CAR PIRATE SPONSORSHIP...

by Talullah Lastname, Company Clerk:

Not long ago, on this very web log, the Company reported on the Sweetie Pie Press' recent loss.

"315 144.5 Km" by the men and women of the Company

The demise of Becky Johnson's car had taken an unexpected and sizable bite out her budget, putting her summer touring plans in jeopardy. Determined, she launched a fundraising campaign through the Kickstarter website.

In the hopes of raising the $6500 needed to get the show back on the road, the Sweetie Pie Press is offering a plethora of rewards incentives in exchange for pledges. The principal is not unlike PBS' sponsorship pledge drives, except that what the Sweetie Pie Press is offering in exchange for your support might be a little more appealing than Coronation Street tote bags or Dr.Who coffee mugs.

(Unflattering couple's portrait by Reverend Aitor)

As a matter of fact, the good Reverend Aitor has come out of hiding to offer up some very special incentives of his own.

Two lucky sponsors can opt to receive an 8 x 10" single Unflattering Portrait for a pledge of $50. Given that the starting price for a 4.25 x 5.5" portrait is $35, the Company feels this is a particularly good value. Also on the table, for a pledge of $100, is one 8 x 10" couples' portrait.

Perhaps of added interest to some is the fact that Aitor will undertake the portraits himself. He's been pulling back from the portraiture game, and turning down most requests for Unflattering Portraits since franchising the project to the M.S.Co. last summer.

"But Wait; There's More" by the Misanthrope Specialty Co.

After a little further deliberation at tonight's meeting, it was decided that the rest of the misanthropes would not be shown up by Aitor's goodwill gesture. Most of Company is very fond of the Sweetie Pie Press, and empathetic Ms. Johnson's cause. That's why the M.S.Co. is attempting to repay some of its karmic debt by donating some original artwork to the campaign.

Available for purchase via the Sweetie Pie Press' Kickstarter
Campaign. Please click on the image for a larger view.

Rust In Pieces, Boris Carloff and 315 144.5 km are both 21.6 x 27.9 cm gouache and ink illustrations, commemorating the death of Ms. Johnson's 1987 Pontiac station wagon. They are each available for respective pledges of $89.99. The Company has also officially licensed a limited run of twentyfour signed and numbered prints of each for $24.00 a piece.
Please bear in mind that this fundraising effort ends on the 28th of April.

* * * *

THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of illustration initiated: 30
Number completed: 17
Number inducted:6
Carried over to next week: 2

* * * *

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.

* * *

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

* * *

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.

* * *

BUTTON FLY TRAP...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

(photo by Arthur Corey)

Another instalment of the Company's subscription service is packaged up and ready to go. This month's mail-out includes a little something different: venus fly trap buttons. The Museum of Natural & Artificial History's Head Curator and Chief Botanist have been collecting and pressing the dead leaves from the carnivorous plant exhibit for some time, waiting for just the right project to come along.

Now, with the help of super-star buttoneer Sweetie Pie Press, the Company has begun production on a series of 1" buttons for the Museum's gift shop; many still contain the remains of the insects that met their untimely demise in the leafy jaws of the voracious dionea muscipula.

Audrey 3, the Company's pet fly trap (photo by Anahí Coria)

Naturally, these buttons are available in only limited supply. The traps are harvested only after the leaf dies, so as not to cause the plant harm.

* * *

dionea vs. caterpillar

Incidentally, many of the plans in the Company's carnivorous collection, including the fly traps, pitcher plants, and some of the sundews are soon to enter their winter dormancy. Visitors to the museum have two weeks to see the current botanical exhibit before the the hibernating plants are hidden away until the springtime. Plant feedings can be seen Saturdays at 3pm.

