Here we have another vintage found fabric wallet utilizing a hand screen printed flower design which could easily be found on a table cloth from the late sixties. In Fact, the wallets are made from scraps of a table cloth currently on our dinner table! No date could be confirmed on its exact vintage, but we know that the fabric has been in stockpile since the late 70′s.

wallet details

The wallet’s vintage hand printed exterior conjures memories of free love, rock-n-roll, and psychedelics. Each wallet is hand crafted in the USA with a hand printed exterior, 4 credit card slots, ID window slot, two hidden pockets, and twenty bucks printed in the bill slot. Full size of wallet is 8.5”x3.5” folded 4.25”x3.5” developed from a mix of durable canvas, vinyl, and nylon. Because of fabric limitations, each wallet exterior is unique and the edition is limited to only 20!

Starting at noon today we will be featured on Daily Grommet! For those of you asking, ‘what the hell is daily grommet?’ (as I did when I got the invite), its a website devoted to featuring unique and innovative products via videos, blogging, and community discussion. Think on-demand home shopping TV with a social networking twist. Anyhow we’ll be featured for 24 hours, so feel free to stop by their site and add your input.

This past weekend my wife Dawn and I opened up the storefront of our apartment (it’s a former barbershop) for the monthly second Saturday Art events on Saint Claude Ave. We had such a great time with the crowd that came to see our cardboard recreation of a wreck we witnessed when we first moved to town. Thanks to everyone who came out and ate some cake! For more info visit Dawn’s website here: shakesugaree.com.

It’s been an insane few months juggling jobs, art, and wallets, and thus the reason for my month long silence. Yesterday was the first day I felt relaxed. We had just arrived back in Nola after a week in Charleston, for a wedding, funeral, and project at Redux Contemporary Art Center. After the 16 hour drive ( which only cost us 2 bucks in fuel because we ran the majority of the journey on waste veggie oil ) we collapsed for a few hours, woke up to take our son to school, and then collapsed again until mid afternoon. It felt great, considering the lack of sleep leading up to and during last week. Burning the candle at both ends had started to take its toll. Now we’re refreshed and ready to start on some new projects (wallets included!). First I thought I would share some images of our project at Redux. It’s a fictional city built out of paint that will be on the side of the art center’s building for the next six months. It was formed based on ideas of the perfect city submitted by Redux artists, and also started to take on a life of its own as we painted and developed a narrative of infrastructure, fundamentalist hippies, a former missile silo, and a cold war that the quiet city was in the midst of. It marked a new collaboration with Seth Gadsden, a good friend I’ve worked closely with in starting Redux and with building Transit Antenna, and this project developed into the beginnings of a group we’re calling The Planning Committee. There will certainly be more to come, but for now enjoy the colorful city of Stoughton (pronounced stuff-ton).

A couple dudes straped on the super dome roof, pressure washing.

I have to first give a big thanks to everyone that took advantage of our rent sale last month. With a mix of those wallet sales, generous contributions from close friends, hammering on concrete, and odd job work- we made rent! The concrete job I spoke of last time didn’t really pan out. Not only was it some of the most grueling work I’ve ever done (think air hammer or angle grinding for 8 hours a day), but it was also very dependent on the weather. So I would get a call at 5am that there was no work for that day, or would get a call at 8pm that I could come in and work for a couple hours that night. I spent a week dealing with that but after getting several no work calls because of rain, I posted an ad on craigslist for a handyman service called “Ivy League Remodeling,” putting my very expensive and still yet-to-be-paid-for masters degree to work. And from that ad, I’ve gotten several jobs. I’ve fixed a dinner table, did emergency drywall (who knew there was such a thing?) for a local Law Firm, and just today put in a bid for drywall and insulation in a completely gutted house (I’m assuming a Katrina victim) in the upper middle class neighborhood of Lakeview. The part-time gig at Loyola University started last week, with us still moving into our house (all my clothes have turned into a huge pile that the dog favors over his bed) and me trying to do my own artwork, and of course wallet orders to boot- I’ve been busy to say the least. This is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and take a breath, but It’s actually been really awesome because I just don’t have time to be stressed about it all.

