JamFactory

Alan Wardle, the man behind the AnyForty brand is having a wee...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:55:03 +0000

Alan Wardle, the man behind the AnyForty brand is having a wee clearout, and putting the ‘Versus’ tee range on-sale! My Illuminati t-shirt that I designed last year for Al is now available online for the bargain price of just £15!

You can get yours online here!

The lovely Fran Pearce, who’s been kindly doing PR for me...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:13:00 +0000

The lovely Fran Pearce, who’s been kindly doing PR for me and the Droplets as of late, sent me this scan - It’s a full-page advert in the latest issue of Digital Artist magazine for an interview with me in the next issue!

I can’t believe that, really stoked and honoured on it - I’m humbled to have an interview in the magazine let alone an advert for it! They’ve used one of my avatar illustrations for the Realmac Software team for the ad, the giant face of Dan Counsell, the big boss man behind Realmac! The interview will be out in the new issue on March 25th!

Big loves to Fran Pearce and all at Digital Arts!

Look what arrived in my inbox this morning courtesy of Mr Alex...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:07:00 +0000

Look what arrived in my inbox this morning courtesy of Mr Alex Avelino… the latest production photos of my toy ‘Shirley Creamhorn & Shithawk!’

Now for those of you who dont know anything about Shirley, shes a side-project toy that’s been in development for some years with the very talented Mr Avelino. Were working together under the guise of ‘Big Spoon Toys’ with Shirley being limited numbers hand-painted figure, so very much an ‘indie’ toy.

‘Shirley Creamhorn’ was actually an alter-ego name given to me by an old friend from Leicester many moons ago! When Alex first got in touch about working together, I wanted to do something very different to Droplets and thought it’d be fun to see how Shirley Creamhorn could come to life, so I brought her to life along with a companion named Shithawk (named after mine & jonnys favourite insult)

I even started writing silly backstories and sending them to the toysrevil blog along with photos of early sculpts, I didn’t mention my name or JamFactory, I wrote everything from the viewpoint of Shirley herself. commissioning a statue for herself!

So, thats a whistle-stop review of Shirley’s humble beginnings! Hopefully she’s be available through my store and a few other places in the coming months!

STORE PROFILE I’d love to do a series of ‘store...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:21:39 +0000

STORE PROFILE

I’d love to do a series of ‘store profiles’ here, as it’s really exciting seeing Droplets start to pop up in real toy stores! So let me start by introducing one of the very first stores to get Series 2 of the lil’ Droplets in; Scooter & Jinx store in Hastings, UK!

Not only do they have a lovely looking store, they’ve also got a cracking online space too, which they’ve kindly made a big feature of the Droplets arriving, so if you can’t make a visit to Hastings in person, then you can bag yourself some pretties online!

So, to sum it up, big loves to S&J and remember, support independent stores!

www.scooterandjinx.com

(P.S If you’re a toy store carrying Droplets then please do let me know! Worldwide wholesale to all toy stores should be happening very soon, if you’re interested in being a stockist then email Andy at Crazylabel for more info!)

My good friend and fellow Aardman-ite Ricky Martin made me this...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:29:25 +0000

My good friend and fellow Aardman-ite Ricky Martin made me this awesome little animation in his trademark post-it note style!

Check out Ricky’s other post-it anims here! Best viewed with sound :)

Cheers Ricky!

Kym Ellis, the other half of Rick Nunn, is also a killer...

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:51:42 +0000

Kym Ellis, the other half of Rick Nunn, is also a killer photographer like her fella.

She sent me this self portrait of her bad self rocking the Droplet S2 Motif tee, which was available at the launch party!

I’ve got a couple of the tee’s left in girls sizes, I’ll pop them on me online store when I get a chance!

Cheers for the pic Kym!

The awesome Mr Hiatt Evans of Sion Lane Workshop crafted me this...

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:41:13 +0000

The awesome Mr Hiatt Evans of Sion Lane Workshop crafted me this giant Droplet from scratch for the launch night of Droplet Series 2!

I had it on display at the front of the gallery for everyone to customise, so it’s no longer white! An absolutely massive thanks to Hiatt for making this, I can’t get over the awesomeness of it all!

You can get the regular-sized 2.5” Droplets Series 2 for sale here on the Crazylabel online store!

Photo by Rick Nunn

"I wanna make beautiful things, even if no one cares"

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:27:17 +0000

“I wanna make beautiful things, even if no one cares”

- Saul Bass speaks the truth. Such an inspiration to hear a legend feels the same way as we all do.

There wasn’t an easy way for people to associate the giant...

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:18:55 +0000

There wasn’t an easy way for people to associate the giant projected motif animation happening outside with the magical Ciaran that had created it, so I decided to get these postcards printed up (by Ripe Digital) so people could have a tangible version of it! I’m really happy with these, mmm rounded edges!

