Think Body's blood is moving again!

A few things to report after having my head down living and working for a few years.

Animal anatomy patterns are now a thing and will be on display at the August 19th art walk at the Lincoln School Gallery, here in Livingston, MT. Horse head patterns and cattle patterns will be shown in a variety of wares: wallpaper prints, bandanas, scarves and pillows. I will be joining a lively and talented bunch of local artists in the gallery and am very thankful for the opportunity and honored to be included.

The Wheatgrass Saloon, our local juicing meets gift boutique, is offering the horse cowboy scarves for sale, as well as the bandanas.

Scarves and bandanas are also available at Spurline, our local feed and tack store here in Livingston.

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AuthorDeborah Monaghan

Hi all! It's crunch time and we've got 9 days left on our Indiegogo campaign, which can be found here: http://igg.me/at/DeborahMonaghan/x/3200822 

Here is what has been happening over on my end. 

I am back from a much needed break. The 4th of July festivities here in Livingston were busy with parades, rodeos, floating the river, excursions to a ranch and friends and family visiting. I’ve also caught up on some much needed sleep and nested a bit in my new home. Phew!
The opening went swimmingly. I received so much positive feedback and to see people pointing at the diagrams and then pointing at the patterns while in the throes of discussion was an incredibly rewarding experience; people were ThinkingBody and seeing their anatomy in a whole new way – success! I also sold some pillows – yippee!


Now that the opening is over, I’m turning my thoughts and energy to phase 2. ThinkBody is at a stage where it’s a bit chicken and egg. We’re not quite ready for major orders, but in order to be ready for major orders we’ve got to have at least one foot in that arena so we can scale quickly. For me, this means figuring out production logistics and taking a leap of faith financially. This week and next I’ll be nailing down sourcing fabrics and pillow forms wholesale so I can make the push into stores and the online marketplace. Everything produced for the gallery opening was done at retail, but, of course, that method is not sustainable. 


After that, or running concurrently with that, is the website and pr. There is still much to do to get the website functioning and representing the products in a way that I am happy with. One of the things that needs doing in that domain is working out shipping logistics – so it’s off to the postoffice with pillows in hand and a bunch of random zip codes in order to get an idea of costs. Have I mentioned how many corners of commerce I’m learning about?


PR and marketing. I’m really excited to dive into this! There are some super cute boutiques over in Bozeman, and all over Montana in general, so I am going to approach a handful of those about retailing pillows and if appropriate, wallpaper. I’ll also be doing research into design blogs that would be interested in ThinkBody and looking into sites that curate designed products – i.e. Fab.com. 


After all that – I’ve got work to do testing new fabrics and products. I’m thinking more home goods, but also some fashion pieces – and I’ve got a ton of new ideas for patterns.
Thanks so much for the support everyone and if there is anyone you can spread the word to, please do, I could use the help! 10 days until my campaign is done and it needs to catch a long wind…

 

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AuthorDeborah Monaghan

An update from Orlagh the editor... Because I'm on another continent, Deb just sent me a sneak peep of the Danforth exhibition space. I'm delighted to see how it is shaping up. The dark background tones really throw out the fresh crisp colours.  

Anyone reading this in Livingston? Let us know what you think!

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AuthorOrlagh O'Brien

It’s been a bit since my last update, but have no fear I have much to report! I’ve been both spectacularly busy and also taking time for fun and health – to get out from my screen and work and ThinkBody…

For the fun and health bit, I managed to procure a cruiser bike that needed some love and brought it down to the local bike shop for repairs. It’s got a basket that’s the perfect size for groceries and I’ve had a dandy of a time riding it around town in the summer sunshine. Saturday, I went down to the Pine Creek Lodge (an institution in these parts) for some live music and to put my mark on the dance floor.

