Shop Allyn Howard- Society 6

I recently added some new things to my Society 6 shop.

Above, Lotta Buns in blue on orange background, inspired by fellow scenic, Will Valentin.

Certain designs are easy to customize and sometimes come out better than the original! 

Admiring Frederick Douglass, w/bunny bag, at the NY Historical Society

Well, I like both the pink and orange and I added some bunnies on green, too :)

Browse prints, pillows, bags and more in my Shop - Society6.com/AllynHoward

Salon style animal portraits are new to my shop, too!

Most of you Blipadee followers have probably seen baby Birds, they remain a favorite of mine :)

These two were just added today - Bunny Seascape and below, Bear moves on ...

Originals painted with acrylics on unprimed wood.

Drum roll, please ...

photo courtesy Melissa Zexter, decoration by me

Come see my lovey friend, Kristine Lombardi, read her new book Lovey Bunny

at my neighborhood bookstore, Book Court - Saturday April 4th 11am

I can't wait!

and just in time for Easter! 

detail - it's almost here! Easter illustration 

Have a lovely weekend!

xo, A

Happy Holidays to You!

Is this bunny a guardian angel or an oversized ornament? 

All I know is Santa owl is quite tired and needs some help crossing things 

off his gift list! Bun can help, maybe.

:::

I was happy to receive some of my bag designs in the mail this week. 

Baby bird and doggie bag have been around, but the floral patterns are new.

The print quality by Society 6 never disappoints.

These come in various sizes and the patterns are available on other products, as well.

Take a look, especially if you still have some shopping to do!

Society6.com/AllynHoward

 The lovely talented Margot Kingon created wristlets, change purses and pencil cases 

with my new fabric patterns, these printed by Spoonflower. 

I just got them today and they look super sweet!

ps - Margot is exhibiting some of her mixed media work now at Catalyst Gallery in Beacon NY.

I love the pale pink and blue linings she chose.

I'll probably see if I can place a few of these in local shops 

and maybe even do a little give away here on the blog.

These are my favorite custom Christmas paintings painted on the front door of 

If I Were A Toy store over the last few years. They closed up shop last winter. 

It still feels a little strange not painting a theme there each month.

Court Street Carolers 

Gift from big Bear

Bear made it as a smaller illustration also.

You can buy A Gift for you as a print or cards in my Society6 shop - Allyn Howard

Also available as cards *only in my Etsy shop - Blip Blop Shop 

Thanks for stopping by.

* I hope you're enjoying a wonderful holiday season *

All my best!

xo, A

Floaty Gets Going @ SVA

I've finally started sketches for Floaty the Hovering Dog! I just finished a very fast, but motivating 5 week class at SVA with Rachael Cole called Publishing Picture Books for Children.

I enjoy looking at sketches of other artists' work and seeing how they get from point A to B. Below, an aerial floating dogs-eye view and pencil studies to color versions.

As you can see below, I'm trying various versions of street scenes, trying to loosen up some. I always admire illustrators whose work maintains that free, energetic feel in final, finished pieces.

Above is the original Floaty I painted many years ago. He's patiently hung around waiting for me to give him a life ;)

Here is my class above. I hate the bland institutional look of classrooms, but Rachael and my classmates' work spiced it up a little. Rachael Cole is an illustrator and the Art Director at Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House. Our 1st night, we discussed professional & practical sides of the business and she presented the numerous sketches & edits for the book below. Abe Lincoln Crosses A Creek is by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated beautifully by John Hendrix.

Rachael also designs and silkscreens these fabulous pillows. Each one is like a piece of a puzzle that comes together to form a quaint small village. I love them! You can see more and purchase them at Village Pillows. She also sells them at the Brooklyn Flea. Check her website for more information.

This class was part of SVA's Continuing Education Program, so the students are all professionals, usually in related fields. Below Patrick Dorian is talking about his work. This particular story is about a robot who steals candy and one child must seek his revenge! Really fun stuff and so well executed, always a pleasure to look at his work and he is very prolific.

Below is some of the work of Jack Harris, a very talented illustrator transitioning into the children's market. You've got to see the freaky, evil fish in his story!

This portrait is by Shay Grabowski. I found it on her website, full of eclectic work ranging from brand & logo design to animation, photography and painting. She wrote a story bursting with great visuals about an adventure in the jungle.

Above is the fashion illustration done by Lynsey Hirth. She is working on a story about a little girl following a day in her mom's life as a fashion designer. Her drawings are lovely and even better are her super fun & creative collages! Take a look at her blog, Hodgepodge illustration and see her prints for sale on Etsy (seller: hodgepodge prints).

This amazing illustration is by Doug Salati. He has been working on a Eugene Field poem, Norse Lullaby for class. Doug has sketched out a full book dummy for it. Even his sketches are beautiful and create a full and enchanting world for the story.

This is the business card for Sachika and her website is not quite up yet, but do check back because her work is sweet and very charming! She has completed a color book dummy about a mouse who wants to fly (little jealous of some of her handling of flight scenes, but that's ok-- moving on ;) Love this card, too.


Below is a print by Estrella Vega. She is an art director and showed us several wonderful pieces she's created using silkscreen. I love the clean, graphic style of her work. She's been working on a story about a small dog with big moxie! It's gonna be great for adults, too I think.

This little guy is also by Estrella and I had to add him because he is sooooooooo CUTE! I want him.

Now, on to illustrators living the dream... fast cars, big boats and exotic cities :D Not exactly, but it is the dream of an artist/illustrator anyway.

