Weekends in February ROCK!

This past weekend I was able to get out of the city and spend some super fun time in the snow with one of my favourite buddies Amy. We are very similar yet very different and the friendship works like magic! We both love goofy things, rocking out to music and snowshoeiing.

My all-time favourite winter activity is snowshoeiing. I never really got into the up the hill down the hill or skiing or snowboarding. It was just so boring. Considering how much I love to hike and spend time in the hills snowshoeiing was a natural fit. I can literally just wander for hours in the snowy winterland. Lucky for me Collingwood has had a shit TON of snow and Amy's folks like on a massive chunk of land that is perfect for winter wandering. So we strapped on the shoes and hit the fields.

I haven't seen Amy since I went up for the bomb that was the Elvis festival. Remember that one? No, neither did I. So, what brought me up this time (other than spending time with my buddy and playing in the snow)? Well, as you may have noticed, I'm a HUGE Nirvana fan and local celebrity singer Drew Wright (former Canadian Idol contestant) and his band were doing an MTV Nirvana Unplugged tribute night. Paint me skeptical. I just do not approve of anyone covering Kurt, but it would be fun night out. For sure. It was a fun night out, but I stick by my statement. Please Don't Ever Cover Kurt Cobain. NoBody! Don't get me wrong, Drew has an amazing voice, much better than Cobain, but he just doesn't have the dark tortured awesome to pull off Nirvana. No one can. That's why they are legends. Nuff said.


Lastly, I'd like to leave you with a little giggle this Monday {or whatever day of the week you are reading this} this was the kind of goofy running joke Amy and I had all weekend. We watched Jimmy Fallon's Best of Late Night and it was Freaking Hillarious. It's nice when you find another friend who can find the hilarious in the same things you do.

I Will End You! Love you Will and Jimmy!

How was your weekend?

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a little helping {hair} hand

I have curly hair. Pretty nice curly hair that is fairly low maintenance (you can be jealous, it's ok!) That is until I moved back to Ontario and we had a real winter {because the first 2 really weren't that different than Vancouver winters}

I love wearing toques (that'd be a knitted winter hat for all you non-Canadians) but between the toque, the super dry air and the static my hair is a flat mushy mess.

The lovelies over at Simple Smiles know all about these dramas, being makers of super fine knitted head wears (and other goodies). So they made up a little video tutorial to give us all a couple of sexy options for hair and headwear solutions.

Here's the video, and you can read the full post here

Have a FUN weekend I'm off for some BFF time and to soak away the past few crazy months at the spa. You'll be even more jealous when you see the pics!

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the lost art of handwriting

You remember those books you got in elementary school, the ones with all the lines to help you practice your letters with? I still love those books, and they've become even more useful to me know as I've taken on the task of learning Modern Calligraphy. I found this amazing class through Skillshare (what you DON'T know about Skillshare -> go look now!) I really want to start working more hand lettering into my work so need to up my skills.

January has been a tough month. Still trying to reclaim all the spent energy from the Holiday. It seems that sometimes once you stop and take a moment it can be hard to get back into a groove. At least for me. And so many distractions!

I've got a couple of new collaborations in the works that have helped to get the creative juices flowing. And all this time spent getting the house & studio back in order were accompanied by great tunes. I love just putting random music on and was getting bored of my same old itunes selection, so I headed over to Songza (if you don't know it you must check it out) Being that I love most things Nordic and Scandinavian I decided to search to see if there was anything under either of those categories. Gold Mine! I found this amazing Scandinavian Folk mix. I'm not really a fan of any one specific genre and really the only folk I like is the more modern Of Monsters and Men and Mumford and Sons style. So I was a bit skeptical, but it also listed Bjork on the playlist and I love her quirky tunes.

One thing I do tend to lean towards in my music is dark and moody lyrics. Might surprise some, considering the style of a lot of my work, but there it is. Along those lines I found a couple of great new bands that are great for working to, just getting lost in the words and melodies, so I thought I'd share them.

First up is First Aid Kit, a Swedish girly duo. So pretty and moody and you just kind of want to lay in the grass and stare at the clouds all day music. Did I really just say that???? Listen for yourself

Next up is the adorable Jens Lekman, who is also Swedish but his record label is called "Secretly Canadian" so you have to love it for that even if you don't like his music ;) He's a bit more pop jazz??? Not sure what to call him, but he's cheeky and I like it. He's got a song called "Some Dandruff on Your Shoulder", of course I'm going to like him!

He doesn't seem to have any videos that I can find so this will have to do. Turns out this was actually on the Whip It soundtrack (bonus points for that because that movie was rad - still trying to bring that word back ;) And he may remind you of a certain British singer…. 

It seems with all this Swedish music being thrown into my universe I may have to actually add it to my big 40th birthday trip itinerary. 

Any new tunes you've recently discovered that you want to share?

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hey there!

So much has been happening for usually slow January. You will notice the blog looks a wee bit different today, it's undergoing a bit of a facelift. Not quite fully functioning at the moment, but it'll get there. And we'll all have a fun as we get there :) So first thing, the super sweet Ashley over at chic.toronto did a feature on thunderpeep today and it's fantastic. It's a funny thing, seeing yourself through someone else. But the most exciting part… there's a super fine giveaway happening on the post so GO check it out. You could win!

A couple of super exciting collaborations are in the works, I can't quite tell you about them yet, but hopefully by early February I can spill the beans. It SO hard not to say anything!

The Spring One of a Kind show is coming up really fast… and this marks a bit new step for thunderpeep. A big booth. Like a mini storefront. Scary or exciting or perhaps a bit of both. I'm starting work on the booth now and you know there'll be sneak peaks up on Instagram as it's being constructed. Lucky for me I have an incredibly talented co-worker who is quite versed in carpentry and has offered her assistance. The ideas for all the new designs are slowly being worked on, some of the Midsummer collection will launch at the show with the rest being debuted at Midsummer in June.

For now let's all bundle up and enjoy the winter weather!

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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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