New Valentine's products available via the Etsy shop.

Firstly I apologise for not adding to this blog for a ridiculously long time... I have been keeping busy, I promise!

I would like to tell you about the new products that I am selling via my Etsy shop. There are four new designs which can be purchased as either A6 Valentine's cards or framed prints.

You can find them alongside all of my other products here:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KoalaGoodies

I hope that February is treating everyone kindly.

Lots of love,

The Kooky Koala xxx

Etsy shop open to the world!

Hello,

Well I have been rather quiet on the blogging front of late and I apologise but I have something to show for my absence... Yes that's right I have an Etsy shop. Hooray!

If you need to buy greetings cards or more appropriately at the moment Christmas cards then please peruse the link below.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KoalaGoodies

I am very excited about this venture.

If you live in Birmingham or just so happen to be passing through then I will be selling my wares at the Stirchley Community Market tomorrow between 4 pm and 8 pm, I will be on a stall inside so make sure to come in and say hello.

http://stirchleycommunitymarket.wordpress.com/

You can buy Christmas cards from me:

...Or you can buy anything that is listed on my Etsy shop so pop down tomorrow if you can!

Love from the Kooky Koala.

With the change in season comes spurts of creativity.

With summer comes long days of strolling through parks and gathering ideas, summer is a splendid time but it is also a time for doing very little...

Well the crisp bite in the evening air tells me that summer is on the wane and with that I have been knuckling down and getting on with some good old designing.

So please see one of the fruits of my labour. I have collaborated with a very talented designer, Kerry Leslie, to create a flyer for the Stirchley Community Market in Birmingham. This market deserves your attention because it helps artists such as myself to get their names out and sell some wares along the way.

Kerry is not only on the board of the market committee but also a talented designer in her own right and pioneer of FAKE which is a magazine showing off illustrators and other creatives who really ought to be taken note of.

You can check out Kerry's Tumblr here:

http://kerryleslie.tumblr.com/

and also peruse FAKE here:

http://thatfakemagazine.com/

For more information on the Stirchley Community Market cast your peepers here:

http://stirchleycommunitymarket.wordpress.com/

In other news I have some new cards to sell and my Folksy shop pipedream is edging ever nearer but I will keep you posted on that one.

So until then please enjoy our flyer!

New artwork for Frost and Snow.

This week I hung a new piece in the brand spanking new Frost and Snow cafe in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.

Frost and Snow are a great company because not only do they make mighty fine cupcakes but they are also an organisation who give training and job opportunities to homeless people. Read more about what they do here:

http://www.frostandsnow.co.uk/

I was asked to create a piece that was Birmingham-themed. As Central Library is quite topical of late due to petitions to stop it being knocked down, I thought that it should be the focal point.

So the character I have here is hugging it because despite it being classed as an ugly eye-sore by many, she truly does love it.

There are lots of other artists' work hanging on the wall there too so make sure you go and check them all out while you fill your faces and drench your throats.

xx

Apologies for the reflection in this image below, I wanted to take a picture of it in its frame because the frame really is a beaut.

Moseley Arts Market this Saturday 23rd June.

I am very excited today because I have just collected my newly printed tote bags from the lovely folk at Do Make Say Ink (http://www.domakesayink.com/) and I am pleased to say that I shall be selling them this Saturday at the Moseley Arts Market in Birmingham with some other goodies; including zines, postcards and badges!

The DMSI folk have done a top job screen-printing two of my designs which I can show you a sneak preview of here:

I will be selling my wares on a stall somewhere in the centre of Moseley Village between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm with Harry Starling who takes very good photographs so do come by and say hello.

You can find a bit more information on the market and its other artists here:

http://moseleyexchange.com/regular-events/moseley-arts-market/

See you on Saturday.

xxx

Interview for Aweh magazine

Hello Koalas.

Recently I was featured in Aweh, a magazine based in Korea who promote independent art and music practitioners around the world. You can check out my interview here:

http://www.aweh.tv/carla-smith/

K.K
xxx

New York inspirations.

Apologies for being a bit quiet on this blog of late.

Last month I went to New York to check out the Sketchbook Project 2012 which included my own entry.

All of the books resided in the Brooklyn Art Library which was a really nifty little space located in Williamsburg; a hip and happening area with lots of vibrant shops and arty goings-on in close proximity of each other.

When we got there the friendly librarian lass advised us that we needed to sign up and get library cards so as to get the books out to read there and then, it was encouraging to know that the books were so well looked after, you couldn't just go and pick them up off the shelves willy nilly!

I've included some pictures of the library space and also myself posing with my sketchbook, the tour is currently travelling between Vancouver and Los Angeles but will eventually end up back in Brooklyn and I must say I wholeheartedly approve of that space being my book's eventual home.

Other people's sketchbooks.

Awkward poser shot.

 a

It's Winter Where You Are.

                       The Brooklyn Art Library and its permanent collection from previous years.

The final pages.

Here we conclude the sketchbook and sketchbook week, thanks for coming along on the journey with me, I hope that you saw something you liked in there. Next stop New York, whoop!

Saturday.

It's the second from last day of the sketchook week and already I'm thinking that I might miss it...

Feeling like a Friday!

Woo-hoo the weekend is upon us! I have included 3 double pages here because they contain a short story sandwiched within the rest of the book...

Thursdays are funny...

...Well, so the BBC declared once. Whether today's entry is deemed humorous is up to your good selves. I'd probably class it as more sinister by the looks of it!

