All sorts of excitement!

Well, the show season officially kicked off this past weekend. Along with a whole bunch of new product. Whew. It was exhausting getting here, and still so much work to be done between now and the end of the year. But Goonies never say die, right ;)

This past weekend was one of my favourite shows, the Danforth East Arts Fair. As an East Ender myself this show has has special meanings for many reasons. It's right in my neighbourhood. I have made a ton of friends at the show customers and vendors. It was my very first big 2 day outdoor tent show and has always been super successful so I tend to launch a lot of new product here. I guess we kind of share the same quirky sense of humour - and it's a great barometer for what will be popular. We are so much more twisted in the East End of town ;)

There were 2 definite hits this year, not surprisingly both dwell a bit more on that twisted side of the tracks.

Ghost Friends is officially a bestseller after selling out at #Deaf14. Now available in the Etsy shop

I keep getting requests for a new Best Friend card so i was super excited to launch this one. I mean Come On… who doesn't  want to come back and freak out all your frienemies! I love a good Ghost story and this one brought out some really interesting ones from my lovely customers. I wonder if Trolls can be ghosts?

Old Milk is Gross. Your Old Friends are not. Also now available in the Etsy shop

In my circle of friends I'm always the one who will sniff milk (or pretty much anything) to see if it's safe to consume, but do I actually sniff my friends to be sure they are still fresh enough to stay friends with? Well only my close friends will know the answer to that one (and yes someone did actually ask me if I did that over the weekend!!??) But you can let your friends know if they pass the Old Milk test with this awesome new birthday card.

There are even more awesome new products being uploaded to the Etsy shop this week, I'll showcase most of them as we head into the next show, Etsy: Made in Canada on the 27th. I'm pretty excited for this one. Not only because I got to work with my lovely ladies over at The Toronto Etsy Street Team and 416 Hustler Team on organizing the event, but because it's the first EVER nationwide event to help promote the Shop Local movement here in Canada. Etsy is really working hard to make Canadians aware of all the amazing talent here and all the incredible locally made goods so this event will see pop-up markets in 26 cities from coast to coast. If you're in Toronto you can check out our show at the MaRS building (College and University Ave) as well as our sister show over at OCAD. If not check out the MIC homepage to find a show near you (ps --> Vancouverites yours is in Robson Square, AwEsOmE!)

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We're celebrating a wee bit over here….

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!

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Mothers Day cards

So, what do you think? You have noticed the make-over… right? I finally decided to fold the website and blog into one site, too much trying to maintain them both. And time is something that I seem to have very little of these days. So now, everything you need to know about thunderpeep is all right here. Links to both shops and all the social media outlets I hand out at.

I can't claim all the credit for this great looking page though. I got the template from one of Canada's great bloggers and designers Wonder Forest. Check out her site, the blog is fun to follow and she's got a great shop full of all sorts of blogging tools to make you look oh-so-swank! And her blog is super pretty.

Now on to some thunderpeep news. The new Mothers Day card is up the shop already, but I thought I should give it a bit of promo over here, since it's pretty awesome. I'm not particularly close to my mother, so this particular occasion was never really an easy one for me to design for. But this one was inspired by one of my good friends, who's quite cheeky and her mom has been known to give it back even cheekier. I love their relationship and I knew this particular saying was probably one she's said to her mom at some point - or would say. What's even more awesome is when she visited me at OOAK recently and saw the card she automatically bought one for her mom. She said it was "totally something I would say". Inspiration comes from all the little nooks and crannies of your life.

for the Best Sons and Daughters in the Universe!

Last years design is also still available in the shop!

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thunderpeep on Sale!

as usually happens in January, it's time to do some house cleaning. Out with the old and in with the new.

In order to make room for new products coming in the next couple of months I'm offering up some fantastic deals on some of the older (but still awesome) products. Card sets, individual cards, gift tags of all sorts, Christmas products and the more individual cards.

Deals from 25% all the way to 50% off (no kidding!!!) can be found in the Sale section of the thunderpeep Etsy shop (click here for all your shopping pleasures)

There's also a new Lovey card up, well really just a re-design. The rest of the cards will launch next weekend (January 12th) so keep an eye out on Instagram for sneak peaks!

you can buy this lovely for your lovely here!

