super yummy popsicle I acquired at the TEST Midsummer Market from the fantastic The Pop Stand
I don't usually take time off in the summer. I mean each month has a long weekend built in to them, so I usually just take advantage of the given mini-breaks.
But right now I feel the need to shut it all off and reset. It's been a weird and stressful couple of months, just life in general. And when coping mechanisms are down things aren't likely to get any better. Or get done at all! So time to tune out to better tune in.
That being said, I'm sure all my Canadian peeps out there have all heard about the looming Canada Post strike. While it's not a definite, I am going to take it as a sign to shut down the shop for a bit. So Wednesday June 29th will be my last day shipping orders for the whole month of July. I'm going to stock it up with some new downloads that I've been working on, and going to test out putting some of the cards up as digital downloads. New things. Worth a try! Wholesale sales are still going out, so you can always pick up all the goods at one of our local retailers. And they might even have some new cards in there this month (um... guess I'll have to post those up at some point too!) Of coarse the Society6 shop is up and I'm just starting out on a cool greeting card site based in the UK called Thortful (so really you CAN purchase thunderpeep cards, just not direct from me!) More designs will be going up this week so be sure to check back occasionally to see what's new.
some fun new things I had with me at the Midsummer Market, that will eventually make it into the shop and into shops!
Also to note, the blog will be in summer slow down as well - but if you like all the non-thunderpeep pursuits you can always follow the MichelleInTheSnow blog which is just starting to ramp up with summertime fun.
So, this week two pretty freaking exciting things happened. And it's only Tuesday. WHAT!
I thought it was quite appropriate that my OMAM vinyl came the day before my books. An album named Beneath The Skin, it was a nice setup for such a personal journey. (and if you haven't checked out the new album you should - SO GREAT)
I couldn't open the books when they came in, I had to get someone else to crack the first one and flip through it (as I peeped over their shoulder of coarse!) But man, I have to say it's looks so much more amazing than I ever dreamed. But it's not over yet. As I type this I have a giant To-Do list hovering just beyond my screen, for tomorrow's Launch party.
So, here's the deal. The Danforth Mosaic is putting on concerts every Wednesday evening in July and Christal from our friendly neighbourhood LEN shop has invited me to take over their tent for the evening, with all my Midsummer goodness. It's a launch party, with live music, local eats and drinks, s'mores (what?) and good times. If you're anywhere near East Lynn park tomorrow evening you should come down and hang out with us. You can get the first look at the book and pick up some fun companion goodies - there are prints pulled from the imagery in the book, a colouring book - and even a colouring area, tons of fun buttons and did I mention s'mores!
If you're not in the Toronto area don't be sad. I'll blog all about it this weekend, once I've recovered. And tomorrow there will be a whole write up about the book and a GIVEAWAY! Yes!
Happy Midsummer! I hope it's nothing but sunshine and warm breezes where you are.
Did you welcome the season of sunshine in last night? Hopefully in Fun Fashion {because really why bother celebrating in a boring way?}
Ok, so let's get down to this rebrand and all these new things that I've been working away on.
When I first stepped back to revisit where thunderpeep was it was really just to refocus on the direction I first set out onto. I had no idea that this period of reflection was going to result in a complete rebrand of the company. And honestly it didn't even become clear until about a month ago when I realized I was heading into a very new direction, and I was SUPER excited about it. So both thunderpeep and I needed a fresh new start.
This is the story of thunderpeeps' fresh start. Fittingly debuting on the Midsummer. Kicking off the launch of the Midsummer collection, which be continually rolling out over the next couple of weeks leading up to the Grand Finale on July 8th. But to be honest I've come to the realization that the rebrand will continue to evolve as the year goes on. By the time we hit winter (sorry but it's going to come eventually) and the Polar Night Collection starts to take shape I think we'll all be happily sitting in the company of a brand new thunderpeep!
