Let's talk about Trolls, some more.

It's been awhile. Well, it's been awhile for a few things, but we're focusing on the Trolls for today ;)

But Midsummer 2016 is quickly approaching. And they are getting quite excited. Well, as excitable as a Troll can get. I mean Skoggs is always down for a party, but Berg and Siku. Not so much!

And since the Trolls will be making a much bigger appearance in this years collection I thought I'd put out some sneak peeks to help get everyone excited and on board with the Trolls. These are not your lurky, creepy internet trolls. Real life Trolls would really appreciate it if maybe you could come up with a different term for people who lurk online, or better yet if you lurkers would just go away.

I'll be releasing a handful of little mini books, that will all come together to make up a full printed book, to be released in June. And we're going to start things off with one very big Troll misconception....

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That's a wrap!

Santa and I at the TEST Christmas Marketplace.

Yesterday was my last show of 2015. I didn't do too many shows this year and the ones I did do were small and intimate, where I got a chance to meet and chat with all sorts of fun and interesting folk. Next to seeing my creations come to life there is no better feeling than watching people reacting to them. I have so many great memories of watching people flip through the Midsummer book and then hearing the feedback from people who've read or even better read it to their kids. The few who connected with the subtle imagery in the Good vs. Evil calendar illustration that was pulled from the original Grimms story (not that silly Disney version) Sometimes it's not about the sale, it's about the connection. And some of my best memories from this past year were the great conversations about one of my products, that didn't end in a sale. At least not at the show ;)


But one story that is leaving a sweet note on the end of my year... I have this friend Pam. She's a potter who makes gorgeous potted pieces under the name Curious Bird pottery. Not only is she one of my favourite people, she has two 3 year old twin boys who are the most adorable things. And she bought one of the Midsummer books for them at the Made in Canada show. Since then, every time I see her she tells me a different story about the boys and the story. I love hearing all the little things they like about the book and how they have embraced some of the graphic details as well. Like the stripe stripe dot dot on the trees. They are going to be very clever Troll hunters when they get a bit bigger! Now this is all awesome, but it must also be noted that Pam is a teacher. If I had written a bad story, no teacher would let their kids near that book. Thank you Pam.

As I wrap up the show calendar my favourite season is quickly approaching. Winter. It's quite sad here in Toronto, we have no signs of winter weather coming anytime soon. And I can only handle so much grey dreary weather in December. It should be sunny and WHITE! Why else would I have moved back here? And with the Winter solstice comes the launch of the next Illustration in the Good vs Evil collection. One that is most appropriate for the coming of the frozen season. It also happens to be inspired by my all-time favourite fairy tale. I can't wait to share it.

PS. If you notice anything odd on the blog in the next few weeks, I'm updating the template and there will most definitely be hiccups! 

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No one said being Adult was going to be easy

This post was started a few weeks ago and has just sat there. Literally with one first sentence (which is now gone). Taunting me to say more. But like everything else I do, this updated needed time to brew. Letting people into your personal space is kind of an uncomfortable feeling for me still. But that's kind of all about to change. In a very big way.

Grandma somewhere in California (not positive)
and yes she most likely made that dress herself!

I'm a wanderer. It runs in my family. My grandma was a a wanderer and beautiful soul. When I was really little my friends often referred to her as Mother Nature. She was a really cool woman who I wish I could have spent time with now, as a partial grownup. I don't own a house. I am not married. I don't have kids. To be honest I don't want any of those things. I don't want to be tied to one place, I want to live it all the cool places. I love being Canadian and all the opportunity it has given me. But we live on an enormous planet. Why would anyone not want to explore it ALL. Ok, even I don't want to see it all (you know all those really hot places with big bugs are not on my list of must-see places) I don't want to do the same jobs for my whole adulthood. I've had some incredibly sweet gigs and loved (almost) all of them. But I still have a long list of things I want to do. But living in chaos is also something I don't want to do. Time to make some decisions already.

So, what the hell does that mean? You guys have patiently come along this ride of re-branding and now it's all coming to a head. That's what it means. I need to get out and explore and share and experience, I absolutely can't sit still anymore.

I'm back in trip planning mode. 1.5 years to plan, save and strategize.

Wait, what?

A trip. Where to?

My instagram followers may have noticed this recent post linking to a new social media identity. That's where you can follow all the trip details as they unfold (please excuse my one photo there - I put that up so my friends would know it was me when I followed them). And even come along with me when I set out in 2017 (yeah, it takes a long time to plan and save to take a big chunk of a year off and wander) There's also a new blog so I can keep business and personal a bit more separate. It's still a work in progress but it's coming together pretty quickly so you should head over and start follow it here

Thunderpeep is already starting to fold into a more personal creative business, which you'll get a taste of as they roll out over the fall/winter. I'm super psyched about this years calendar. It's pretty grand! More books are also coming next year. And I'm SO FREAKING HAPPY. The adventures of Mina and Runa and the Trolls will continue in 2016. Best thing I ever did in this life was take a step away and follow up on that dream of writing my first fairy tale. Over this past year there have been a lot of confused looks when I talk about where I'm at and what I'm doing. Some good, some well kind of sad. So many people are just too stuck or afraid to really follow through on a dream or passion. If my journey can help even one person break the chains of societal pressures I'm happy. If there's a will, there's always a way. Always. You just have to put yourself out there and be ready to get knocked down a couple (or lot's) of times.