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2014… this story is just getting started

I always love when you hear comments from actors or musicians who say they used to practice being interviewed when they were kids. I love these stories. The quirky things we do in our private spaces! 

Now, I've got no aspirations to be an actor or musician, but I do have one secret interview skill I have been practicing lately. You know those "Quit Your Day Job" interviews on Etsy? I totally practice what I would say if I were ever chosen, what advice would I give, what have I learned so far in my journey. What funny stories do I have to tell. One problem. I still have my day job. It's about time I stepped it up and made a plan, believed 100% in thunderpeep. Well really I already do this, but there has to be $$$ to back it up. Being able to live and run this little company without a backup paycheck is scary, and honestly not a reality at the present moment. I'm a single lady living in a rather expensive city. I don't live an extravagant lifestyle, that's one thing I have going in my favour, but those are the nuts and bolts. People love to say "there's never a right time, just do it". Those people are always have a significant other at home with a paycheck and just want to live vicariously through you. Do not listen to them. They are the little dark angel sitting on your shoulder, the one who is always coaxing you to do the wrong thing. I require some savings and a strong plan to cover the slow times. That's the reality of it. I'm making this statement of resolution today so that by the end of this year I will be ready for Etsy to come knocking about how I made the transition to sole entrepreneurship. I'm making it to all of you so that at the end of the day I have someone to answer to.

Some other Goals for thunderpeep this year…

1. All of my products are switching over to being silkscreened by the end of the year. That was the original intention when I started designing, but production was a challenge in my wee studio and the limited time I had, what with that Day Job interfering. It's still going to be a tight schedule and a bit more work, but I love it and miss getting dirty with my inks, so it's a sacrifice I'm more than happy to make. And honestly, how awesome are those Trolls going to look silkscreened.

2. Build my blog {pretty sure I say this one every year, but this year I mean it. For reals. Mean it}

3. Do 1 travelling show this year {right now it's tied between Edmonton & Chicago}

4. Notch 5 new wholesale accounts - outside of Ontario {if you have any suggestions of awesome stationery shops where you live let me know, I will reward successful tips with cards ;}

5. Have Fun.

6. Finish and print my Troll Stories books --> this one I'm aiming to launch with the Midsummer collection! So Freaking EXCITED

Some Goals for Michelle this year…

1. Have Fun

2. Don't forget your friends & make some new* ones while you're at it

3. Have Fun

4. Get past the beginner phase in my Learn to Speak Norwegian quest

5. Take more pictures

6. Plan your big adventure in celebration of turning 40!

Now, for that #5 Goal I'm starting a challenge over on Instagram {mainly because I'm addicted to it and love ogling everyone's pics} My intention is to take a pic of a moment in my day, everyday, all year. If you want to join in use the hashtag #welcometomyday Hopefully we can get loads of us doing it and a) we can all get some new followers and b) spy on people's lives. I'll try to make sure my life is spicy and interesting for you!

How about you? What are your big plans for 2014

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Black Friday all weekend long!

As has become the trend the past few years, Black Friday sales are going online and have invaded the Canadian market. What was once a US based Holiday sale day, coming the day after US Thanksgiving, is now becoming a worldwide event.

Last year was my first year hosting a sale and it was well worth it. I wasn't sure if I'd do it this year, as I'll be at the show, with most of my stock. But last years sales during this weekend were too good to not do one again. Luckily for me I have a couple of great friends who are willing to help me out with posting the sales too!

Black Friday ONLY the entire etsy shop is 10% off BUT.... for the entire weekend (that's Friday all the way through to Monday night) I'm offering you FREE shipping*. And that's for EvErYoNe.... EvErYwHeRe in the world :)

So hit the Etsy shop tomorrow, stock up on all sorts of stationery goodies!

You can also get in on the sales this weekend in the thunderpeep Society 6 shop. Free Shipping all the way through Cyber Monday! That's all sorts of prints, phone cases, mugs, tees, totes and now.... onesies and kids tees.


Looking for more Black Friday deals from small creative businesses? Check out all the deals at the Poppytalk Marketplace!

*Unfortunately by Friday I cannot guarantee Christmas delivery to Etsy purchases outside of North America unless you purchase express shipping, which isn't part of the Free Shipping sale.

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Holiday Shipping!

Someone posted on facebook that there are only 9 Saturdays left until Christmas.

I was shocked. I mean, I KNOW it's the middle of October, but still... only NINE Saturdays?

