Couldn't have put it better myself...

Am amazing blog post from illustrator Gary Taxali entitled "Don't Call Me"

"In the last little while, there has been a MAJOR backslide in the industry. Poor rates have been an issue for a while but things are becoming worse. Clients' fees are getting even lower and the rights they're demanding are even higher.


You want examples? How about SWATCH calling me and asking me to design a watch. They wanted a complete transfer of copyright for a paltry fee. As if that's going to happen. Google calls me and wants my work for their new search engine all over the web, the fee? Nothing. Editorial clients are slashing 1999's fees almost in half and citing the bad economy as an excuse. You know what? My excuse is that the economy is bad so you have to pay me MORE for an illustration. How's that for an economic stimulus package?


So here's to every client with shitty fees and terms. Do not waste my time or contact me. I am very busy working with clients who respect artists and you're wasting my time with your solicitations. So for you, I give you a special salute that I hope will keep you away because I don't need your work."

So many new goodies available now at Hero.

I love great days when we get a big shipment with lots of stuff. Today was one of those days! Check out ALL the new stuff that is available NOW at Hero.

Plush 'Stache Labbits 7-Inch
San Francisco artist Frank Kozik’s iconic furball adds new plush flavors to the addiction menu. Available in blue and pink.

Luckies Zipper Pulls
The magical minds at FriendsWithYou introduce Luckies zipper pulls. Find iconic characters Malfi, TTT, Buddy Chub and more in this 29 figure blind boxed series designed to bring you good luck and happiness.

Rollin' Stock Mini Figures
Graffiti writer & DJ Kid Acne’s Rollin’ Stock mini series. Cast in his signature 70’s-flavored aesthetic, each figure in this 12-toy series links together. Hook your train up with more traction if you find the 2 chases.

The Great $5 Scratch and Dent Poster Sale at Hero this Friday.

First Friday in Allentown!!
Come by Hero for The Great $5 Scratch & Dent Poster Sale
"We Make Posters, We Make Mistakes"

Friday, May 1st from 6-9pm, at Hero 93 Allen Street.

We will have a shit ton of misprints, damaged posters, etc. ALL $5.00!!! Some are even sold out posters that are no longer available for purchase, many with as little as a thumbprint of ink on them!!!
Available ONLY from 6-9pm this Friday night at the Hero Boutique, in store only.


First Fridays are back in Allentown. In cooperation with local art galleries and restaurants, First Friday Allentown as a repeating monthly event that brings people together in the neighborhood to take advantage of our rich cultural attractions.

Gamma Mutant Space Friends have landed at Hero

Pastel punk illustrator Tara McPherson's Gamma Mutant Space Friends are earthlings now. Series includes 10 blind-boxed figures and 2 chases. These have sold out through Kidrobot and they are going fast at Hero, once they are gone, that is it. So hurry in and get some before it's too late.

Still available.....

The 1984 Labbit is SOLD OUT from Kidrobot already and we just have a couple left!! Hurry up and get yours!

Have you gotten your tickets for Create and Destroy yet?

The response has been so great and so many tickets have sold already, that the Ad Club is letting us offer a discounted ticket price to Hero's friends.

So go here and reserve your space now:
http://www.advertisingclubofbuffalo.com/

Choose the member pricing option, enter "Hero" in the comments section and pay the members price of only $25.

**Please make sure to reserve your space ahead of time as seating is limited.**

Also, the club will be giving away a limited edition poster designed and printed by Hero for the event to the first 40 people through the doors.

Hope to see you there.

Photos from the Mini Munny Mobile Decorating Party.

Thanks to everyone that came out to yesterday's Mini Mobile Decorating Party at Hero, it was a ton of fun and we enjoyed having everyone here! We hope everyone had as much fun as we did, there were some AMAZING toys created here. Hopefully we'll do this again in the future! Check out all the photos from the party here.

Things we are into right now...

Ryan

Transformer - Lou Reed

I've always been a big fan of Bowie's time spent in Berlin and the records he recorded while there as well as those he produced. Lou Reed's second solo record is a classic that is a favorite of mine from that period and one that I've already listened to dozens of times. For some reason though, I have listened to this at least once every day for the past 3 weeks, and plan on listening to it again tomorrow as I work. I have problems.

