Nut and Bee will be closing on Wednesday February 10th at 5pm (New Zealand time, check the equivalent in your local time zone here) which is just under 48 hours away.

At that time the shopping cart will be disabled, though I will still be available by email for customer service or general enquiries, and posting miscellaneous things here on the blog! Re-opening is scheduled for early April :)

I’ve been tossing around a few ideas for new products I could introduce this year, and figured it would be a good idea to ask for your feedback. Everything is just ideas at this stage, and I haven’t done detailed investigation of raw materials or costings, so please don’t be upset if something doesn’t happen or ends up a bit different!

Possibilities include:

* Adding a mini-sheet of 4 or 6 coordinating stickers to the lettersets.

* Lettersets with larger paper, approximately 6×8″. This would fit nicely in the current size envelopes when folded in half, and I’d combine 8 papers with 4 envelopes (and perhaps stickers, as above).

* Or the opposite, teeny-tiny lettersets! About business card size – little things are super cute. I wouldn’t be able to print on the envelopes, as my printer freaks out about feeding very small sheets, but I could use nice coloured ones that coordinate with the design.

* Postcards. I’d offer them individually, with a discount for buying several like with the buttons and magnets. (The main problem with these will probably be choosing which designs to print, I have to do them in bulk which limits the number of designs it’s practical to have in stock…)

* Gift tags. I intended the write-on labels to substitute for gift tags, but given how many requests I still get for them it seems there’s a demand for a more traditional kind as well! Would a flat shape or a folded mini-card be preferable?

* Post-it notes. I haven’t got quotes for printing these yet so they might be totally unreasonably priced, but it’s an idea!

* Blank notebooks with illustrated covers, again I’m not sure how realistic pricing will be on these but I’m keen on the concept!

Please leave a comment if any of those ideas sound particularly interesting to you, if you have any feedback or suggestions about them, or if there’s anything else you think might fit into the N&B range well!

(I’m already planning to re-introduce recipe cards in the coming months, as I think I’ve figured out a way to produce them satisfactorily, and t-shirts/tote bags are also underway subject to logistics…)

Ghost Forest

I’ve been working on some larger drawings lately – they take a bit longer than my usual size, of course, but it’s fun to do something a little different!

These new illustrations are designed to eventually be 8×10″ prints, but since that will require sourcing new paper and packaging materials they won’t be available until the relaunch :)

I’ve had a few queries recently about what will be happening with Nut and Bee while we welcome our imminent bean.

I didn’t want to make plans too far in advance, as I didn’t know what these last weeks would be like, but I’m getting to the stage where work is very challenging – especially in this weather, what was I thinking having a summer baby?! – so I’ve decided that my final working day will be February 10th.

After that I will still be contactable by email for customer service queries, and I will be posting miscellaneous things on the blog, but the shopping cart will be disabled and I will not be accepting or shipping orders. (I can’t make any exceptions to that, as it’s a legal requirement that I do nothing other than minor administrative tasks while I’m claiming paid parental leave!)

I plan to open for business again around the beginning of April, though the exact date will depend on when the baby makes its appearance and how quickly I manage to find a satisfactory work routine. I have fantastic family support lined up, so I am hoping for a smooth transition back.

If there is anything you would like in the next couple of months, please place your orders soon! I’ll post another reminder closer to the time. Thank you for your patience, and all the excitement and joy you’ve already shared with us :)

We are back from holiday! The weather in Christchurch was so much nicer than Auckland that coming home was slightly bittersweet, but it’s still nice to be back in our house, even if we are melttttttting in the heat. Roll on autumn…

01) I love the idea of a meal planner and grocery list in one. I try to have some idea of what I will cook each week, but it usually involves lots of printouts and bits of notepaper and isn’t very organised! This DIY tutorial includes downloadable/printable PDFs.

02) Lovely art process videos from Geninne D. Zlatkis. To see the whole piece watch Watercolours 1, 2 and 3; then White Ink 1, 2 and 3.

03) Three remixes/covers of the Mr. Plow song from The Simpsons by Moby. Hee!

04) Baby porcupines are pretty high up my all-time-cutest list after seeing these photos.

05) More Lego! (I’ll stop soon.) This time it’s an awesome Howl’s Moving Castle.

06) I made a little squeak of glee when JSR sent me the link to this upcoming Professor Layton action figure. I adore the DS games, and he looks just perfect. Plus, it is hilarious to me that his “action” is to sit down and have a cup of tea!

07) Scott Teplin’s Alphabet City is a set of 26 meticulously drawn fantasy houses in the shape of the letters of the alphabet. The more you look, the more there is to see.

08) Luxirare’s food/art yoghurt parfaits featuring spheres of juice are mindblowing.

09) My new favourite word game for the iPhone is Moxie. It is very soothing; I play a couple of rounds before bed each night.

10) Slow motion Maru. Wait until he shakes after his bath about halfway through. It is the BEST.

Fly Spy

Nut and Bee will be taking a shipping break from Friday 15th to Monday 18th January. Orders received after 12 noon on Thursday (New Zealand time, convert to your local time here) will ship next Tuesday. I should have some email access during that time, but replies may be a little slower than usual. Thank you for your patience :)

Spider Drop

I never thought I’d be drawing spiders for N&B, given that I am very very frightened of them, but I was curious to see if I could manage it. I figured if I made the eyes googly enough they might not be so bad, and thus far I have not startled myself!

In The Intergalactic Sea

Froggy Blossom