This book is brand spanking new by Sara Varon. She came and spoke to our class about her journey, jobs, promotional advice & current projects. Below is from her series of Chicken & Cat stories for kids. You must check out her site Chickenopolis. She also did a graphic, wordless book you may have seen called Robot Dreams. It's fantastic!

And finally, Brian Floca, illustrator/author extraordinaire! I took a class with him about 6 years ago (hard to believe that long ago) at SVA. He was a great teacher, thoughtful with criticism, thorough about the book dummy process and quite funny, as well! Moonshot is his new book about the Apollo 11 mission. Brian's work is so well researched, not a detail left out and he moves seemlessly between several styles. All of which are engaging and fun. I think the cover for Moonshot alone, is stunning!

I recommend taking a course in Continuing Ed at School of Visual Arts. I recently took a licensing and greeting card class with Cheryl Phelps that was also well worth it. She is a terrific teacher and person. Cheryl is moving to San Francisco this summer, but hopefully they will still offer the licensing course.

Again, I want to send a big ThAnKs out to Rachael for being so generous with her time, ideas and thoughts during each person's critique. She spoke about practicalities of the business without ever being discouraging and gave only the most constructive feedback. Only regret that the class was not longer, as will have to rely solely on my own motivation >:()

Serimony

Here's Dottie, a perfect muse & essential element to Serimony's line of cards :)

This is Serimony, a tiny and adorable shop on Court Street between 2nd & 3rd Place. This space functions as both a design studio & a boutique, specializing in social stationery, custom invitations & greeting cards. You will also find a wonderful array of handmade items such as colorful tote bags, charming T-Shirts for adults and kids, elegant jewelry, as well as playful pieces to brighten any outfit, plus plenty of other fun accessories as you'll see below. It's really a perfect place to find just the right gift!

This is Karen Van Every, owner, operator & designer extraordinaire! Her background is in graphic design and advertising. After creating invitations for her own wedding and receiving such positive feedback, she decided to make a go of it as a business. Karen started her company in 2003 and focused solely on custom designed wedding invitations (produced out of her apartment). Finding initial success, she expanded into other custom products like birth announcements and cards. Originally she was looking for an office space from which to work and meet with clients. When she stumbled upon this space, she immediately imagined selling locally handmade goodies in front and designing her cards in back. So far, it's working :) Serimony opened July 2005.

These cute field bags above & colorful totes pictured here are by Rainbow Swirlz Take a look, lots of cute things-- okay, so Mendy who makes these is in Oklahoma, not Brooklyn, but this is the era of inclusiveness ;)

Most of the cards in Serimony are by Karen, but some are by Andy Pratt , Pinecone & Chickadee and Kristiana Parn

You can't go wrong here, whether you're in search of a whimsical, colorful, sweet or simple and elegant card here!

Before opening, Karen had known many smaller Brooklyn based designers from participating in various markets, she now incorporates talented artists from all over to showcase, but tries to keep most of her products locally designed and made.

These thick, gorgeous paintings are by Alan Van Every, Karen's uncle-in-law. I love oil paint and these make me think-- icing. I just love 'em! I learned this afternoon that he basically painted and put together the whole store for Karen while he was visiting at the time. The round silver display jewelry rack (can see details of below) was made from pizza trays-- neat-o!

Sales are always nice :)

Great earrings by numerous jewelry designers... come in to see, my photo here does not do them much justice.

Jewelry above by Omi Martens, a Carroll Gardens designer-- click link to see more on her etsy shop. *Notice the pizza tray?

Most of jewelry above by We Dream in Colour

Cool glass buckles above are by Kiku and more necklaces by We Dream in Colour

Kentile Floors T-Shirts by Live Poultry

*There is a famous old Kentile Floors sign that remains up at 2nd Avenue and 9th Street. I think everyone in Brooklyn has seen it, hope it will always be there.

This anchor tote above is one of Karen's

Sorry, don't know who made these skirts, but I like them :)

My friend, Melissa, wearing one of my personal tees by Wallco Jr She is a Brooklyn designer but do not think her site is currently up. I love these shirts, she mostly makes them for babies & kids...

Wallco Jr bibs :)

Great way to display and maybe store all of your stuffed animals. I might try it!

This is Karen's beloved dog, Dottie (many new card designs inspired by her on the way!) Karen and her husband adopted her last June from North Shore Animal League

I'll quote Karen here: "I can't say enough about how many wonderful pets there are at shelters and how important it is to rescue them and give them good homes. She has been an inspiration for new card designs. Most of my designs are inspired by nature and animals, as well as urban landscape."

I couldn't agree more! It is a great gift to save an animal and NSAL is the world's largest No-Kill Shelter.

*

It's refreshing to talk to Karen who admits that it can be a bit of a struggle to maintain everything, manage the store, design her line of cards, custom work and continue to participate in craft fairs. She has some part time help and her mom and dad help with printing some of her cards, while her husband is the go-to tech guy and her sounding board for ideas. Sounds good :) Karen has found a way to work as a creative artist and handle the responsibilities of running a successful business. It is great to see someone do exactly what they want to do with their life. All the better to include family, if they're willing ;)

*

Serimony is located at 421 Court Street between 2nd & 3rd Place

Hours: Mon & Wed-Fri noon-8pm / Sat 11a-7pm / Sun noon-6pm

Phone 718.797.0679 *Stop in to see great things in a small package!*