So, I can't help you with your shopping, but I can help with shipping woes. I certainly don't want you to be that frazzled person standing in the massive Post Office lineup so I've put together some super FUN shipping deadline graphics for you. Feel free to download them to keep on hand and pass around so all your friends and family send out their parcels on time (especially the ones to you ;)

These are based on shipping out of Canada, if you're outside of my awesome country just check in your countries postal website. I'll list a few at the bottom of this post for you.

Now, if you're looking to order some gifts from the thunderpeep etsy shop or the Society 6 shop (which are both fully stocked with Holiday goodies) here are my shipping deadlines to ensure arrival by December 24th. Don't forget that during the super busy Holiday shipping season things can get delayed, especially crossing borders so it's always best to order ahead of the deadline.

Here's a list of links to some other post offices:

United States Postal Service

Australia Post

New Zealand Post

UK Royal Mail

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Etsy. Bringing old Friends together again!

If you follow my facebook page (and if you don't you should) I had a really random post about the power of etsy bringing people together. Then I never followed up. Not because i forgot (which yes, does happen quite often) but because I didn't have the follow up story yet. Now I do...

Growing up I had quite a few penpals (shocking I know) but one of them in particular turned into one of my favourite friends. I met her in the summer between grades 6 and 7, at a hotel in downtown Toronto while my mom and I were moving from one house to another. It was a fun week of big city adventures, made all the more awesome by meeting my new friend, who was in town from Windsor, doing family things. We hit it off right away and had some great adventures and when the week was up we swapped addresses, as kids did in those days. It was the start of a friendship that would span the rest of our elementary school and most of our high school days. We wrote religiously, visited each other at least twice a year but eventually, as a lot of long distance relationships do, the letters started to be fewer and fewer. By the time we hit college/university we weren't writing. She did ring me up once in my last year of  college, and we had a great chat. But that was it. I used to think of her every now and then, and when the whole facebook/internet phenomenon took off I would search for her every now and then, but never found her. I was a bit sad, I wished we had never grown apart.

Then there came etsy. Now, if you google my name most of the hits are either from when I used to play hockey, or my etsy shop. And that's exactly what happened. One morning I woke up to an etsy convo message from her. She had found me!!! I was so excited I literally jumped up and down. Now, it seems she sent that message right before leaving on a big European trip so she didn't respond to me message until months later (which is right now). It was painful waiting for it. Literally everyday I was checking to see if she'd responded yet. But finally she did and we are planning to finally meet-up and do some serious catching up. Serious. Catching. Up. I'll be sure to share it all with you, of coarse.

The power of the written word. Through all those years, and all those letters we were such good friends. not to knock the power of the internet, you just don't make the same bonds with 140 characters.

It isn't a Monday, but I'm going to leave you with another awesome 80's ending... because this was the big hit the summer we met, and it's been our song ever since (apparently her husband even bought her the record, as she's always referred to it as the Michelle song)

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who you gonna call?

I have never been a chatty Kathy (hence the love of written communication). I didn't chat with my girlfriends for hours on end when I was a teenager. Well not unless there was a breakup involved! But I there is something I can't resist about these old rotary dial phones. I want them all over my house, and I want them to be able to dial far off lands. Here are some pretty ones that I love on Etsy... any of them your old phone?

vintage of all vintage phones! (you can buy it here from Cute Vintage Finds)

this is the phone I had as a teen. it would light up when it rang. totally rad! (you can buy it here from EMW vintage)

who else loved the movie Pretty in Pink? ( you can buy this phone here from Pretty Petal Studio)

perhaps you'd be a fan of the more office friendly rotary phone! (you can buy it here from Tomo Vintage)

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weekend wrap

To be honest, this weekend wasn't as productive as it should have been. There was a Hell on Wheels marathon on TV. I got sucked in. I got some work done between lounging on the sofa. The September launch of a whole new line of product is coming together as well as some of the Holiday pieces. Oh yeah and there was a huge Food Festival going on in my neighbourhood, so i spent some time with good friends wandering and munching on awesome Greek Foods! I'll have to write up a bit more for you guys on that later this week.

