Happy Independence Day and other US things …

Turns out that July 4 – best known as the US Independence Day – also has a couple of other (less well known outside of the US) holidays associated with it:

National Country Music Day

Yep, y’all, today is also National Country Music Day in the US.  While it doesn’t seem to be an official national day as such (there don’t seem to be any country music associations sponsoring the day or any official documentation on file proclaiming July 4 as National Country Music Day), it still seems to have entered the popular mindset as the official day to celebrate country music.  So grab your guitar and start singing about how your missus left you and the dog died, or just sit out on the porch listening to your favourite country artist on the CD player and crank it up in celebration.

Tom Sawyer Fence Painting Day

Each year, on the weekend on or around July 4th, the US celebrates one of the National Tom Sawyer Days in honor of Mark Twain (the author of “Tom Sawyer”) – The National Fence Painting Contest.  And this one, interestingly, IS an officially recognised national holiday, now sanctioned by the US Congress.

So what does it involve?  Well, according to 2Camels.com:

“Many states around the nation hold local fence painting competitions throughout the year and send their winners to Hannibal for the “World Series of Whitewashing.” Since 1964, the travel tab for the winning contestants from 10 neighboring states has been picked up by the Jaycees; other state’s entries have to pay their own way. 10 to 13-year old Tom Sawyers are judged on costume, their painting speed and their painting accuracy. A $500 savings bond, prizes donated by local merchants and a trophy, which the winner must present to the governor of his home state, are awarded every year.

For all you over-the-hill Tom Sawyers, there’s an adult fence painting contest as well.”

Only in America …

So, however you celebrate it, Happy 4th of July!

Judging A Book By It’s Cover

Image is everything – especially in the entertainment industry. So how do you create an image for your film that’s cheap yet effective?

Going to the movies is always an experience. Good or bad. As a filmmaker and actor, I am delighted to find that I am still able to suspend my disbelief, and enjoy really good films. I was definitely feeling ill in The Blair Witch Project, and The Sixth Sense creeped me out completely (but then again, I used to freak out watching “The Magic Flute”, so that’s no great surprise).

That said, I really do enjoy the experience of going to the movies. Which is probably a good thing, considering my choice of career. And yes, my love of films most likely inspired my choice of profession. For which I am eternally grateful.

Interview With A Vampire Poster

As a teenager, I would race off to the movies to hang out with friends, or go on a date, or just escape a difficult time. I can actually cross-reference films to events in my life. On my very first date, my new boyfriend took me to see The Evil Dead (needless to say, I broke up with him soon after). I saw Footloose on my (cough, sputter, mumble, mumble) birthday which was part of my friends ruse when they threw me a surprise party. One of my most enduring memories of London was seeing Interview with the Vampire at midnight, in winter, and being so scared that I had to stay at a friend’s place (and I was paranoid about exposing my neck for a week afterwards). The first film my brother and I ever saw on our own without Mum was Highlander (which I thoroughly enjoyed, as uncool as it was to be seen with my brother at that stage of my social development).

Movies have a way of affecting you, sometimes in ways you don’t realise until much later. And sometimes, with certain special films, when you want to remember what effect that film had, you want something to bring back those feelings, or that time in your life.

Which is where I find posters come into the picture. (forgive the pun). Sometimes you buy a poster because of the film – and sometimes you buy a poster just because the poster is so great, you want it as a piece of decor on your walls (I had the poster for The First Wives Club long before I saw the film).

INSPIRATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL

Sliding Doors Poster

Additionally, as a filmmaker, I find that having a few posters around can be great inspiration. I look at the Sliding Doors poster, and it reminds me that Peter Howitt took twelve years to make that film. My paltry three years on Dalny seems nothing in comparision.

I get fed up with the state of the Australian film industry, then I look at my poster for The Piano and remember that you can get your film made anywhere if it’s got a good story and vision (and you just don’t give up). I wonder if I’ve gone mad writing a film that has fantasy elements, and then I look at my The Lord of the Rings poster and remember how much I loved the film and the way it truly did transport me to another world.

Posters aren’t just displayed by those independent writer/producers struggling to hold onto their inspiration. All the casting agents’ offices I’ve been in as an actor have their walls covered in posters. Most have posters of the films they actually did the casting for, but there’s one agent I know (no names here) that puts up posters on their walls just because they like them (well, so they say). I remember the first time I was in their office, I sat staring at the posters for films like The Matrix and Mad Max, terribly impressed because I thought they’d done the casting for those films. They later informed me that they’d had nothing to do with them, they just liked the posters (and who am I to doubt them?).