Only in NOLA do people find value in and stock pile plastic bead necklaces, and then donate them in bulk to thrift stores. Two side notes: Mardi Grai equals a week vacation for public school students and the oaks on the major parade routes have beads hanging in their branches year round.

When we lived on the bus with Transit Antenna, winging it was a norm but we didn’t have rent to pay and often it was cheaper for us to be moving than to stay put. So despite two years of odd jobbing it on the road, now that I’m doing it while on the hook for rent and everything else that comes with a stationary life style, it feels about as close as I will ever get to having a religious faith. It’s not all that different from growing up with my single waitress mom, hustling endless hours for a meager salary. I, like her, am putting faith in the fact that everything will be OK. And really every major venture I’ve ever been a part of – Redux, Transit Antenna, Is Not Broke, Shake Sugaree – has been the same; that we will be able to do whatever the hell we want with little money and in the end it will all work out.

totally true you know.

the story

Crouching Tiger, Knitting Dragon is based on a story from Bethany Quiles of Truth or Consequences, NM. She sent over this very brief email that got us wantin’ to make a wallet. “I live in the desert. New Mexico, to be precise. It is over 115 degrees Fahrenheit outside at the moment and all I have to keep me cool whilst I work is a small fan. What is it that I do for work in such conditions? I knit blankets. Blankets, scarves, socks, sweaters; all for friends and family and the occasional farmers’ market. It’s hard to make a buck, so when I have a few to my name, I have to spend it on new yarns for new jobs. On the weekends I take the dice I’ve collected over the years and play D&D with my friends in their nice air conditioned home. It’s certainly a wonderful break from the needles and fan.”

We loved the dichotomy of knitting versus D&D and that’s all we really needed to get to work. It was only after we mailed off her free wallet and had more correspondence that Bethany explained her struggle with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. “It makes me have a lot of health problems. I can’t sit or stand for more than about an hour, too much pressure on the spine.”

It made us all the more astonished by Bethany’s life and her D&D character, Xochi Hart. So we asked her to elaborate on her alter-ego. “She’s a level 11 halfling rogue/shadow dancer named after my favorite place, “Xochi’s bookstore” (Xochi means flower in mayan) in Truth or Consequences. She’s a hoarder of magical goods, collecting them over adventures to sell them in her Adventure Mart. She’s rich as can be through her dealings with her current party, but still likes to keep her thieving abilities active by pick pocketing in her spare time. In our battles so far, she has received the least amount of cumulative damage due to her shadow dancer skills. I plan on making her take another prestige class: Psionic Trickster or Arcane Trickster so she can pick locks from 30 feet away, set off traps without any danger, and pick pockets without touching someone. Still have 5 levels to go before that though. In our most recent adventure, the party is against trolls. 2 of the party have died and only one has been resurrected as of now.”

Bethany’s having hip-replacement surgery in September and so we thought it would only be appropriate for a portion of proceeds from each Crouching Tiger, Knitting Dragon wallet sold to be donated to Bethany’s ninja skills yarn fund (for those many days of recovery). It’s important that she get back on her feet so she can help resurrect the rest of her party!

wallet details

Designed by Bob Snead, each Crouching Tiger, Knitting Dragon wallet is handmade in the USA with a hand printed exterior, 4 credit card slots, ID window slot, two hidden pockets (for your business cards), and twenty bucks printed in the bill slot. Full size of the wallet is 8.5”x3.5” and folded 4.25”x3.5”. Developed from a mix of durable canvas, vinyl, and nylon. Limited Edition of 100.

Driving in Nola is weird. No left turns at major intersections, so U-turns are encouraged. I know right?