The postcards were put inside every goodie bag given out on the night as well as being available for folk to pick-up inside the gallery too. I’ve got a few left so will be including them in Droplets order on my little online store (when I get my next stock batch!)

I asked the fantastic Mr Ciaran O Connor if he could do a wee...

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:21:41 +0000

I asked the fantastic Mr Ciaran O Connor if he could do a wee bit of animation on my flat 2D ‘motif’ graphic for the 2nd series of my vinyl toy Droplet. Ciaran went one better did this awesome full 3D animated fly-through from scratch!

This beauty was projected on the building opposite the launch to act as a sort of ‘bat symbol’ to really make the venue stand out!

It was coupled with a ‘live tweet’ system that dynamically pulled in any realtime tweets with the tag #dropletlaunch in it built by Rich Davey

www.ciaranoconnor.com

My good friend & work colleague Mr Richard Davey aka...

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:27:43 +0000

My good friend & work colleague Mr Richard Davey aka Photonstorm kept a secret from me in the run-up the Droplet launch, and that secret was that he was working on an 8-bit style Droplet game!

His pixel partner in crime Ilija Melentijavic faithfully reproduced the Droplets in full 8-bit stylee whilst Rich set to work creating a 5 level game, with the aim being to get the 5 different Droplets to the Jam Factory in time for the launch!

If that wasn’t enough, it even comes complete with NES-Style sound effects too, to give it that perfect retro feel!

I want to say a massive thank you to Rich and Ilija for creating something so wonderful for me and everyone else to enjoy, I very much appreciate their super hard work!

So, what are you waiting for - Go and play!

"I’m working on the new series of The IT Crowd. Graham Linehan, the writer/director of the..."

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:19:00 +0000

“I’m working on the new series of The IT Crowd. Graham Linehan, the writer/director of the show, is a big fan of your work and would love to use some of your items for the set.”

- The most exciting email to receive ever, ever, ever? I THINK SO! Being a huge nerd / Graham Linehan / IT Crowd fan meant that I hastily wrote back using way to many exclamation marks but never mind, can’t beat a bit of enthusiasm, right!?

I’ve uploaded my pictures from the preparation and launch...

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:18:39 +0000

I’ve uploaded my pictures from the preparation and launch night of Droplet Series 2 to Flickr, why not have a peep here!

In case you’ve missed me going on and on about this, the...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:40:00 +0000

In case you’ve missed me going on and on about this, the 2nd series of my vinyl toy ‘Droplet’ had their own launch party this weekend, which I’ve been hard at work organising over the last few weeks!

Well, I could not have imagined the launch would go off this this much of a bang, I was genuinely blown away and overwhelmed with the reception! There was a queue snaking up Park Street at the start of the night and then when we opened at 6pm my initial stock of 226 Droplets sold out in just 58 minutes!

People seemed to love the showcase of custom Droplets that were in the gallery downstairs and that was chocca too, a very orderly in/out queue formed which was smashing to see!

The hand-made cupcakes from the lovely Cakeology ladies didn’t last long at all, neither did the smoothies, flavoured water or bottles of beer - which is always good to see! There were my 2 secret weapons, a giant blank Droplet and animation projection / realtime twitter feed that also seemed to go down well too :)

I cannot thank everybody enough for their hard work and support, from Louis and all at Fifty Fifty to every single customiser who kindly gave me their time to create something fanastic. There’s a long list of people who helped me out, I’m eternally grateful to them all!

There’s lots of photo’s floating around the interwebs now, which is very exciting to see! You should definitely check out Rick Nunn’s photo blog as well as Doc18’s snaps of the customs plus the Flickr photo group seems to be growing and growing with people’s photo’s each day, be sure to add yours!

I’ve still got lots and lots to post about from the evening, but i think that’s enough for now, be sure to click the image to check out Rick’s photos!

The Droplets are now available online from Crazylabel’s store, why not grab some!?

Once again, a huge thank you to everyone involved in making the event what it was and thanks to everyone who attented the night, I’m honestly blown away by your support, I thank you :)

Hello everyone! So then, it’s really happening - the...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:48:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

So then, it’s really happening - the Droplet launch night is just a couple of days away! Things are going really well on the organisation front, i’m overwhelmed with how many talented people are involved in the whole affair and humbled by how much fantastic help i’ve received in every way, I’m eternally grateful for it!

That means that I think there’s only hell of a good night to be had on Saturday, I hope you’ll all enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it all together!

There’s just a few final things I wanted to let you know about that might be useful to know…

GOODIE BAGS
—————-

There’s 50 goodie bags ready and waiting for the first 50 purchases of a Droplet toy, t-shirt or tote bag!

