Remember my Illustration Friday entry for “Adoption“? Well, the penguins in that illo were original drawn for a product I did for the Crazymaking Day Job. The duck was a little addition I made in order to fit the Adoption theme.
The product, as designed, looks like this:
It has been featured on the front cover of the January 2005 issue of Home Decor Buyer this month.
Home Decor Buyer is a trade magazine that “…is written for the broad array of home accent buyers – those purchasing for independent retail stores, as well as for furniture stores, retail chains and catalog merchants.” The January 2005 issue enjoys the benefits of particularly excellent timing, with all the major gift shows occuring in January, starting with the AmericaSmart Atlanta beginning this week, and ending with the New York Gift Fair beginning January 29th. Copious issues of Home Decor Buyer are sure to litter the hotel rooms of every major retail chain buyer attending every show from now til then. And there are my penguins, right smack dab on the front cover. By the way, the penguins were NOT Crazymaking CEO’s idea, no matter how blue in the face he is when he tells you in no uncertain terms that they were his brilliant conception. No no no.
As you can imagine, me being the penguin guru that I am, I tend to infiltrate any business I attend with the undeniable power of my penguins. At Zany Brainy I influenced the masses (ok, maybe just a department of four… right Chris? Aha! I mentioned you! Happy Birthday!) with my “Zoom” the Penguin holiday premium plush design. Zoom was a snowboarding penguin… his mini-me version, a Beanie Baby-sized sidekick, I aptly named “Halfpipe.” Very clever, I thought. I’ll have to post a picture in my portfolio. They both sold out before I could ever snatch a finished sample for myself, so all I have are prototypes, but you can see Zoom featured in the CD cover illustration I did for a Zany Brainy holiday music compilation called “My Zany Christmas,” introduced in stores at the same time as Zoom and Halfpipe. He’s oh-so-subtly tucked right there in Santa’s arm. Cross merchandising, you know. I am clever, I say.
If you’re really looking to help out someone who carries a gen-u-ine Kate Hamilton item, try Posh Poochy’s dinnerplates instead. I don’t get a royalty but I do want to see these babies sell. Cross merchandising and licensing opportunities for me will then follow. Plus, Posh Poochy was a great client to work with and Maggie gives them four paws up! You can email Susan at wholesale@poshpoochy.com for wholesale opportunities.
I hope to offer the full line of dessert plates directly from my site in the near future, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here’s the complete catalog in PDF format for your browsing pleasure. See if you can find Maggie in one of the plate designs. Hint: She’s having a ball.
To find out the latest news on all this stuff… please join my mailing list today.
Ok, enough self-promotional salesy type talk for one day. My head hurts.
Onto funner things…
Mr. Happy Crossing Guard Part II
When I talked with my favorite old man in the whole world last week, I told him that I was going to need a picture of him for this children’s book I’m working on illustrating. Not only was he happy to comply, but he also assured me that he had experience in posing for the camera. He had, in fact, been involved in a Crossing Guard Movie. That’s right. A film. It’s a training film for crossing guards in Pennsylvania, he told me, and the film crew told him that he was a good actor. “I told them, ‘Well I act all the time!'” I laughed, because he sure does. I mean, he’s animated. He’s got charisma. Don’t believe me? Well, see for yourself.
I introduce to you, Mr. Johnny Etchno.
“That’s E-T-C-H-N-O,” he recited, “But they call my brother Etcho, they dropped the ‘n’ where he is in Annapolis.”
When he realized I was shooting his picture in action this morning, he made sure I got all the shots I needed.
He actually stopped traffic for me so I could get this pose. No kids waited to cross. He just wanted to give me a good shot.
He actually put on a very serious face for these… definitely acting. Because when you catch him in his natural state, he’s all smiles and cheeks. He has a nickname for every little girl that crosses the street. “See these too, these are the Smileys!” And yes, the girls were very smiley. Then “this one, she’s Miss America! Would you look at her!” and yes, the little girl was beaming like a pageant winner.
Does it get any better than this?