When working on investment and distribution packages, I always start with the posters. They tell you what a film’s about (if done properly) and should transmit to the public the essence of your film. It’s called “branding” in marketing circles. I wondered about attempting to do the kind of thing that distributors normally cover, but my marketing sense paid off when I came face to face with a prominent distributor over another feature film I’ve been working on – Heart.

I was at an industry function, and found out that he was there. Deciding that now was a good time as any to say hello, I made my way over to where he was standing by the bar.

Let me just clarify at this stage that we’d never met before, but he had been sent a distribution package for the film nearly two months prior, and we’d heard nothing from him since. I figured that I had nothing to lose, hence my boldness in approaching him (of course, that could also have been something to do with the champagne I’d had).

So, there I am, walking over to this guy as bold as brass, praying that my instincts were right and I wasn’t about to make a complete idiot of myself. He turned to me as I approached, and I must have looked like a filmmaker about to approach a distributor, because I caught a flicker of the “Oh God, I’m about to be cornered, I hope my wife/girlfriend/PA will be back from the bathroom soon to spirit me away from this person” look, enter his eyes.

Heart Poster

Undaunted, I walked up to him and said hello. We made polite small talk. “Isn’t this a lovely evening”, “So nice to see so many industry faces”, “Have you seen [insert name of current "hot" movie here] yet?” – that sort of thing. Finally I opened my little black purse and pulled out my CD-ROM presentation that had just been completed for Heart, with the image from our poster emblazoned across the front of it. I steeled myself to go into my “You’ve had our paper version on your desk for two months, maybe you’d better just skip it and look at this instead” speech, when he looked at the cover of the CD and took it out of my hands.

“Ah yes! Heart! I remember this poster! You’re that Sally McLean!”

A bit non-plussed (how many other Sally McLean’s were working in the Melbourne film industry that I didn’t know about?), I recovered from my shock and jumped at this unexpected opportunity. We arranged a time to meet during the following week, and when his wife/girfriend/PA did come back from the bathroom, he actually stayed a whole five minutes longer talking about the photo we’d used and where it had been taken, before being spirited away.

I was pretty happy with myself that evening (and it had nothing to do with the three glasses of champagne I’d consumed, truly).

You see, I’d stumbled across a fact that all distributors are taught from birth, but many filmmakers just don’t get – well, most don’t in the early stages of their careers, and it was only due to my work in promotions that I’d worked it out, albeit instinctively. And it’s the one thing that we should all remember.

Image is everything. Image sells. And posters are the most visable and prolific version of that philosophy in the movie-making world. They’re certainly the most cost-effective way to promote your film, especially if you are an independent, still on the elusive search for funding and distribution. If you’re handy with a camera and any version of Photoshop, then you’re in with a good chance of creating a poster image that will sell your film to those that will help you make it.

That way you’re also thinking like a distributor. Now, some might say that’s unhealthy, but not when you’re trying to sell your film to them. Film’s a visual medium, remember? So you should use all your visual weapons to promote what you’re aiming to put on film. Why do you think movie websites are so popular? Of course your initial artwork will most likely be changed. But it will be changed by distributors – once they’ve bought the rights to your film.

So how do you go about creating that perfect poster that will cause all who see it to demand that you take their money and run? Well, that’s not so easy. There are many factors you’ll have to consider. What kind of film are you making? Who’s your audience? What’s the mood/atmosphere/theme of the film? What genre is your movie?

Clerks Poster

The best way to work out where you should start, is to look at what other films have done before you. If you’re making a film like Clerks , for example, then you’d want a poster that had an indie feel about it, not something that looked like The Gift. If, on the other hand, you’re making something like Sleepy Hollow, then you’d need to capture a feeling of horror, so you wouldn’t design something like the Swingers poster (unless it was a campy or comedy horror, of course).

It may all sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised the amount of filmmakers who don’t think like this, or who don’t even think about this element at all.

The best advice I can give – get hold of as many posters that fit your movie’s genre as you can, and study them. You’ll see that there’s a kind of formula, and you’d do well to emulate it.

And anyway, they look good on your walls. That’s why my office is full of them – honest.

Originally published July 2006 © S. McLean. All Rights Reserved.

