Category: news

Categories
art updates

Online store updates / New Etsy store

Abstract Collage Security Updates

The Abstract Collage online store has been upgraded to HTTP Secure (HTTPS). We will continue to use PayPal secure checkout. I am experimenting with how much of the rest of the website will use HTTPS vs regular HTTP. Google now favors pretty heavily HTTPS so I may transition the rest of the site as it makes sense. Currently the only forced pages are when you get to “/checkout/” and beyond.

Online Store Abstract Collage

New Etsy Store

I have also just recently opened an Etsy store here. This is the result of having a few previous but unsuccessful attempts at stepping up security on Abstract Collage. Even though the security on Abstract Collage has now been updated, I will still be pursing the Etsy store at least temporarily. I am debuting only one product, the Recycled La Croix Greeting Cards (3 pack). Depending on how it goes I have some other test products that I may try to audition on the Etsy store. Very exciting to have the opportunity to find new customers and test out different demographics.

It is my intention to keep Abstract Collage as my main online store presence. Abstract Collage is still the only online place to buy the Snail Mail Security collages. I have done my best to offer incentives for Chicago and surrounding suburb buyers with discounts on shipping as well as local pickup options. This is one of the benefits of building your own online store. I can set the prices and the only middle man I have to pay is my credit card processor (PayPal) just like any other retailer.

As to products that are featured in multiple places like the Recycled La Croix Greeting Cards, I intend Abstract Collage to offer the best price and to be tailored to previous customers and repeat buyers. For example, the current La Croix greeting card options on Abstract Collage are “grab bag” style where customers will get a 5 pack of cards from an assortment of different designs. On the other hand on Etsy, I probably will not offer a “grab bag” style product.

More updates coming soon!

Categories
security envelope collection updates

Security Envelopes I am Currently Looking for (an incomplete list)

Updated July 7, 2017: One of the coolest of the cool security patterns sets on the internet is by Joseph King. This is a 160+ pattern collection on Flickr. So I went through this collection and selected all the patterns that I do not currently have. These are all featured below. Think of this as my personal vision board.

Updated 12/22/2017: I have gotten some very generous donations from the community and I am happy to “cross out” some of these envelopes from the wish list. List is now a little easier to read and grouped by color.

Updated 10/31/2018: Updated again, patterns that I have received have been removed from this list.

10/14/2019: New update, crossed off a few that I recently got.

4/7/2021: List updated again

If you recognize any of these patterns from your own personal or business mail… I want to hear from you!

Continue reading “Security Envelopes I am Currently Looking for (an incomplete list)”
Categories
art updates

Instagram La Croix greeting card giveaway

[CLOSED] See below for details on my La Croix greeting card giveaway

why am i doing this?:
I’ve gotten a lot of support on Instagram and felt like this would be a fun way to show some appreciation.

prizes:
First winner: 8 cards
Second winner: 4 cards

description:
These greeting cards are made up of recycled La Croix packaging that would otherwise end up in the trash or recycled. Finding a “second use” for a material can extend its lifespan and often takes the place of another “first use” product. You might like these if you: like to write letters, are environmentally conscious, are obsessed with La Croix.

how to enter:
1. Like AND comment the above Instagram photo
2. Follow @abstract_collage on Instagram
3. Must live in the continental US

Winners are selected at random on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. I will Instagram direct message both winners to coordinate the shipping of the prizes. I’ll give each winner 3 days to respond, but if I don’t hear back from them I will continue drawing new winners until the prizes find a happy home.

This promotion is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram or La Croix.

Categories
chicago

Michael Weinstein, RIP

By Brian Hieggelke I once asked Michael Weinstein—who passed away suddenly after an aortic aneurysm at home last week at the age of seventy-three—why he recommended every photography show he reviewed for us, in nearly every single issue of Newcity beginning in 1990 and up to and including the edition you’re reading right now. He […]

via Newcity Art http://ift.tt/1KEpGHb

Categories
chicago

Reeders Digest: How Two Brothers Curated the School of the Art Institute’s 150th Anniversary Exhibition

By Brian Hieggelke In a year of important anniversaries at major visual art entities in Chicago, none is more surprising, or significant, than the 150th birthday of the School of the Art Institute. Surprising, in that unlike so many of the city’s oldest leading cultural organizations which were founded in the 1890s and are thus […]

via Newcity Art http://ift.tt/1iCWN6N

Categories
art updates

New Snail Mail Security additions!

New Pieces added to the Snail Mail Security series. Playing with very strict limitations here.

Wild Things (2015)
16.5 x 12 in (framed)

Continue reading “New Snail Mail Security additions!”
Categories
website updates

Boomshaka: A New WordPress Solution For Artists

Update: Sites like Squarespace and Wix seem to have tackled a lot of these issues. This may be a good route to go for many artists to go. There may be a use for Boomshaka in the future, but for now this project is on hold. Thanks for your interest!

When you really get down to it, WordPress can be frustrating for image based designs. I’ve been using WordPress since 2008 and have helped many artists with their websites. I see a lot of the same problems. Navigation can be overly complicated and take too many clicks to see images. Images and galleries usually only look good on large monitors. Lightbox plugins look cool but they complicate analytics. Those are some of the big ones and those situations don’t even include e-commerce which complicates things even more.

I recently teamed up with master coder Jordan Kanter (also a longtime friend) to embark on designing a theme from scratch. We figured that given our knowledge we could design out a lot of common problems that we had noticed.

We’ve been working hard for the past three months. Today, I’m pleased to present the first live version of that code, which we call Boomshaka. You’re actually looking at it right now on this website. We saved a lot of time by using the amazing codebase from the underscores theme (thanks guys!).

We are currently in Beta testing and accepting applicants. As of this post, the Boomshaka theme has grown to solve more problems than initially intended. Here are some of the big ones:

  1. responsive design and adaptive images (mobile and tablet friendly)
  2. artist oriented usage of WordPress (rather than blogger oriented)
  3. e-commerce ready (WooCommerce supported)
  4. analytics on everything
  5. easily (but not annoyingly) sharable
  6. handicapped accessible
  7. robust styles – allowing for easy browser minimize/maximize functions

If you would like a new beautiful website that uses our code we’re ready to help. We can also accommodate existing WordPress users with transitioning their site. Also If you have any feedback on the project we’d love to hear from you.

Categories
website updates

Product Additions (Order Artwork Online)

Now offering a new size of artwork: 12.5 x 16.5 in (framed). Order artwork online from the comfort of your home. Stay tuned because the store is growing!

Here are a few more quick links to get you started.

Snail Mail Security products (Security envelope pattern collages)

Recycled La Croix greeting cards

All Available artwork from Dan Schreck

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