The one project i was able to cross of this weekends list was a photoshoot of the new products, including my very first gift wrap (which I'm super excited about - but it was a challenge to shoot I do have to admit) You should be seeing sneak peeks of them in the next couple of weeks. The new line will for sure be up in the swanky new stall I am working of for the Labour Day weekend (that's the weekend of September 1st for everyone outside of Canada & the US) Hopefully up in the Etsy shop as well that weekend.

But I feel really bad not giving you some sort of musical treat so here's one of my favourite fun songs...

Hope you're having a Happy Monday Lil' Peeps :)

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updating a classic

I wasn't the best student in school. I liked Art, English and Gym class... and sometimes Geography and History, depending on the topic. But one class I had tons of fun in was Typing class. Yes, I am aging myself slightly here. I took typing in grade 9 and by the time I hit grade 12 it no longer existed (was replaced with typing on a computer, which I believe was just called computer class!)

The class was a no-brainer, I'd been on the typewriter since I was a kid. I loved the clickety clack of typing letters to my penpals. All those stories just seemed way cooler being typed as opposed to hand written (um, did I really just say that?)

Typing on a computer keyboard has just never been the same.... so when I saw the USB Typewriter feature on etsy I was SO freaking excited. I could have the best of both worlds... clickety clacking away on my computer. Oh man, I am so adding this to my Christmas wish list for Santa this year :)

And for all my vintage peeps out there... what do you think about his comments about antiques no longer existing anymore. It's very true, once my ipod dies, it just dies. Will people be buying these gadgets 10, 20 years from now?

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Learning to listen

A couple of weeks ago I had an event that was going to have super awkward me mixing with media types. I was so nervous... Not only do I dislike small talk and even more so talking about myself, but doing the 2 at the same time on one of the hottest days of the summer. Oh Man.

It just so happens my co-worker was reading Arlene Dickenson's book Persuasion so I asked her for some advice on how to be more assertive and to sell myself to the media, in person (it's a whole lot easier when you have the time to think about what you are going to say) She just looked at me, and in a matter-of-fact voice just said "you already have it, just be you" Her message, you aren't selling yourself, you're letting people get to know you, because you are a reflection of your product.

The one thing I don't have a problem with is being myself. In all my glorious awkwardness what you see is what you get. I like to think, no matter what kind of weird things I might say, that's what people like about me and as a result, what customers like about my cards!

 Another reason I think people are drawn to me and the second lesson my co-worker taught me.... to listen to a person's whole story before you speak. Thank you. That last one is a lesson for us all. Listen. I love to listen to people's stories, but even I sometimes jump to speak before someone is done (mostly because I'll forget what I want to say - my brain tends to run 10 times faster than my mouth!) But it's important, especially nowadays with texting, etc... we are always in such a hurry but taking the time to really listen, not just to the people in front of you, but the sights and sounds of your daily life.

All this being said, it turns out the evening wasn't so bad. Most of the media just came and went. I met some really great other local makers and bloggers, and got to catch up with some of my artsy buddies. Oh yeah, and made a super cute floral crown, which will be perfect for next summer's Midsummer launch!

And.... today's motivational message was brought to you by this awesome cutey I found on etsy

Jedi Master necklace by Rapscallion on etsy

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Tuesdays aren't so bad

Good thing I was lazy on the weekend and didn't schedule all my posts like I'm supposed to, because today I had something exciting to chat about.

I woke up this morning to a wicked storm in my etsy shop and after a bit of digging it turns out one of the friendship drinking card made it onto the Etsy front page while I was snoozing away. Super Excited over here :) Turns out one of the treasuries I was in for the Christmas in July sale got featured. You can see the whole treasury here. (FYI the sale is now on until the end of July - you can still stock up here)

A lot of sellers really focus on making it to the front page but it's never been a goal for me or the shop, mostly because making treasuries is somewhat challenging for me. I get all distracted browsing through too many awesome listings. But in the past month I've taken up a couple of different treasury challenges through a couple of my teams and am getting the hang of it. This particular treasury was made during the Christmas in July teams treasury challenge... win win.

I'm a HUGE fan of etsy teams, they've been a really welcoming community for me (I've met quite of few of my friends through my local Toronto Etsy Street Team) but also a really great resource. Not only do I learn a lot from my teammates, I find I can help others with the things I've learned and I really love that feeling. I've stumble lot's during my journey to set up this little business of mine, and I'm still figuring things out as I go along (still trying to figure out how to ditch the day job and be a full time thunderpeep!) but if I can help one other artists avoid any one of my stumbles then it's all worth it (well it's still worth it because I love my business but whatever, get over it, I said it!)