A Little Rain Must Fall Poster

Chasing Pegasus Poster

Chasing Pegasus Poster II

One step closer to colonizing the Moon …

Once again proving that sci-fi writers may have a better grip on our future than we give them credit for – news just out of Japan tells us that uranium has been found on the moon, and with it the possibility of a future lunar mining colony.

The Japanese space probe, Kaguya, detected the element in the lunar dirt.  It also found thorium, potassium, magnesium, silicon, calcium, titanium and iron during it’s 20 month mission before hitting the moon’s surface in a controlled crash-landing yesterday.

Naturally, speculation since this announcement has included building mining colonies and nuclear power plants on the lunar surface, providing a power source for future moon colonization by humans.  And yes, it certainly sounds like a plot for a blockbuster film (more on that later).

As the Japanese discovered it, I’m wondering if they’ll be able to claim the rights to mining and building there.  Somehow I can’t see the rest of the world being happy about that prospect.

Which leads me neatly to the next piece of news …

David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, won the top award this Sunday at the Edinburgh International Film Festival for his debut feature film “Moon“, starring Sam Rockwell.

“Moon” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year and is about a Helium-3 miner who undergoes a series of strange experiences while running a solo mining station on the moon. The film has received a limited release in North America through Sony Pictures Classics and premiered on June 12 in New York and Los Angeles, with additional theatres across the US showing the film as of tomorrow (July 3).

“Moon” will be released in the UK on July 17 and in Australia on September 3.

Could this be a case of science meeting fiction once more? I guess it will be a case of wait and see …

What’s the Buzz?

How do you get your latest independent project in development noticed by people other than your Mum? Is there really a way to get free press and attention other than running naked down Melbourne’s Swanston Street?

This is hardly going to sound like a revolutionary statement, but publicity is one of the most vital tools any independent filmmaker can have in their filmmaking arsenal. The problem we independents face, is how do you get it? Especially when you’re most likely still developing your script and have no extra cash for any kind of publicity campaign, let alone anything to promote. But you have more going for you than you realise.

You make movies.

Now, those of us working in the industry know that this is just a job. And sometimes it’s a frustrating, difficult and disheartening job as well. And sometimes it isn’t. But that doesn’t change the fact that everyone still wants to be in the movies. Hollywood has traded off this fascination since the 1920’s. That’s why programs such as “Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous” and “Entertainment Tonight” and any other entertainment industry television show, magazine, radio show or newspaper sells so well. People are getting a slice of movie-making life. And they can’t get enough of it. So, as an independent, you need to grab that fascination and make it work for you.

I’m sure you’re sitting there thinking “Yeah, great idea – I’m going to call the editor of my local paper RIGHT NOW …. NOT!” But you should. Because you have a story to tell – everyone does – only yours is in the medium that everyone never gets tired of hearing about.

Are you looking to make your movie in your local area? Then write a press release about it. Are you under the age of 18 – a high school student – and about to make your first feature on DVC? Then ring your local paper and pitch the story to them. Are you looking for funding to make your feature film? Then write into a popular industry publication and start a discussion about more funding for the arts. Have you got a patron for your film company that is known? Then let people know about it!

Think I’m talking complete garbage? Well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but all those examples are taken from real life independent filmmakers who all generated publicty for their projects by doing just what I described.

So, who were these filmmakers? Well, I’m one of them. All of us generated press from opportunities we created, or took advantage of.

In the case of the high school students – they simply announced that they were making their first feature on DVC in Melbourne. A local paper picked up the story, followed by one of Melbourne’s large dailies. The idea that two kids were off to make a movie appealed to the industry. And to the public. It made it seem more accessible to all. They got so much attention from this story that one of the television news services picked it up and ran a story on them. And all of this cost the filmmakers nothing – yet we all know about them. And more importantly, the distributors and other filmmakers know about them.

Even if their first film doesn’t fly, we’ll remember who they are when they get to their second or third feature – and you can’t buy that kind of exposure.

Another two filmmakers have been trying to get a film up for three years, with no luck. They went off and shot a spectacular trailer, on limited money, and still no major funding arrived. Eventually an article about them was published in an industry e-newsletter after they wrote to the editor. It hit a nerve. The publication concerned got a huge response from it’s readers.

Those filmmakers are now known to most of the Melbourne and Sydney filmmaking crowd, who have gone to their website and viewed the trailer. Again – invaluable when pushing a film product. Since this has happened, they have been picked up by one of Australia’s largest sales agents who are in the process of selling their films.

In the last case – I decided to get a Patron for Salmac. We were new and we needed some street cred. I approached five British film industry luminaries, and after a couple of rejections, one wrote back saying yes. That was Sir Nigel Hawthorne. He had a look at a copy of the rough cut of A Little Rain Must Fall and decided he’d be happy to support us. I was over the moon.

The moment his name went on the company letterhead, press releases were on their way to all the major newspapers. Radio, television and newspaper interviews followed. And people began to know who we were, which has since lead to funding and distribution opportunities.

We’re in the business of entertainment. So, as independents, the best place to start is to sell yourself. That, my friends, is the way to sell your movie.

Originally published July 2006 © Sally McLean. All rights reserved.

Michael Jackson Dead – Jeff Goldblum & Harrison Ford, not – such is the Internet

Oh what a tangled web we weave …

Today the sad news broke that two icons of the X Generation – Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett-Majors – both passed away today in Los Angeles.

Farrah Fawcett as 'Jill Munro' in "Charlie's Angels"

FARRAH FAWCETT

Ms Fawcett died this morning in a Santa Monica hospital after battling cancer since 2006.

Best known for her roles in the hit TV series “Charlie’s Angels” and the film “The Burning Bed”, Fawcett was an icon of her generation.  She was the 70’s “It Girl” – the one everyone most wanted to be like if you were a girl and the one most wanted if you were a boy.  Recent generations might remember the sudden sweeping popularity of the Jennifer Annisten haircut that happened during the height of popularity of the TV show “Friends” – well, Farrah Fawcett caused an even bigger “aping” of her look in the late seventies – a look that is still used today when someone wants to evoke the 1970’s feel in fashion – those swept back wings of hair either side of the face, with blonde streaks and middle part … that’s all down to Farrah Fawcett’s look in “Charlie’s Angels” – and we idolized her for it, even if now, thirty years later, we don’t remember it was she who truly epitomized and cemented it.

Fawcett shot to fame as ‘Jill Munro’ in Charlie’s Angels, inspiring a generation of girls into thinking that maybe women could be glamous, sexy and strong – all at the same time.  Fawcett once said about the show: “When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wore a bra.”  Despite the self-depreciation, watching the re-runs of that seminal TV series was one of the things that inspired me to become an actress and Farrah was one of my early, and I think good, influences in that area.

Sadly, her long term partner, Ryan O’Neal, finally got her to agree to marry him, but she passed away before vows could be exchanged.  I feel like a part of my childhood has vanished with her death and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her family and friends at this very sad time.

Michael Jackson

MICHAEL JACKSON

Dead at 50, this sudden ending to Michael Jackson’s life seems almost bizarrely appropriate.  Never one to do things in a “normal” fashion, his sudden passing will only add to the mystique and strangeness that became his life.

Which is sad, as he was truly a gifted musician, singer and songwriter.  He changed the face of music with his “Thriller” album and I still remember watching the accompanying music video for the first time with awe and wonder and excitement. Here was a storyteller – a gifted artist, who, sadly, had just as many demons as he had talent.

The boy who never wanted to grow up, Jackson had still managed to live to be 50, and had announced a live tour due to start in a few weeks.  Rumours abound that he was addicted to prescription drugs, tumbled in with existing doubts about his dealings with children, his bizarre treatment of his own offspring and his strained relationship with his father and some of his family, all make for one very troubled life and tragic death.

Whatever you think of Michael Jackson as a man, you can’t escape the fact that he was seminal as a musician.  May he find some peace at last.

Ed McMahon (left) shakes hands with Johnny Carson on their last "Tonight Show" together in 1992

ED McMAHON

While it may have got lost in the recent news, those who remember the Johnny Carson Show and his sidekick, Ed McMahon who coined the phrase “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!”, will be saddened to learn of Ed’s death last Wednesday in a Los Angeles Hospital aged 86.

Working for 30 years as Johnny Carson’s “second banana” on “The Tonight Show”, accolades have been pouring in from many giants of the US comedy/talk show side of the biz, with many labelling McMahon a “gentleman”, “giant”, “true broadcaster” and “one of the greats”. David Letterman’s bandleader, Paul Shaffer, said McMahon “defined professionalism in broadcasting.”

In recent years, after breaking his neck in a fall in 2007, McMahon battled financial difficulties due to not being able to work.  In June last year it was reported that he may lose his home, but generous action from people such as Donald Trump averted the need for the property to be sold, although other debts were still outstanding.  McMahon still managed to keep his sense of humour – parodying his financial situation in a 2009 SuperBowl ad with rap artist MC Hammer in a cash-for-gold commercial where McMahon used his trademark saying with a twist by waving goodbye to a gold toilet and belting out a “H-e-e-e-e-e-re’s money!”

McMahon was surrounded by his family, including wife Pam, when he passed.

Jeff Goldblum - not dead, despite reports

JEFF GOLDBLUM & HARRISON FORD

Then there’s Jeff Goldblum & Harrison Ford.  Proving that not everything you read on the Internet should be believed, reports earlier today that Jeff Goldblum had died in a fall in New Zealand while filming and that Harrison Ford had disappeared while on a boat in the French Riviera have been proven false.

Reports appeared on several high profile news sites as well as being ‘tweeted’ all over Twitter by concerned users that both Goldblum and Ford had died – causing their publicists to step forward and reassure the world that they were both very much alive.

Apparently this is part of a cycle of fake obituaries that circle every so often.  The last two were Tom Cruise (who was supposed to have died falling off the same cliff in New Zealand in 2008) and Tom Hanks in 2006.

Interestingly however, both Goldblum and Ford do have something in common – they will share the silver screen when they co-star in the upcoming movie “Morning Glory” – a comedy about a failing morning news program – due for release in 2010.

Designers @ CafePress: The REAL power behind the POD giant’s throne

Selection of designs sold through CafePress by independent designers

In a day and age where globalization is becoming the rule rather than the exception and forming strong and reliable partnerships for your business is everything, one of the paramount ingredients for growing your business and increasing your sales is trust.  Trust in your partners, trust from your customers, trust from the public in general.

Which is why POD (Print On Demand) giant, CafePress’s, latest policy changes in regards to how they divide profits with their design partners is generally considered to be a very odd business move and, in light of the company’s reliance on designers, potentially damaging to their overall brand.

CafePress provides a platform of blank products for designers to affix their designs, choose the commission they wish to make on each item, then sell them to the general public.  The strength of the company therefore is their design partners – those millions of independent designers who are out there creating unique, original t-shirt and giftware designs, uploading them onto products and then making them available for you, the public, to purchase via individual CafePress “shop” interfaces and the main CafePress Marketplace.  As many have pointed out – without the designers, CafePress (and every other POD company) would just be selling blank t-shirts.

For their part, CafePress provide all shipping, merchant services, shop hosting, e-commerce services and customer service support – for which they charge a base price per item (and in the case of “premium” shops, an additional monthly shop fee) to cover all the support duties they undertake – as well as promoting all the designs available on the CafePress platform from the designers who work with them via the CafePress Marketplace with TV, print and Internet ad campaigns – freeing up the designers to do what they are passionate about – design.

Sounds like a match made in heaven – and for a time it was.

Sure, there are other POD companies out there – Zazzle, Printfection, Spreadshirt, Skreened, RedBubble – just to name a few – all of whom are providing a very similar service, albeit with not as large a product selection as CafePress, but in theory, very similar business models.  But CafePress was universally seen as the premier POD service – not only because of the quality products they provided for sale, but also because of the care and support, mutual promotion and marketing efforts and strong relationships they had with their designers.

I have been working in partnership as a designer with CafePress since 2005.  And it has been a very successful partnership.  Even though I am based in Melbourne and they are based in Los Angeles (on the other side of the world), there was always good communication between us, my business has steadily grown and thrived and I knew I was bringing in a fair chunk of cash to the CafePress bank accounts each year and felt appreciated and supported by them for my efforts.  It was a mutually beneficial arrangement that was working for both of us.  I even began talking to them about working exclusively with CafePress for my feature film and theatre merchandise, I was that happy with their service and ethics.  That’s how much I trusted and enjoyed working with them.

And this was the way of it until June 1^st this year.  Sure, there had been indicators that all was not rosy in the CafePress camp in regards to designers – first they cut our volume bonus (a system that rewarded designers for selling a certain volume of products each month) late last year.  Then one of the CafePress founders left the company – never a good sign.  And then, in April this year, the news came through that CafePress had finally crossed the line of goodwill with the POD design community and would, as of June 1^st, control how much each product would be sold for and how much money designers could make from their work (a questionable 10%) when selling via the CafePress Marketplace.

Essentially, we went from being akin to partners with CafePress, with the freedom to set our own prices and manage our own business in conjunction with the CafePress business model, to being employees who are expected to accept a flat fee for our unique and original work.  I know that is not what I signed up for – especially when all the other POD companies continue to allow designers to name our commission for our creative efforts without interference.

It is unclear why this change in policy at CafePress has happened.  Rumours abound, as they will.  As CafePress has never fully or satisfactorily explained why they have done this – it is all speculation at this stage.  The only truth we have to grasp is that designers working with CafePress will now earn less money per product – 10% of the overall price, rather than the average commission of between 20-70%, when people purchase products via the CafePress Market Place (on the main CafePress site).  This means that designers on average are now losing between 40-90% of their income from the CafePress platform.

The one ray of light in this scenario is that CafePress have made the following concession – if designers sell items directly through their CafePress Shops (which carry urls like this: http://www.cafepress.com/designername), then the designers will still receive their preferred commission on the products they sell featuring their designs.

Looks good in theory, except that, as designers who have populated the CafePress Marketplace with our designs and given CafePress something to actually sell, we are now in direct competition with that Marketplace as far as marketing and advertising goes.  As a result, many shopkeepers (as designers working with CafePress are known) have withdrawn (or are in the process of withdrawing) their products from the CafePress Marketplace and are now striking out on their own with promotion and advertising to try and protect the commission they feel their unique and original work is worth.  In some cases, this actually means that when you buy direct from a CafePress designer, you, the customer, will also be charged less for the same product available in the CafePress Marketplace.  Are you confused yet?  Tell me about it!

In light of this difficult situation, and in the spirit of helping promote what I have found to be a collaborative and supportive designer community at CafePress, the following individual designers’ CafePress stores are all excellent examples of the work available at CafePress – and will save you, the customer, the need to trawl through the overpopulated CafePress Marketplace and instead go straight to a shop that fits your interests immediately.  The added bonus from purchasing from this list is that if you purchase from these stores direct, you will also be ensuring that these members of the CafePress design community will be getting the commission they have set for themselves –so supporting individual designers AND getting unique gear and gifts in the process.

Because, ultimately, the design community is the REAL power behind the CafePress throne – no matter how much CafePress might appear to now think otherwise.

List of designers (in categories):

• ANIMALS & PETS
• ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
• COUNTRIES/REGIONAL
• FAMILY & KIDS
• FUNNY & HUMOROUS
• GAY & GAY PRIDE
• GENERAL & CUSTOM DESIGNS
• LITERATURE & PERFORMING ARTS
• OFFICIAL MERCHANDISE
• ORGANIZATIONS & COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
• RETRO/VINTAGE
• RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL

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ANIMALS & PETS

All Animal Tees
http://www.cafepress.com/allanimaltees
Funny animal t-shirts & gifts

Corgi Chaos
http://www.cafepress.com/CorgiChaos
For Pembroke Welsh Corgi lovers only! Extraordinarily unique corgi t-shirts & gifts, including completely original cartoons. Agility, flyball, humor, holidays, and other assorted designs.

Digital Gryphon
http://www.cafepress.com/digitalgryphon
dragons, gryphons and other beasts

Menagerie Mayhem
http://www.cafepress.com/MenagerieMayhem
Dog lover t-shirts, parrot apparel, and other gifts for pet lovers! Dog agility and other canine sports, parrots gone wild, reptile silhouettes, and more designs. Cute cartoons, gorgeous photography, and plenty of humor for anyone that adores animals.

My Tiny Pet
http://www.cafepress.com/lovebeat
Digital, pop art style paintings of pets and animals

^ back to list

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ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

Beltain Celtic Arts Gifts
http://www.cafepress.com/beltain
Beautiful original Celtic art designs with an explanation of the knotwork’s meaning and relation to Celtic culture.  There’s also an artist’s statement in the sidebar

Fyfe Photography
http://www.cafepress.com/fyfephotography
Gifts featuring nature photography, emotive photography, souvenirs for Scotland, London, Monterey (California) and San Francisco, fairies, unicorns, dragons, princesses and princes, baby designs, personalization, USA souvenirs, cats and kittens, gerbils, horses, homeschooling, Irish and St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Mardi Gras, Valentine’s, Easter, Halloween, New Years, angels, inspiration for writers, diet and fitness designs, large family designs and lots more!

