It’s been a craaaazy busy summer around here.  Kathy’s been summering in Mama Town, USA, after welcoming wee Carter into the world on July 13th.  And I’ve been furiously launching project after project, with no time to actually update the portfolio!  There must be 10 projects plus that need to be added. We’ve done a lot of awesome sites so far this year and I’m very proud of the designs we’ve done, so keep your eyes peeled for those!  We’re also going to be rolling out a new design for our site with a lot of new features in the coming months, hoping for an official launch by our 7th anniversary (yes, seventh!) on Valentine’s Day ‘10.  It could be earlier, but it’s looking like it’ll be a very busy Fall and Kathy’s still successfully working on her second degree as a professional baby juggler.

Speaking of design…

Fabulous retro-inspired illustrator and the man behind our gorgeous Moxie Girls characters, Derek Yaniger, has some new serigraphs available that are the bees knees!  I’ve purchased his art before (I have number 3/100 of the sold-out Three Mad Cats hanging in my living room) and it’s even more beautiful in person than I expected.

Of his new releases are my two favorites: “Crazy” and “Daddy-o Goose’s Real Gone Rhyme”, which I’m thinking about buying as they are a “very limited edition” and you get 4 beautiful prints to hang together or mix it up by hanging them in different places.  If Derek keeps creating awesome art, I’m going to have it on every wall!

If you’re into coffee table books, Derek has his first book available now — “Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger (Masters of Lowbrow)”, which contains over 150 original paintings and illustrations. Cover-to-cover coolsville, ya dig?

“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.” — William Cullen Bryant

Well, our Fall season is almost here!  Our Summer season is coming to a close and we’re wrapping up the last of the projects through the end of September and are looking to start our new projects beginning in early October for completion by the 1st week of December. (We need to take some time off in December for administrative stuff and time with our friends and family for the holidays.)

We are accepting requests for the Fall season at this time, so if you have not already submitted your Request for Proposal, please do so by midnight on September 1st, as we will begin reviewing requests on September 2nd. On September 1st, we will be emailing anyone who we were unable accommodate this Summer first and responding to all remaining inquires in the order in which they were received. From there, we will begin contacting you so we can set up phone meetings to discuss your project in more detail. 

NOTE: If you get your request in after September 1st, chances of us being able to get your project in for Fall are very slim. You would be put on the waiting list for our Winter season, which begins January ‘10 (project review starting December 2nd). Thank you!

While we did receive quite a few inquiries this Summer, not every request we receive will be a fit, so don’t be discouraged if our waiting list seems a lil’ longer than you’d like — there’s still an opportunity for us to work with you this Fall and we’d love to hear about your project.

Enjoy the rest of your Summer and we hope to work with you soon!

We get a lot of inquiries about the illustrations used on this site and in our marketing materials.  The Moxie Girls™ characters were created just for us by artist Derek Yaniger and he’s done several variations over the years for us (including a new look coming in 2009). Kathy and I are so pleased to congratulate Derek on his first book, Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger (Masters of Lowbrow).

Derek has set aside 200 limited edition signed copies available only through Mister Retro.  And of course, if you’d rather pick up your copy of Wildsville on Amazon, you can do that, too!  Mister Retro also offers several of Derek’s serigraphs if you’re looking for art for your home or office. I’ve got Three Mad Cats hanging in my living room and love it!

Congratulations again to Derek on his new book. We’re proud to have his art associated with Moxie Design Studios™!

Wait… that’s not how that goes…

Look, tequila gets artsy fartsy!  I was just reading on Cocktail Times how 1800 Silver is teaming up with nine artists throughout the United States and Mexico to create a fashion line of tequila bottles. How cool!

I usually prefer vodka, but I’ve been learning to appreciate tequila lately… and not in that “Oh my god, what happened last night?” kind of way.  I tend to dig higher quality tequilas and preferably clear or “silver” tequilas.  I’m also more of a sipper than a shooter. My body shot days are long since over… thank god.    I’ve never had 1800 Silver, but I might give it a go for one of these bottles!

Margaritas are such a perfect summer drink, so here’s a recipe for a super-cute and very delicious-sounding version, courtesy of Cocktail Times. That needs to be tried asap!

Pink Margarita

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz reposado tequila
• 3/4 oz Monin wildberry syrup
• 3 oz sweet & sour

Garnish: pink salted rim, lime wheel and lime twist

Mix tequila, syrup and sweet & sour in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a salt rimmed margarita glass (or short glass) over ice. Garnish with lime wheel and a twist.

Happy Friday!