My work has always had a pretty strong Scandinavian influence. But I've been struggling with my personal connection to my own country and having moved back closer to where I grew up I found that I was a bit more nostalgic (oh yeah and I turned 40 in there and I think it's a right of passage to start reminiscing about the olden days once you hit your 40's) So I wanted to bring a bit more of my sense of Canadiana into my work, in a way to help ground me back in my own roots. It was a struggle to find that right mix. But then after my epic {disastrous?} camping trip back in May I found it. Being back in the Ontario wilderness that I had grown up adventuring in, remembering those fun times and the era that was my childhood and teenage years, it was pretty much already there. I had already been obsessing with old badges of all sorts, from campgrounds to brownies to travelling and those old amazing designs. All these things were all kind of brewing up a bit storm in my brain. And one of the sketches that I'd had that weekend sort of became a symbol for the rebrand. I find that's the way my creativity works. Things brew and brew and brew and then one day it all makes sense.
This was that image. It has actually ended up on one of the cards, and in the new logo. The colours, the design, the vibe. It was all me. At this moment. It's retro feel, it's warm and natural colours. I've worked a lot in white space so this was a bit of a departure, but it was such a natural transition that I went with it. A lot of this styling was already coming through in the Troll and Midsummer books, I hadn't really realized that this was how I was going to bring it all together. The new work and the existing thunderpeep. Does that even make sense? It does in my head, but so does the fact that Trolls exist.
I posted this image as my personal facebook profile pic. Not because I'm even on facebook that much these days, mostly because I wanted to see how it fit when I put it out to people who knew me. And I was pretty surprised at the reaction. I think part of it was that most of my facebook friends are within my age range, so there's going to be a somewhat nostalgic feeling in all of us, but people somehow connected with it in their own ways and that's what I want from the new direction. For people to connect, in ways that don't have to have anything to do with my connection to it. My connection to nature is well documented here and I hope that I can get more people to reconnect with it and see the value in respecting and working to keeping it safe. It's such a huge part of what it means to be Canadian, no matter whether you live in the big bad city or if the country.
With this new style I started to re-design some of the older cards, and bring in new designs with the new stylings. Moving forward I'll be focusing mainly on everyday cards like Birthdays and Friendships only. Those are the things that are natural to me. I get a lot of requests for wedding pieces, but to be honest doing them with my somewhat sarcastic sense of humour doesn't really work. I'm not really the warm fuzzy mushy type. I'm not going to make warm fuzzy mushy things. That just wouldn't make sense. Although there is one new engagement card in the mix. It's pretty much everything I would say to someone I know who's getting engaged - and have! One person I initially showed it to thought it was mean. I laughed knew it had just earned it's place in the pack (FYI it's no meaner than the divorce card, it's just wasn't fuzzy enough for said individual)
Here are your new thunderpeep friendship cards. The re-design of the BFF card you've seen, but there's also the Friendship Foundation card, and the first breakup card. I mean it doesn't just have to be for a breakup, it's a good piece of advice between friends. This actually came out of a custom request!
There's also all the new birthday cards (buttons aren't included with the cards yet but will be later on this summer)
And lastly in the new card roundup… there's that engagement card.
Eventually almost all cards are going to be getting a re-design to fit in with the new look. All these cards are now available in my Etsy shop! Tomorrow on the blog we'll be looking at all the fun new things in the Society 6 shop. And next weekend we move on to even more exciting new stuff.
And of coarse, along with the new look is the new logo/branding. It's not a massive departure from the old branding, but a definite upgrade. It definitely has the more Canadian feel I was looking for, without straying from simplicity of my other influences. It will actually change it's colours based on the seasons (this is spring/summer so this fall you'll see a whole new colour way for fall/winter to go along with the Polar Nights themes) You'll notice that my social media sites have all been re-branded as well. Because there's technically a whole new logo. Eventually the website will get a makeover but that won't be until later this year. SO many fun new projects are coming that will tie in with the new look (yeah, especially the badge aspect, you know I HAD to find a way to make that happen…)
And finally, because I know you're just dying to know more about the books… They'll officially be launching on July 8th. They are going to press in a little over a week and I'm still putting the finishing touches on it but we have the venue and we have the date. As part of the Danforth Mosaics "The Danny Loves Music" series I'll be hanging out with Crystal in the LEN tent with the books and all the new goodies that go along with it. There'll be great music, fun folks and hopefully nothing but sunshine. And since it's a bit of a long wait for the book, each week between now and then I'll be revealing something new to the collection, exerts from the book and giveaways.
Thanks for tagging along on the journey. Here's to many, many more adventures in our future!
