And, the Flyer...

Oh ya, baby. The best damn party in Rotterdam is coming up in a few weeks... Pijnackerplein Bluegrassfestival. I was very happy to be asked to do the design work again this year. The organizer of this festival is Guido de Groot of Kito Cartoons. Guido does the illustrations and i try to match his vibe with my graphic design. I think it's a good marriage. And this year, not one cage fight during the process.

I really like that Guido doesn't go the 'Babe and Hot Rod' route with this fest. Not that i have anything against Babes and Hotrods, but it seems that so many festivals use that 'look'. I love the quirky-ness of the whole affair at the Pijnackerplein... a true reflection of this wild and wacky little neighborhood here in Het Oude Noorden.

Wanna see more? Click on the image and then click next to see the back of the flyer which highlights all the amazing things you can see, hear and do during this years fest.

So, if you are going to be in the neighborhood of Rotterdam, make yourself a note: 28th & 29th of June. See You There! Yeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaw!

Graphic Designs for the Pijnackerplein Bluegrass Festival

Here's the huge A0 Poster, which nearly took my poor old Mac down for the count. The wonderful illustrations were done by the festival organizer, Guido de Groot of Kito Cartoons. I think my graphic design goes really well with his style. Very glad he choose me to do the posters again this year. You can see more of my design for Guido here and here.

These huge posters will be pasted in large advertising frames along the highway and throughout the city. More designs for the Pijnackerplein Bluegrass Festival coming soon!

Bluegrasshopper Night!

Whooooo Doggy, y'all. The Pijnackerplein Bluegrass Festival last weekend was the Big Damn Bluegrass Business. I honestly haven't recovered yet. It was brilliant... every single bit of it. I've been collecting photographs that are slowly coming in online to post here at a later date but in the meantime,...

From the same folks that brought you the Bluegrass Festival, Kito Events presents: Bluegrasshopper Night starring The Mountain Agnostic Gospel Choir. And, to start the evening off, the film documentary 'You See Me Laughin'. See You There!

Click Here to go to the Facebook Event Page

Flyer design by Shelley Rickey

The Most Kick-Ass Festival in Rotterdam!

The Pijnackerplein Bluegrass Festival is a two-festival organized by Kito Events which takes place just around the corner from our shopon the beautiful Pijnackerplein. There are some absolutely In-cred-i-ble musicians performing and there is lots to do and see besides... art, cool market stands, comic strip expo and workshop by none other than J.D. Wilkes, good food and cold beer and much much MUCH MORE!

This is going to be one hell of a good time y'all. My good lookin' and highly-entertaining dude, Marko will be performing with the Bommelband on Friday and we have a market stand full of Jumping Flea Goodness on Saturday. See you there!

Flyer design by: Me!, Illustration by Kito Cartoons!

*The making of this flyer nearly resulted in Guido 'Kito Cartoons' de Groot and myself having a cage fight. Instead, it resulted in this poster which i think turned out pretty damn well. Still want that cage fight with Guido though. Ashame to put all of that perfectly good chicken wire to waste. 

Route du Nord 2013!

Next weekend is THE big yearly art happening in our neighborhood called Route du Nord. Literally hundreds of artists will be showing off their talents throughout Rotterdam Nord. Marko and i will be at the Marché du Nord Art Market which is a new edition to the festivities this year organized by the awesome Christy de Witt of TWC Network. It takes place on the Teilingerstraat this Sunday and we hope to see you there!
This is the flyer which i designed for Marché du Nord

Broken Pinkie

Oooooo.... Just received my Mack Tidwell 'Broken Pinkie' brush set and One-Shot Sign-Painter's Enamel. Stay tuned for Hand-Lettered Goodness.

A lot of people don't realize this...

But i also do Graphic Design work on the sly. Yesterday, i got this last minute job from my buddy Guido de Groot of Kito Cartoons. He also produces events and this one is going to be a doozy. See you there! I'll be the wobbly one... Guido didn't have a very big budget for the flyer so he convinced me to take the job by putting Marko and I on the guest list and providing us with free liquor all night long. Yeeehaw!

**My services as Graphic Designer are for hire.**

Want to see more of my work? Take a look here. 

More information? Mail Me!

A Symphony played on Water Instruments

To be presented by Marko and I this Saturday 

in Rotterdam during Museum Night.

See You There!

Want to know more about this project? Click Here.

Move the hell over, Martha Stewart

The Jumping Flea's Holiday Fun Book is out.... Merry Mechanics, Songs with Ukulele Chords, Homemade Explosives and many many other Bad Ideas for the Holiday Season. (Sure, Martha is crafty and all that, but she never blew anything up) It's a bit on the expensive side (the printer ripped me off) but the amount of fun per page is priceless! Plus, it's a very first and a very limited edition. Click here and order yours today!

Bad Girls & Mean Women Songbook

Ooooolala... This is a very naughty songbook indeed! This little black book contains 10 songs, some dating back as far as the 1600's, that are so raunchy that they would make Snoop Dog blush. Each song has both the ukulele chords and the musical score. Also included are 2 recipes and 5 potions plus a fold-out ukulele chord chart.
WARNING: ADULT CONTENT!

