We discovered a few people in Australia buying our "I want you as my Amazing Race partner" cards recently and discovered that Australia is producing their very own Amazing Race. So these cards were being given to people for real, as in get the camera out it's time to make an audition tape. I know it might not be as good as the US version but I'm really crossing my fingers it doesn't end up as bad as the Australian edition of Survivor. I am also hoping Phil hosts, if they get Phil I will be happy!
Applications close on the 17th of September and I had a quick look at the forms just to see what kind of questions they were asking and a few stood out, purely for the funny answers people will give:
What is your opinion of foreigners?
Have you ever hit someone in anger or self-defence?
Other than appearing on “The Amazing Race Australia”, what is the next big thing you want to achieve?
A few people have asked if Gareth and I will apply. I would like to present you with the following clip and what would most likely occur if we did end up on the show:
We have been doing Revolver Designer Market for about a year now and the next one is on tomorrow night. It is a super relaxed market on the second Thursday or each month and we love it because we can have a yummy meal, a drink with friends and sell some cards. The food is also very very good and on my top 5 Melbourne eateries. Our Rose Street buddy Kirsteene from Scrumptious Productions also does it, giving us a chance to talk Mad Men and True Blood.
Speaking of TV, this season of Project Runway (I think it is 8) is really really good. The eps are longer and they are editing it a bit different from previous seasons and adding these great little moments. They are subtle, like cutting away from someone a few seconds later and catching these looks. It is a common thing in UK shows, but not so much in US. And Tim Gunn. Wow, that man is the man. It went through a bit of a lull the last few seasons and this time I was wondering if I should even bother watching it. Very glad I did, at least for the Tim/Michael/Nina fix.
A few months ago I was doing some online research. You know the kind, you're waiting for something to load in photoshop, switch over to Firefox and start clicking away. Cat videos, Blogs, News Websites, random Wikipedia pages and 40 minutes later you feel like you've run out of internet. However this time I ended up at Sticky's online shop. I didn't know they had one, got a bit excited and started shopping. I set myself a modest budget of $20 and started adding to the cart. Based on the image on the front and a short description it is a little pot luck with what you will get, but that just adds to the fun. I ended up with about 7 zines and a plan to do a shop every month. I then realised they were also worth blogging about, because let's face it we have all thought about making a zine but these people have actually done it.
I'm going to start with Mel Stringer'sTelephone and Me* because it really is the perfect zine in my eyes. The drawings are amazing, the type that makes you feel a little giddy and warm inside and the stories are really interesting. I first saw Mel's work in Frankie Magazine a few years back when she was featured on their poster and loved the story relating to this in the zine, despite it being really sad. It was refreshing to see someone talk candidly about the life of an illustrator and how it isn't always easy. The zine is full of lots of little everyday encounters, conversations and observations all sent to your mailbox, what could be more perfect?
*I've linked to the Etsy shop because I couldn't see any left on the Sticky Website.
My friend Mark from Record Attempts told me about this episode of The Apprentice UK involving greeting cards. The task was to create a new date to sell greeting cards, create five cards for that date and then to pitch it to three major card sellers in the UK.
When they first start brainstorming ideas one guy comes up with the bright idea of cards to give to people who just had some kind of cosmetic surgery (jump to 6.48 in the youtube video below). The whole conversation is rather amusing, I especially like the part when a nose job is referred to as 'intimate' but a boob job is something his friends are happy to tell everyone about.
I got thinking about this as an occasion and what would we make as a card to give someone who just had cosmetic surgery. I had an idea, it rhymed and it involved a dorky girl like the one from our Mistletoe card. However it was something that we would never actually make. But rather than keep these ideas hidden away, we thought they would be quite fun to share. So here is our first card we will never make:
PS: If you want to watch the whole episode it is divided into six parts on the youtubes: Part OnePart TwoPart ThreePart FourPart Five Part Six Also, Mark called it but it needs to be said than Kevin looks very much like Matt Lucas from Little Britain.
We have a few Father's Day cards but this is the card that I would give my Dad. Which reminds me, I better get it in the post today. Father's Day is this Sunday so make sure you get organised and don't leave things to the last minute like I always do. We have put this card up on Etsy and we will be at Rose Street Artist Market this weekend (60 Rose Street Fitzroy from 11am - 5pm Sat and Sun) so if you're in Melbourne come along for all your Father's Day card needs. I'm sure the card will make my Dad happy, but what does my Dad really want for Father's Day? For the Pies to win on Saturday night!
So the last few weeks have been a bit chaotic and busy preparing for Life in Style. Yes, we are one those people that say "wow I can't believe it's August already" but we have a feeling we are in the majority as everyone keeps saying it.
We plan to get back into the blogging horse (we imaging it bucks!) because we have lots of new cards and other things to share. In the meantime here is a new Melbourne card featuring a girl who would give most people hair envy. Thick, lush and blonde! We have popped her up on Etsy, or you can come by one of our Melbourne markets and pick her up.