Wednesday...

And so we reach the middle of the week and we hit mid-winter book-wise.

Tuesday's goodies.

Here are some more of the scrawls...

Monday: the sketchiest day of the week...

And so here is day two of the adventure into the book of sketches, here are a couple more for your delectation...

Sketchbook Project 2012.

So a couple of weeks ago I posted my sketchbook to Brooklyn Art Library to start its world tour, I'm very relieved to have been informed by them that it arrived in one piece *phew*. After working on it for three months, it became my own baby but now I have sent it away to mature and discover the four corners of the earth before permanently residing in the same Library in Brooklyn and becoming available for borrowing just like a regular library book!

I didn't want to forget the contents of that beloved book though, therefore I have digitised it so that I could remember the journey I embarked upon when I created it and also for your viewing pleasure.

I shall be updating my blog daily with a few different pages from the sketchbook so be sure to check in regularly!

I hope you enjoy.

Carla

Sketchbook Tour/ Storytelling Bags.

Hello.

So I've been a bit absent here of late. What have I been making? Well currently I'm working on a sketchbook to be sent around the world for the 2012 Sketchbook Project. It will fly around to places like Chicago, Vancouver and Melbourne and be exhibited alongside other artists' books. I've been given a loose theme to start off with which is It's Winter Where you Are and I've pretty much spring-boarded from there.

Here is a preview of the cover of the book, the rest will have to remain a surprise!

For more information on the project please see here: 

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject2012

I was also recently commissioned to design some Storytelling bags for the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham. I worked with another artist/ set designer Emma Thompson who created the fun interiors.

Here are the deets of exactly how the bags work:

http://www.macarts.co.uk/event/storytelling-bags

I hope that you are all geared up for the festive frivolities!

Much love,

The Kooky Koala

xxx

Kooky Koala illustration in the current issue of FAKE Magazine.

Issue number 2 of FAKE; a new magazine showcasing lots of lovely fashion shoots and illustrations is available to buy now. Therein you can see a new illustration of mine which accompanies an article about Papergirl.

‘Papergirl is a non-commercial art project which aims to take art distribution out of galleries and into the streets’. You can check out their tumblr here:

http://papergirlbirmingham.tumblr.com/

FAKE is available to buy now, I’d recommend buying it not only to check out my stuff but to see some of the other candy-for-the-eyes designs they have featured in the magazine!

"After the success of their launch Issue in June, FAKE Magazine has announced the launch date of Issue Two. FAKE is a quarterly fashion and arts based magazine, born of two graduates from Birmingham Institute of Art & Design; Kerry Leslie and Sophie Benson. The magazine showcases many talented individuals, including a range of illustrators, independent businesses, fashion labels, interesting projects and great photography. FAKE promotes talent in a printed magazine, an opportunity which is invaluable to further their career and widen their audience.

FAKE will be available to buy online as of the 1st September 2011, priced £4 (+ £1.50 P&P) and is also sold in the listed stockists on their website. All costs go back into the production of the magazine, by buying FAKE you are ensuring more gifted creatives have the outlet to promote their work; you also get a beautifully put together, limited edition magazine!

To find out more: 

Website: http://thatfakemagazine.com/

Twitter: @FAKEmagazine"

Stay groovy,

The Kooky Koala

xxx

One day left to vote....

Hello!

So my design has been up for the vote for nearly a week and there is one day left for you to help me make it through and get my Waving Buildings design printed!

Please take a few moments out to score my tshirt out of 5 and contribute making my entire year!

Here is the link:

http://www.threadless.com/submission/361746/Waving_buildings

Lotsa lovin'

The Kooky Koala.
xxx

Threadless T Shirt submission

Hello all,

Today I submitted a t-shirt design which I am very much hoping will be chosen to be printed. What I need is for your lovely selves to vote for it which if I'm lucky you will be able to do in a week's time.

Here is the link to it so that you can see what I'm blethering on about before deciding!

x

http://www.threadless.com/submission/361746/Waving_buildings

Selling my goods at the Birmingham Zine Fair this Saturday 9th July.

Hullo there,

I will be selling some of my zines (Koala on the Keys and my new one Where the Lion is Drawn) this weekend at the Birmingham Zine Festival and some lovely Sugarfoot postcards designed by the equally lovely Nerys James. It will take place at the We Are Birmingham Shop between 12 pm and 6 pm:

We Are Birmingham
Unit 2, Kings Parade
Dale End
Birmingham
B4 7LN

Tel: 0121 236 5808

There will then be an after party  between 8 pm and 1.30 pm at the Jekyll and Hyde pub which I'll be djing at with my collective The Sugarfoot Stomp alongside our trusty master of visual projections Film Ficciones. The pub have kindly agreed to lay on a bbq for all the hungry exhibitors and visitors betwixt the hours of 6 pm and 9 pm to fill your stomachs after your souls have been fed by all the juicy alternative press from the fair!

http://www.thejekyllandhyde.co.uk/

Also you can catch some of my art work up at the Six Eight Kafé:

6/8 Temple Row, Birmingham B2 5HG

Other artists such as Bunny Bissoux, Dina Kelberman, Gareth Courage, Harriet Shephard, Liz Lunney and Roxie Collins are also exhibiting here.

This exhibition is on now until Sunday 10th July so do check it out!

All of the fairs/ exhibitions are completely free and the after party incurs a mere £1.50 entrance fee so make sure you get yourselves a slice of culture this weekend!

The Koala xx