BAND MERCH DESIGN: Success for Dead Rock West

My friends in the band Dead Rock West recently asked me to design a T-shirt for them.  They have a new record coming out on July 19th called "It's Everly Time!" (it's an album of Everly Brothers covers).  I love how Cindy and Frank honored the songs by staying mostly trew to them, but they also added in their own signature harmonies.  I also love how the production is all sunny, glamorous, vintage California yet with a modern polish.  Fantastic record.

Usually I give anywhere from one to four sketch ideas to start, and I gave Cindy four sketches to choose from.  She loved two of them, and I was able to quickly produce one of the designs in time for them to sell at their April 30th show at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles.  

The popular Dead Rock West baseball tee

The popular Dead Rock West baseball tee

The Hotel Cafe only holds about 150 people, so it was an intimate show.  Over the years I've been to hundreds of live shows, and I know that sometimes at a very small show the band might only sell a couple of T-shirts, or even none at all, so my expectations weren't too high.  I was just glad to get one of their designs to them in time for the gig.

Cindy called me the next day, saying the shirts were a success:

Transcript:  "Your shirts are such a hit, I've been having a barrage of emails all day of 'Where can I get those sent to me?'...To the point where if I even send them...they'll just be sold out!  I've never had this happen before with a T-shirt. (laffs)  It's amazing. They're really awesome and they were just a superb hit.  I just thought I'd tell you that...thanks to you the merch was a swimming success."

When I called Cindy back and talked to her, I asked how many people called or emailed or commented on Facebook about the shirts.  Five?  Ten? She told me she must have heard from 30 people.  I think she's exaggerating, though she swears she's not, so I'll take it.

They've already re-ordered the baseball tee design, after a single show.  It's a win for me, a win for the band, and a win for their fans.  I love it.

Support Small Biz: La Curie Artisan Perfume

I have a pretty strong sense of smell, which can be a blessing and a curse.  I love natural smells, sniffing flowers and herbs, incense and essential oils.  A great, natural scent can be life-enhancing.  Sometimes when I stick my face into a rose and inhale...I feel high, elated.  

On the flipside, most synthetic smells give me a headache.  I can't use laundry detergents with strong scents and I hate the smell of most perfumes.  When I'm unexpectedly bombarded with scents of hairspray, excess cologne or cigarette smoke, I can feel sick to my stomach or even angry! 

So I've learned to be careful when choosing any scents to wear on my body.  The more natural they are, the better.

La Curie is a small line of unisex perfumes that I love.  They're "luxurious bohemian scents handmade in Tucson AZ" by Lesli Wood.

How to describe the scents?  That's tough.  They're reminiscent of natural smells: campfire, the wind after a storm.  Familiar, but hard to place, and like nothing I've smelled before.  There's mystery in each scent, which I absolutely love.

Scents change on your skin, over time and according to your own unique chemistry.  I like to live with a scent before I decide to invest in it.

La Curie offers a wonderful option for people like me, who are slow to make up their minds and want to try everything:  

THE MASTER SAMPLER

For a super affordable $20, you get sample sizes of her three eau de parfum scents (Ossuary, Faunus, Larrea) and her four perfume oils.

I've been living with my sampler pack for weeks, trying to decide by process of elimination which full size I'd like to purchase.  It's very hard to decide!

Another reason I love this sample pack is because they also double as travel size.

Go on, support a small business.  Indulge in a sampler pack, at just $20 it's an affordable luxury.

Spring Cleaning

Lately I've been tackling my household and business clutter.  My problem is that I appreciate and see the beauty in so many things, especially vintage clothing!  As someone who likes to reuse and upcycle, I can fall into the trap of keeping something because I might use it someday.  

I've been working on being more realistic about what I might actually use or wear.  I feel like I've also developed a good discipline about not acquiring many new (or vintage) things, which is half the battle.

I still need to clear the clutter, so I've been donating and giving away a bunch of stuff.  Recently I donated some old Featherweight T-shirts to Ruby's Place in Hayward, CA, which provides services to women and children impacted by domestic violence, human trafficking and homelessness.  It felt good to give some unworn, good-looking (in my opinion) T-shirts to people who could use a little something nice in their lives. Plus I was able to clear some space in my studio.

It's still sometimes challenging to be honest with myself about whether or not I need to keep something.  After seeing it recommended by several people, I got a copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and I'm going to start reading it this weekend.  I hope it takes me over the last humps into being organized and clutter-free!

Support Small Biz: Marfa Brand Soap

Today's small business that I love is Marfa Brand.  

I use their fancy, fragrant, dreamy bars of soap.  The scent they make for El Cosmico - it's called Ranch Road - is my favorite.  With "notes of Lapsang Souchong Tea and essential oils of cedarwood, patchouli, vetiver, juniper berries, clary sage, cardamom and clove," it smells a little earthy and mysterious on the skin.

As their name implies, they're located in Marfa, Texas, a tiny town that I've grown to love.  I've also gotten to hang out with Ginger, the boss of the operation, who is tall and trustworthy and sparkles when she smiles.

Made with the "finest natural olive, coconut, palm, avocado, and almond oils with shea butter, botanicals, and pure essential oils," these bars are top notch.  

I used to be the kind of person who would scoff and say, "Ten dollars for a bar of soap?!"  But then I realized the act of granting yourself luxury can be transformative.  

Premium ingredients, beautiful packaging, natural scents, a lingering fragrance, a heft when you hold it in your hand...  

When you allow yourself luxury, you're saying that you are worth it.  You are worth a little extra time and effort.  Imagine, then, the vibe you give off.  Worthy.  Valued.  Beautiful.

Ten bucks for a little luxury...sounds like a bargain to me.