I had a bit of bad luck a few days ago and knocked my digital camera off my desk, which I discovered tonight has thoroughly broken it. Wah! It’s about five years old so there’s no point in sending it off for repair; I can upgrade to a much better model for not much more than a technician would charge to look at it. I’ve done some research, and have decided which one I want, but I’m not sure yet whether it’s available locally or not. If my phone calls tomorrow morning don’t bring any joy I will have to order it online, though I should be able to arrange next-day shipping.

I need to take some pictures to finish preparing for the July update, so I’m going to have to bump it back a day. Unless I have a problem getting hold of the camera – in which case I’ll post again – it will go up on Thursday 2nd July at 9am New Zealand time.

That’s:
7am Thursday in Sydney
10pm Wednesday in London
5pm Wednesday in New York
2pm Wednesday in Los Angeles
… or you can use timeanddate.com to find your local time.

There will be a new amigurumi, and some other nice items I hope you like :)

Horned Beetle Garden

A big welcome to everyone arriving from the mention in the July/August issue of frankie magazine! I really like frankie, which is charming and interesting and supports a lot of artists and crafters, so I was very pleased when they contacted me for inclusion in their frank bits section :D

I haven’t seen the actual magazine yet, but N&B friend Liz was kind enough to send me a scan:

Otter and Shell

Thank you for so much feedback on the t-shirts! I wasn’t going to do a response post, but the issues around sizing for womens shirts came up so much I think I need to address it now before anyone gets their hopes up.

The reason you never see plus sizes from the lines that screen print blank shirts (as opposed to manufacturing their own) is that the wholesale companies just don’t make them. I’ve looked through the details of the womens shirts from every brand I can find that has local distribution and there are no true plus sizes. Unfortunately in the quantities I will be printing I cannot have blank shirts made to order, or exert any leverage on a manufacturer to extend their sizing.

I was pleased with the cut of the womens shirts I used last time, which are shaped for ladies but not a skimpy babydoll. I think they should satisfy the people who were asking for a slightly more relaxed fit, and they have a nice range of colours and are certified sweatshop-free, but they only go up to an XXL/18. That is better than most brands, but it’s still not a plus size in my book.

I haven’t quite given up yet! I will be calling around screen printers to see if any of them have secret-squirrel trade access to something I haven’t been able to find myself, but I think I’ve already investigated most of the options. I know it sucks. I’m thoroughly plus sized myself and I’m well aware that larger sizes of mens shirts just don’t cut it.

Maybe, maybe, if I end up selling a lot of shirts eventually I could look at having some plus size blanks made. I know there’s a strong market!

For now, I promise I will bring you the best option there is.

Once we’ve moved house I’m going to have a lot more space to work in, and one of the things I’m planning to expand into is t-shirts.

Production is still several months away, so I’m not working on specific design ideas yet, but I’m starting to think about the various options. I want to make something that will please as many people as possible so I would love to hear any thoughts you have about things like shirt colour preferences; which sizes to offer (mens/unisex, womens, childrens, toddlers, babies); what price you would expect to pay for a good quality shirt; or anything else that might be relevant!

There are lots of factors I have to work around, so I can’t always do everything that is requested, but I consider and appreciate all suggestions :)

Larrikin

The winner of the rubber stamp giveaway is infallible! Congratulations!

Thank you for all the entries and your suggestions about rubber stamp designs. There were lots of different picks, some of which will definitely be in the next batch I make.

Stay tuned for another giveaway in a week or two – I’ve found lots of discontinued and sold out N&B products as I start packing up to move, and I’m assembling them into a couple of fun prize packs :)

I keep being sent rubber stamps and stamp sets, but I don’t do a lot of stamping myself, so I decided to have a little giveaway!

The winner will receive a set of clear calendar stamps, with numbers and some Christmassy icons, and two large pictorial stamps. These are unmounted, so you will need to supply your own mounting materials – here are some instructions if you need them. I’ll also pop in two mounted Nut and Bee stamps of your choice. Everything is brand new in packages, so it would make a nice gift for a stamper in your life :)

I will do a random drawing from all valid entries at noon on Monday 22nd June (New Zealand time). All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post and tell me which Nut and Bee illustration you would most like to see on a rubber stamp in the future.

N.B. You must leave your comment on the post at www.nutandbee.com, not any syndicated feed services that provide their own comment features. Also, don’t worry if your comment doesn’t appear immediately! First-time comments are held for moderation (to avoid spam), but I will make sure everything has been approved before I do the drawing.

Toucan

I just felt like drawing a toucan today!