Jumping In: Our First Craft Fair...Sorta

Monkey + Seal get a lot of questions regarding what it was like to show at our first craft fair. Believe it or not, we started out very humbly, with only two zines and two comics. Monkey had a little comic called "Comic Shorts," the first issue of "The Bad Date Zine," and his "True Ghost Stories" zine. Seal had the beloved "The Story of Seal." That's it. Oh yeah, and we had lots of 1" pinback buttons.

However, even though the SF Zine Fest where we got our humble origins was all the way back in 2007(!), we constantly have had "new experiences" at craft fairs. We had our first Alternative Press Expo, our first Bazaar Bizarre holiday show, our first anime convention, etc. etc. Each time, we find a new audience, new vendors, and new experiences in terms of setting up our booth, new product, signage, and all the other stuff that we think about when we sell someplace.

One thing that we have never done before, however, is do an out of town show. All of the places we've sold have been in the city limits of San Francisco. This is mainly due to the fact that we don't own a car, so we haven't been very keen on racking up transportation costs to vend elsewhere. However, during the summer of last year, Monkey heard that Spectrum (a very competitive illustration/concept art annual) was going to have their first conference, and were looking for vendors.

Monkey jumped at the opportunity, and the two of us decided to throw our hats in the ring and see if we'd get in. We did, and now we're busy preparing for what is easily the biggest show of our lives. It's a three day event in Kansas City, Missouri, where we will be vending next to some of the biggest names in the fantasy art arena. If you know anything at all about fantasy art, we're down the isle from JP Targete, Chris Rahn and Jason Felix, and we're about 8 booths away from James Gurney. Also vending will be people you just might have heard of: Dan Dos Santos, Stephan Martiniere, Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo, Todd Lockwood, and just like a bajillion other awesome artists who we look up to and are inspired by.

Suffice to say, it's hard not to be intimidated by the competition. Not only that, we're having to learn how to manage booking airfare and hotels, getting our goods over to Kansas City, etc. etc. However, we're doing our best to set ourselves up the best we can for success and even though we're "not ready," will we ever be ready for this type of competition?

Although it's terrifying, expensive (more on that later), and difficult, no matter how tight our portfolios are, no matter how prepared we might be, it'll always be a new type of event, and we will never be truly ready. So, we can just do the best we can and go for the gold. Just like everything else in life, sometimes you have to make that deadline for yourself that you can't escape and just go for it. Sure, maybe your first mini comic might not be very good. Sure, maybe your first convention experience will lose you money. Sure, maybe the first gallery you submit to might turn you down. However, if you constantly wait until you're "ready," you'll have missed your opportunity. Better to live with no regrets, than to wonder "what if?"

So, here's the part where you can help us "totally pwn" (Seal just stared blankly at this phrase) this Spectrum Live! event. We're bringing a bunch of new products, and since this is easily the most expensive event of our careers (with travel and lodgings, shipping, etc., we're at around almost two month's worth of rent), we're offering you all first dibs on some of our newest stuff to help offset our costs. We weren't really going to launch any of this until after we "tried it out" at Spectrum, but you all are our supportive fans, and we wanted to let you get it before anyone else did.

So help send us to Kansas City, and check out all the new stuff here. As a preview of what's to come, we've got a brand new tie design, two new Monkey prints, two new Seal prints (one of which is being released before the show that it's in even opens!), and our Create or Die shirt, re-released in a classic black and white version.

Live with no regrets, and grab some great stuff while it's on sale here!

Process: Designing and Finding Inspiration Everywhere

This is Monkey here, and today I'll be talking about the design of my personal business cards which led to a new diptych of paintings.

So first off, for whatever reason, whether it be the creepiness or the iconography or just weirdness, I've always associated myself with skulls. My old logo was something like this:
So it was natural that when I was designing ties, I came up with this:
So, I ended up designing the front of my business card to look like this:
Using a scan of the original tie design, I changed up the crossbones to be paintbrushes, added a splatter texture that I created a while back by soaking a brush in ink and just going at a large sheet of paper. After scanning and saving it, I now have a really awesome, natural-looking texture that I can whip out whenever I need that grunge look.

So then, I realized that I probably should put a photo of my painting on my business card, since a)that's what most artists do, and b)it makes sense to show off your work. However, I was torn as I really liked the pink and black design with the skulls and the "create or die" underneath it (a motto I plan to live by). Then, inspiration hit. Duh, why don't I just do a painting of the "create or die" dealy? (slaps forehead). Duh.

In my paintings (most of which are not up on my website yet -_- ) I deal with the exploration of the hierarchy between text and image, realism and graphic representation, order of words altering meanings, and the nuances of language. So, it came to me that by having the order of the words be "create" then "die," it gives the reader the idea that I'm advocating the creation over the dying. I thought it would be then interesting to use almost the same image but switching the words around. I also wanted to keep the numbers of letters the same in the first and second word, so then I did another painting that says "death or art."

Believe it or not, these are the same color..stupid weird lighting in my apartment..

The top photo is longer cuz I formatted it for business cards and had to get clever with the stamp tool in photoshop to extend the canvas border.

I then decided to use a contrasting color (well, not a perfect contrast, but you get the point) on the back. I brought in the original grunge text, added some hand-drawn elements, and here you've got the back of my card:
Anyway, I guess what the point of all this was to highlight how what seem like problems or setbacks can be the best (although unlikely) place to find inspiration. I ended up not having to compromise my original design and ended up with not only a business card design but also two new paintings. Often I get the biggest inspiration when I'm frustrated or completely at my wit's end when dealing with a problem.