Since you guys enjoyed yesterday's youthful photo, I thought I'd throw a couple more in today, just for fun. I have no idea what I'm up to on the left, but on the right that was me and my Crayola Carousel - all those markers and paints and crayons... I was so excited when I got that. Then proceeded to make full use of it all over that hideous wallpaper (gotta love the early 80s!)
Midsummer is coming. And it's long overdue.
So now you know, I took some time off from the push to grow thunderpeep the stationery company. It was the best thing I could have done. I took time to find myself again, and brought that back to thunderpeep as well. The 2 of us are stronger as one unit than 2 battling sides.
All those things I said I'd love to do when I had some time, I did them. Well ok, not ALL of them as that big trip didn't come together as planned, but I'm not sad about that because so much goodness came out of the past couple of months (and now the plan is to be spending the New Year in Iceland and a bucket load of time travelling across it and Norway)
Now, first off let me make one thing clear. I do really love making funny cards. No, it's not what I started out doing, but it's the side of the business that really took off. And I'm so grateful that it did, it opened so many doors and helped me grow as a businesswoman and artist. And the cards aren't going anywhere. The world still needs them (and I already have a few new ones ready to go later this spring. They're really good too). But my creative soul needs to get back home. As I started to look inwards and rethink the business, I started to really look and judge it. What would it look like if I stayed the path with the current plan. It was already getting to be too much for me to handle on my own. I was working endless nights just on the business and production sides, where was the creative side? And while that's a part of small creative business, if I'm not 100% in love with it, am I going to be fully committed. Well, the answer is of coarse No. I was starting to feel like I was making things for others again, not for the joy of making them. What would sell, what is on trend, what shows to do to get my name out there. Did I want to go full into a wholesale world that really doesn't always value the artist. (that's a strong statement and is why I'm very selective with the stores that carry my products. There needs to be a relationship between maker and vendor for me. I hate big box stores, I don't shop at them, why would I want my products in them - I'll avoid them as long as I can. This is not a common point of view though, if you are setting out yourself into the wholesale world with your craft, do what is comfortable for you. I love all my vendors and am proud to sell in their shops!)
This is when I re-discovered my journal from Finland. Remembered where I started. What I wanted to accomplish. What I really loved doing. And then one day I sat down and tuned out the world and wrote that story I keep saying I wanted to do, but never had the time to fully devote to. It was one of the greatest creative highs I've ever experienced. And the new and improved but back to the old thunderpeep started to take shape.
The Midsummer collection has been a sad non-event the past couple of years. It was always prep for spring shows and then christmas had to be ready in May and then it's summer shows. It made me so sad to not be exploring those characters, and stories. So the first order of business was to bring that collection back, Bitter and More Badass than ever. And it is. It more than makes up for the past 2 years. And it's not even half finished. Above is your first sneak peek of the story, it's not much but you can let your own imaginations run wild with it. I'll write a post all about the process of writing the book too, as the launch gets closer. There's a whole collection of goodies that are spawning out of the book, and for the first time we are kind of sneaking in on Family Friendly territory. Well maybe only kinda sorta… I'll let you be the judge, I don't want to be scaring kids out of the forest!
Then, I HAD to bring my Troll friends back. And it kind of fits in with the fairy tale. I mean, you had to know there were trolls in that story, right? So there's a little companion book for all my North American friends who seem confused by Trolls (NO they are not the same as yeti's, not even related)
And this is just the start. I LOVED writing and illustrating these books. It was an excuse to get lost in my own imagination. There is already a plan for books for the Polar Nights collection this winter.
It's all about the stories. All about the stories (sorry if I got that song stuck in your head right there)
As for the blog, I want to create a more personal space here. That can mean so many things, but I want it be full of things and stories to inspire, to create to laugh at and to share. My goal is to remind us all to really look at the world around us, to see all the small details, to be an active participant in your life and the world around you. I might even have some of the Trolls come and guest post. No seriously, that's going to happen!