* * * *

THIS WEEK'S PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
Number of projects initiated: 29
Number completed: 19
Number inducted: 5
Carried over to next week: 0

* * * *

PILE of CRAFT...

by Tallulah Lastname, Company Clerk:

(promotional artwork courtesy of Craftland)

Just a head's up to our readers in New England: the Providence powerhouse that is Craftland Show kicks off it's month-long holiday shopping extravaganza tomorrow. The show is packed to the brim with thousands of hand made gifts by nearly 200 artists -- offering everything from screen printed t-shirts handmade clothing, one of a kind craft items to fine art pieces. Surely, there is something for just about everyone on your Christmas list.

M.S.Co. message cards, still warm from the dryer

Naturally, the Misanthrope Specialty Co. has its fingers in the pie. Look for select items from the Company's line of cards and ephemera, including the ever-popular messages on woodgrain.

(photo courtesy of Craftland)

CRAFTLAND SHOW
November 26 to December 31
Open 10 am to 7pm, 7 days a week
235 Westminster Street

* * *

ALLS WONDERFAIR IN LOVE AND WORK...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
The Misanthrope Specialty Co. is headed Southwest, after a thoroughly enjoyable weekend in Kansas.

(photo by Tallulah Lastname)

The Company's executive branch was in Lawrence to forge a new alliance with Asteroid Head Art Club; a local art collective with whom the misanthropes had been maintaining a tenuous epistolary flirtation/antagonism. The two parties hit it off immediately, due mostly to a mutual love of Abner Jay. One thing led to another and pretty soon the rest of the available misanthropes were called down from St.Louis and Wichita for an evening of nightswimming and secret exploits.

(photo courtesy of Asteroid Head Art Club)

Asteroid Head subsequently helped the Company gain entry into Wonder Fair Art Gallery; a far more spacious and better equipped space to hold this weeks meeting than the motel room the members originally planned to rent. As a result, the gallery now carries an assortment of M.S.Co. goodies.

* * *

It should be noted that much of the credit for Company's blossoming relationships in Lawrence goes to Sweetie Pie Press. It was via the misanthrope's long-time Toronto ally that the Company was first made aware of the goings on in Lawrence.

* * *

The Misanthrope Specialty Co. has yet another product to sell you.

(Message card made using vintage woodgrain Dymo tape)

It's been nearly three months since the Company hit the road. The temporal and geographic distance from loved ones has inspired the advent of a new limited release message card.

The I Miss You card, in embossed woodgrain tape on maple veneer will be available for sale at Renegade Los Angeles. Due to the increasing scarcity of woodgrain labelling tape, the run has been limited to twenty cards embossed with vintage Dymo brand tape from 1968, and another twenty on the company's own specially developed woodgrain tape. There are no plans for a second run until, possibly, the Valentine season is upon us.

(This one was made with the Company-manufactured woodgrain tape)

* * *

This week's drawing session has been was somewhat hindered by the unexpected loss of many of it Company's art supplies.

(photo by Reverend Aitor)

It seems a full day of the hot sun beating down on the the cars in which much of the Company's supply of pens, paints and paper stock were stored has taken its toll. Everything seems to have undergone a variety of heat-induced chemical transformations.

(photo by Becky Johnson)

Inks clumped, paints bubbled out of their containers, papers buckled and pens exploded. Even after everyone's respective kits and pencil cases had been sifted through, and the members got down to business, a number of pens and markers turned out to have sprung leaks. As a result, a number of this week's works in progress were unfortunately marred. Remarkably, though, a few were slightly improved.

The matter was put to a vote and agreed to curtail the illustrative portion of the evening. It was decided the Company's time and efforts would be put to better use bolstering it's inventory merchandise to peddle at next weeks Renegade show.

* * *

1% INSPIRATION. 99% PERFORATION...

by Reverend Aitor, Impresario:
At long last the this year's edition of Valentimes Funnies, Goofy Cards, and Scary Love cards are ready for the masses.
Hot of the presses after a long, hard evening of hand-perforating, there are but two options for those wanting to get their hands on a sheet or two of these glossy suckers, and they're both in Toronto.The Good Catch General Store retains the right of sole bricks and mortar retailer of Misanthrope Specialty Co. ephemera in town. For those of you unfamiliar with this pirate-themed business, owner Jola Sobolak meets the sundry needs of Parkdale's diverse denizens by stocking her shelves with a little something for everyone.

