Bamcat's Upcoming Events!!

I have plenty of pins to give you if you catch me at one of these events!

Howdy! I just wanted to keep you guys up to date on some of the things I'm working on/looking forward to. IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER EVEN! :D

1. CVLT! ∴ The Ars Moriendi Project! ∴12/5

Event flier, 12/5 8PM - 1AM @ Middlesex Lounge, Cambridge MA

Some work from the last Ars Moriendi segment 11/7, featuring work from several artists including Casey Desmond (artist/singer) and Robert McElaney (artist/event coordinator)

2. Holiday Mass Market craft fair 12/11

Event flier designed by Sir Brian Butler © 2011

So excited for this! This will be my first craft fair ever, and I've been running around like a lunatic and not sleeping and working like a dog to get all of my product perfect and ready for the occasion. I have pins, prints, greeting cards, original art, hand-painted ornaments, handmade mini-stockings (that are just so punk rock) and TONS of jewelry and accessories featuring original designs by me!

I can't wait for you to see them! You can preview some of the selection at my Etsy shop!

3. Worcester Roller Derby presents : CRAFTERSHOCK!!! 12/18

This will be my SECOND craft fair to date! haha! I love Worcester, and I LOVE roller derby, so I'm stoked to combine those two things with the other thing I love : artsty crafty stuff!!

Really looking forward to this, and I'll have a better sense of which products of mine appeal to people the best. All learning experiences are good ones. :)




Other than that, I'm creating a t-shirt graphic for a Boston animal-friendly brand (not telling yet!), working on a tattoo design for a friend, and working tirelessly and endlessly on my Etsy shop to make it wondrous and sparkly shiny. Oh and working at Converse too! ;)

Thanks for looking!

Wright Building in Rockland : Open Studios 11-19-11

Last weekend I spent some time at the Wright Building in Rockland MA for Open Studios. It was my mum's birthday, so we decided to meet her there (getting lost in the mazes that are hallways there).

I've always had a soft spot for the Rockland studios, as they used to be in the Codman Building back when I was in high school. The Codman building was an old shoe factory, so it was dark, dirty, dingy, winding, and amazing. But artists should probably be somewhere clean, so everyone was shipped to the Wright Building and Codman was turned into condos.

I started attending open figure study sessions at the Codman Building at 15, and it was the best! Drinking chai tea and sitting on the floor of Scotty ???'s beautiful studio, playing with the resident cat, cranking Coheed and Cambria on my discman and feeling like an adult.


I was happy to meet so many new artists at the Open Studios, and I even made some new friends!! Take a look!

Getting lost in the maze!

works © Eija Heward

I love looking into artist's work spaces!

works © Eija Heward

©Meghan Dinsmore Dinsbots 2011

Dinsbots! Meghan Dinsmore runs Dinsbots, painting and printing different series of robots wearing chucks, robots hanging out with birds, robots with mustaches, all the best robots!

Check out her Etsy shop here!

Another incredibly talented artist I met - Heather Beck. She is an amazing metalsmith, and she's also a beekeeper! She sold out of all her home-made honey in only a couple hours!

You can check out her site here!

Thanks for looking! :)

You can find the Fourth Floor Artists Blog site here!

Happy Cyber Monday - Git Some!

Hey dudes!! I'm offering 25% off at my Etsy shop TODAY ONLY for Cyber Monday!


Too good to pass up! Also I love meticulously packaging up everything all cute, so stock up!






Thanks!! New fall posts coming this week!

Support small businesses this holiday season!

Put down the DVD and pick up some home-made soaps or a monogrammed quilt made with loving hands from local craft fairs, holiday markets, and online communities like Etsy! :)

Evolving

New pin sets!

As you might have noticed from my last few posts, I've really been making an effort lately to redesign myself as a business online and shine the best light on myself and my work. I'm looking more into connecting with my audience and working to please them while doing my artwork justice in the process. (Website in progress!)

New Holiday banner on Etsy!

I've been reading up a lot on social marketing and online success, soaking in all the information I can from as many resources I can find. There's so much knowledge online through so many different people - I'd be foolish not to seek help and advice!

Before I re-shot my pieces, colors were off, no detail, no context for my pieces. No sense of scale, lighting, or a feeling of actually "wanting" them.

