Thought Bubble 2016!

I'm very excited to be heading up to Leeds tomorrow for the Thought Bubble Festival! This is my second year there - I have half a table and my sister is coming too! I'll be mostly selling copies of my comic, Welcome to Oddleigh, but I'll have some stickers, prints and cards too.

If you are in Leeds this weekend and coming to Thought Bubble, please come and say hello - I'll be in the Royal Armouries Hall, table 56b!

Daunt Books Children's Short Story Competition

This was the fourth year of Daunt Books' Children's Short Story Competition, open to children aged between 4 and 15.  The 13 winners had their stories published in a book, and this year I had the pleasure of designing the cover. Last night Daunt had organised a prize-giving in the beautiful setting of Burgh House in Hampstead.

I really enjoyed reading the stories, which were wide-ranging and quite anarchic. Ideas included three of the Seven Dwarfs on the psychiatrist's (the brilliantly named Miss Think-It-Through) couch, the death of Prince Albert by carnivorous plant, mermaid dreams and a playground mishap.

I enjoyed the challenge of representing each story on the cover. Daunt did a beautiful job with the printing, and I think the finished book looks great. Hurrah for 2016's winners!

Fairs fair!

Next Saturday I'm excited to be taking part in the Illustrators' Christmas Fair at the House of Illustration! There are full details are on their website, but it's in Granary Square, London King's Cross, from midday until 6pm next Saturday, 12th December.

I will be sharing a table with my friends and super illustrators Sharon King-Chai and Marta Altés! I had a table at the House of Illustration's summer fair a couple of years ago with Sharon and Mel and it was such a fun day and a nice vibe. 

It should be an ace day out and potentially a super hunting ground for unique Christmas pressies! Please do come along!

I am feeling much more fair-seasoned after Thought Bubble last month! I meant to post about it earlier, but I was preparing so much beforehand, and then the rest of the month just zoomed. In typical form, I took zero photographs of the rest of the fair, but my boyfriend and booth buddy Ben took a few of our table. It all looks a bit blue-screen in these pics, hopefully the effect was less so in real life... 

I learnt so much about having my own table, and displaying things - one big thing being I won't bother with the backing board next time! I don't think people looked it at much, and I felt like a backing-board wally. People were so friendly and kind, I had some lovely chats and discovered some new artists. 

My top highlights included: 

* Circling round Kate Beaton like a diffident shark a few times, though I never got the nerve to stand in the queue and say hi - next time!

* Tabling next to illustrator Emmeline Pidgen and animator Andrew Jolly, fellow Thought Bubble first-timers and perfect table neighbours (tabours)!

* Exchanging hellos with Darryl McDaniels from Run DMC, who appears to have branched into comics-making! (Apparently he did a surprise mini-set at the mid-con party, which I'd failed to get us tickets for - SERIO POST-FOMO about missing his performance of Walk This Way :-((() 

* Getting to meet some people whose work I'd admired in person, such as Zak Simmonds-Hurn, Joe List and Kristyna Baczynski - and getting to stare from afar at others!

* Seeing all the super costumes people came in, of which I recognised maybe 5% - need to bone up before next year!

Hurrah for fairs, meeting people at fairs, and having fair deadlines which make me mini-freak out but work more!

Thought Bubble Leeds weekend

It's the Thought Bubble Festival this weekend in Leeds! I have a table in the Royal Armouries Hall all day on Saturday and Sunday. I'll be at table number 3 - just before you get to the entrance for the talks and panels. Please come by and see me! I would love it - I'm looking forward to the weekend, and to seeing everyone else's super work. 

I'll have my Welcome to Oddleigh comic, 20 pages A5 size. I'll have stickers, cards and bargainously priced screen prints for sale! Including this new guy:

Wrestling cat wants to wrestle with you! Don't deny him this pleasure!!

I'll be showing my new Concertini cards... which due to being disorganised I haven't got enough printed of, but they'll be there to show and then in my online shop next week. 

Here are three of seven designs I've made:

There'll be cushions... there'll be risos... there'll be my nervous face! It'll all be happening.

Hope to see you there!

World Book Day

Happy World Book Day everyone! I spent the morning at St Luke's School in Queen's Park, where we drew animals and had a lovely time! The children had on some great costumes, as did the teachers - a super Mr Tickle, a Huckleberry Finn, Goldilocks and the penguin from Lost and Found!

I also received some lovely photos. 

Here is Isla, aged 5, dressed as Billie from Showtime for Billie and Coco! 

And here is Dulcie, who is three years old and dressed up as Billie for nursery!

I love both these costumes so much - thank you for sending the photos to me, Helen and Megan! 

I hope everyone is having a super day and enjoying whatever costume they are wearing! I didn't plan properly, so went slightly Toucan again - I'm digging this denim on denim look however... 

Sammy's in the studio today and we are totally hanging out. Call us if you're having plumbing troubs!

Hifest

I had such a lovely day at Hifest in Hastings yesterday. I went with Alice and Barney, and shared their table, and their snacks. I met so many great people. The organisers had done an excellent job of spreading the word and getting people through the door - it was a great turnout, especially for the first year.

As usual, Al and Barney were the best company. They were there with their new collective, Pinch Press - check out their stuff! And Barney's new graphic novel, Beetroot, is out any day now. I was lucky enough to see an advance copy yesterday - it is SUPER, and I can't wait to get my own copy!

Some of the wares I was selling 

 Setting up our stall! 

Al and Barney manning the stand

The quality of other exhibitors was really wonderful - I could've ended up spending any money I made, but limited myself to these great pieces - the vase screen print is by Melissa Castrillon, the house with yellow moons by Somin Ahn (I love it - where is that house? What's happening? Why are those pigs hanging around???) and this brilliant card by Benjamin Phillips - a real pet portrait! Lovely lady dog.

I'm already looking forward to next year, and will plan to spend longer there and see Hastings. I can hardly feel walking from the carpark to the exhibition hall crossed it off my list...!

**Soundtrack: Absolute Crock: Tush, ZZ Top**

Bits of news

I'll be taking part in two events in the next couple of months. 

The first is Hifest, the Hastings Illustration Festival on the 6th of January, at which I will have a half table. I'm really looking forward to it - there are some great exhibitors showing and events happening. I'll be selling some (hopefully new) prints, cards and other bits and bobs.

I will also be taking part in an exhibition, A Long Way From Home. All the proceeds from this will go to Crisis. It runs from the 11th-14th of December, details below - it should be a great exhibition.