I'm off for a super cold drink... have an awesome Tuesday evening (or if it's Wednesday while your reading, happy hump day ;)

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blog love

Remember that blog challenge I was partaking in a few months ago? Probably not because I sort of fell of the wagon. sigh.....

Anyways, now that I'm back on the wagon I thought I would finish all the challenge questions. Today's post challenge: Five of your favorite blogs and what you love about them.


Easy - I follow almost 30 blogs on bloglovin, but these are the ones I check out daily.

1. Poppytalk. I'm sure you've heard me share the Poppytalk love either here, or on facebook, and for good reason. Not only is it a Canadian blog, but the topics are wide ranging. From artist features to DIY's to just pretty, pretty pictures Poppytalk is an addiction. Some days I'll get to read about interesting people, their craft and process. Other days it'll just be a feature of artists from the Poppytalk marketplace. I get easily overwhelmed by alot of design oriented blogs around, the massive projects or the super posh spaces they feature. But Poppytalk always feels like your chatting with a friend and I love that aspect. Hopefully we'll remain friends for a very long time ;)

2. Lost Type blog. This one isn't updated very often but when it is, it's with awesomeness. I'm a total type-nerd and this blog mixes some history with a whole load of eye candy for the type passionate! They are actually a type foundry "The Lost Type Co-Op is a Pay-What-You-Want Type foundry, the first of its kind" I love this place!

3. Print & Pattern. Pure Pattern Eye Candy! If you love looking at amazing pattern designs, you will want to head over there. But be forewarned, you may get lost for hours. They also have a book too ;)

4. JulieAnnArt. As a stationery designer, I can really relate to this blog, but it's also a ton of fun. She chats about business related things, but also offers lot's of fun stories, guest bloggers and DIY's. As someone still in the baby stages of my own company, it's really inspiring to read about others ups, downs and struggles.

5. Uppercase Magazine. Following along with Uppercases' process as well as the other design oriented goodies they offer, appeals to the former publication designer in me. It was especially heart-wrenching to follow along with their struggles during the recent Calgary floods, thank you for sharing your experiences. Plus, if you follow them on Bloglovin they have an awesome "love" button that shoots our animated hearts when you click it. You know I hit that button for every post - because who doesn't love to watch animated hearts!

There you have it. What are some of your favourite blogs?

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Music Mondays with Heat & Hornets!

I'm always up before everyone else on the weekends, which works perfectly, I can head out and get all my errands run, have a nice peaceful walk in the morning sunshine and then have time for work or social times. I had a bunch of awesome ideas that I was finally going to have time to work on, just me and the backyard patio, the forecast was for nothing but sunshine, I had a fridge full of cold "drinks" and a whole new Madonna mix in the itunes.

Well, apparently the construction crew working on the renos next door to me were up even earlier than me.... tearing down the whole front porch. That front porch housed a massive hornets nest. You can imagine what happened then. A whole bunch of pissed off hornets converging on MY front door step.

I'm totally girlie afraid of bees/wasps/hornets... pretty much anything that will sting me. I literally leapt from the door, about 10 feet down the walkway and just ran down the block. I didn't even care if the workers were laughing at me. I was outta there.

This also meant no backyard work sessions - those hornets were all over the place. So.... I spent most of the morning adventuring around Leslieville before heading home to put on my card designing cape, cranked the Madonna (must explain that the mix came up when a coworker wanted some old Madonna to listen to at work, and after going through the olden goldies of Madge's career I couldn't stop getting into the groove!)

So... as you are probably guessing, today's musical gift is some vintage Madonna. One of my favourite songs (I once wrote a spoof version of this song for a school project, wish I still had that...)

Happy Monday!

ps. the hornets seem to finally be gone. Hopefully they haven't built their new home under my front stairs.....

How was your weekend?

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christmas in july sale

I don't do sales in the thunderpeep shop very often. In fact I really only do Boxing Week and Christmas in July, and of coarse the Box of Misfit cards at shows. So if you're looking to stock up on some of the awesome thunderpeep stationery currently in stock NOW is the time. Some of these products are going to be discontinued so this will be your last chance to get your mitts on them.

Sales starts today and runs until July 21st and is open to peeps All Around the World :)

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