Walking by 718 Cyclery, you may think it's just a bike repair shop, but it's so much more. It's a place where you can buy bikes built from scratch and learn the skills to build ones yourself. The founder of 718 is very passionate about sharing his knowledge of DIY to empower bikers everywhere to become "masters" of their bikes. There's a great sense of community too - you can work with 718s team of mechanics to collaborate on your project and get as dirty as you want. Bike on over to GNM this Saturday - it's almost here!
GNM 2 Recap
We had a CRAZY AMAZING turnout at last Saturday's Gowanus Nite Market - 2,000 people! That's up like a zillion % from last time, which was 400 (I estimate with math, ok?). Everyone was saying there was a line out the door that stretched to the end of the block! I'm so grateful to be a part of such a cool growing scene in Brooklyn.
As always, I loved meeting lots of people, seeing friends, and drawing for others. Thanks to everyone who came out and stopped by to talk, sign up for my mailing list, and/or get a sketch :)
I loved how all the Gowanus letters looked together! It's like a rainbow. It was funny how the church in the S looked practically upside-down :P I'm going to work with the market organizer to sell the project as a set to a local Gowanus non-profit or organization - fingers crossed.
My first commission was from an Australian girl that was traveling. She wanted me to draw anything that I felt was truly "New Yorkian." I thought of the Statue of Liberty, dancing, the Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building.
She was really happy with it! I'm glad I could contribute in a unique way to her New York adventure.
One girl wanted me to draw from a picture she had of her and her pugs. Super cute! She also had a pic on her phone of them dressed for Easter :)
That drawing took a bit longer than usual, but I'm glad that more people want the larger sketches. I think this one takes the prize of best sketch of the night. She was super happy with the result too :) Although, I've never had a person that didn't like their sketch (knock on wood...)
Did portraits! Cranked this one out pretty quickly.
This dad wanted a drawing of his son. One of the cutest kids in the world!
People really love drawings of their dogs! As a dog lover myself, dogs are always fun to draw. One time this girl (Daria) fit her 2 HUGE dogs (Newfoundlands) into her tiny car by pushing the back seat down. Daria was actually one of the vendors sitting next to me! She's a graphic designer for The Vanity Project, which makes cool clothes for non-profits and donates 51% of net profits back to each featured organization.
I had such a fun time at this month's GNM, even though it was intense and I had very little sleep (but that's how I do most of my shows!). I was slightly more successful this time around too :) I feel like this market will blow up soon (as in, become really popular, not the other kind of blow up). This is a very exciting time for mindy indy!
N is for Nite Market!
Of course! I based this drawing on a picture I took from the last Gowanus Nite Market. The Market launched last month and will continue on every second Saturday in the winter months. New to the vendor list this month is Nomad (another N!), which is a soon to be launched mobile retail boutique to be based in the Tri-State area. Nomad will be a carefully curated fashion truck offering handcrafted goods and showcasing local designers. Also new is Carnelia (it has N in the middle!), who makes jewelry from recycled materials and found objects. Danamade is new too, specializing in cool & cute rings made from recycled objects too (I want ALL of them!!).
Check out these and more amazing vendors, a DJ, and live painting: NYC artist Marthalicia Martarita brings the stage to life as she transforms blank canvases into incredible works of art. Artists Shanieka Marson, George Stratakis, Emmanuel Toribio, and others will also be showcasing their paintings.
Hope to see you this Saturday January 12, 7p - midnight at GNM, located at Film Biz Recycling: 540 President Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215
Gowanus Nite Market Recap
Finally I get around to writing my blog! This past week I not only had to get stuff ready for the Gowanus Nite Market, but also do a rush custom comic for a client (more on that next week!). Here's the recap of all the excitement at GNM.
Each vendor had a unique set up, and luckily I was able to get a good table (not a coffee table) to draw on. You can see I had all the original drawings that I posted all last week behind me on that board. No originals sold, but people were interested in prints, so that's coming next month!
I made Christmas cards out of that deer drawing I did. Those didn't sell, but the people who worked at Film Biz were interested! Now, onto stuff that DID sell - practically my entire profit was made just from custom sketches!
Did another funny Deadpool sketch for a couple I met at New York Comic Con!
This time I displayed an example of how well I capture people in portraits. People responded well to it!
Portraits of pets included too.
This one wins most bizarre sketch. A guy wanted him & his girlfriend riding a sperm whale out of hell with a unicorn. They liked the extra added touch of the demons chasing them :)
Props to these people for holding their poses so long!
