This week I’ve been busy with stamps and linoleum cuts. It was my first attempt at a lino-cut and it came out pretty damn good. I did a postcard size one to start (4×6) and printed it on card stock paper and stickers. The one I rolled gold ink down and then printed black on top and they came out good also. The thing I was really digging about this is all of the imperfections that happen. They really make every print different and unique. Holding one of these in your hand is great too because you can really appreciate the hand made quality of them. You can see and feel the layers of ink and textures which I think makes it a lot nicer than anything a expensive digital printer can spit out.

The same goes for the custom rubber stamp I got this week. Even though a big expensive digital machine did make the stamp when you apply the ink to the paper you get similar results as the lino-cut. Depending on how much ink you apply, how hard you push, which surface you stamp all makes the final result different and unique. Also, the detail that can be achieved with the rubber stamp is far better than the lino cut. There are some things computers can do better than peoples brains and hands and this is one of them.

You can get some of these prints by ordering a shirt. I’ll stuff a few in there along with stickers, pins, and zines. A lot of free stuff to give away and you only get those extras when you order through this site. Here are some more pictures. Click to view larger.

Bootleggin’ Volume 2

2KOOL 4SKOOL

The second volume of “Bootleggin’” is now available.  Pictures of the inside can be seen under the “Zine” page above.  You can get this FREE with the purchase of 2 or more shirts or mail me a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope and 3 Bucks.

“I was always 2KOOL 4SKOOL”

OLD DESIGN.  NEW COLORS

Available this Friday March 11, 2011 are two new color ways of the BSB™ Phlyers™ design we’ve all come to know and love.  Just in time for the beginning of regular season baseball and hopefully a long Flyers playoff run comes a new color for each team that the logo represents.    They will be available for purchase in the online store on 3/11/11.

Check back soon.

I was messing around with Photoshop filters tonight trying to achieve the look of an old letterpress offset print.  This is what I came up with on my first attempt.  Not too shabby for an amateur.

I really like the look of the old prints from the 1920′s, 30′s and 40′s, and it’s funny how back then jobs came out looking like this because of variables printers couldn’t control.  Clients and printers alike were unhappy with the final results being that the registration was harder to control on these old machines and the prints were not quite in the right places.

These old letterpress’ and cylinder presses could weigh upwards of 20,000 pounds but properly maintained could run for 100 years if need be.

Here’s an example of an old smaller scale cylinder press:

Nowadays we have the technology to control every last detail so we can get the printing perfect and know exactly how everything will look even before we print it.  Although this technology is great for countless reasons some people/designers/companies are striving for a look of days passed.  I find it amazing how certain things in this world really do come full circle.  How 70 years ago clients would be upset about the poor registration on their job that they were paying for but now people spend hundreds of hours developing software, plug-ins, and filters to mimic this old look.  And now people are actually seeking out this “old fashioned” look and spending lots of time trying to create something that used to be a mere mistake.

PRIMAL

About 2 weeks ago I was contacted by Phil Krakoski, an owner of one of the Primal stores.  Phil saw some of the BSB™ shirts around town and wanted to start carrying them at his shop.  He dove right in and ordered almost every design I make.  Primal is located at 500 Baltimore Pike, Springfield PA 19064.  If you live around there and wanted a shirt well now you have easy accessibility to them without having to pay shipping cost.  Like I said, almost all of my designs are for sale at the shop but I would check availability first so that you’re not looking for something that isn’t there.  I posted a link to the Primal website on my sidebar and under the “I Want One” Page.  As you might have already been able to figure out, selling t-shirts isn’t Primals main focus.  They are the leading glass suppliers in the region with the best prices, so if you’re there getting a new BSB™ shirt for spring pick yourself up a new bong as well.  So I just wanted to thank Phil and they guys at Primal for expanding the BSB™ brand a little further outside of Philly and to give all of our customers the low down and keep y’all in the loop.  Keep your eyes peeled this spring for the latest news from Broad Street Bootlegs™.  Lot’s of new stuff in the works.  The Spring Training shirt has just been released to great reviews and there’s more where that came from.  Only 9 days until Spring Training.

Get Hype!

IT’S ALMOST HERE!

As I’m writing this the first Spring Training game in Clearwater starts in 10 days.  Just in time comes this handsome 2 color screen printed T-Shirt from Broad Street Bootlegs™.  This new design is a limited run and only will be printed once so get it before it’s gone.  This shirt features the classic fallback BSB™ dripping P with crown in the center as the focal point.  A baseball towers over in the background surrounded by the palm trees of Florida.  A banner with a home plate emblem advertising Clearwater and the Grapefruit League rests at the foot of this design.  Once finished I applied a filter to distress the image which gives it a worn/nostalgic look.  You can buy this shirt (while supplies last) and see high-res photos under the shirts page.

Here’s a short video I threw together of some of the printing process:

GET YOUR ART ON !

Tonight is the 4th annual Jinxed heArt show at Jinxed/Thoothless Cat Gallery in the Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties Philadelphia.  I submitted 2 hearts this year.  One under the Broad Street Bootlegs™ moniker and one under my name.  The one pictured here is obviously the BSB™ submission.  It’s pretty much “JIMMY” in heart form.  All the classic “Jimmy” features are present, even those played-out corn rows.

Well, the show goes from 7-11.  It should be a good time, a bunch of my pals have hearts in the show also.  Good friends, good art and free booze.  Sounds like my kind of Saturday.  Below is a full shot of the “Jimmy Heart” with the nice pink background provided by the Sailor Jerry Flash Book Vol. 2 which I believe is also available for purchase at Jinxed.  If you don’t know about Jinxed click their link in my sidebar below and check them out.  They sell some of my tees too.