because after that, I would go park myself in one of those cafés in the Grande Place and have a real hot chocolate. Then I would continue on and get a fresh-off-the-iron street waffle. Yeah. Thanks Valerie for scoping out the items!
Eric and I decided to try something new a few months back. We agreed to work on set design for Swamp Meadow Community Theater’s upcoming play based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Our kids were going to be in the play, so we’d be pretty involved anyway. We both figured it would be a fun, non-work diversion. We both like making and designing stuff, after all. And it’s nice to get away from the computer sometimes!
So, the first thing we did was collaborate on the production logo, which has been used for the playbill, t-shirts, ads, and what-have-you.
We tried to get as many of the wacky elements in there as was graphically feasible- the Grail, the Holy Hand Grenade, killer rabbit, coconuts, French taunters, a shubbery, and the Black Knight!
Set-wise, we started by making some of the bigger props. Here’s the Cave of Caer Bannog (where lives the Killer Rabbit), and the Trojan Bunny. Eric built it out of a humidifier box, and I painted it in faux bois. The cave is made out of a foam insulation panel.
Here’s me painting the Black Beast of Arrrggghhh, which is sort of a giant puppet operated by one person dressed in black.
We have never made a cloud for God before. But we have now!
We decided to make a curtain backdrop, painted to look like a forest. I had the idea to give it an Eyvind Earle look (inasmuch as can be done while painting on a giant piece of floppy fabric). Eric worked out the details in miniature, then we transferred it to the fabric. It was the biggest thing I have ever sewed in my life!
We had some volunteers on a cold day in November to help paint the backdrop.
We worked on the 2 castles simultaneously. One was a castle exterior, and one was an arrangement of panels that would look like 2 castle interiors, depending on how you arranged them. The castle exterior:
And the castle interior, being worked on the exterior of our house! We did end up doing detail work inside on them.
Eric’s doing some detail work.
The castle panels had to be assembled on-site at the school where the plays play out:
Bob and Eric assemble castle walls while a kid “supervises”!
Here’s how things look in the real production!
God rides his cloud and tells Arthur about his new quest!
Swamp Castle exterior, complete with confused guards.
Herbert waits to be rescued from the castle.
The Knights Who Say Ni are in the forest…you can see the backdrop well here.
The castle interior, set up for the tragic wedding scene.
The castle interior, this time rearranged to look like the Castle Anthrax.
There’s the killer rabbit in his cave!
Another prop- the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. The pin is removable so it can be hurled at the killer bunny. I hope it survives the last 3 shows!
The Legendary Black Beast of Aaaarrrggghhh! In action!
It’s been a lot of work, but also great fun to watch this all come together. This being our first attempt at stage design, we’ve learned a lot.
That’s good, because we’ll be helping out with the next show, too- Alice in Wonderland!
If you’re in Rhode Island, there’s still time to see Swamp Meadow’s Quest For The Holy Grail.
Click right over here for tickets!
Shows are Dec. 11 and 12, at 7pm, and Dec. 13 at 3pm.
OK, I had never been to a Bar Mitzvah before last weekend. I didn’t know what to expect, really.
My good friend Barb’s son Ben was the guy of the day- and what a great job he did! The actual ceremony was beautiful. Luckily for us, it was explained along the way, full of music, and very joyful. Then, after that….
BAR MITZVAH BLOWOUT!
The party portion took place in a grand ballroom that was decked out like Fenway Park:
The kids had their own head table and buffet of kid-approved foods:
No detail was left to chance! As far as I could see, everything was perfectly themed.
The kids (mainly 13-year old boys, of course, but with a smattering of girls, too) were able to take instant pictures in a photo booth, get into Red Sox gear and have their photos put into banners, and visit their own ice cream bar. There was a kid-friendly concession stand:
And guys on hand to airbrush custom t-shirts (the kids could choose the design):
There was a beautiful cake that had a lot of tall candles on it- each candle represented an important person in Ben’s life.
The Nook was well-represented that night. Here’s Monica, MB, and Janet, wearing their Bar Mitzvah best!
There’s Ben in the middle of the dancers (yes, dancers!):
‘Twas a night that brought out the best in everyone. It was impossible not to have a great time. Thanks to Barb and Phil and Ben for letting us share this amazing experience!
Yes! I finally managed to get up to Brimfield for the fall show. If you’re not from these parts, it’s a simply gigantic antique show that sets up 3 times a year. Sprawling. Hundreds and hundreds of dealers. If you’re into vintage, retro, etc. you WILL find something interesting here. I did not come home empty-handed!
I saw this cute guy on patrol in his owner’s booth at the beginning of the day. Sure enough, he was still there when we headed to our car at the end of the day!
First thing I found was this wooden/paper litho target game. LOVE it. Vintage games from this era are a big favorite of mine.
I love seeing where my designs turn up. Here are some neat new places to find a couple of my items!
Crazy Books, the Food edition is coming out in October in Germany from Edition Braus. The publisher is debuting it at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year. My Calf and Half creamer is in it- keep your eyes open when in Germany (drat, I was just there a few weeks ago)!
Here is the current Fall ’09 MOMA (Metropolitan Museum of Art) catalog, with another of my glass items, the Half-Pint Creamer. Every purchase made thru the catalog supports the museum. Sweet!
I’m loving the line quality and colors found on these cute little tray/dishes from Norway.
They are marked “Stavangerflint” on the back.
Graphic happiness!
