Autumn in the Windy City

While I was at the Photobooth Convention in May, I met many wonderful people. Amongst these people were Anthony and Andrea Vizzari who own A&A Studios in Chicago. A&A is a really interesting business, they refurbish vintage photobooths and either preserve the mechanical elements for chemical photos or convert it to digital. These high quality booths are for sale and available as rentals for events. They also operate a shop which sells vintage cameras and related paraphernalia. They have a really creative team of people working with them and are leaders in the grassroots photobooth movement.

So… it makes me insanely happy to get to work with them this fall. I’ll be doing an internship in Chicago from September to December, working on special projects. We are still developing/finalizing said projects but it seems like I will get to use my illustration, design, sewing, bookbinding and crafting knowledge, all while being in the midst of photobooths. Needless to say, this is a dream job and I’m sure the experience will provide me with some great insights for my graphic novel.

In the meanwhile, I’m planning my European Photobooth Expedition. It’s shaping up with only a few details to still confirm. I also hope to fit in quick trips to Toronto and New York in the fall, which should mostly complete the research for Photobooth, A Biography.

This coming week I’m going to visit Newfoundland with my parents and sister. It’ll be my first time and it’s also the only Canadian province I haven’t been to yet. With my new ties to Auto-Photo (the company that makes and services photobooths in Canada) I have secured the locations of 4 photobooths along our route that are not yet documented for Photobooth.net’s Locator feature. I’m happy to visit these gems before they are gone. And generally, I’m just happy and grateful for all the new experiences!

Paint and Brush

Despite what it must seem like, I have been working on things that are not about photobooths. I’ve had a handful of commissions in the last few weeks; some fine arts, some editorial and personal illustrations and some illustrations for a website and some for print (which I’m excited about but unfortunately can’t share until the clients do.)

These three paintings, each 6x6 were commissioned by a psychologist’s office.

 This tiny pair was commissioned by a friend.

  This design is for printing on tote bags and t-shirts for a concert series in Edmonton.

This was a personal illustration, designed with the client’s specifications. 

 And these are some of the pieces I did for the Coast’s summer guide this past week.
 

Concept Art Booklet is Ready!

Since I got back from the first leg of the Photobooth Expedition (Los Angeles & Montreal) I have been working away at the concept art for Photobooth, A Biography and it's finally ready! The people who contributed to my IndieGoGo campaign and selected the Combo Pack perk will be getting one in the mail shortly. For anyone else interested in having a copy, you can buy it now on my Etsy page, Two Hands Two Crowns.  It's $15 Canadian plus shipping. Every copy is hand bound and the pages are printed in rich black.

Le Photobooth-Expedition se poursuit en Europe!

I should start this post by saying that every day I wake feeling so fortunate to get to work on Photobooth, A Biography and that I’m extra thankful for how seamlessly the progress for is coming along. With the help of a lot of wonderful people, everything has been glitch-free so far. Last week, thanks to my web programmer friend Scott Borys, I made a simple webpage for the graphic novel and will update it when there are significant advancements. Check it out!

And speaking of significant advancements, I’m pleased to say that the Photobooth Expedition continues this summer with a trip to Europe! I’ll be there for almost three weeks, from July 18 to August 10. Each city I stop in has a purpose, whether it is to see a photobooth art exhibition, meet booth owners, artists and curators. I’m still working out a lot of details, but so far these are the cities and this is the order I’ll be visiting: Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, (maybe) Cologne, Nimes, (hopefully) Gap, (maybe) Zurich, Florence, (maybe) Cesena and Milan.  If anyone has friends or family in Brussels or Milan that I could stay with for a couple nights that would be much appreciated!

Meanwhile, I’m also finishing up the last touches on the Concept Art booklet for Photobooth, A Biography and it should be ready to buy online, at my Etsy shop, by Friday. This is a sneak peek at the cover, the hand is a flap that keeps the book closed when the quarter is inserted. I have a lot more updates to share but I have to get back to work so I’ll save it for another day!

A Visit to Auto Photo

The second part to my Photobooth Expedition was a visit to Auto Photo in Montreal, they’re one of the few companies left in the world that are working with chemical photobooths. Everyone there was amazingly helpful and put up with me for hours while I asked question after question. I conducted a few interviews as research for my book but some of the questions were just about things I had been wondering a long time…. like the real names of the people in the sample strips on booths, and the difference between a Model 17C and a 17P. It was also neat to have years’ worth of assumptions confirmed for me, Jeff  (the Vice President and grandson of the founder) knows the other half to stories about booths that I had speculated about. Generally, during my trips in Los Angeles and Montreal it felt great to talk to people who understand the photobooth world. For almost a decade I had no one (in person) to have a dialogue with about this passion that consumes a good chunk of my life. I don’t think I knew how starved I was for conversation.

This is a treasure chest of photos from many different booth models that date back to the 1960s.This box was one of several filled to the brim with old photos.

Jeff was kind and generous enough to let me take photos for my next animation in one of their booths at the warehouse. My sister, Eryn and her friend Perryn were my loyal assistants for one of the days of shooting. I’m a real lucky duck to have had their help. Here are some photos of us working on the animation.  I also seized the opportunity to take some more experimental photos and I have added new work to my flickr.
 
I have lots of material for my book and many hours of editing photobooth frames together ahead of me. I also have THREE pieces of exciting photobooth related news, none of which are confirmed yet, so I will keep them under wraps until they’re ready to share. Stay posted!