This wins funniest sketch. A girl wanted a drawing of a tiny monkey riding backwards on a tiny pig, drawn like a family crest.
She loved it SO much that I'm doing more for her whole family!
This guy has always loved Waldo :)
I also held the fortune cookie hunt! I hid 15 cookies around the venue and gave a free Misfortune Cookie mini comic to those who brought the cookie back to my table.
I hid them in plain sight because there are so many props and stuff in the area!
So many people were bringing me cookies in the first hour, I wondered if I didn't hide them well enough :P But the hunt was a success!
Had a super fun time at the Gowanus Nite Market, and hope to see you next month: Saturday January 12. GNM: the 2nd Saturday of the month!
Gowanus Nite Market TONIGHT!
Gowanus Nite Market is tonight! I've been preparing so much for this all week, and I think it'll be a success. DIRECTIONS: Take the D, N, R, B, Q, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to the Atlantic Avenue/Barclays Center stop in Brooklyn, then transfer one stop on the R to Union Street. Then walk south one block to President Street, turn right, and walk a minute to Film Biz Recycling 540 President Street Brooklyn, NY 11215. Starts at 7pm tonight until midnight!
I'm putting on a fortune cookie hunt! One of the many fun activities going on at GNM tonight. I'm going to hide 15 fortune cookies throughout Film Biz Recycling, and whoever finds one and brings it to my table gets a free mini comic. This is a great way to get people to explore all the cool stuff at Film Biz and a fun promo for me too :)
Night Theme
I explored another nook of Film Biz Recycling and discovered this awesome old soda pop machine prop (made from "light weight materials!"). Next to it was a big "Emergency" sign, which isn't something you see every day (unless if you work in a hospital?). I like how Film Biz has a great mix of random props and stuff that is so practical that I'd never think of them as props, like that washing machine. I also inverted the colors of this drawing in Photoshop so it has a more night time feel, in theme with the Gowanus Nite Market :)
GNM Event Stuff
I drew this after a suggestion from Raphael, coordinator of the Gowanus Nite Market, that I should try a drawing that captures the space of the venue, Film Biz Recycling. There's so much stuff in that warehouse, it was pretty hard to choose just one section, and one where I didn't have to draw a gazillion objects. The furniture section had large objects, but the drawing looked like a furniture store, so I threw in the blow-up shamoo and gigantic teddy bear (both real props there) to show the quirkiness of the space.
I've been promoting the heck out of GNM! Here's the official facebook event page, facebook business page, and twitter is @gowanusNITEmark Please spread the word!
Cool stuff at Film Biz
Drawing 2 of cool stuff I saw at Film Biz Recycling, in preparation for this Saturday's Gowanus Nite Market! Right when you walk into Film Biz, you see 5 of these beautiful silver mannequins, right next to a GIGANTIC disco ball! The biggest one I'd ever seen, like 4 feet tall! I loved the shininess of both the mannequins and the disco ball, so I couldn't resist drawing them :) Disco balls have a special place in my heart, because I love dancing (I even dressed in a disco ball theme this year for Halloween). I used a silver paint marker to really give the drawing shiny life. The blue-to-gold color scheme in the picture is solely from the lighting in my apartment when I took the picture!
Here's a funny thing I saw at Film Biz: the "fireplace face" from that AT&T commercial! The commercial itself is pretty freakin' weird, but that prop is totally recognizable! This prop would have normally just been thrown out, but someday it will have a new life, perhaps on a "Legends of the Hidden Temple" spoof? See other random cool stuff like this Saturday December 8th at the Gowanus Nite Market!
Gowanus Nite Market
Super exciting news! My next appearance will be at the Gowanus Nite Market next Saturday December 8! I'm also the new Social Media Marketer for the Market! This show is very unique because it'll be held in a place called Film Biz Recycling: a warehouse chock full of awesome props used in the film industry. I'm doing lots of drawings in my sketch style for the show, and will be posting one each day this week up until Saturday, where I'll be selling them at my booth. This flyer has all the details:
I was even mentioned in an article about the Gowanus Nite Market on Brokelyn!! This is super huge because Brokelyn is THE site to check out where all the cool events in Brooklyn will be! Yaaaaaaay!
So I'll be posting about the Gowanus Nite Market with more details all this week :) Please come, because it'll be super fun!