I've been spending a lot of time on Etsy Success, and the Etsy Seller Handbook reading up on different ways to relate to customers and how to show my pieces in their best light. Getting things ready for the stage, so to speak. This video was a FANTASTIC inspiration for re-shooting my artwork. I'm really happy with the way things came out.

Neon is HARD to photograph, so it's best to show it a few different ways! You can see the lazer engraving SO much better in the new photos!

We bought a new camera as well, which really helped! Nikon Coolpix L105 - I'm in love! <3

Holiday Narwhal painting, Acryla gouache on bristol, 8" x 10"

Anyway, I'm hoping that everyone loves my new photos as much as I do, and I feel better knowing I'm presenting myself and my work in the best light possible. I'm creating new product all the time (every night when I come home, I dive back into a project), and I'm always looking for ways to improve. If you have any links you think I should check out, I'd be happy to do so!

Converse Infant Transportation Pack HO 11

Hey guys,


I've been working my buns off for my favorite company in the world, Converse, for the last year and a half now. We work REALLY far in advance, so a lot of the things I'm working on won't come out for another year and a half! So it's all secret for now!

But now that these are out, I don't have to keep them a secret anymore!


Know someone this holiday who's pint-sized and car-obsessed? Pick up some NY taxis, some firetrucks, or some old school police cars! I know a couple of little girls who've got a firefighter for a daddy, so I'm excited to pick up some for them!

AVAILABLE FOR SALE THROUGH CONVERSE.COM, CLICK HERE!!


So excited that I was able to work on this project, and I look forward to showing you more projects as they come out. This is just the beginning! Thanks to everyone at Converse who I see every day and to all those who've mentored me through the footwear process thus far. I'm excited to learn more every day. <3

Influential Ladies PT. 2 : Britteny Rose

2. Britteny Rose

Photo ©Cannibalized Photography 2011

Britteny Rose is an up-and-coming singer from the south shore with a voice like a hellcat and an attitude that switches from sweetest princess to hot rock chick in a split second. She's the front lady of my favorite band, Oilhead, and she's premiering as the new leading lady for cover band Groove Juice, another cool band who found her at a perfect time in her singing career.

Britteny designs her own tops!
And I design her tattoos sometimes! Meow!

Britteny has always had star quality. There are some people you meet in the world who can turn a room toward them without saying anything and make a friend out of anyone. She's fun, enthusiastic, can pound a beer with the best of them and doesn't mind acting a fool as long as everyone's having fun. Not to say she's irresponsible - she's a manager at the Independence Mall Hot Topic and puts a lot of hours into that place. She's definitely made a lot of fans there!

Oilhead Press Kit
Photo ©Cannibalized Photography 2011
Design ©Allison Bamcat 2011

I met Britteny at a weird time in her life : when she had brown hair. (And I had short yellow hair...) We became friends slowly, realizing we were both No Doubt junkies and knew how to bleach roots like a pro. She's been making her own clothes and sewing for years (taking courses at the Mass College of Art in Fashion) and selling her ready-to-wear custom goods online. She also debuts her creations at her shows! She's also dabbled in modeling and being a brand ambassador and works closely with the ever-talented Cannibalized Photography for a lot of her shoots.

Photo ©Cannibalized Photography 2011

As I've watched Britteny grow into the performer she is, I've learned a lot about confidence, coming of age, mistakes, success, and the ever-present need to be famous. I get to live vicariously through her awesome stage performances because I know all the words, and I'm happy to be Oilhead's graphic artist too. I can't wait to see where her talent will take her, and I'm lucky that she's so supportive of my art as well. (She has my drawings as tattoos! haha) Love you lady. <3

Britteny and Bamcat, Warped Tour 2007

Check out more about Britteny Rose and Oilhead at their facebook page!

Influential Ladies PT. 1 : Casey Desmond

Lately, I've been focusing a lot more on personal branding, fashion, and trends. I'm always IN the fashion industry, and I can't help but be inspired by so many amazingly creative people around me. I'll be posting over the new few days about some of the ladies in my generation who really inspire my work personally and give me something to aspire to.

Sorry boys! You'll get your spotlights soon enough.

1. Casey Desmond

Casey Desmond is a Boston musician with an eye for fashion and everything electric. Her performances are out of this world, and she's truly a talented singer with amazing vocal range and technical ability. She creates a world when she performs, full of props, blacklights, glitter latex and mesmerizing projections. Along with the beautifully unique handcrafted outfits she creates, she's truly irreplaceable and one-of-a-kind in the Boston scene.