In-between all of that I’ve done two photo shoots – one at a beautiful house (see update photo) my friend Gwen designed and another at the local furniture store. Rob Park, (http://park-photo.com/) turns out is not only a talented photographer, but quite the pillow fluffer – and he’s going to kill me for exposing this skill to the public.

The final pillows for the show are all made and make me squeal with delight. They are beautiful and I have loved working with the talented and resourceful seamstresses here.

The following days are about getting my website complete with the help of Orlagh in Ireland (" God bless the Irish" is appropriate here), printing all my promo pieces, and finally, hanging the show on Wed. evening for the opening Friday. And my mom is coming Tuesday, which, of course, is the cherry on the sundae.

Right now I am off for a run and then back for more work…. Stay tuned, much more coming shortly. And to all of you, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your support. Onward and upward

 

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AuthorOrlagh O'Brien

My wallpaper for my show came in yesterday! I’ve been thinking about how to photograph it for the website. Issues of scale come in to play, so I’ve been playing around with vignettes. Over the weekend I’ll be hitting the town to find some shooting locations. For now, here is just a sample swatch taped to the door of my room. Draft styling…

 

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AuthorOrlagh O'Brien

This isn’t the fanciest styling by any means, but I wanted to get some photos up of the first pillow. Here it is! I’ll put some more up in the gallery for viewing. Later this week or early next, once everything is complete production wise, I’ll be bringing all the products to a local photographer for studio shooting! Exciting! Stay tuned and thanks for all the support!

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AuthorOrlagh O'Brien

Here is the call for artists for The Danforth show. The date is quickly approaching! Today I am driving to Billings, MT about an hour and a half away to meet with a seamstress and check out a local fabric store. My trip to JoAnn’s Fabric last week was disappointing as far as fabric selection goes, but I did manage to find one backing for a pillow and that is being constructed as I write this. As soon as I see it, you will!

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AuthorOrlagh O'Brien

The idea for this work has been germinating for years and finally circumstances have allowed me to pursue this dream, but I need your help. I am asking for funding of $4500.00 and here is a bit about how the designs get produced and where the money will go.

ThinkBody is a collaborative effort that involves an extremely talented bunch of people found in the States (me), France (Imelda Picherit, colorist), and Ireland (Orlagh O’Brien,graphic designer). My forte is not working in the computer, so I take my sketches and ideas to my collaborators and together we turn them into computer generated designs ready for wallpaper and textiles. This process allows me to focus on what I am best at, dreaming up new patterns and concepts for new patterns, and tending to the production and business matters at hand.

From there we move into the printing production which involves ordering test runs of both wallpaper and textiles, tweaking the scale of the patterns and the color as we go. And then we are off! and it’s time to print rolls of wallpaper and make pillows or towels (and whatever else I can dream up), or print fabric for upholstery.

At this point, there is much infrastructure that I am working on that supports not only the gallery show, but the launch of ThinkBody as a small business. This includes postcard design and printing, copyrighting the patterns, getting a website together, packaging, production how-to’s moving forward, and pr and some computer equipment. For the June Danforth show I am producing pillows and two or three rolls of wallpaper - and maybe, just maybe, upholstering a chair. I am currently investigating working with local Montanan screen printers to produce wallpaper as well as seamstresses and leather workers to produce the pillows. I will be posting pictures of the samples as they come in along with other updates on the update portion of the campaign, so please be sure to check back regularly on my progress.

After the campaign is successfully funded, all contributors will be listed on the ThinkBody website once it has launched and you will forever have my gratitude. Other perks include limited edition prints, pillows that are made by seamstresses in Montana and custom design work. Whether in print or textile form, these patterns are functional art pieces that encourage a reconnection to the body and the spaces we inhabit; though the world of the screen can be vast, deep and engaging, let’s not forget our senses, the tactile, and the charms of the human environment that surround us. 

Lastly, dollars aren't the only way to contribute - spreading the word is just as valuable. Please share the campaign and help get the word out! 

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AuthorOrlagh O'Brien