Deadwood

Here at Hero we like to always give our clients 110 %, so when they insist that we watch an acclaimed TV series as project research, who are we to say no? After watching the first season as "research," I can't wait to watch the next two. One of my new favorite TV shows.


Night of the Hunter - Davis Grubb

Having been a big fan of the 1955 Charles Laughton film, I was excited to find a copy of the original 1953 novel it was based on at a local thrift store a couple of weeks ago. The southern gothic style of the novel is just as great as the noir stylings of the film, but it's hard to get Robert Mitchum's interpretation of the "Preacher" out of your head as you're reading it. The edition has some really great illustrations in it too, especially of "the hands of Love & Hate". Well worth the $0.79.

Nick

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires is a UK band out with their first self-titled album that dropped in 08. Although it's a relatively old album out there, I have been pretty into listening to them lately. I am sure Ryan has viewed me across the room popin' and lockin' (they make you wanna dance) all over the place. Songs to listen to Skeleton Boy, Photobooth, White Diamonds. Gnarly indeed. And their video for Skeleton Boy is pretty spectacular, check it out.

Sirens of Titan

Kurt Vonnegut is gold. I have been reading his books since high school. I am reading "Sirens of Titan" right now and so far so good. Its basically a satire asking the question of the meaning of life and answering it at the same time. Ballsy for sure.

Rescue Me

Although I have just started to get into this series its pretty amazing. So while watching series 5 I also have to catch up with the other four episodes (blockbuster here I come!). If you haven't watched this series it stars Dennis Leary as a NYC Firefighter deal with Post-Traumatic Stress (and is basically going crazy) after the events of 9/11. Although season six has been secured for 2010, there has been some speculation that it might be the "Curtain Call" after that, keep your fingers cross folks!

Record Store Day 2009 - See us at Lakeshore Records.

Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 18, 2009!!! This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on.

Hero will be in store at Lakeshore Records in Rochester, NY this Saturday from 10am - 4pm, with an exclusive limited edition Record Store Day print that will be give to the first 200 customers with purchase!! We will also be set up showing and selling our newest posters and art prints! So stop by, say hi and support a local indie record store!

To read more about Record Store Day, see all the amazing events and releases or to find a participating store in your area, check out recordstoreday.com

For Sale - Call For Work

Buffalo based Designer/Artists Patricia Schraven and Nick Bruscia have put out a call for work for a pop-up storefront exhibition to be hosted at the WNY Book Arts Center. The event is sponsored by WNYBAC and Hero Design Studio.

Participants are asked to re-think the idea of the souvenir, and create NEW objects to be shown in a temporary POP-UP storefront in the City of Buffalo. This is a chance to redefine and comment on the social and cultural atmosphere of our city. Souvenirs for Buffalo will be a one-off exhibition in late June 2009. Objects must be produced in multiples. There is a $20 submission fee for any number of proposals up to 4. For submissions and more info, email forsalebuffalo (at) gmail.com

More info will be posted on their blog www.forsalebuffalo.wordpress.com soon!!

Aesthetic Outburst

Self proclaimed 'art-obsessed gal', Abbey Hendrickson of Aesthetic Outburst (one of my favorite blogs) caps off her graduate work at UB this weekend with her thesis show:

1716 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14209
An exhibition of recent work by Abbey Hendrickson, Shelby Baron + Ryan Legassicke
Opening Reception Saturday April 18, 7-10 pm

For Abbey's musings "about art, artists, collecting, and design...all mixed in with daily musings on life in general" see her blog http://www.aestheticoutburst.blogspot.com/

Congrats Abbey!

New in store this week at Hero!

"Unicornasaurus"

Discharge process on Charcoal colored Anvil brand t-shirt.
Pre-shrunk, 100% ring spun cotton.

Women's sizes: S, M, L, XL

and

"Detached" (Mr. Bunny Shirt)

Discharge process on Charcoal colored Anvil brand t-shirt.
Pre-shrunk, 100% ring spun cotton.