It’s been a little more than a week since we moved into our NOLA abode and I still have a nervousness that has kept my stomach unsettled. I think the main reason is because the jobs that seemed so promising and a sure thing only a few weeks ago, vanished at the same time we unloaded our boxes into 3600 Saint Claude Ave. We spent nearly everything we had (and even got a generous donation from my wife’s grandmother) to make it here with the expectation that work would begin pronto. But I really shouldn’t be surprised since most of the job prospects were gotten on craigslist. Craig can provide so much, but more often than not, he serves up sheer disappointment. The first call back I got on my craigslist applications was from Orient Expressed a store which produces embroidered clothing and from the name seems to be proud that most of their garments are manufactured overseas. They wanted someone to run a computerized embroidery machine in Nola, which seemed not all that dissimilar to Silkscreening garments in a weird way, so I applied. Soon after I spoke to the owner, Bee Fitzpatrick and she seemed enthusiastic about me working with her all woman crew. We made plans to interview during the week of our arrival. Last Wednesday I gave her a call, and her tone had changed. They had filled the position. I was so angry and frustrated. Mainly because I had put off replying to another job offer with the Green Project (a very cool place that I now regret not working for) to interview with her. As soon as she blew me off, I made a desperate call to the Green Project, but it was too late because as they told me a week prior, they were filling the position on the day we arrived.

building Taylor's wall of shelves with free wood from the Green Project

Since then, I’ve applied to everything under the sun, from Barback at the Republic to Framer/salesman at the Fleur de Lis Gift and Frame Shop which had every imaginable personal item formed in the shape of this city’s beloved symbol. Today I did temp work for a concrete company. Last night the guy from the temp agency was giving me a pep talk about how to be a hard worker. “You know, while you’re working if someone asks you something personal, just say ‘we can talk about that during break, right now I gotta work’. This is a really great opportunity for you. You’ll start out as a helper and then we’ll get you a TWIC card (now you will have to be with the company for ninety days or you’ll have to pay for that.) And then, AND THEN you can be a concrete finisher. Concrete is an excellent field to be in right now!” I know the contrary, because of the woes of the construction industry via family in Charleston. But I certainly didn’t chime in. I need the job. So I crawled out of bed at 5am, made my way to work by 6 and got to grinding concrete for only four hours. Then they let us off early. “Excellent field to be in right now!” Yeah right….. Whether I go back tomorrow is still up in the air. I’m waiting for a phone call.
I will get a bit of mental relief when my part time job at Loyola University starts next month. But there’s still rent for THIS month!

The whole point of all this is to show how totally stressed out I am, and to celebrate I’m slashing prices for one week only! I’m calling it the Nola Rent Sale, and for this week only you can get any of our designs for only $20! Help us make our second month’s rent by buying wallets! If you buy two or more, I will also send you a very special secret drawing surprise! This sale will only last until 8/29, so act now!

Also this week (on Monday August 23 to be exact) our much delayed crouching tiger, knitting dragon wallet will be released… on sale too!

The last few weeks have been an insane whirlwind. New Orleans has been calling and so I spent the first week of July shopping for a new place to live and a job. I found both, and while the work (multiple part-time jobs) will not be as glorious as it should be, the apartment seemed to fit with a “Keep It Real” sign hanging above the door. My wife, Dawn, is planning on opening up a bakery (you can see that start to take shape at Shakesugaree.com ) and this place seems like the perfect fit to both fulfill her dreams and have a place to sleep with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, bath, livingroom, and storefront. It’s on the super busy St. Claude Ave in the middle of the Bywater neighborhood chock-full of new business, galleries, and young people.

So we’re packing up next week for a permanent move to the Crescent City, and we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make a video for a travel competition put on by Sears. We didn’t win, but I think the video does a good job of wrapping up the last three years of our lives in 3 minutes. A recession proof wallet even makes a cameo!

the story

Upturn: The Suit is based on the life of Josh Silverman, a wealth management advisor that has spent a lifetime helping people decide how best to invest wisely. His story is of a personal recession with no stone left unturned. As he tells it:

Things are better now, to be sure, but not too long ago-

Savings = done
IRAs = cashed in
Mom = tapped and pissed off
Money Man Pawn is a best friend
Kids to feed, a mortgage, tuition. Like a needy, greedy fiend.
Two business revisions lead to acclaim but no cash at all.
Christmas is extra-bleak. Hanukkah is a non-event.
Even the freezer conspired against us, and all the food we stored up like squirrels went bad.