©Photo Rich Bettencourt 2011

She made her tv debut this past year on ABC's The Voice, working under coach Adam Levigne of Maroon 5 (so dreamy). And though she sounded AMAZING, I feel like there's just something so much more special about her more intimate stage performances. It's always easier to connect with someone when you're not in a massive theater, I feel. (Though I wish her all the massive theater performances she deserves!)

Hair: Denyse Dipietro
MUA: Vanessa Bennett
© Brit Woollard Photography, all rights reserved.

Casey is really intuitive when it comes to sewing and creating her costumes. She has so many sparkly fabrics in her studio, it'd give Rainbow Brite a seizure. (And enough keyboards to hold a class!) She gave me the opportunity to be a model in her fashion for for OhDeerGod, and it was one of the most fun and empowering experiences I've had. (Thank you!)


And to top it all off, she's an artist too! Jeez! Here's a couple of pieces from the LAP Gallery's recent gallery show, Bostonia Collectives as well as her custom skull from the Ars Moriendi Project opening last week.



Check out Casey's new video for Rocket Lover and be her facebook friend! You won't regret it!



More on Casey at http://caseydesmond.com/

Etsy Showcase

I'm showcased in the Etsy Illustration section today!

Click the image for a link to the page, and CLICK HERE for my Etsy Shop page! :)



Hope your Tuesday is a good one! I'm loving this beautiful weather, though I'm not loving the 5 'o' clock sunsets! (booooo)


Two new holiday paintings to show you tomorrow!!!

Central Printing : Malden MA

Recently I've made a few big changes in my branding and the way I market myself. I've changed my logos, my postcards, stickers, products, revamped my online presence and made a point to start taking myself seriously as an independent business. I've done tons of research and created business plans to achieve goals and make sure I'm using the best, most efficient, and price-conscious vendors.

It's not easy or cheap to do this on your own! But I'd pay any price and lose sleep any night to get up those first couple of steps. I've become really complacent in working all day and coming home and working all night. I feel so productive, like I'm accomplishing something.



I've been selling work through my Etsy shop, and I've found that my customers are really gravitating toward my prints more than anything. However, I'd previously gone to Staples or Kinko's, and, like many other chains, they've stopped using small format Inkjet printers to keep cost down. (Not to mention horrible customer service at every Staples on the planet.) So I was on the hunt for someone else.

Shop front, Central Printing

I passed this place every day on my way home from work for the last year, never paying much attention other than staring deep into the gaze of feather-lady as I avoided crazy Malden drivers. It seemed to be easily overlooked. I knew that I needed a printing vendor, and why not gamble on a local company rather than an online corporation?

I checked it out today, and not only was the staff (currently on deck print specialist Eric) very polite, but he was incredibly helpful, genuine, happy to show me options and made me feel like the professional I am. We spoke the same dialogue and he showed me how they can print on plastic and every kind of card/vinyl you can think of. He even said he liked my work and that the colors would truly test the printer's capabilities.


Lo and behold, they came out AMAZING, and I'll absolutely be going back there again for business cards, postcards, banners, and whatever else I might need. The quality is unmatched from what I've seen, and it's such a comfortable environment that I can see myself in there quite often. (Plus the price is right! I paid $80 for 108 prints on 24" x 36" heavyweight matte stock, and they also have an ad for 1000 business cards starting at $99 on NICE stock.)

So thanks Central Printing in Malden! You have a new loyal customer!

Here's a link to their site!

Space 242 : Revenege of Freeky Fright Nights Review

Me in my silly Halloween costume getting interviewed for the first time ever!
And I sound like a nervous valley girl, haha

My friend Christina Lacoste from the Boston Weekly Dig wrote up a great review of this weekend's event. SO much AMAZING work, it was truly a Halloween feast for the eyes. This is my favorite time of year!

One of my professors from MassArt, Bob Maloney
with his "Cow Simmons" piece

Thanks so much for the mention, you guys!

Click here for the rest of the article!

Loooots of new swag!

Updated my etsy with TONS of new stuff :
*new paintings
*new HOLIDAY paintings
*new keychains, old keychains
*jewelry

Really stoked that I finally have everything up. Looking forward to Mass Market and getting my table and my crafting on!





Thanks for looking!