Plasmic Studio
http://www.cafepress.com/plasmicstudio
An array of products featuring designs and illustrations created by Plasmic Studio, a design firm in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Roses That Last
http://www.cafepress.com/rosesthatlast
gifts and apparel featuring roses & other florals

Silajai
http://www.cafepress.com/silajai
Reproductions of the artist’s original oil pastel, acrylic, watercolor and color pencil works of art – mostly animals and pets

^ back to list

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COUNTRIES/REGIONAL

Leprechaun Gifts
http://www.cafepress.com/leprechaungifts
Your one-stop-shop for all things Irish – including a wide range of St Patrick’s Day t-shirts & gifts.

Polish Heritage Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/polishheritage
A wide variety of t-shirts, clothing, merchandise and gift products designed around a combination of the Polish Eagle, map and flag. The red and white colors of the Poland flag are heavily used in these colorful Polish heritage designs.

Polish Texan Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/polishtexans
Polish Texan Gift Shop offers t-shirts, clothing, merchandise and gift products designed around a combination of the Polish Eagle, Polish and Texas Flags and Polish and Texas Maps. The colors of Poland and Texas are heavily used in these colorful designs.

Polish American Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/polishamerican
A wide variety of t-shirts, clothing, merchandise and gift products designed around a combination of the US map and flag and the Polish Eagle, map and flag. The red, white and blue colors of the Poland and American flag are heavily used in these colorful Polish American heritage designs.

Polish Canadian Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/polishcanadian
Polish Canadian Gift Shop offers t-shirts, clothing, merchandise and gift products designed around a combination of the Polish Eagle, Polish and Canadian Flags, Polish and Canadian Maps and the Canadian maple leaf. The colors of Poland and Canada are heavily used in these colorful designs.

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FAMILY & KIDS

Art Lady Manor
http://www.cafepress.com/artladymanor
Kid’s t-shirt designs and other family friendly apparel. Birthdays and sibling shirts

Lil’ Squirt Tees – Funny & Cute Designs Galore For Babies Kids Moms & More!
http://www.cafepress.com/lilsquirttees
Welcome to Lil’ Squirt Tees where you’ll find original and cute t-shirts for kids, babies, toddlers, newborns, parents, brothers, sisters, grandmas, grandpas and more! Lil’ Squirt Tees carries Funny & Cute designs, Events & Holidays apparel, Political gear, Stuff for Mom and Designs & Graphics that’ll look great in your child’s room. LilSquirtTees.com – Funny & Cute Designs Galore For Babies, Kids, Moms and More!

Pride Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/pridegiftshop
Crest and heraldic themed designs for the whole family available on a wide range of t-shirts & gifts. Sections include World Flags, World’s Best Professions, Mothers & Fathers Day gifts and military-themed – all featuring crests and laurel wreaths in a variety of colours and styles. Summer special: prices lower than in the CafePress market place.

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FUNNY & HUMOROUS

Barry’s World
http://www.cafepress.com/barrysworld
Wacky, surreal & wholly unique gift ideas from the admittedly warped mind of Barry Goldberg. Suicidal snakes? Killer penguins? Musical meerkats? They’re all here, plus more weirdness than you can shake a stick at!

BurnTees – Funny & Witty Tees outta Dirty New Jersey
http://www.cafepress.com/burntees
Looking for a funny t shirt? New Jersey t-shirts or Dirty Jersey tees? Vintage tee shirts? A novelty t shirt? A retro t-shirt? An anti-Bush tee shirt? Maybe an offensive t shirt? St. Patrick’s Day tee shirts? How about a pop culture tee? Well you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to BurnTees…the most original t shirt ideas on the web and the only place with the I Put the Stud in Study T Shirt and our almost famous Jesus Saves passes to Moses T Shirt.

Dustbuster Tees
http://www.cafepress.com/dustbuster
funny tees to make you laugh out loud

JMGNole Smart Tees
http://www.cafepress.com/jmgnole
If you laugh at sexy, ribald, adult, goofy, humor, you might find something here that makes you chuckle. If you like beer and boobs and smartass humor, then you’re right at home. If fart jokes make you laugh, welcome to the party. If you like Hooters, well, who doesn’t?

