Spectrum Live! - Gift Boxes

Many moons ago I assisted my good friend Cindy Ann Ganaden at a convention in NY called Surtex.  During this time I learned a lot about preparing for a convention but one of the most valuable attributes of her booth was the ability to stand out among so many artists.

Surtex and Spectrum Live! are no doubt different in product and genre when it comes to the art.  However, I have taken what I have learned from Cindy and incorporated it into my presentation.  I'm hoping that my illustration AND products will stand out and make an impression.

One of the first ideas I had was to incorporate my artwork onto gift boxes.  These boxes are wooden with metal hinges and clasps.  I stained, gold leafed, and pollyed the surfaces.  I printed my images out on archival paper and adhered them to the surface coating them with a print preservation sealing coat.

The inside of the boxes received organic papers on the tops and bottoms.  The bottoms of each box has my signature as well as four soft pads for protecting furniture.

I don't by any means consider myself a jewelry-box-making-guru but I did find it fun (and frustrating at times) to create a 3-D application for my work.  Each box has a unique personality that comes with handcrafted items.  I'm excited to see what kind of reception these little guys get.

Tomorrow.....homemade sketch journals!

Visit me at Spectrum Live!  Corner Booth 220.

Surtex 2010

Cindy Ann setting up her booth.

Side angle

Product corner...birdhouses!

In May Dominick and I traveled north to New York to assist our good friend Cindy Ann Ganaden set up her booth for the Surtex licensing show. While there, I planned to do some research in the market. Licensing is an area of illustration that I never really looked at. It is a very lucrative market and has a diverse amount of artwork that can be used on products from paper plates to curtains. This was a convention for artists to show their designs to companies who produce products. So think Target. A large portion of the art you see on gift, bath, bedding, baby products comes from freelance artists.

Cindy flew in from Oakland and carted all her materials with her. Printouts to wall fabric she decked out the booth with flip flops, binders and mobiles. To my surprise we were located catty corner to Megan Halsey. It was quite a wonderful experience and a great avenue of illustration to pursue.

Cindy recently contacted me to fill me in on some of the contacts she made and jobs she got. It seems like it was well worth the travel and I wish her the best of luck with the rest of the year. Although, I don't think she'll need it!