(photo courtesy of the National Post)

Her wares include guitars, locally grown produce, vintage clothing, neighbourhood arts and crafts, natural cleaning products, independently published books, pet supplies and toys for the kiddies. Need keys cut? They do that too.

Your other option is to buy the cards directly from the Company at this year's Erotic Arts and Crafts Fair, February 13th, at the Gladstone Hotel. Word on the street is there'll be all manner of secret deals for those who know the pass word...

(photo by Erkuden Sakana)

* * *

CRASS PRODUCTION...

by Erkuden Sakai, Company Secretary:
Sunday's meeting was once again dominated by the concocting of terrible new valentine cards.Whether the public at large will be even half as interested in these little offerings of ephemera as the Misanthropes have been in their production remains to be seen.

The drawback with seasonal items such as these is the relative short shelf life they enjoy before their appeal fade and they are stored away for another year. With a little luck, the Valentine Goofy Cards, Funnies, and Scary Love Cards will be a runaway success, and the Company clerks won't need to worry about making room for dead stock in the warehouse.

Regardless of public opinions, it's difficult to convey just how much the Company has enjoyed these past couple of drawing sessions; bad puns and obscenity being part of the thick epoxy holding the Misanthrope Specialty Co. together. Indeed, the greatest obstacle facing this project is sure to be the narrowing the teetering stack of submitted designs down to just fifteen selections. But that is a problem for next week's meeting.

* * *

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS (And Making Valentines)...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
Although it feels somewhat early to start thinking of romance with winter in full swing, St.Valentine's Day is infact coming up on the horizon.

The Misanthrope Specialty Co. is looking forward to its participation in the Erotic Arts and Crafts Fair, and much of Sunday's meeting was dedicated coming up with exciting new smut to peddle at the show this February.

Inspired by the cheap perforated sheets of valentine cards of the members' primary school days, the Company proudly introduces its new line of Valentine Funnies and Valentine Goofy Cards. Each double-sided sheet contains five perverted solicitations in the spirit of the Hallmark holiday.

Also new this year is the advent of the Scary Love series; because nothing says romance like monsters and the undead. It's a pretty safe bet the Company plans on hocking this one again come Hallowe'en.

* * *

BYPASS ELECTION...

by Heywood McGillicuddy, Chairman:
The Company has received a number of inquiries as to whether or not its pieces for the Home & Away (& In-Between) group show are for sale.

The short answer is yes. However, because it our members' explicit wish not to pay the Cream Tangerine Gallery Cafe its 30% commission, any persons wishing to purchase any of the displayed items are invited to circumvent the cafe by contacting the Company directly.

While it is accepted practice to for a gallery to take a percentage of the sales, it has recently come to the Company's attention that the Cream Tangerine Cafe has already been paid for the use of the space for the exhibition by City of Craft as part of its 2009 installation programming. The Misanthrope Specialty Co. cannot abide this greedy double dipping by a business that is already benefiting from the show's promotion -- not to mention the drink sales from the opening reception and from the thousands of people who come to shop at City of Craft's main event.

The Company can speak only for itself, but regards this attempt to chisel an additional fee from the artists the cafe is supposedly sponsoring, at an event someone else is paying por no less, as an insult to all involved. We also wish to make clear that our gripe is directly with the cafe, and does not reflect our opinion of either the City of Craft organizers, or the show's hard-working curator.

* * *

MUERTO RICO...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

(photo by Mayte Mendia)

Because family obligations and general holiday malaise have always precluded a Company Christmas party, the Misanthrope Specialty Co. prefers to conduct its annual internal festivities on one holiday all it's members subscribe to: Dia de los Muertos.

