Crystal Madrilejos

Design & Creative

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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

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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

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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!

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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.

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Roughs


First and second prototypes for Toby Goodshank Mandor doll.

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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.

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Etsy Update and Other News

We’ve added new items to our Etsy shop. We now have a vintage section that, so far, features vintage housewares. There is also a new basket bag up that Crystal made a couple months ago. If you have interest in such things, you should check them out. We still have more vintage items to photograph, which will probably happen sometime this week. Maybe even next weekend. Check back for updates.

Last night we finally had our meeting with Toby Goodshank and the wheels have been set into motion for our next project. You can read more about this project a few posts back. There had been some setbacks, but yes, have some: Toby Goodshank (this is the tentative name for the project) is finally happening. We have yet to decide on the release date, but we’re hoping for sometime in May. Our meeting seemed ambitious and we’re hoping that everything comes together without a hitch. Toby is an unbelievably productive artist, so we don’t imagine the slacking will be on his part!

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Project Announcement

We mentioned last post that there was minor setbacks with the “photo shoot.” well, that wasn’t all. Friday was supposed to be the first meeting about our new project but our collaborator was feeling under the weather, so the meeting has been postponed until this coming Friday. We figured we might as well go ahead and talk about our plans so after the meeting we won’t have to make an epic post and explain everything all at once.
So, here goes:

One of the, if not THE, best thing about living in NYC is the abundance of creative forces. We are, literally, surrounded by the most talented and amazing people. The one downfall of this is because there are so many people making super duper awesome things, to be singled out is quite a feat. we figured that we could try to bring more attention to artists that we know and also benefit by this symbiotic relationship. We scratch your back, we’ll scratch yours? No, really. We aren’t looking for glory, we just want to make things with other people. Share our talents and have something cool to show for it. We are extremely happy to present:

yes, have some: Toby Goodshank
We have teamed up with local NYC musician and artist Toby Goodshank to make a line of items. The meeting of minds will take place this Friday, so there will be a clearer idea of what is actually going to be made. In the meantime, we’ll tell you about the man himself and why he is totally deeeluxe!

Hailing originally from Connecticut, he now resides in Brooklyn and is probably known more for his musical stylings than his visual art, though they are both equally masterful. He is probably the most prolific artist…EVER. He churns out the goods like a machine. Here is a description of his recent musical accomplishments, pretty much ripped from his myspace page (though we did edit it a little, cause it’s so damn long! HA!)

Toby Goodshank plays in the bands Double Deuce, the Tri-Lambs, the Christian Pirate Puppets, Moldy Peaches, Bearded Witness, and with himself. His recent discography is as follows:


Toby Goodshank Safe Harbour (2004)
Tri-Lambs Self-Titled (2005)
Toby Goodshank Come Correct (2005)
Doube Deuce Camp Candy (2005)
Christian Pirate Puppets White Man-like Object (2005)
Toby Goodshank Music 4 Heroes Volume 4 (2005)
Toby Goodshank Jyusangatsu (2005)
Toby Goodshank di santa ragione (2006)
Toby Goodshank Cover Album (2006)
Toby Goodshank Mogo on the Gogo (2006)
Christian Pirate Puppets Unpruded (2006)


Most of these can be found to download on iTunes or through Olive Juice Music. For more information feel free to email Toby at toby_goodshank@yahoo.com. You can also check him out on myspace.

His visual works are equally impressive. He has mad drawing and collaging skills. Much of his works are…psychedelic and surreal, would be the best words to describe them. His intricate pattern work and painstaking lettering, are truly amazing. Here are some examples from his website (we highly suggest you check out the photos page to see the rest of his work)