Crystal Madrilejos

Design & Creative

Uncategorized

While I’m Waiting

It’s Wednesday night around 11:00pm and I am, unfortunately, still at the office. I’m extremely tired and waiting and waiting and waiting, as per usual. I decided i’d just share this little gem that never ceases to amaze me. The other weekend, we photographed items for our Etsy shop. We have a small apartment and the only suitable place, with enough space and lighting, is our kitchen table. However, it’s bright green and to fix this we place two pieces of matte board on the table. One flat and one up against the wall as a backdrop. Most of our stuff thus far has been small enough that this set-up works fine. But this last round we had to photograph a shawl that was pretty big when laid out. I figured, get some stuff around the edges and i’ll just Photoshop it out. No problem, right? Wrong. I work on a computer all day and I like to think that my Photoshop skills are not too shabby. However, I set out to fix this:

I won’t even show you the mess I made of it. I was, of course, at work when I was doing this. Working in publishing, naturally we have an in-house retoucher so I hit him up for advice. I sent the image to him over IM and asked him how it would be easiest. I shit you not, literally 10 minutes later he sends me this:

Voila! as they say in France. Jeez.

Fondly,
Crystal

Uncategorized

Too many to know!

Yeah, yeah no new items on Etsy yet. I’m well aware. I am forever busy as of late. No excuses, I know. I have the pictures but they just need to be retouched and resized which takes many a minute because my retouching skills range from bad to average… well, they aren’t that bad.
This week and weekend were full of too many things to know! Work has my head spinning. OJ All Day was a success. So many great bands and so much fun all around.

Other projects in the works. Andrew has been plugging away on the Toby line. He made a duffel bag but ended up having to take it apart because it seriously looked like a wiener duffle. He accidentally sewed it in the wrong direction. Two screens are all set up for Toby prints. I have still to make any more headway on the dolls. As you can see by this:

I’m now in the process of working on tour posters and t-shirts for the band Cheese on Bread. The deadline for those is coming, so wish me luck!

Fondly,
Crystal

Uncategorized

Update

We finally took pictures this weekend of the stuff we got in Ohio; as well as the other stuff we’d been planning on photographing for the past few weeks. There should be a massive update to our Etsy shop sometime this week with lots of vintage stuff, not so much handmade stuff.

Our stuff has been slow going mainly because of my work schedule and us being away. But another huge factor was the fact that our apartment looked like a war zone and our work area was buried. Right before we left for Ohio, we were in the middle of moving all our craft stuff into a new storage cabinet that we bought from Build It Green (everyone should check this place out and volunteer if you can!) and we finally finished organizing it this weekend. Too much stuff and so little space.

Alas, all was not lost to cleaning this weekend! Andrew made a couple duffel bags and I’m pretty much done with two doll prototypes and I started a final of one of them last night. We’re waiting to post for sale any of the Toby Goodshank stuff until it’s all done, but we may give you a peek at what we’ve been working on so you can get excited for when they do finally go on sale. We have yet to set a final, final date of release until we can get our schedules under control.

I know I talk a lot about our apartment. Mainly because I spend most of my time there (other than in the office) and both Andrew and I are pretty specific about what makes us feel at home and comfortable. In order for me to be productive I need good lighting; Andrew needs everything to have a place. So I thought I’d share the evolution of our apartment a la Sneak Peek over at the Design*Sponge blog. If you’ve never read her blog I highly recommend it.

Fondly,
Crystal

Uncategorized

Back to it.

We’re back from Ohio and back to work. We’re both feeling a bit under the weather after this trip. Too many sick babies and too many long hours in the car. On a good note,we stocked up on some stuff for yes, have some. and hopefully we’ll get pictures of those up this weekend.

Our apartment is officially trashed. We left last week in the middle of an overhaul and we came back with bags and bags of things to add to the mess. Both of us have been too tired and too busy to even try. Literally, every surface is covered in…things!!! It’ll feel nice to get things in order. Hopefully, with some order will come productivity. We wanted to have the Toby Goodshank line done by the end of the month. Yikes.

We’ll post pictures of new stuff once we clear a space in our place to take photos.

Uncategorized

bah!

Okay, so this weekend wasn’t as productive as we’d hoped. I did make headway on the dolls and Andrew has started making a new bag. It’s not a duffel, it’s more of a hand bag type thing. It’s really neat, in my opinion, and I’d love to post pictures but I don’t think Andrew likes to post pictures of his things before they are done. I’m going to try to break him of that habit because I think that people like to see the process of how things come together. (Or at least, I do!)

As for the things i’m working one, one prototype is pretty much done, but I’m still on the fence about it. Making dolls is really hard when I know nothing about how to make dolls or patterns. Another one is in the works, but I’m also not sure how I feel about it yet. I’m feeling discouraged and I hate that! Maybe I’ll be motivated when we pick out fabric this week.

We didn’t silkscreen anything this weekend or take any pictures of items to post on Etsy, like I’d hoped. Today we leave for Ohio, so nothing will get done this weekend either. At one point yesterday, Andrew said “There weren’t enough hours in today.” and that’s how I’m starting to feel about all our projects! I think we just need one solid weekend and we’ll be good. Just as long as we don’t get distracted by the nice weather. At least we can work with the windows open!

Enjoy your week/weekend! We’ll be back next week.

Fondly,
Crystal

oh P.S. I have a meeting next week with Dan Fishback to talk about ideas for T-shirt designs for Cheese on Bread! Super Duper!

