FAIR GAIN...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

(photo courtesy of City of Craft)

Last night the Company came together after wrapping up at another successful City of Craft. The holiday show remains one of the misanthropes' absolute favourites, and not just because it's strolling distance from the Company Bunker.

The Misanthrope Specialty Co. officially takes its hat off the organizers for an impeccably curated and tightly run ship, full of fantastic vendors, imaginative interactive installations, and interesting satellite exhibitions.

Kudos to the organizers . The Company will surely try to shove it's way into the fold again next year.

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Arthur on location in Montréal (photo by Heywood)

With all foreseeable art shows and craft fairs done with until the spring thaw, members are proposing and cooking up all manner of new projects for the new year.

For starters, the question of what to do with all the left over footage from Screaming Hell Hogs Eat Shit and Die is finally being addressed. It's beginning to look asthough some new (or partially new) film projects may soon be in the works.

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1965 Dymo magazine advert

It's been a very long time since the Company last held any sort of contest or giveaway. It is one of the Company's New Year's resolutions to remedy this fact very shortly. Honest.

Readers will have to wait for the specific details, but one thing is for certain: it will involve labelling tape. Labelling tape of the woodgrain variety.

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photo of the museum's nepenthe ventrata by Anahí Coria

Though the Museum of Natural & Artificial History and offices at Misanthrope Specialty Co. Headquarters will remain open through the holidays, familial obligations have whisked most of the misanthropes away for the next couple of weeks. The Company's Sunday sessions have therefore been suspended until January 9, 2011.

See you next year.

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THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of projects initiated: 20
Number completed: 14
Number inducted: 8
Carried over to next week: 2

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'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE BIZNATCH...

by Rufus Spaulding, Cub Reporter:

(poster pile photo courtesy of City of Craft )

Hello Toronto. Tomorrow is the big day. City of Craft. Bring both your naughty and nice Christmas lists over to the Theatre Centre and come find us downstairs.

( map by Caitlyn )

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And don't forget Revrend Aitor's Unflattering Portraits, upstairs, on the Midway.

( portrait and photo by Reverend Aitor )

He's fixing to retire the project sooner than later, so you're fools if you don't sign up while you have the chance. His portraits are in the American Visionary Art Museum's permanent collection, for Pete's sake. He's a big shot outsider artiste now.

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MIDWAY CHIDE SYNDROME...

by Tallulah Lastname, Company Clerk:

Step right up, Toronto! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Suck in your guts and jut out your weak chins: the Unflattering Portrait Project is coming to City of Craft.

That's right, folks! The Reverend Aitor making himself available to the public for the first time since his triumphant return from Baltimore, where his portraits now hang in a place of honour, at the American Visionary Art Museum. Step right up!

Another satisfied customer!

Are you brave enough? Are you sufficiently strong of self-esteem to face his jaundiced eye and squeaky markers? Come and test your metal at the City of Craft Midway, where the good Reverend will be scribbling ugly likenesses all week-end, December 18 and 19. And unlike his unattainably priced mail-order portraits, all portraits at City of Craft will be done by donation! That's right, folks! Pay what you can! Or what you think it's worth! Hurry, hurry hurry!

Don't let this opportunity get away, ladies and gentlemen! Aitor has been drawing fewer and fewer of these lately, and has been mumbling threats about retiring altogether! Spaces are limited, so hurry, hurry hurry! Sign up today!

To book your appointment: simply click on the comments section at the end of this posting and claim any hour that isn't already claimed. Sign ups are available until midnight, December 17.

UNFLATTERING CITY OF CRAFT

DAY ONE:
Saturday December 18
1:30 pm - Available
2:30 pm - Available

Portraits take about thirty to fifty minutes per person. Couples, oddly enough, count as two persons, so book two slots. And punctuality is always in fashion. Patrons arriving more than eight minutes late for their scheduled sitting will not be served.

DAY TOO:
Sunday December 19
2: 30 pm - Dayle & Nabil
3:30pm - Dayle & Nabil

Ever wondered what you'd look like if you weren't quite so gorgeous? Now's you chance to find out!

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Get your red hot Unflattering Portraits! One of a kind, custom made pieces of art created before your very eyes! Hurry hurry hurry!

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PARLAY-VOUS?..

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

Putting it all together (photo by Rufus Spaulding)

The holiday shopping season is upon us, and quickly gaining momentum as Christmas draws ever nearer on the advent calendar. Consequently, the misanthropes are working overtime, filling orders and cranking out inventory for the various retailers who stock Company-made goods, seasonal events, and sundry commissioned Christmas gifts.

Out of this chaos of sawdust, glitter and paper trimmings emerge some brand new goodies to stuff in the stockings of your lovedones.

"Gambling Christ is in Hot Water With His Bookies" a new offering from the company

The original "Gambling Christ Lands in Hot Water With His Bookies and Needs Your Help" emerged last March, as part of a series of drawings and painting about Jesus falling on hard times. Now, in an effort to help put the Gambling Christ back in Gambling Christmas, it has been resurrected in the form of an open edition 17.8 x 12.7 cm ( or 7x5" to our friends South of the border) archival print.

The original "Gambling Christ..." (photographed by Reverend Aitor)

As is the case with most M.S.Co. prints, "Gambling Christ" is reproduced in small, slighly varied batches, using the Company's own secret xerographic process. It will be available at City of Craft, or via the Company's Etsy store.

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Meanwhile, over at Hindquarters, the Company's Montréal contingent is finally making good on and old resolution.

(photo by Heywood McGillicuddy)

With one foot in Québec, the Misanthrope Specialty Co. does a fair bit of business in Lower Canada, yet has been fairly lax in producing goods geared towards the significantly francophone crowd which frequents events like Puces Pop and Expozine. And while the Company fares just fine in French Canada with it's English cards and epistolary projects, it has long been argued within the ranks that further steps towards bilingualism are in order

Maintenant: en français!

It is in this spirit that the misanthropes are proud to release a new line of message cards, both sweet and obscene, en français. The first batch of which is being rushed over to Maison Kasini in time for their Mille Cadeaux event.

MILLE CADEAUX OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, December 18th
372 Ste Catherine Ouest
3PM to 5PM

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Speaking of resolutions, many of the Company members are calling for some changes to protocol, as there is a growing dissatisfaction with weekly drawing sessions being increasingly infringed upon by long nights of assembling inventory.

THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of projects initiated: 6
Number completed: 2
Number inducted: 1
Carried over to next week: 0

The numbers in this week's productivity report say it all. The making of new original work always suffers in the congregations leading up to ant given art fair, craft fair, or busy retail season. No doubt the subject will be hotly debated at next week's meeting.

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