Instead of trying to bash your way through problems (as tempting as that may be, especially for me), I find that staying fluid and constantly looking for new ways of viewing your problem can lead to unexpected and novel solutions. Also, I like to think across mediums. From what started as a tie design led to a new logo which led to a new business card which led to two new paintings. Think about some cool doodles you already have. Maybe that's your next painting or postcard design. Anyway, I hope this was informative and helpful!

Monkey's Ties are up in the shop!

After only about a month of procrastination/delays/the holiday monster/etc., Monkey has finally gotten all five of his necktie designs up in our shop!

While the designing and printing of the ties are great fun, even more fun was the photoshoot! Monkey had Seal take photos of him doing silly poses, looking all grim and whatnot. We have compiled all of the staged shots here for your viewing pleasure. Which one is your favorite? Also, if any of you are talent scouts looking for male models, Monkey is interested :P

Have a great Friday everyone!

Handmade Ho Down photos and our next show!

The cover of the Handmade Ho Down Zine, illustrated and designed by M+S!

Monkey rifling through his small paintings for a customer.

Seal pointing out some of the buttons designs for patrons.

The Monkey + Seal table!

Another thank you goes out to everyone who supported us at the Ho Down! We are super fortunate and thankful to be so well-received at the event!

If you missed Monkey + Seal at the Handmade Ho Down, don't fret - there's still time to shop for the holidays. Although Monkey's spiffy ties aren't available online yet (he's working on it!), they, along with some new serigraphs and Seal's full gamut of giclee goodness will be for sale at the San Francisco Center for the Book's Holiday Fair! Friends of Monkey + Seal such as Aviary Press, Two Fine Chaps, and In Cahoots Press will all be there as well, so it'll be a great opportunity to snag some awesome books and works on paper! We hope to see you there!

1 more day till Handmade Ho-Down!

Monkey and Seal can hardly contain their excitement for tomorrow's Handmade Ho-Down: Urban Craft Fair. This is the first ever Etsy-sponsored, urban craft show that Monkey helped to organize. They're will be live art, live DJs, booze, and 55+Crafters and artists selling handmade goods.

They are both excited to see all the DIY goodies, connect with other artists, and meet all the awesome people that will come by their booth (#41). They would like to take this time to thank and recognize all of their supportive friends, family, and colleagues who helped to make it possible. They look forward to seeing you tomorrow.


Yesterday, Seal spent 5 hours at the Geary Print Shop printing 650 copies of the official 2009 Handmade Ho-Down Zine. So be sure to pick one up on your way in. We are still always in need of volunteers, so if you have 1-2 hours of your time, please email Monkey at info(at)monkeyandseal.com We, and the rest of the committee would really appreciate it! DIY kids like us depend on your good will to make this event successful.

Last, but not least, Seal would like to introduce Monkey's new tie designs that will debut tomorrow.




Thank you and we hope to see you tomorrow at 1015 Folsom St. 6pm!

Another sneak peek at the ties!

Sorry this is such a short post, but we just wanted to share with you some of the new colorways that Monkey found are successful. He hope you agrees! Once again, they'll be making their big debut at the Handmade Ho Down!

Here's the Hazmat design in black on charcoal (for those who don't really go with the Radioactive Green color) and the Skull N Bones design in black on silver (for you non-pink people).

Monkey will be spending a good part of next week working on the ties (with more tie colors!) to bring a full selection of awesomeness to the Handmade Ho Down. Mark your calendars, and if you are interested in pre-ordering for a discounted price, let us know!

Did you make that tie yourself?

So at Monkey's dayjob, he is forced to wear a collared shirt and slacks. Being the snazzy Monkey he is, he likes to wear button-ups and ties. However, Monkey doesn't like dress codes, and so he was thinking of ways to personalize his very corporate appearance. Thus, he figured that if he made some kick-ass ties, then he could still be himself while staying within the dress code.

Thus, he started thinking about ties as an art format and came up with some designs that he thinks are pretty spiffy. He found a place that sells flat-colored ties, and is working to perfect screen-printing them. His grand debut of his line of ties will be at the Handmade Ho Down! Thus, if you want to see ALL the ties before everyone else does, it's a great opportunity. They will be online shortly after the event in the lovely Monkey + Seal Etsy Shop.

Anyway, since pictures usually speak louder than words, here are some sneak peaks at the ties! These are going to be the main colorways for these three designs! Monkey is still experimenting with different color inks, ties, and a few more designs. And although Monkey wears these super-bright colors daily, he will also be printing on some more neutral colors, for those of you who are a bit less wild. Enjoy!

Monkey's new work!

So Monkey has been working hard on some new paintings, as well as some new screen prints. Here's the sneak peek photos of a mere fraction of all the new stuff that will get up into the shop as soon as they're finished/better photos are taken.

Seasoning salt is the dark knight of spices...it easily adds tons of flavor to any dish, but is such a cop-out. You can just throw it in soup or whatever, and it's an immediate flavor explosion. I personally try not to use it and actually season my dishes with spices that aren't pre-mixed, but whatever. Actually, if Seasoning Salt is the dark knight, "Italian Herbs" is definitely the Joker. Wait, what?

Here are the preview for Monkey's small but bright line of screenprinted ties. He really likes the bright colors (the hazmat green is pretty awesome), but does anyone besides Monkey wear bright green/pink ties, or does everyone else wear sage greens, silvers, etc? Please comment with your opinions!

Post-modern Pomegranate. I guess the joke only really works if you a)think of PoMo as Post-Modern, and b)call Pomegranites "Pomos." Oh well.

Anyhoo, Seal will be taking a break from her Process Posts on Saturday, and Monkey will go over his method of conceptual painting. Monkey hopes you'll stop by again tomorrow!