Uncategorized

Working On It

Sorry for the no-post as of late. Things have been hectic on all fronts. We’re still moving along with the Toby Goodshank line, but we’ve been having difficulties with our silkscreen process and it’s been a lot of trial and error. Of course, we chose probably the most difficult things to silkscreen first, but things are definitely in the works. Crystal has been busy with her day-job and was out of commission for a few days for a shoot in L.A., but this weekend we’ll be full steam ahead. Hopefully, at least one of the doll prototypes will be completely done and another one will be in the works.

On a more productive note, the yes, have some. Etsy shop has been selling some items. Most of our vintage housewares have been sold and a couple totes as well. We will be in Ohio most of next week for vacation and family time, so we’ll be stocking up on more stuff. There are still more things, mostly vintage bags and some clothes, that need to be photographed and posted. Maybe this weekend. So, if you’re in the market for a vintage purse or a crocheted shawl, keep your eyes peeled.

Uncategorized

Press Kit

Awhile ago, I designed a press kit for the band Cheese on Bread. Here is their bio ripped from their website:

Cheese On Bread was born in a university cafeteria, the bastard child of a post-structuralist education and a rather poor dinner menu. After naming themselves in honor of the West’s most dependable dish, Sara FitzSimmons and Dan Fishback spent the rest of 2002 perfecting their blend of cultural commentary and complete silliness. They quickly saturated the West Philadelphia party circuit with C.O.B. pins; simple economics forced them to cut an EP in Matt Keesan’s bathroom.

Their debut was received with critical approbation. Even so, Dan followed his heart to New York City. He stumbled upon a new home for Cheese On Bread in the city’s prolific anti-folk scene. Sara and Dan soon returned to Matt’s bathroom, revitalized, to record a full-length record.

During the sessions, Sara picked up Kevin Kelly in a bar and quickly put his Ph.D. in music to good use. From Kevin’s bass and banjo to Matt’s plinky toy xylophone, new musical textures kept sneaking into Cheese On Bread’s live show until the two boys became Side Of Fries, an official backing band. Like any good side plate, they were soon augmented by a special sauce: Dibson T. Hoffweiler, a Sidewalk regular, who relieved Dan of his acoustic guitar.

Luv-a-Lot Records released Maybe Maybe Maybe Baby in 2004. By then, Cheese On Bread had grown into a six-piece pop-rock outfit featuring Daoud Tyler-Armeen full-time on drums.

Daoud eventually left the band to finish college. After his successor, Gregg Mervine, left for a financially-viable Klezmer ensemble, Cheese On Bread reconfigured into a quintet for an acclaimed 30-state tour in 2005.

These days, Dan, Dibs, Kevin, Matt and Sara swap instruments like children swapping lunches, bouncing all over the stage with joy, disguising Cheese On Bread’s biting critiques of the modern condition with a sincere exaltation of life.

I decided to post it here because I am really happy with how it turned out. It’s nothing groundbreaking design-wise, but it was so much fun to make because the band has so much personality (and style!!!). Cheese on Bread is an amazing, energetic and mind-blowing band; unfortunately, the band is on an “indefinite hiatus” but you can still enjoy their tunes here.


Fondly,
Crystal

Uncategorized

Roughs


First and second prototypes for Toby Goodshank Mandor doll.

Uncategorized

Support this place!

The amazing Jay LaPierre has just taken over the Empress Ballroom in Danbury, Connecticut and turned it into Heirloom Arts Theatre! Here are a few words about the plans for this new acquisition from their Myspace page:

Heirloom Arts Theatre is located at 155 Main St. in Danbury, CT. 06810 It used to be The Empress Ballroom, but they closed. Now, its going to be a new era. Here’s the plan: Movie theatre, bar, live shows. TOTAL RENOVATION. The plan is to begin renovations in May for a June opening. Until then, we need to raise a few bucks to make it all happen. Please check out our FUNDRAISER SHOW with APSE, ARMS AND LEGS, TOMBSTONE MINDS, HOME MOVIES on APRIL 21. Doors at 5, show at 6 or 6:30. ALL AGES, but then we are going to kick out all the 21 and under people after the show and have an after party with DJ’s like PROROCK, and CRANE, and PARTYTIME. They are going to play good stuff, too. Anyways, this kind of line-up pretty much sets the tone for the new place. We are going to be all about getting good bands to play here and showing crazy movies. There will be couches and tables, and drinks. It will be an awesome place to hang out. I’ll let you all know how the renovations are going soon… Until then, we’ll see you on the 21st! Oh, yeah…Just to make it worth your while, we’ll give people who are 21+ a free drink ticket with admission that you can use when we start selling after the show. Ok, Thanks!u

Support the arts and repost this flyer wherever you see fit! It’s great to see great people doing great things. High fives all around.

Uncategorized

Rain Day

This weekend has been productive at yes, have some.

Friday night we met with Toby Goodshank to work on our collaboration. Basically, he’s already done with almost all the drawings that we had requested of him last week (yes, he’s that productive). So far the Toby Goodshank line will include stuffed creatures, stickers, Limited Edition silkscreened prints, silkscreened fabric prints and probably totes of some sort.

Today, we started working on some prototypes for one of the stuffed creatures and we have a lot of work ahead of us. We have to design the patterns (which we’ve never done before! yikes!) We still have yet to set a release date for the Toby Goodshank line, but hopefully in the next week or so, we’ll have a better idea. We’re hoping for early May.


Also today, Andrew finished a prototype for a duffel bag. The real deal is in the works and we should have those up for sale relatively soon as well.

We have a bunch of vintage bags and some vintage clothes to photograph for the Etsy shop, so keep your eyes out for those.