Two years later, we’re chipping away at it all. It’s better. And it all goes under the mattress. The irony is that every day I’m asked how to make a quick buck. I used to respond to that with a quick recommendation. Now I tell them there are no short-cuts, to be prudent, patient, and calm. I’m the oldest 37 year old I know working in finance. To say the experience was humbling would be accurate, but wouldn’t begin to touch it.

Relief from an emotionally crippling nightmare – can you make a wallet from that?

wallet details

Josh’s final statement seemed like a call to arms, and so we felt compelled to depict the situation that many financial sector workers have seen over the past few years. Designed by Bob Snead, The Suit illustrates the before and after – a financial advisor being humbled by the experience of an economic meltdown.  From the outside the suit and person are the same as before, but subtle body language indicates a clear shift in behavior and attitude. Each wallet is handmade in the USA with a hand printed exterior, 4 credit card slots, ID window slot, two hidden pockets (for your business cards), and twenty bucks printed in the bill slot. Full size of the wallet is 8.5”x3.5” and folded 4.25”x3.5”. Developed from a mix of durable canvas, vinyl, and nylon. Limited Edition of 100.

For each Upturn: The Suit wallet sold, we will make a donation to This American Life which has given us major insight into what caused the current recession with shows like The Giant Pool of Money, Bad Bank, and Inside Job.

the story

The Upturn: Firebird wallet is based on the life of Kenneth Gourley, a muscle car mechanic that has spent twenty years helping his son fight Cystic Fibrosis. With waning business and bankruptcy around the corner, Kenneth remains the cornerstone of his family. His wife, Jennifer, requested a wallet on his behalf and submitted this:

I’m married to my best friend of 30 years. We have two wonderful boys and live in rural Norman, Oklahoma on a small acreage where we raise miniature horses. My 21 year-old, Kenny, has Cystic Fibrosis and in reality our entire family fights this disease. Kenny was diagnosed at 14 months old and we were told he’d never see first grade. Since the age of 16, Kenny is in the hospital 2-6 times a year for two-week “tune-ups” when the infection in his lungs gets too bad to fight with oral and inhaled meds. We have a wonderful pulmonary specialist, respiratory therapists and the most awesome nurses in the world. They, and other families with CF, are all part of our extended family. In 2008, we started working with a transplant team in case Kenny gets so sick that he needs a double lung transplant. The goal is to avoid that because of the risks and mortality rates and so far we’re doing well.

We don’t let CF rule our lives. I work at the University of Oklahoma in the Art School and I feel like I have 2 kids at home and 400 at work. I’m also a student at OU trying to finish a bachelor’s degree that I started before I had children. My husband restores old muscle cars and we all have nice rides! My car is a 72 Mach I Mustang, Kenny has a Mitsubishi tuner, my younger son Kiefer has a fun truck, and Kenneth is finally working on his own 65 Mustang. He always puts himself last. The economic situation hit us hard, mostly because when people are facing tough money decisions, it’s the toys (hot rods and performance cars) that come last in the family budget. In addition, Kenneth had to have surgery on his neck and spinal cord this past March and was unable to work for weeks. Because Kenneth gives so much of himself – to me, to our boys, our family and friends – we had many people step in to help out. Unfortunately, we are one of those many families that are one accident or illness away from bankruptcy and we are now in the process of filing. It’s embarrassing, but we still have our home and more importantly, each other.

wallet details

This design by Bob Snead, depicts the repair of a legendary Pontiac Firebird which represents the Gourley’s struggle with Cystic Fibrosis. Their son’s battle is much like the mythic Phoenix’s infinite life cycle of rebirth, and the Gourleys will continue repairs and “tune ups” at any cost to keep their bird moving down the road. Each wallet is handmade in the USA with a hand printed exterior, 4 credit card slots, ID window slot, two hidden pockets, and twenty bucks printed in the bill slot. Full size of wallet is 8.5”x3.5” folded 4.25”x3.5” developed from a mix of durable canvas, vinyl, and nylon. Limited Edition of 100.

A portion of proceeds from this wallet will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.