A fresh batch of message cards, inspired by the ocasion
(photo by Erkuden Sakana)

And although production was a little lax at this week's congregation due to the fact that the festivities fell on a Sunday this year, the members did manage to buckle down long enough to work on their yearly collaboration of Day of the Dead-related art.

"Calaveras 2" by Heywood McGillicuddy and T-Bone

As a result, the Company is pleased to offer its "Calaveras 2" art print via our Etsy store at the celebratory price of $4.99. But don't delay, as prices are subject to be jacked up to the more reasonable $9.99 come Sunday November 8.

Epistolary subscribers: fret not. You will all be receiving your complimentary print along with this month's mail-out.

* * *

TADDLE TALE...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
The Misanthrope Specialty Co. wishes to announce the release of a new print this week, starring none other than the nameless girl with the empty fishbowl.

"Lost In Taddle Creek" by the members of the Company

Our blindfolded heroine holds a special place in the Company's collective heart. She hearkens back to one of the very first Sunday session, in 1999, when the Company was still unnamed, incomplete and based in Miner's Prayer.

Was she ever so young?
Our recurring redhead in her first incarnation, ten years ago

She's turned up again several time since then, in a variety of incarnations, but had somehow eluded being shared with the public at large. What better way to celebrate her tenth birthday than by commemorating her with her own open run print?

Our 5x7" print is printed on light blue "ocean mist" card stock. Subscribers to the Company's Epistolary Service can expect their copy in the mail shortly. The rest of you can procure this item via the Company's Etsy shop for a measly $4.99.

* * *

YOU LOVE TO HIATUS...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:

Behold; a new addition to our list of prints for sale. Hot off the presses.

"The Three Gracies" - New print this week by the men and women of the
Misanthrope Specialty Co.

We've categorised The Three Gracies as a cautionary tail, though what exactly it is we're cautioning against remains the topic of debate.

* * *

While our Sunday meetings continue to be quiet affairs, with most of our members scattered across the continent, those of us left to coordinate the curating of completed work work and the exchange of works in progress are as busy as ever.

This week's Company mailbag is brimming with recently completed illustrations, many of them done on stationary from an array of hotels and motels during our agents' breaks whilst on the road. Clearly our members have come down with stationary fever once again, as there has been a steady stream of work coming in on all manner of vintage and antique letterhead; some dating back as far as the early 19oo's.

There's still a fair amount of sorting and voting to do, but discussions about a new stationary-themed show are already in progress. What we can tell you is that it'll likely be held Labour Day when the Company re-convenes for the season, and that we intend to make good on our previous threats to make our next opening night a Clubhouse slumberparty. Keep tuning in to this web log for more details as the date approaches.

* * *

It should also be said that his is our final installment of Meeting Minutes for the season. While contributions to the web log will nodoubtedly continue, the Company offices will be closed during the month of August. Be advise that letters and electronic messages may go unanswered until after Labour Day.

--Don't change this summer!

* * *

SUNDAY PROJECTS...

by Erkuden Sakana, Company Secretary:
This week's meeting was a busy one indeed. The mailbox was brimming with projects in various stages of completion sent in by our members away from home.

Included in the pile were two illustrations commissioned by Gregory Oh for the forthcoming Toca Loca album. We passed these around and manged to finish them up by the end of the session:
The album, we are told, is entitled P*P and there is no set release date as of yet. Sources say it will probably come out late in the summer, or early in the fall. Or maybe not.

* * *

Also on this weeks list of accomplishments is the release of a new print. Sort of.

photo by Stacey Bode

My First Moustache was originally released as a limited run of only sixty numbered prints. We sold our last one back in December and though the whole thing was behind us, but demand for "that dirty moustache drawing" has been such that it's re-release was voted in at a previous meeting.
The new smaller version is an open run. It measures 5"x7" and each one is slightly different, just to keep things interesting.

* * *