Unisex sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL

1984 Labbit 10-Inch
Labbit circa 1984. San Francisco artist Frank Kozik’s 10-inch icon is available now, safety pins and all. Only 1000 made; we only have a couple available for sale, so hurry and get yours before they are gone.

The Munny Decorating Party is booked up!!

THE PARTY IS FULL!! SORRY. Wow, we can't believe it is all booked up, such a great response, we are so excited!!

We have a very small store and a limited supply of the toys to give away, so we are only able to accommodate people that contacted us to reserve a space on the list.

If you wish to call Hero the day of the party to see if anyone canceled or didn't show up for their spot, please feel free to do so.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!!

Things we are into right now...

I am always posting things I find on my internet lurks that peak our interest, but there is plenty we are already in LOVE with, so we're gonna try to start posting things a couple times a week.

So here are just a couple of things we are into right now...


Beth:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "It's Blitz"
This is Yeah Yeah Yeahs third full length album in six years and this one has a little more synthy disco glitter pop and a little less gritty guitar rock, but it really works for me. There is an upbeat, get ready for the day feeling, right out of the gate with the first track "Zero". I listened to this album on my walk with Derby this morning, and it kept both of us moving a lot faster, but just when you get your blood moving you get hit with a couple of mid-tempo ballads, if you can call them that. My experiences are, that you either love Karen O or you don't, and I personally love her nonsensical lyrical ramblings and her magnetic voice. This album may not have a lot of depth within the songs lyrically, but all are very well organized and insanely catchy, and let's be honest, who doesn't love a good electronically-infused album?

Bat for Lashes - "Two Suns"
This is Bat for Lashes second album and it is a great follow up (and in my opinion a step up) to Fur and Gold. Complete with special guests, Yeasayer, Scott Walker, and even Natasha Khan's alter-ego "Pearl", the sound is full, delicate, dark and her voice is just as haunting as it is beautiful. I personally LOVE the duet with Scott Walker on "The Big Sleep", and although there is an undeniable "Broadway Musical" l feel to it, there is something so brilliantly creepy about that track, and I am always a sucker for the simple use of nothing but a piano.

Black Box Wine
I am a drinker, Mark is not. I love red wine but I am a bit of a snob in that I can only really enjoy it the day it has been opened. I have tried every kind of vacuum sucker, keeping it in the fridge after opening and it doesn't matter, I like my red wine freshly uncorked. So rather than wasting wine or sucking a bottle down every time I want a glass, I have fallen in love with Black Box Wines. I know it sounds ghetto, but I promise these vintage dated wines will impress you. So far the Shiraz is my favorite, but the Cabernet Sauvignon is great too, and I have a box of Merlot waiting to get opened. The 3 liter bag-in-box stays fresh for at least 4 weeks after opening. Thanks to Steve of Squad 19 for the great recommendation.

Mark:

V-Moda Headphones
Sound like a super hifi stereo lives in your brain, and with the thicker headphone cable they don't tangle in your pocket. Thanks to Chao and Holly for their help picking these out.

Terminator The Sarah Conner Chronicles Season 2
Even though the middle got really weak and ultimately pointless, with story lines and introductions to worthless characters. The last two episodes we're EPIC and everything that TV SCI-FI should be. If you dropped out in the middle grab the last two episodes from iTunes, Hulu or FOX. Who knows if enough people watch, maybe we'll get blessed with a season 3.

Flight Control App for iPhone
A simple game of landing airplanes and helicopters at the airport. My high score is 43 landed aircraft and I average 14. It's totally a relaxing puzzle game that I love. Treat yourself the $0.99

Munny Decorating Party this Sunday, April 19 at Hero

Reserve your spot now, by calling 716-858-4376, emailing us at hero.design [at] mac [dot] com or coming by. We will supply the mini munny mobiles and the art supplies for FREE (while supplies last), but feel free to bring your own decorating supplies if you want!

There is no purchase necessary and the party is limited to ages 10 and up. Click here for more info and to download practice posters, etc.

I want this doormat

So geeky and so amazing!! I need this "enter" key doormat!

