Black Friday at The Hero Boutique...TONS of great deals!

We have VERY VERY few of these available and they are already sold out on kidrobot.com so if you are looking to get one, you will want to be here RIGHT at 12pm!!

MUNNYWORLD are at Hero Now.

All of MUNNY’s new MUNNYWORLD friends are available now.

You can start making your own new world of toys!

These are a great way to make some unique gifts for people on your list, that appreciate your creative skills!

This week's Great Ten Dollar Poster...

We just reprinted our popular owly in a brand new colorway and we are releasing it today! We only have 10 prints available at this very low price of $10 (thats 50% off), then the price will go up to $20. It’s the perfect price for a holiday gift.

We have a very limited supply available at this special price so get yours fast. Offer valid from Monday November 23 at 12 pm EST until Monday November 30 at 11:59 am EST, or while supplies last. Each and every poster in the Great Ten Dollar Poster Sale is available online and at the Hero Boutique in Buffalo, NY.

Lots of new stuff at Hero now...

Santa came to Hero a little early and we have something for every one on your holiday list, no matter if they are naughty or nice!

Swamp Folk Mini Figures
The Scary Girl adventure continues with Nathan Jurevicius’ latest mini series. All 9 Swamp Folk, plus the two chases, come blind boxed with accessories and an insert that tells their twisted tales.
Available now at Hero.






Krunk-A-Claus Dunny 3-Inch
Get in the Yuletide spirit with TADO’s Krunk-A-Clause Dunny. With a bottle of ‘nog and ice cream cone, the jolly Krunk is the gift that keeps on giving. But watch out for the crowbar wielding, holiday hating chase! Blind-boxed and at Hero now!






Xmas Wonderland Labbit 5-Pack
Frank Kozik spreads a little holiday sneer with this set of 5 ferociously festive 1.5-inch Labbits. Ranging from flocked to frosted, this pack is available now at Hero.

Time to drool over House Industries again...

Every time an email shows up in my inbox from House Industries, I can expect I am going to be wanting most of what is contained. This week's email is no exception, they are featuring their new Holiday Objects and of course, I want way too many things. (Hint hint, Christmas is coming up - I am making it easy for you, buy me pretty much ANYTHING from House and I will be happy.)

Check out all of House's wares on their website and if you are in NYC today, you'd be stupid not to hit up their one day Pop-Up Shop at the Type Directors Club to touch and feel both old and new Housewares in person:

House Industries Pop-Up Shop
November 19th from 11:30am-6pm
Type Directors Club
347 West 36 Street, Suite 603
New York, New York
212-633-8943

Our pals Allison and Craig from Strawberryluna, got me the Ampersand Cutting Board for my birthday last month and it rules my face!! I have it on display in our kitchen and it makes me happy every single morning. (thanks again guys)

New Poster: The Swell Season in Mesa, AZ

Our poster for The Swell Season's show in Mesa, AZ last night, is available now. This 18" x 24" four color silkscreen poster was printed on Accent Opaque Smooth White 100# cover stock. It is a signed and numbered edition of 200. The majority of the edition was available from the band last night at the show, so we only have a small amount available for sale.

If you get a chance to see The Swell Season on this tour, definitely do. Their new album, Strict Joy, is great and they are one of the best live shows I have ever been to. I suppose while I am plugging and sounding like a super fan, if you haven't seen the movie Once yet, rent it ASAP. Part of the inspiration for this movie, was the result of soundtrack The Swell Season created for Jan Hrebejk's movie, Beauty In Trouble. 'Once', is a low-budget Irish indie film that turned out to be one of the most successful independent features of 2007. The pair not only wrote the songs for the movie but they both starred in it as well.