For now, I'm still here in Toronto. I still have things to do here, for a little while longer. On a side note: one thing that I'm really excited about, something I really enjoy, is my role with The Toronto Etsy Street team, helping other makers in Toronto to grow and learn and share and inspire. Giving back is such an important part of living. You may remember from last Fall that we organized the flagship Toronto edition of the Made in Canada show. I love all the work I get to do with the team but am SO excited for all the amazing things we're working on right now in regards to this years show. It's really fulfilling to be able to be involved in this creative community, and to work with the group of women that make up the leadership team with TEST, but being able to give something this awesome back to all the other small creative businesses who work so damn hard, is also extremely personal for me. As much as I love so many designers and companies from around the world, I'm a huge cheerleader for the Shop Local movement, and Canada has so many, so many fantastic makers, it's important to make sure they get the attention they deserve. You'll hear lot's about the show from me as it approaches, and wherever you are (if you're in Canada that is) hopefully you're close to one of the other 30 shows that'll be happening across the country!}
But let's end this epic blog post now. It's time to move forward. And so I can stop talking about myself for at least a couple more months...
One day I'll live in the mountains again. It may not be in Vancouver, or even Canada. But I'll be there again, and have some awesome new Troll friends to hang out with.
They may not be Trolls but Monsters are still fun too. As I'm writing this I'm overly excited that OMAM are coming to Toronto this September and I can't wait to see them again. I love them almost as much as Troll stories. Maybe Toronto's not so bad after all…
I've been thinking a lot lately about the direction of both this blog (which actually needs a direction!) and the business. And of coarse myself. So much has changed since I moved back to Toronto, and to be perfectly honest with you, it's not all good. So I took some time to find my direction again, to find myself again, to fall back in love with my life. This is that story. Not a story about Trolls (I'm sorry but that is coming later), but a story about hitting the pause button and rebranding a life and a business, not in a new direction but in it's proper direction. (and as I now actually finish I realize how freaking long it is so I've broken it into 3 parts - seriously who knew I had so much to say on the topic) But before I share the new thunderpeep, you should probably know a bit about how it all started. Let's start with this awesome photo at the top. Because it's a glimpse into the core of this story, the moments in time that brought us to today. This is also a glimpse into one of my truly nerdy habits. I'm a planner. But not a daily schedule kind of planner. I'm a large scale, take over the world kind of planner. Epic plans. Like the journal in the photos.
Back in 2010 I took, what was then, the trip of my dreams. And I'd planned that trip for a full year, I cut and pasted all these awesome things into my trip journal, that was my intended itinerary all drawn out in red on the map to the left (mother nature and a shut down at Heathrow eventually altered the final trip) The most important part of that journal was the birth of thunderpeep the business. It was one of those brilliant moments while lost in my thoughts, watching the wintery Finnish landscape zoom past me while I traveled by train from Turku and Tampere. I'd only been in the country for about 5 days, but had already been completely inspired by the landscape and the creative culture.
I remember sitting on that train between Turku and Tampere, thinking about all I'd taken in the past 2 days. I found Turku to be one of the most creatively inspiring places I've been. Yes they have a great art gallery there, but it's the creative culture that inspired me. This trip was before Etsy really exploded, so the idea that creative makers could do their own thing and make a living of it was still a pretty foreign concept to me. But in Turku this concept seemed to be thriving. They encourage it, they teach it, it's a part of their long history. A creative business isn't a foreign concept there. We all know and love Marimekko, but in Turku there was a handful of adorable smaller shops along one of the main shopping streets in the downtown that were also 100% Finnish designers. Aarikka and Klo Design were 2 of my absolute favourites. They both embodied that clean, organic and functional Finnish design sense that I loved. And while they are also on the international scene, they are still deeply rooted in their culture, they are still very much Finnish companies, designing and producing in their own country. I was in love with this concept. Of designing, and constructing and creating and bringing it all together under one Canadian roof. They weren't just jewellery shops or bag shops or clothing shops. They were houses of design. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to design around all the weird little stories in my head and make them into something that made your life happier, without a massive imprint on the planet. Just because an item has a function, doesn't mean it has to look boring (you all know IKEA, this is the same concept just way better - sorry IKEA, I do still really like you)
I always loved the scandinavian celebration of Midsummer and the mythology of those long dark polar nights with the aura roaring high overhead. So I built my first thunderpeep collections around those 2 events. Those first 2 illustrations - Midsummer Dreams and The Ice Castle are still pretty popular sellers too. I imagined these 2 collections a year, with illustrations and stories playing out over all sorts of materials. Paper goods were the easiest medium to start with, so there were prints and cards and a wee selection of fabric goodies.
