Inspiration from Tokyo- Part 2

Storm Machine Graphics- Wow. I saw them at Design Festa and their table was absolutely amazing. My first thought was- "this is branding at its finest!" (My business side comes out!) They had so many merchandise but all the colors went together and I was just trying to absorb and learn from it. The ABC book is only about 3.75" x 3.75" with a cloth cover. They are probably my favorite find out of my whole trip. Check out their website!

Donut guy cup and "saucer"-those of you who may come to know my tastes probably know why I went nuts over this little guy, and only for 1000 yen! Another purchase from Design Festa but unfortunately I don't have information on the artist, I believe she was from Korea. (Lesson learned- put your name on EVERYTHING that you do!)

Cute creature in "Terrarium"-I believe the artist was there in part of a collective; there was a slight panic when they realized I didn't speak Japanese and they were trying to find someone who spoke English..it was actually quite endearing! There were a bunch of different creatures in bottles all together and it was very striking, so I had to adopt one.

Happy Birthday Pop-Up book from Sanrio Greetings- This mini book came with an envelope so you can send it out. I bought it at Itoya, a stationery store that is all over the place.

Matryoshka doll tea pot- I bought this at a store in Ginza. The bulkiest item I bought but thats why I went with a big suitcase! Look, even the box is cute with the illustrations.

There were other little things here and there but this is the majority of goodies I got. I'm going to write one more post on the trip in general, and hope to provide some tips and such, because I can't wait to go back!

Inspiration from Tokyo- Part 1

I brought a big suitcase with me to Tokyo and was ready to fill it up! But honestly I didn't end up buying as much as I thought I would. There were wonderful finds though, and I'm excited to share them!
Everything in Japan is shrink wrapped it seems. These books were a mystery to me since I can't read Japanese and know what the interiors were about, but I had to buy them anyways. Turns out they are activity books! I love this Rub A Dub Dub line. SO CUTE! Score!

I've never wanted a tray this much in my life. From Weles-Art by Naomi Tozaki. Check it this link for more goodies!

P714- they were at Design Festa and I had to buy a few little things- including the cutest post-it notes in the world. More on their website-ahhhhh!

Super cute pop-up birthday card that comes with sound.
The sound is a bottle opening, pouring, then two cute voices that says "kampai!" ("Cheers!" in Japanese.) Who...can...resist....

I have MORE goodies but for now I better get back to work instead of taking pics of everything I got. Hope you got your dose of kawaii for now.

**disclaimer: this post was filled with too much use of the word "cute," but I hope you understand.** :-)

Design Festa-Tokyo, Japan

I'm back from Tokyo!!! It was an absolutely amazing trip...I don't even know where to start. I will concentrate on the wonderful art and design graphics that I saw-which is everywhere and absolute eye candy. One of the reasons for the visit was to attend Design Festa, which is a twice-a-year art event that is held in Tokyo. Many artists, illustrators, and designers get together in a huge space to show off their work. I originally found out about this show through Spadazzle- an artist I met online a few years ago that now lives in Japan. And we finally got to meet in person! (Thank you, Sarah!)

I wish I took more pics from the event. Here is a few that I got:

Amazing cut paper and pop-ups: www.atelier-coco.com
This booth was super crowded, I wanted to go back to buy something, but I didn't end up getting a chance.

This owl dude got lots of attention!

Oh my. All the food plushies anyone can dream of.
http://hono.cocolog-nifty.com

I want a plushie playhouse like this.

Creatures made from paper.

Can't go without taking a picture of a Japanese girl in a cute costume:
Mitsune Temo and The Round Earth Committee

There is just so much more-aisles and aisles of art. It was so worth it to go, as I got to see how the art trends are like in Asia. I kept thinking-what if I stayed in Asia and never moved to the US, how would my style look like then? I also felt a comaraderie of sorts; seeing fellow illustrators making awesome art.

I got to play catch-up for now, as I need to get back to business after a fabulous week in Tokyo doing no work. I bought alot of very cute things (ahem, for inspiration, ya know?) so when I get a chance to take pictures of them, I will share them here. So make sure to come back if you like kawaii stuff!

CGD Digistamps-May Collection

Chicken Girl Design Digistamps May Collection now available at I {heart} Papers. They are 300 DPI line art, Greyscale, PNG files you can download for $2.50 each or $8.50 for the whole collection.

Need ideas as to how to use these stamps? Check out these Design Team members' links:
Laura
Carlie
Michele
Tammy
Lori
Loretta
Christy
Cathleen
Carolyn
Gretchen
Kate

I'm off to the other side of the ocean to get inspired! Stay tuned!

Interview over at Zero2Illo

There is a wonderful new site started by Jon Woodward called Zero 2 illo, a site for aspiring illustrators. An interview of me can be found over here (thanks, Jon!) Right now they are in the midst of a 12 week challenge to get aspiring illustrators' careers off the ground. What a great idea- I'm so happy to see these resources are now available and wishing everyone over there much success.

Thanks to the interview, it got me thinking about my journey into becoming an illustrator. It feels like it was only a little while ago that I was just starting out, and before I knew it, there were some pretty cool jobs coming in. People started to say they know my work. (I'm still pretty shocked when I hear that.) Artists emailing and asking ME for advice-which I try to give as much as possible. Funny thing is though, I'm still in my journey; I'm wondering how to get to the next step myself too.

I especially love the question, "what are your illustration goals for the future?" I've been asked that alot lately for reason, perhaps a question I'm asking myself too. One definite one is to write and illustrate my own childrens' books. Other goals are more abstract and scattered. The problem is, there are so many new and shiny things opened to illustrators; personally its more important that I focus on a few things rather than try everything.

I'm off to Tokyo next week for some major dose of inspiration; and when I get back I will be blogging plenty about it then. So stay tuned.

And another Chicken Girl Design digistamps release is coming up Monday! So I'll be back here to post that before I leave. Cluck cluck!