Applying the "Think Different" (a look back at the last three years)

It's pretty safe to say that no single company has ever inspired me more than Apple Computer. I have read (maybe) ten books in my life and Steve Jobs' biography makes that very short list. The first time I walked into an Apple store two things occurred to me; one, if there is a heaven this must be what it looks like, bright white, open and beautiful. The second thing that I immediately realized is, this place isn't just built for selling computers, but it was also built to sell their brand, the lifestyle and most importantly the human experience.

Three and half years ago Hero called a 250 square foot office on Main Street, "home". We were busting at the seams there, using a hallway for our poster inventory and printing our posters in a friend's basement, miles away. People would walk by and bang on my window, and proceed to yell to me that they wanted to come in, to purchase a poster. Although it was cool to sell our posters using the same system as a meth dealer, it was time for a change.

We needed more space, but we also needed more money for said space. It was time to get even more creative than we were already trying to be, but instead of being creative with a "Built To Spill" poster, we needed to be creative with our entire business. In times like those, I have to take a step back and look at everything I love and admire, and everything that inspires me, to see how I can apply it to my personal situation. I immediately thought about the Apple Store and thought, "WHAT IF?". The design industry for the most part is a closed door world, hidden away on the third floor of some office building. What if we took it to the street and opened the door? What if we invited other creatives or fans of creativity, into a space and offered them a chance to experience all things design? What If we applied what we had always loved about Apple and started to "Think Different" about our own little business?

Three years later, we're on the street level and we have had an open door that entire time. People have been able to come in, look over the four-foot counter that separates our store from the design studio, to see what we're designing. They have been able to look in the back and see us screen printing our current project, they've been able to look at the walls to see the posters we've created over the past 4 years and they have been inspired from shelves and shelves of designer toys from artists all over the world. It is 700 square feet of all things design and creative, all happening in real time, right in front of your eyes. Three years later, in our hometown of Buffalo, more people than ever know who we are and we realize we are selling so much more than our posters, toys and design services. Just like our inspiration, Apple, we are selling ourselves, our brand and our own personal human experience.

The second best thing about this entire experience, which came as a surprise to me, has been the people. Many of our customers have become some of our best friends. After all, we help their loved ones pick out their gifts for birthdays, Christmas, and other special events in their lives. We have spent many of our favorite nights in Buffalo with these people in our tiny little store, drinking, eating and listening to good music, all while celebrating our common bond, a love for design. Some come in every other month, some a couple times a month and a few every single week. They don't always buy something, but for us it's not just always about making money, it's about getting out of our chairs, putting the project or client on hold, and just shooting the shit with a good friend. The people, our customers and friends, have made this business enjoyable to us and they make going to work even more exciting than it already is.

What has been the BEST thing about this entire experience for me, you ask? It is doing what I love for a living, with my favorite person, who is both my partner in life and in business, all while our dog is laying at our feet. I may not be a wealthy man and my bank account can prove that, but I am a happy man and my laugh lines are a badge of honor. This little store has supported my dreams while others are still dreaming.

Thank you for three great years! Let's make it thirty more!

Mark Brickey
Husband, Designer, Printer, Store Owner, Businessman, Friend, Dog Owner & Community College Drop Out

This week's Great Ten Dollar Poster...

We have a very limited supply available at this special price so get yours fast. Offer valid from Monday November 16 at 12 pm EST until Monday November 23 at 11:59 am EST, or while supplies last.

Our Posters, Your Walls

Built to Spill - Oakland, CA

We ship our posters all over the world and it is always so amazing to see where they end up. So we are putting together an album of our posters in their final resting places, check out the album so far.

Do you have a Hero poster hanging in your favorite dwelling(s)? Send us your photos to hero.design {at} mac {dot} com with your city + state and we'll get it added to the album. Thanks!

Tomorrow the Hero Boutique Celebrates Three Years!

That's right, time really does fly when you are having fun! The Hero Boutique has been open in Allentown for 3 years already and we have a HUGE stack of $5 posters available to you!

Stop by the Hero Boutique to celebrate with us any time from 12pm - 10pm tomorrow Friday the 13th to take advantage of the great deals listed above and more importantly come by between 7pm and 10pm for cocktails, giveaways and more!!