Now, I'm no seamstress. This we know. So that was a struggle. And I didn't have the wonderful QuilterSteff in my life yet. Luckily I eventually discovered silkscreening and great local companies who supplied already sewn bags etc that I could just print on. But the prints and cards really took off. And suddenly the Lordy Lordy Look who's 40 card showed up (that was the very first greeting card I designed solely for the company) and that was a huge seller. So other greeting cards followed, because they were in demand. People thought I was funny and wanted more cards for more occasions. This is awesome, look at me go. I loved typographic arts and I'd worked so long in publication design, making words look pretty so it was a natural progression into greeting cards really. And businesses grow and develop into new things. Right?
At this point I was only selling online, I was missing the shop local component of my first vision. Then a year in my daytime life halted and changed direction as I made the decision to move back to Toronto. Not because I didn't love Vancouver, but I had just lost the job I loved thanks to the crumbling newspaper industry and was motivated to make a go of my business. Toronto seemed like a natural fit. I had grown up here, so already had a built in support system of friends and family. Toronto is a big business city. Toronto is an Arts Loving city. Toronto is where you go to make it. All the things I had run from when I moved out West. But I loved coming back to visit Toronto, it was always so full of life. So vibrant. Instead I found myself in a new city, where my quirky nature loving stories weren't really as relevant. Stories of mountain trolls were received with blank stares and changes in conversations. (I'm not actually kidding, that has actually happened a couple of times)
But those cards with silly and ridiculous sayings. Everyone, everywhere can love them.
You can already see where this story is heading, right?
This move back to Toronto was where I got derailed. And this is where the story may get controversial. If you know me in real life you know I do sit slightly to one side of the whole Vancouver vs. Toronto hate-on. (and if you're reading this from outside of Canada all you need to know is most of Canada has a strong dislike for the country's largest city - Toronto, something you don't realize until you spend time outside of it. Being so far to the West, Vancouver seems to have a particularly strong dislike for Toronto, and the feeling is kind of mutual) Having grown up right outside of Toronto, but living through my most impressionable years out on the West Coast now gives me a slightly different perspective on the world I live in, the people I share it with and the way I chose to live my life. But even that took some time for me to realize as I acclimatized to my new Toronto life. So I will tread delicately in the next chapter of this story….
again. I officially pledge there will be no more of these radio silence apology posts. For serious my friends. I'm pinky swear promising you.
So, as you might have gathered, a lot has been going on over here. Both for the business and personally. And it's all good. Really good.
But I'm not going to tell you right now. You'll have to wait until Sunday. The last pieces of a thunderpeep re-launch are coming together and on Sunday I'll start sharing it with you. Because building this blog back up is towards to the top of the To-Do list.
For now I'll bid you a happy Friday. There's tons of sunshine in the forecast here in Toronto, hopefully spring has sprung where you are too. Or, somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere (like our friend Your Hearts Haven who's currently exploring gorgeous New Zealand) Happy Fall!
this month i've been participating in the #30DaySketchChallenge over on instagram and i'm still trying to get in the groove of sketching a little bit of something each day (unexpected renos mean having my bed in the middle of my studio space which has added a bit of challenge to the work schedule as i'm constantly tempted to lie down for a nap and build pillow forts!) i was quite surprised at how unnatural it seems. i can doodle all day long in illustrator but taking it back to the traditional pencil and paper i keep drawing a blank (quite literally). so it is definitely a challenge, but one i'm up for.
one of my first sketches was the start of a dragon i wanted to do for one of my new love cards. since i'm so much more of a digital sketcher i never finish these pencil or pen drawings so i thought it would be fun to show how it evolved from that original drawing.
the top left is the original challenge sketch and then, since i love everything to have some patterns on them i traced the original multiple times on tracing paper (because if i'm going to draw it's definitely tracing paper and ink for me) and doodle out patterns and then finally take the final concept into illustrator, colour him up and then voila… there he is on a super sweet new card (seriously this pick up line would totally work on me ;)
i'm loving him! he's definitely going to show up on more stuff soon
first one who uncovers the hidden symbols will win of these cards - leave your answers in the comments
check out the love dragon and the other fun new love cards now in the online shop here and popping up in our stockists soon!
My {not so} little Etsy shop is oh so close to a milestone 1000 sale and that means it's time for a little bit of celebrating.
Now, maybe I can't clink shot glasses with you BUT I can offer you something {not really} even better. For the next 24 hours the ENTIRE shop is 50% off - yes even the custom listings - just use the code: 1000AWESOMES at checkout for the deal of a lifetime {seriously I haven't had any shots yet….}
All orders using the code will get some extra love with their order - and if you're lucky #1000, well you'll be getting some serious extra love.
Thanks for hanging out on this journey with me. No matter how far or how close I've had fun with every single order!
It's been a bit of a struggle to get this years collection together, and to be honest it's still a bit of a disaster zone over here, but I can see the light at the end of the fox hole and the new (although maybe a bit small) Midsummer 2014 collection is looking awesome.
And… I'm super excited because this year I actually have an event on the actual first day of summer (that's how us North Americans refer to Midsummer). This year I'll be launching the first bits of the Midsummer collection down at the Leslieville Arts Market. The Leslieville Wanderlust is putting on it's Lemonfest event to welcome in Summer (and to mark the end of street construction the past few weeks) and hopefully drinking loads of lemonade (have I mentioned it's my favourite - although usually with a little something extra added in;)
I'll be posting all sorts of fun sneak peeks over the next 2 weeks so be sure you follow thunderpeep on instagram and twitter!
This is not a saying that comes easily from me (unless we're singing along to Grease ;)
Since moving back East I've learned to adapt to 4 full season and for the most part am enjoying it (especially the arrival of winter and those first snowfalls!) And being that I love to be outdoors, I have no problems walking and adventuring in crisp cold weather, while the rest of the city is stuck sulking indoors.
Unfortunately, at least where I live, the arrival of sunshine and summer, also means the arrival of brutal humidity - which is where it all falls apart for me. I just want to nap all day, which is a nice though, but when you are trying to get shit done, it gets complicated.
So, yesterday while enjoying the first full day of warm breezes and bright sunshine I thought of all the little things I actually really love about summer and am going to try to hold on to them as long as I can before the heat waves kick in!
What are some of your favourite things about summer?
Everyday should be Earth Day…. wise words from one of Canada's wisest Green Man Alive (that'd be David Suzuki in case you are outside of Canada)
Being that today is Earth Day 2014, I thought I'd share one of Mr. Suzuki's messages from a few years back. There are so many teeny things we can do in our everyday lives to help the planet and preserve this beautiful landscape we call home. What kind of little things do you do to stay green?
Today, for Earth Day, I'm going to walk instead of transit (this is my short window where it's not too cold or too humid to do long walks in the cement city) and then spending the evening on the back deck working on my upcoming book - using very little energy while entertaining myself ;)
OOAK Spring 2014: I never got a full finished booth shot (bad me) / The Home print from the calendar was a hit / Ferdinand the Fox and I filled up on yummy lemonade
Yesterday was my first full day of NOTHING. I slept in (waking up at 7 is still sleeping in if you went to bed at 9:30 the night before, right?) lounged and tidied up and napped and lounged and watched crappy movies.
It was really nice. Sometimes you just need nothing days, and I needed that one. So much has been happening lately, and still so much more to come. It can all be overwhelming at times. But so exciting that I can really only mellow for one day then I get itchin' to get back on the wagon and get shit done.
That's where I am today, as I work on the new To Do list, that is much more complex than I anticipated. The Midsummer Collection is starting to take shape and I'm pretty excited about it. It's going to expand into some new (well not so new - more like reborn) pieces, there's a a book all about Trolls, there's a pretty freaking awesome collaboration with my good friend Quilter Steff and I've already got Christmas back on the list. What the….??? Yep, seems June is when all your favourite card selling stores want to take a peep at the Holiday collections.
Crazy. Right?
But I figure that gives me July to kick back and plan my big trip next year. And other BIG adventures. And to figure out how the heck I'm going to fit in a big 40th shindig one week before the Holiday One of a Kind show.
Small Business never stops plotting and creating and planning and conquering. I know this because I'm just finishing up Arlene Dickenson's "All In". Highly recommend it to anyone and everyone on an entrepreneurial path, or even for those who have crazy entrepreneur friends and loved ones.
Don't forget to follow me over on Instagram (thunderpeep) for all the sneak peeks and if you want to share your card giving or card receiving adventures tag your pics with #thunderpeep and I might just share it with all my peeps! I'm all about sharing the love (and non-love ;)