Dorks, Surprises, and the Lesser of Two Weevils...

I've just put up some new product assortments that I've had in the works for the past few days, including some that were inspired by the lovely Patrick O'Brian books about Captain Jack Aubrey and doctor/naturalist Stephen Maturin. If you haven't read these books, then click those fingers over to Amazon immediately --- they're superbly written, insightful, poignant, funny, and full of suspense. Great books. I especially love the way the characters balance each other out -- Aubrey is open, brave, exuberant and trusting (a little too trusting ashore) -- but at sea he's also a brilliant strategist and astronomer. While Maturin is a quiet, secretive man ashore, who is nevertheless comically at sea the moment he steps on a ship. And nobody loves to laugh more than Aubrey, so my hope is that my newest additions to my store will give some Aubrey fans their own Aubreyesque chuckle out loud!

So the newest stuff I've put up includes "My Other Car's the Surprise" as well as "When in doubt, always choose the lesser of two Weevils." I hope people will get a kick out of 'em -- I think they add a nice touch of literary fun to my assortment of products, and I had a great time creating them.

I also added some silly pop culture stuff I'd been working on, including C:\DORK (yes, that would be me), Hug it Out, Bitch! and Oh, Don't Have a (COW). I included a few varied bleeds and formats for each, so that people can have fun choosing whatever fits their holiday needs at the moment.

I'm planning on uploading some of our favorite new BSG-inspired stuff by the end of the week, as well as some more Theatre and O'Brian-inspired stuff, but we'll see how it goes. Our press release announcement, meanwhile, is set to go out tomorrow (Friday), December 8. Lots of good stuff happening -- and more to follow, as always!

Showing Vs. Telling (when it comes to designs)

As most of my stuff is inspired in one way or another by television, film, or literature (in other words, other people's creativity), one thing I'm being very careful about, on a constant basis, is to avoid any hint of copyright infringement. So in addition to avoiding the more obvious pitfalls (such as using or manipulating logos, etc.), I also really try to keep things a bit general. So I tend to avoid talking about the show name altogether, especially within the products, and to do common-sense stuff like avoiding full-name use of any character, etc. It just seems like a good route to follow -- it keeps me from worrying that I'm infringing on someone else's copyrights, while also making me think a little harder about how to pay tribute.

The really fun and unexpected side of this is that it's actually made me more creative. I never would have expected that my "He's her lobster!" products or "Cranky Doctor Groupie" products would be so popular right off the bat (but this is also due to my decidedly skewed sense of humor -- I mean, hey, I thought "Toaster Baby" would be a big hit, and... um, no, not yet). It just goes to show you that the less obvious approach is often the best one after all.

It's a great lesson to learn. Because the "insider" feeling of a good quote, or a turn of phrase -- the feeling that you're part of the club that recognizes it -- can be just as much fun to work with and promote, ultimately.

So it's been interesting to discover that I am often more creative when I adhere to these kinds of rules -- I have to think of ways to promote and pay tribute to shows, movies, books, etc. -- but through allusion -- through a little twist or hint, through a part of a name. By showing, versus telling. When I do this, and trust people to recognize the phrase, or get the joke, great things have happened.

But of course, so far it's all been one big learning experience!

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