What? You wanna get us a birthday present?
The best gift you can give us is your continued support so we are able to stick around for many more years to come! Stop by our store, buy something for yourself, for a gift, or get a jump start on your holiday shopping. Even the smallest purchases support our store and allow us to continue to bring you the newest and coolest goodies.

RSVP to this event on Facebook.

This week's Great Ten Dollar Poster...

We have a very limited supply available at this special price so get yours fast. Offer valid from Monday November 9 at 12 pm EST until Monday November 16 at 11:59 am EST, or while supplies last.

Coming to Hero in November from Kidrobot...

Get a jump start on your Holiday shopping in November at Hero. Don't wait till December, some of these releases are so limited they will be gone very very FAST!!



MUNNYWORLD
MUNNY’s world is about to get bigger! Meet TRIKKY, BUB, RAFFY and ROOZ, 4 new characters all ready for scribbling, piercing, painting and posing just like the original. Each 4-inch MUNNYWORLD figure comes with 1 of 3 foil wrapped accessories made especially for them, retails for $9.99 each, and is available at Hero the week of November 23rd.






Swamp Folk Mini Figures
The Scary Girl adventure continues with Nathan Jurevicius’ latest mini series. All 9 Swamp Folk, plus the two chases, come blind boxed with accessories and an insert that tells their twisted tales.
Available at Hero this November.






Krunk-A-Claus Dunny 3-Inch
Get in the Yuletide spirit with TADO’s Krunk-A-Clause Dunny. With a bottle of ‘nog and ice cream cone, the jolly Krunk is the gift that keeps on giving. But watch out for the crowbar wielding, holiday hating chase! Blind-boxed and retailing for $9.99 each, the 3-inch Krunk-A-Claus is available at Hero this November.






Xmas Wonderland Labbit 5-Pack
Frank Kozik spreads a little holiday sneer with this set of 5 ferociously festive 1.5-inch Labbits. Ranging from flocked to frosted, this pack is available at Hero this November.





Nutter 5-Inch
Nut up with the shell-shocked squirrel from South African illustrator Kronk. Armed with an acorn grenade complete with removable pin, this super limited 5-inch figure—only 500 made worldwide and bombs his way into Hero on Black Friday, November 27th.

This week's Great Ten Dollar Poster...

In celebration of Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead (which is celebrated yesterday, November 1 and today, November 2) - this week's Great Ten Dollar Poster is our Sugar Skull art print.

We have a very limited supply available at this special price so get yours fast. Offer valid from Monday November 2 at 12 pm EST until Monday November 9 at 11:59 am EST, or while supplies last.

The Hero Boutique is Turning Three...

It's our party and we'll give great deals if we want to.

Stop by the Hero Boutique to celebrate with us any time from 12pm - 10pm on Friday the 13th to take advantage of the great deals listed above and more importantly come by between 7pm and 10pm for cocktails, giveaways and more!!

What? You wanna get us a birthday present?
The best gift you can give us is your continued support so we are able to stick around for many more years to come! Stop by our store, buy something for yourself, for a gift, or get a jump start on your holiday shopping. Even the smallest purchases support our store and allow us to continue to bring you the newest and coolest goodies.

RSVP to this event on Facebook.

Daily Drop Caps - Free Hand Crafted Capitals

o you have a hard time finding that perfect first letter to really show off the mood you are trying to set in your blog post? Are you looking to give your blog posters a designer edge? Then Daily Drop Cap is just the thing for you. Sure this could be perceived as totally unnecessary, but who doesn't love to look at beautiful ornate letters?

Super talented typographer and illustrator, Jessica Hische has an ongoing collection of hand-crafted decorative initial caps that she updates daily. A quick copy of the code into your blog, and you have set yourself apart from all the others out there.







via Apartment Therapy
(images: Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische)