By: Lynne Chapman,
on 12/3/2010
The orchestra & chorus are unlikely to be in the cathedral (what a shame), but we can poke our noses in and see if it's warm enough to draw anyway, if people are up for it. There will be opportunities to draw the musicians again in Spring, so all is not lost.
Please, please come if it's happening and you can get there. It'll be very embarrassing if I'm left standing all on my own; just me, a big flipchart and a pile of books... And, after all, where else can you pick up personalised Christmas pressies for only £5.99?
Today has been cancelled though. Well, not the actual day per se (thank goodness), just the event I was supposed to be attending. I was looking forward to the annual Illustration Conference at Hallam University, just a bus ride away, for once.
By: Lynne Chapman,
on 10/24/2010
The roll inside was 6ft wide and very, very long, so cumbersome in fact, that the only way to even unroll it, was over the dining table.
I then set about cutting out all the animals, to save time for the team at the other end. It was a bit tricky, as the vinyl kept flopping about, but it didn't take that long in the end.
It's all pretty exciting, as I'm imagining how dramatic they are going to look! The white is the backing paper, that peels off to leave clear, sticky-back plastic, much like the stuff we used to cover our books with, way back when.
This is stuck on to the inside of the window (apparently, you wipe the glass with soapy water first, which buys you re-positioning time), then another roll of white backing is stuck up behind the images, to make them more opaque and show up better.
If I've got it right, this then has to be cut to fit the animal shapes after they are actually up on the window, which sounds a pretty gruelling job. I will deliver them to the designer this week and then have to leave it to him and his team (which will be the hardest bit for me - I confess, I'm a bit of a control freak).
The publishers' sales reps are on the case, trying to arrange some kind of tie-in with the nearby Waterstones. Maybe an in-store event; not sure yet. I'll keep you posted and take LOTS of photos when it's done!
By: Lynne Chapman,
on 8/27/2010
As I made my way to the shop, I was a bit worried: not only were we bang in the middle of the holiday season but, having rained for days, Saturday was really hot & sunny (always tricky for events - who wants to be indoors?). Sure enough, come kick-off, I had only two little girls - oh no!! Fortunately,
After a shaky start, the Bears on the Stairs launch in Waterstones went well.
several more arrived shortly afterwards, so it wasn't embarrassing. Quite a relief.
This is me preparing to eat a tasty-looking member of the audience...
Waterstones
did a lovely window display for me. Those with eagle-eyes will spot Supermarket Zoo alongside my books. That's the latest from my friend Caryl Hart, who is in-store next Saturday, so mark that in the diary.
At the end of the event we sold a surprising amount of books, which helped to offset the modest turnout. I was pleased we sold well, since Waterstones had been great and ordered in tons of stock, not just of Bears on the Stairs but quite a few other titles.
I sat in the shop for another hour, chatting to customers and gradually signing my way through all my stock, so they would keep the books in-store and not send the surplus back to the publishers.
Hope the Sheffield Sketch-crawl went as planned despite the weather, such a great opportunity to practice drawing the snow!! And a good excuse to hangout a little longer at Starbucks :)