My book is available in our store in Rotterdam or via My Etsy Shop.
Click on the image for a closer look

The Big Damn Ukulele Bash

Sunday the 24th of June during 'Route du Nord'
¡THE BIG DAMN UKULELE BASH!
Starring
'The Big Damn Ukulele Band'
Hosted by The Uke Box & Guaranteed to Swoon!
Café Wijnberg, Zwaanshals 239, 3036 KP Rotterdam Noord

15uur - UKULELE INTERVENTION!
Free Ukulele Workshop voor aspiring Ukulele Spelers!
24 seats available. First come, first serve.
Duration: ±1uur
4pm - OPEN MIC
Bring your ukulele and WOW us with a song!
15uur - PERFORMANCES
The Big Damn Ukulele Band & Surprise Guests!
Doors Open 14:30, Admission: FREE!

Don't believe everything you read

"We Are OPEN, Come on in!"
Last weekend i did some sign painting. This 'Open' sign is for the new store we will be opening soon...Woohooo! I haven't blogged about this yet because i'm a bit superstitious. I don't like talking about projects until they are fleshed out and nearly ready otherwise, i have the feeling that if you talk about these things too early, it may never flesh out. We've had some set backs with the renovations (who doesn't?) and had to set our opening date back a little. So, we're not actually 'OPEN' yet but pretty soon, it's going to be one swinging place!

The Uke Box presents: Ukulele Jamboree Nr.15!!!

13th Edition of The Ukulele Jamboree

Bosko & Honey Ukulele Safari Compilation CD Available Here & Now!

This is a CD i designed for the wonderful ukulele duo, Bosko & Honey. With 75 minutes of listening pleasure, this Compilation CD is packed with diversity, talent and entertainment comprised of 22 tracks and 22 artists from 8 different countries. It also comes with a beautiful full color 18 page booklet. Besides this, check out track 21... It's an original song from Marko & i. (Woohoo, our first appearance in CD form!)
All proceeds from the CD's sold in my store will be used to buy groceries which we will be very thankful for.

Here's the Track-list:
1. Bosko & Honey - Road Trip
2. Peter Madcat Ruth - Red-Winged Blackbird
3. Sumakichan - Mamorunjah Theme Song
4. Tim Sweeney - Back to You
5. Gerald Ross - Lemon Peel Rag
6. Daisy Dobuyuki - Ukulele Daddy
7. The Windy City Islanders - We're Having a Luau
8. Fabio KoRyu Calabrò - Ukustrocca Filalele
9. Tarasuna - Kaze ga naku
10. John Pak - Ukulele Safari
11. Ukulelezaza - Lilli K
12. Max the Ukulele Punk Rocker - Please Stay
13. Shigeto - Kokyu
14. Gensblue (with Bosko & Honey) - Earthquake
15. Ukulele Igor - Carelian Stomp
16. Taka & Nya☆mi - Chiisana te
17. Mr. Jaynickel - Mots de têtes
18. Jon Prown - Thirty Below
29. Yalego - In the Pines
20. Happy☆Hoppy - Kodomo Blues
21. The Uke Box - Firefly Crown
22. T. Yoshimura - Soul Traveller

Ukulele Jamboree Nr.12 at SPAM!

The Most Spectacular Ukulele Jamboree Ever!
Hosted by ‘The Uke Box’
Starring Shelley O'Brien (CAN) & Ukulelezaza (BE)

Ukulele- Workshops, Optredens, Open Mic, Market & Expo
+ het mooiste vintage design meubelair en toebehoren van SPAM!

Friday the 16th of April. Doors open at 20:00 hours.
Zaagmolendrift 53, 3036 Rotterdam, Nederland

Oh, and in case you were wondering, "Who in the hell made this FAB flyer?"... I did! Click on the image to ZOOM!

Ukulele Safari Desktop

Bosko & Honey are now kicking off their Ukulele Safari OZ. And, as i mentioned before, they will be presenting a wonderful Ukulele Safari Compilation CD which i'm sure you have already pre-ordered, right?! Good! And, for your support, i've made a little something extra which Bosko & Honey can give to their fans in appreciation... Click here to download your own Ukulele Safari Desktop.
Click on the image & ZOOM.

Art Design for Imogen Gunner

I met Imogen in Dublin last summer when we were performing at the Irish Ukulele Festival. LOVELY gal and a very talented one at that! Playing fiddle, Imogen will be performing with her 'Imo Band' at the Temple Bar Trad Fest.

Listen up folks, if you are close to, or can get to Dublin next weekend don't miss this Fest. It is sure to be absolutely amazing. Imogen will be presenting a Special Limited Edition of her upcoming CD. I did the art design for the CD & Booklet. It looks luscious if i do say so myself. But then again, I had a beauty to work with. Take a look... (& See if you can spot her cat, 'Harry')
Click on the image and ZOOM.

Printable Baggage Tag For Your Uke!

As all of us uke players know, the minute size of the instrument makes it very easy to carry along with you anywhere. Also makes it easy to, uh, misplace. And heaven forbid you should lose your trusty Jumping Flea! I've designed a little tag for you should your uke lose its way. On the reverse side there is a handy little chord chart!

Print this Ukulele Baggage Tag, preferably on extra thick paper. Apply glue to the reverse side and fold along dashed line. Allow to dry and then cut it out along the dotted line. Punch a hole through the 'paper eyelet' and use a string or rubber band to attatch it to your ukulele case. For extra durability...laminate, baby!

This Tag is part of my Ukulele Card Set which is available via The Jumping Flea Market.

'Underpants' (& Ukuleles) Desktop Theme.

Download the new ukulele desktop from The Uke Box.
(Click on the image & ZOOM!)And here you'll find 4 More Nifty Desktops