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GAY & GAY PRIDE

Flights Of Dragons
http://www.cafepress.com/flightofdragons
gay pride gifts, fetish symbols and celebrating the lyrics of R&P

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GENERAL & CUSTOM DESIGNS

MM Custom Creations
http://www.cafepress.com/mm_creations
Custom designs for t-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, and more.  Holidays, occupations, scrapbooking, pop culture… whatever you’re in to, we probably have a t-shirt for that. Be sure to check out our wedding designs and bachelorette party invitations (with matching thank you notes!). Don’t see what you’re looking for? We’re happy to make a custom design just for you!

The Full Moon Emporium
http://www.cafepress.com/fullmoonemp
A large emporium style shop with a heavy dose of humor.  Featuring hobbies, pets, sports, international countries as well as cities in every state of the USA.  Also includes fine art works as well as a whole line of lovely fractal works.

My T-shirt Store
http://www.cafepress.com/mytshirtstore
Original humor, fantasy art, Egyptian art, inspirational words, cute little designs, holiday themes, Anime fan stuff, Twilight designs, and the ever popular “Secret Order of Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses and Supervillains!

Scarebaby Casual Apparel
http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby
Holidays & Special Occasions, Literature & Fine Art, Wedding & Bridal, Political, Issues & Causes, Flags & National Pride, Kids’ Gear, Animal Stuff, TV & Movie Quotes, Twilight Gear, American Idol Gear, Hobbies and more!

Teesed.com
http://www.cafepress.com/teesed
An eclectic selection of designs covering Holidays & Special Occasions, Humor, College Wear, Adult Humor, Baby/Infant Gear, Pets & Pet Lovers, Su Doku, Political Gear, Activism & Awareness, Geek Gear … even Crop Circle T-shirts!

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LITERATURE & PERFORMING ARTS

Incognita Store
http://www.cafepress.com/incognitashop
High quality, original and unique designs on t shirts, gifts and apparel for actors, filmmakers, directors, producers, crew, musicians & writers and all those who just love the stage and screen. Famous sayings, quotes and thoughts from those who’ve been on the frontline of film and theatre and fun designs for those who are there now, feature on a huge range of t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, caps and home & office wares for the movie or theater buff in your life.

The Shakespeare Shoppe
http://www.cafepress.com/shakespeareink
T-shirts, apparel and a wide range of gifts for the discerning Shakespeare fan, as well as items featuring Christopher Marlowe, Queen Elizabeth the First and other famous Elizabethan folk. You’ll also find Elizabethan pirates, thieves and cutpurses, t-shirts & gifts featuring the Elizabethan theatres and other entertainments and much, much more!

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OFFICIAL MERCHANDISE

The Official Online Store of Jabloo
http://www.cafepress.com/jabloo
The Official merchandise for Jabloo – a children’s interactive animation project featuring Moco, Burr, Sham, Yubi and Galoo – five colorful friends who create their own adventures… with you!

The Official Romanovsky & Phillips Songbook
http://www.cafepress.com/r_and_p
All about Ron Romanovsky & Paul Phillips

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ORGANIZATIONS & COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

The Masonic Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/masons
How bout the largest Masonic Shop on the planet with more than 22,000 products for Masons, Shriners and the Order of the Eastern Star.

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RETRO/VINTAGE

Queen Vintage
http://www.cafepress.com/queenvintage
t-shirts with a retro feel

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RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL

Reflections
http://www.cafepress.com/reflections06
At Reflections you’ll find a wide variety of one of a kind Christian t-shirts as well as funny, family friendly T-shirts like our top selling 24 T-shirts, Mom Likes Me Best T-shirts, Scrabble T-shirts and so much more!

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“Eating The Lotus” Makes “Blogs Of The Day” at WordPress

I was very happy to find out that Eating The Lotus has made the “Blogs of The Day” list at No. 40 on June 7, 2009 for Growing Blogs at WordPress!  And I’d like to thank all my readers for making this happen.  It’s great to know that the readership for this blog is steadily growing and gives me extra warm and fuzzy feelings that you actually are interested enough to also leave comments

We’ve jumped up the list from No. 57 (which was our placing in August last year), so I’m really pleased that Eating The Lotus continues to hold interest in this Wild, Wild Web of ours.

And in celebration, here is my collection of blogger t-shirts – just because I can

In my next couple of posts – “Zazzle: Is this the POD for you?” – where I’ll give you a run-down on my new adventures in Zazzle-land and some tips on how to maximize your use of Zazzle yourself, and “CafePress: Meet the REAL power behind the throne”.

Cheers ’til then!