In the mail yesterday came a big box containing a giant Christmas cracker with a note that said "Everyone should have a GIANT Christmas cracker." Well, everyone in the hedge should get one but it happens to be me actually opening it. Inside the cracker, to match our calendar roundup, a giant bubble wrap calendar. And now I bet @boyinthehedge gets a thousand twitter followers looking for their own mysterious boxes. And I'm off to catch up on marking the days.
Here's one for the computer desktop in simple black and white:
"50% of this sale will go to First Book, "a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. We provide an ongoing supply of new books to children participating in community-based mentoring, tutoring, and family literacy programs"(www.firstbook.org)."
If you'd like to give someone something this week, consider some of the printables available around the net. You can download some of these files for as a little as 5$ and print them yourself. Here's a few samples we rounded up over the last few days.
Red Prairie Press put out this calendar for 2009. The Press is "a one woman (rachel bone) sweatshop, supported in part by a sometimes-bearded man (phil davis) and a cat the size of a small dog (mr. sammy)...currently based out of the cozy basement of our house in scenic Baltimore, MD. We are also based out of the kitchen, the bathtub, the living room, and the many nooks between all of that." Each handwritten calendar month features a gouache and ink painting by Rachel.
Limited edition 2009 Calendar
8.5" x 8.5", thin white spiral binding, drill hole for hanging.
$15
I realize that many of the calendars that we are featuring have images of whimsical things. I looked in vain for a letterpress or handmade calendar filled with monsters, robots, skateboards, and skulls - all things which belong in the Hedge. I love each and every calendar we are featuring but could also go for a little more weirdness.
So for those of you that may like your images a bit more mixed up, try the TACHEN BOOKS: Illustration Now tear off desktop calendar. I haven't featured many desktop calendars simply because my desk is usually in such a state that I would not be able to find it. But you may be more organized than I and you can send me pictures of your calendar on your tidy desk over the magical internets to mix in with all the letterpressed birds and creatures resting neatly on my wall.
Illustration Now - 2009
Pad on plastic tray, 13 x 11 cm (5.1 x 4.3 in.)
640 pages, $ 13.99
"J" is for January.
This lovely calender is by Be Happy Now's Jenny-from-Israel, a freelance illustrator. She writes:
"I am a happy artist. I have:
1 cat,
1boyfriend
1 shop
2 yellow shoes."
It's true, yellow shoes do lend themselves to happiness.
2009 Calendar, by Jenny
medium size, $30, 11"x5.5", 12 cards
same calendar, smaller version
$17, 5"x2.5", 12 cards
And here's a different calendar by Jenny, in a different size
$35, 10"x7", A4
Today's post from wonderful E. in Vancouver:
If I had the talent and skill to create a timepiece for the Hedge Society, I'd combine elements of whimsy and beauty, flora and fauna, wood and fabric (gingham, I think), and simplicity with attention to detail. There would be birds, of course, some that tweet and some that hoot. And flowers and leaves and seeds and berries.
And it would look exactly like this charming, "modern but folksy" Night Owl Paper Goods wooden desktop calendar made from eco-friendly, sustainably-harvested yellow birch.
"With a passion for fine craftsmanship, detail and the environment,
Alan Henderson and Jennifer Tatham went out on a limb to start Night
Owl Paper Goods, a stationery company devoted to creating handmade
letter-press cards and eco-chic wooden goodies. The duo finds
inspiration in the versatile works of Swedish and American folk
artists, British haberdashers as well as the cute critters and colossal
color Mother Nature provides daily."
photo by E. (could I please have the shelf it is on too?)
Night Owl Paper Goods
$32 US
Last year, I was able to buy the valerydesignwrks calendar at a small art fair in Edmonton. I bought one for myself and one for a friend. The calendar has cheered up my small hallway and my smaller heart all year long. Valerydesignwrks features the illustration of Valery Goulet, an Edmonton based artist, who likes sharp teeth on her birds which makes me happy to no end. I'll be picking up her latest calendar for the continued health of hallway and heart.
Illustrative wall calendar produced under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) international certification guidelines. Metallic Wire-O bound with the assorted wire to hang on the wall.
Size: 9” x 13.5”
Retail price: $ 30
valerydesignwrks