So much happy goodness.

Now, let's all go live happily ever after :)

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Speaking of books...

Change is good, but change is tough. I can't say things are all rosy and golden since my big tell-all post (did I really tell all? that just sounds so dramatic!) I'm really excited to launch all the new things I've been working on, including those books. Oh man, those books. Is it possible to have a love affair with one of your own projects? I think yes. But there are still more big decisions to make, and things to figure out and plans to make. And visions to figure out.

But I can still say I'm very comfortable where I'm at in all this chaos. I'm a really great dreamer. Day dreamer that is, ambitious dreamer - I never remember my night time dreamings. That sometimes makes me sad, because I wake feeling like I dreamt something amazing, but no memories. That sucks. But whatever. That's life.

So, speaking of those books, the Troll one is actually almost finished so I wanted to share a bit of that. People are often a bit confused about this one. I'm not 5 years old, and what the hell is a troll anyhow? This is why I had to write it. And it fits in nicely with the Midsummer Fairy Tale. This little companion book is an introduction to Trolls, for you North Americans who still think that Trolls are the same things as Yeti or Sasquatch (pft, come on now!) I can say now, that it's the first in a series. I've already started on the next stories. Oh yeah, so much Troll love coming your way.

Here's a sneak peek of the covers (above) and some of the inside pages (see most of you probably didn't know there were different types of Trolls, did you?). This book will actually launch before the Midsummer book. Can't say much more than that as I'm still working out the details. Soon though. Very soon.

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Workin' for the Weekend

Here in the Great North today is a Holiday. Happy Birthday Queen Victoria, thanks for the extra day of sleeping in and drinking tea in my jammies. And working from the comfort of my sofa.

I don't usually travel during long weekends, because pretty much everyone else is and I hate traffic. So I'll be heading out of town next weekend, for a couple of days in the deep woods of Algonquin Park, for what my good friend Amy likes to call Chill the Fuck out time. Sounds good to me. And apparently there are a ton of Moose out and about in the park, and Amy and I love Moose! But the point is, I had to work extra hard to catch up on a ton of work this weekend to be able to take next weekend off for adventures. And man, there is a ton of work on the go! But it's good. All good. I got to spend a lot of time designing and bringing this story of mine to life, and that felt awesome. I still struggle with that that nagging voice that reminds me of all the other little things that need my attention, but sometimes you just need to muzzle her and stay the course. A lot of my stationery friends are in NY right now, doing what most stationery designers need to do to get noticed, the National Stationery Show. But I took a pass again this year, still just doesn't feel like my path. Some people don't get it, but that's ok, we've all got our own paths to follow. I'm 100% confident that I'm exactly where I need to be (at least career wise, we all know that my heart truly lies in the wild, not in the city ;)

I mean, this weekend wasn't ALL work and no play - I did get a chance to go out and play with Steff (the other half of Pickled Herring), trying to hunt down a colouring book for her can prove to be quite the experience! I mean so many people still haven't gotten on the adult colouring book craze. And that doesn't make us Hipsters (well apparently I'm getting close, but whatever), trust me you should try it after a shitty day. Colouring Therapy is a thing. We've also got some big things coming up for our collaboration Pickled Herring Designs. So much good stuff coming for you guys and gals.

There's just a bit more than a month to go until the Midsummer Collection launches, although the books will have a bit of a later release - I'm working on a event to mark their debut in the beginning of July (hopefully I'll be able to tell you more about that soon!) So considering the rest of the collection one big ass sneak peak into the book set. I'm so excited for everyone to see it. I'm excited to see the finished product myself.

 If you follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram you got another sneak peek today as I posted some more pics pulled from the artwork. I think I'll continue to do that as we head into the final stretch of spring.

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fun with blackletter type

I've been playing around with types of fonts to use for the Midsummer books. I definitely wanted to stay within my existing style, but also wanted a little throw back to traditional Fairy Tales. I primarily use heavy sans serifs in my work. I love that they are bold, simple and clean. And I have a strong dislike for most serif fonts.

I could play this game all day long! It has actually been banned from my phone….

But Serifs are one thing, blackletter is a completely other matter. I took up Calligraphy last year and while I don't get to play around a whole lot, it did give me a much better appreciation for Gothic Script so I wanted to incorporate that into my books. I mean they were used in most early editions of published Fairy Tales and they are so dramatic, perfect for pulling out important parts of a story! I also found them really easy to play around with as they already have a highly illustrative quality.

So, I played around with some. This one is the front runner so far!

What do ya think?

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Because sometimes Wednesday are awesome!

So, if you've been following the blog for a little bit you'll know how much I love the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. No seriously I feel like I'm in love with their music sometimes.

I know, but whatever!

So they released their first new single in what feels like forever, on Monday. And it's perfect. Even this lyric video they did to launch it. Only OMAM could pull this off and still be super cool. And I really need to know who this man is - he looks like Fun!

So, on this day when I send my the Midsummer fairly tale out to be looked over by the first set of eyes that aren't mine, well this song just sort of fit. (FYI my story is one of Midsummer Forest Adventures)

Happy Hump Day!

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