They’re full of goodies from myself and other artists like stickers, badges and postcards, as well as an iphone skin from Hotskins and a 10% voucher for fantasybazaar.com online toy store!

Oh yes, maybe a Delme vinyl toy and a Crazylabel bubblefun keyring in some of the lucky ones too!

It’s first come first served on the goodie bags so the early worms will get the goodies! Because the store is open as usual until 6pm when we take over, i’m going to ask if folk queuing for the Droplets / goodie bags wouldn’t mind queuing outside until 6pm, that’d be ace - I hope y’all wont mind!

5050 STAYING OPEN
————————-

Fifty Fifty will be open as normal too whilst the event is one, so if any of the sneakers, clothing or skateboards take your fancy then you can purchase as normal - the staff of Fifty will be more than happy to help!

NOT ONE FLOOR, BUT TWO
———————————

The night will be split over 2 floors! The Droplet toys, t-shirts and tote bags will be for sale in the Shop part of Fifty Fifty on street level and the showcase of the customised Droplets will be on display in the gallery part of Fifty, which you get to by popping down the steps outside the store, you can’t miss it!

DROPLET ‘MEAL DEAL’ PRICE
———————————

I’m going to have a ‘meal deal’ price on the night, meaning you can get a Droplet blindboxed toy, t-shirt and tote bag for just £20!

On their own, the Droplets are £5, the t-shirts will be £10 and the tote bags will be £10 too! Unfortunately, because of how we need to work it, it’ll be cash only! There’s a whole host of HSBC Cashpoints 30 seconds down the road from Fifty though, thank you for your understanding!

CAR PARKING & LOCATION
——————————-

If you’re coming by Car then there’s a car park just 30 seconds from Fifty. It’s called ‘Trenchard Car Park’ and here’s a google maps link to it [/tinyurl.com/yb3teey].

I’ve also compiled a google map with lots of spots and things happening in Bristol plus the location of the venue [tinyurl.com/ya3n24v]

That’s it from me, don’t forget it’s this Saturday 6th Feb, starting at 6pm at Fifty Fifty store at the bottom of Park Street here in Bristol

Hope to see you there and thank you!

~ Gav

Droplet microsite

Launch Flyer

The big day is getting closer, just 4 days to go! The postman...

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:08:34 +0000

The big day is getting closer, just 4 days to go! The postman delivered these beauties today, 50 JamFactory x Crazylabel Toe Bags, which are exclusive to the launch night!

They’ll be available along with the toys and the t-shirts (which are currently at the printers) on the night! I’m going to offer a ‘meal deal’ too, with a Droplet toy, t-shirt & tote bag for just £20 (Instead of £25), so be sure to come on down to the launch night to get your hands on them!

If that doesn’t float your boat, then why not come along to check out the showcase of fantastic customs from a whole heap of super-talented artists! It’s all happening this coming Saturday 6th February at Fifty Fifty Store / Gallery here in Bristol! It kicks off at 6pm and goes on until 9. Be there or be square!

Interview: Gavin Strange « I Like Characters.com by Steve Rack

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:55:02 +0000

Interview: Gavin Strange « I Like Characters.com by Steve Rack:

The smashing Mr Steve Rack conducted a wee interview with me about the launch of Droplets, which you can read here!

The awesome Mr Benjamin Reid aka Nouveller has created these...

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:21:00 +0000

The awesome Mr Benjamin Reid aka Nouveller has created these fantastic 48px Droplet icons featuring both Series 1 and Series 2 designs!

Visit Bens blog to download the icon pack and why not adopt it as your twitter icon, we have!

Oh my days… it’s actually happening. I arrived at...

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:29:00 +0000

Oh my days… it’s actually happening. I arrived at work to see 2 of these boxes marked ‘Droplet Series 2’ waiting for me! They contain the first batch of Droplets, ready for the launch night on the 6th Feb! It was also the first time I got my hands on the fully finished thing, so it was super exciting to finally hold the lil’ fellas in my hand!

I also saw 2 things, the 2 final pieces of the launch night puzzle that really are the icing on the cake! One of them is a screengrab of a Droplet game(!!!) my good friend Rich Davey is working on and the other… well, I’m keeping that secret, you’re just going to have to come to the night to find out!

Click here to see the launch flyer and click here for the Facebook event! Hopfully see you on the 6th :)

The wonderful Sundeep Toor has created this special Droplet...

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:12:16 +0000

The wonderful Sundeep Toor has created this special Droplet Series 2 animation especially to celebrate the launch, which happens 2 weeks today!

A big thank you to Sundeep for taking her time to create this, the support is very muchly appreciated!