I've just ordered the Field Notes 18-month calendar for the shop! Look for it in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we do have their lovely notebooks in stock. Check out the flickr group for the Field Notes in use for some inspiration.
(Camilla Engman's calendar is on the way, too! As well as new agendas from Little Otsu and mmmg...)
Thanks to a mention and endorsement over at Swiss Miss, the anatomy class models have been flying off the shelves today. There are just a couple of each left, so if you want one, now's the time! I brought these in specifically for the Old School exhibition, so they aren't part of our usual inventory. Thanks, internet!
Some of the eye-candy in Petite Pattern Book Spring & Summer. Love!
Some new things on the bookshelf today! The Petite Pattern Series and Free Style Scraps are wonderful books for inspiration and for practical use. The Petite Pattern books come with a cd of all the artwork for use in your projects and English instructions on how to make seamlessly tiled patterns. Free Style Scraps are full of fun and useful clipart.
The Spring & Summer edition is particularly gorgeous. Stay tuned for some sample patterns from inside the book.
Here's a shot of Mike Kerr and Renata Liwska's art collection. Visit each of their blogs to find out more about about their artwork. Many of these are from UPPERCASE! Mike and Renata are regular contributors to our shows. We're looking forward to an exhibition of Renata's exquisite drawings for her upcoming children's book, Little Panda. That show opens the first Thursday in November.
Old School is up for just a few more weeks and the artwork would LOVE to find a home on your walls. The artwork is very accessibly priced, ranging from $30-$100 for most handmade collages on paper and $100 - $600 for original paintings and sculpture. For those of you unfamiliar with how artwork is priced, in our gallery 60% of the purchase price goes directly to the artist and the remaining 40% contributes to the gallery rent, utilities, display costs and publicity.
The artwork is available for sale online if you're not able to see the show in person. In addition to our Canadian customers, Old School artwork has already been shipped and received by happy customers in San Francisco and New York City. Thank you for supporting the creative endeavours of our artists.
We're happy that Old School is included on Julia Rothman's fabulous site "Book by its Cover". Ok, she might be a bit biased... her illustrations are included in the book!
There are lots of new things uploaded to the online shop, such as these ABC magnet sets and Jumbo clips (that's my hand for a sense of scale!) This sketchbook with an illustrated cover by Marc Boutavant says "Je Dessine" (I draw) is one of our best-sellers so far.
Today from 1 - 5pm: Art exhibition! Book launch! All-ages party!
UPPERCASE gallery invites the public to a grand opening celebration of Old School. The "Old School" theme celebrates the aesthetics of twentieth century education through an art exhibition and companion book, as well as curated back-to-school stationery and unique objects. It is inspired by vintage flash cards, wooden desks, biology class, science fairs, crayons, card catalogs, textbooks, lunchboxes, gym class, maps, lockers, report cards, film strips, recess, chalk... and the list goes on!
In addition to drawing, painting and collage, we will be exploring old school technology such as typewriters, film projections and polaroid photography. The exhibition features 80 local and international artists and runs until September 30.
In honour of this theme, UPPERCASE gallery has been transformed into an old-fashioned elementary school classroom equipped with school desks, vintage maps, a globe of the world, chalkboards, anatomy models, an abacus and many more authentic artifacts of school day’s past. The exhibition is so large that we have enlisted our neighbour, One Blue Wall Gallery, who will become the principal’s office!
Please join us Saturday August 23, 1 - 5pm for a special opening day party and book launch. Children of all ages and the young-at-heart will be treated to old-fashioned refreshments. Participating artists will be on hand to sign your Old School book. Guests can pose for a polaroid class photo, make simple jewellery with their initials, and type old school memories on vintage typewriters. Don’t forget to pick up our freshly-printed book, signature pink erasers and Old School pencils as keepsakes of the show.
We encourage party-goers to bring their old school style to the event. Demonstrate your school spirit by dressing up as your favorite old school character. Have an old lab coat tucked away in the attic? Fancy dusting off those pom poms? Still fit into your school uniform? We love librarians, cheerleaders, teachers, jocks, preppies, janitors, junior scientists, geeks, mathletes and the whole school crew. Hope to see lots of you in costume at the big event and we’ll award a prize for most school spirit.
As you can see, the gallery is in disarray. But I moved all the boxes and furniture to the side for a very fun photoshoot with the amazingly talented Kirstie Tweed. Just a couple clues for now...
There was amazing light coming into the gallery the other morning while I was packing some orders. More images on Flickr.
I've tidied the place up just for you. I hope you'll stay a while. (It is much easier to clean up a website than a physical store, but there are some exciting plans afoot in prepration for next month's Old School exhibition and book. There's going to be some big re-arranging! Involving heavy-lifting, I'm sure.)
I've had an online poster shop for quite a while, ever since the Vintage Russian Advertising Poster show in 2006, but the link had gotten lost in all the content that I've since added to this site. Even so, the posters have generated orders and interest here and there. So maybe I should bring it back to the forefront! I've moved the poster shop over to the online store (see Poster Shop in the Gallery drop-down menu). The posters shown there and below are just a small curated selection of what is available. These posters are all giclee reproductions and orders and fulfillment are provided by AllPosters.com. If you click on any image in the Poster Shop, you will have the option to view related images or search for artwork of your choice. For each purchase made via my shop, UPPERCASE receives a commission. The goal in setting up this shop is to offset some of the costs associated with hosting and managing my three websites (Squarespace for this site, Shopify for the online store, and hosting for Vangool Design).
Cute animals and food advertisements
glamorous photography and magazine covers
… and even typewriter ads!
Starting in July, our summer hours are Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday from noon to 4pm. This Saturday, we are open from 11-5pm. The shop is closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for a long weekend and Canada Day. (please note that the Art Central building is also closed on Canada Day.)
I am looking for an assistant... This is a permanent part-time job. The complete job description and how to apply is posted here.
We have finally met Canada Post's volume requirements for commercial shipping rates... Shipping throughout Canada and to the United States ranges from $10 - $16.50 for average parcels. We also offer Expresspost and FedEx shipping if your parcel is urgent. And, at last, shipping to Europe and Australia is more reasonable! ($22 for parcels weighing less than 2kg.) These new rates are now implemented in the online shop.
Before I start posting more about Work/Life, I'd like to share with you some news about last summer's The Shatner Show book and exhibition...
The Shatner Show is mentioned in William Shatner's recently-released autobiography, Up Till Now! I was quite happy (and surprised) to see us listed in the index. "It is an astonishing collection, with pieces made of LEGOs and another one of clay, limestone, artificial ferns, and plumbing pieces." It's nice to know that our show has made it into his official personal history! Thank you, Mr. Shatner.
Cover by Christy Batta
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UPPERCASE is a quarterly print magazine inspired by craft, design and illustration. A playful exploration of creativity, an affinity for vintage ephemera, and a love of handmade are some elements common in each issue. The magazine boasts high-quality paper and printing, a unique design aesthetic and incredible attention to detail.
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908 17th Avenue SW
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403-283-5318
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