Create and Destroy

Advertising Club of Buffalo presents Create and Destroy; a presentation by Hero's Mark Brickey on April 28, at the Town Ballroom. We will even have a "Flatstock Style" booth set up at the event, so you can meet all three of us, buy prints or just say "HEY!"

Click here to reserve your spot! Hope to see you there.

1,000 Garment Graphics: A Comprehensive Collection of Wearable Designs

We are so proud to be published in this phenomenal book, 1,000 Garment Graphics: A Comprehensive Collection of Wearable Designs, which is a collection of the best wearable art and designs, with some of the most inspiring and innovative graphic works from around the world. The main emphasis is on fashion from t-shirt graphics, to sneakers, to baseball caps and more. The book features trends as well as graphics that endure the test of time and was authored by the talented Jeffrey Everett of El Jefe Design.

We have a small collection of works in this book and we are in some great company, some of the best are featured in this book! Get your hands on a copy now from Amazon!! We may be carrying copies of this book in the near future in the boutique, so keep your eyes out for that, too.

Exclusive Tree Huggr Dunny AWOL Edition at Hero tomorrow!

These super 8-inch cuties come complete with an ice cream cone and are going to go VERY quickly, so get here right at noon tomorrow to make sure you get yours!! We have a VERY limited supply and these are very hard to get, with only 500 in existence anywhere. Kidrobot themselves won't even have these and they hand chose select retailers to carry these, Hero is one of the select stores!! We are so stoked to have these!!

Not in Buffalo, but wanting to get your hands on this guy? Check out the list of exclusive retailers that will have it here

Tons of New Stuff from Hero

Finally got all the new stuff up on the web store, we've been busy little beavers!! Click any of the images above to start shopping!

In honor of Mark's killer beard...

By now, some of you may have noticed Mark's killer beard, which he swears will be shaved off before our anniversary vacation in May!

This one's for you Mark...

A website dedicate to the beard, Stuffinmybeard | Natures Bib

From their site:

"Beards are mother nature's best invention! And her best reminder of being rad. We are here to pontificate about nature's bib. We might not all have beards or be able to grow them, but that doesn't stop anyone from being in-love with these man nests. We love anything beard oriented, be it beard hats, beardology, beardism, even beardgys (that's multiple beards together in a room enjoying each other). Whether it be sophisticated, maritime(think sea captain), scruffy, creepy, or whispy we celebrate all beards!"

Post Flatstock Wrap Up

So it may be a little overdue, but here it is none the less...

(the only photo we took of our own booth, nice right?)

Flatstock 20 at the SXSW Music Festival was yet another successful and rowdy time for Hero! We came home giddy, wiped out yet somehow refreshed, inspired, full of BBQ, tacos, and margaritas and for me, sicker than hell!

SXSW is the kick off to our travel (carnie) season and we look forward to it as soon as we get home from Flatstock at Bumbershoot in September. We saw a lot of old friends, met some great new people, ran into clients and even friends from Buffalo that we haven't seen since winter set in. Flatstock was 4 days instead of the usual 3 this year, and we found that part to be wonderful, a lot of the hardcore SXSWers that are too busy with day parties and all the goings on of SXSW and even some of the Austinites that refuse to leave the house during SXSW, got to come check out Flatstock on Sunday.

We got to shack up with the Strawberryluna crew again, which is always a side-splitting riot, and of course the party van with us, the 'Lunas and Doublenaut. This year we had tons of great laughs at Melrose Place (our rad pool in the center of our hotel courtyard) with all our talented friends from around the country, and even a few from Canada (check out all their links in our links section). That is where "inflatio" was born and it will never be forgotten, thank you Terry.

We ate too much BBQ (thank you again Salt Lick for accommodating over 40 insane poster artists), ate probably the best migas and breakfast tacos at Juan in A Million, which came complete with the firmest handshake in all of Texas and I even bought myself some kick ass cowboy boots from Boot City!!

Thank you to all of our friends that make Flatstock the best part of what we do, everyone that came by, chatted with us, bought some of our stuffs and made us feel welcome in Austin for the 4th year in a row!

We can't wait till next year! Yee-haw!

Check out all of our pictures here