Yes … I know … where did the summer go?? I just realized this morning that I haven’t posted since early June, after I promised to keep products and stuff updated. Ugh. For starters, I have 10 different projects going right now – in various stages of completion – and therefore I’m working 7 days a week. Second, despite the fact that I have a site (and advertise it), I actually really hate the Internet. Seriously. I recently went two weeks without even using email. It was quite nice. I’m not giving up on the Internet, I’m just not the biggest fan, so when it comes right down to it, I’d rather spend computer time drawing/designing something rather than chatting on a blog. 
So apologies – especially to Atomic Ranch readers – that I rarely have this updated.
That said, in case you hadn’t noticed, I DO update my store when I have something new. I added some products recently (and scored a few more Today’s Best Awards!) and sometime in the next week I’ll be adding a print version of my art deco “LIBERTY CONE” mailer* that you got last month. (Not the cone above, although that one is over at Zazzle now.) “LIBERTY CONE” won’t be available as cards … the detail is too small, and Zazzle doesn’t offer that large size that I custom ordered from a printer. I hope to have the print up this week, but I’m on a tight deadline for another project right now, so we’ll see.
Lastly, I’ve started getting questions about Christmas cards … and yes, I will be doing mid-century-styled cards again this year. However, I am not producing/shipping them myself this time … I just don’t have that kind of time to commit right now. I’ll be releasing them through my Zazzle store, so although I’ll be repeating some of the past hit designs, they will unfortunately be a little different. For starters, Zazzle doesn’t have wraparound printing on cards, so some of the designs with a front/back style will be eliminated or altered. The good news, is Zazzle is customizable, so I will be setting all of the cards up so that you can order them with your family names, etc. on the insides. Also, they’ve just added custom envelopes, so I will be adding matching full-color envelopes (and postage stamps!) for each card design. I’m also still supporting Winter Wishes this year, of course, but now that Christmas cards are part of my income rather than just a side hobby that I funded through my corporate-gig disposable income, I’ll have to be realistic about what percentage will go to that program. Once I figure it out, I’ll post on a special page I’m putting up to feature the cards.
Oh, and I’m doing Halloween again this year, too, after a few-years’ break. I’ll start putting that collection in the Zazzle store as soon as I finish the project I’m working on right now … hopefully sometime next week.
BTW, in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve recently closed my CafePress store … thank you to everyone who shopped there the last five years, but with everything going on, it was too much to keep up both stores. Because of the time it took to upload/price/write-up each thing on there, I often didn’t update EITHER store. Zazzle is much easier, it allows for customization, and realistically … it was doing at least 75% more business than the CafePress store. So … end of an era …
Thanks, all! And enjoy what’s left of the summer!
ridge.out
*If you would like to receive future mailers (usually before holidays), please go to the contact page and send me your snail-mail address. This message comes to me via email and won’t be shared with a third party. Thanks!
Just in time for Father’s Day, is this week’s featured design: “Dad’s Grill”!
I’m starting a weekly feature here, now that I have time to update my shop more regularly. I’ve been designing for other brands for so long, that it’s really exciting to just sit down with my sketchbook and draw out whatever I want to design. I’m still working on other brands on the side a little, but for the most part I’m finally doing my own thing, so to speak. Therefore I’ll be posting featured designs once a week.
