friedandy

Cute as hell - these little guys are heading out free with the first 50 orders. As of tonight, that's now down to the next 11 orders! Seems like we all left it a little late this year. Haha.
These 25mm pins are 50p (plus postage) if you miss the giveaway.

Hello folks,
As mentioned before, there is a slight change to the pricing this year. Previously the prices for Raymond Cards have remained frozen year after year and included the cost of postage - however ,this year I've had to make a slight change. While the cost of the cards remains frozen again this year, I have had to introduce a subtle postage cost of £1.50
Needless to say, this is about covering the increased cost of printing, post and packaging but I'm hoping the minimal charge does not impact you too much.
I'll be posting orders from tomorrow in order to stay ahead of possible postage delays so please DM me your orders ASAP.
Thank you all for your patience.
Andy (and Raymond)

It's been a right ol' adventure for our Raymond this year! But he's here. Posting starts tomorrow, with the plan to get all orders out this week to avoid further delays...
So, who still wants some?

Hello folks,
Probably time for another update...
There are two changes to this year's Raymond crimbo cards. The first is the use of glitter. We've all come to recognise Raymond's glittery red nose but having listened to feedback on sustainability an to further enforce my decision to take on the "naked card" pledge, I felt my attempts to ditch the plastic wraps on my cards was falling short when the glitter I was using was not biodegradable! There are alternatives but matching colours and textures has been a mission - so this year Raymond will be glitter free. He'll obviously be adorably cute and equally as cheeky as ever but just glitter free for the first time.
The second change this year will be a small postage. Every year I have attempted to keep the prices frozen but postage, packaging and printing costs this year have all risen due to the dreaded "cost of living" and as a result, I've had to amend the price list slightly. I'll share that in a separate post.
So, now's the time for the grand unveiling of this year's designs...

drum roll please...

He's super late to the party but he's on his way! for #2022 will be ready to start shipping next weekend.
These are a very limited print run this year ahead of next years top secret book launch - shhhhhh
There are a few subtle changes this year to ensure Raymond is environmentally friendly as possible - more info on that in the week - but for now... this is a PSA: DON'T PANIC - RAYMOND IS ON HIS WAY!
Well, it's wouldn't be Christmas without him :)

Finally managed to break the "incorrect details" cycle and claim back my friedandy insta.

I'm just taking a big fat marker and drawing a line through June. Pretty much May as well but this is all metaphorical and there is life beyond social media. Insta shut me down, then came to my rescue and instead of doubting their good intentions, I turned into this obedient lab that rolled over to let them rub my belly before speeding off to save the next person. It was only then I realised that although I could access my account, I couldn't post. Damn it. They now claim that because I have set up two other profiles, I needed to be "controlled!" Haha.
So, I'm back.
There's been a few creative changes, I'll share that with you in another post, but for now, I'm dusting off the crayons...

Here he is...
But he is still very much a work in progress. He's designed for a bloke who is the creative and culinary genius behind , probably the best hot sauce manufacturer in Brisbane and we've got some bloody brilliant ideas about how this little dude is going to evolve.
Between you, me and the gatepost, this little koala is actually the alter ego to a koala bear of exactly the same size and stature but with a superpower, a cape and a mask! He is the Clark Kent of the koala world! You just can't make this stuff up! But Clark sound a little obvious in terms of alter ego so we'll probably be asking you for some name inspiration.
Right now this little guy is destined for stickers and his very own comic strip! There's even talk of a side kick called Lime to help balance things out a bit but you didn't hear that from me!
I'll keep you posted on progress but feel free to head over to https://www.facebook.com/FlamingKoalaHotSauce/ to follow the journey of Flaming Koala Hot Sauce...

Hello eggs. How are you all?
I wanted to share a few doodles and the process of my latest character. I revisited one of my old friends this week. I know, I know, I know. You're right, one of my first cards was a Koala called Kev, who was very popular (with a few still available on the Etsy store) and this little guy is an evolution on Kev. He is a bit more angular and a lot more cheeky! There's quite a back story and a competition in the pipeline. He is going to be quite a character. Look out for the next post (coming soon) packed with info about who this little guy is and who he is for!

I'm loving this bag - it's part of my new bear pride design now available through the store (link below). I'm living for this colour palette. The International Bear Brotherhood Flag (official name), also known simply as the bear flag, was designed to represent the bear subculture within our LGBT community. The dark brown, orange, gold, tan, white, grey, and black were chosen to represent the various shades of fur on bears throughout the world. In this case, the bears being the furry four legged kind, rather than the two legged less furry kind! It's not a reflection of skin tone although the flag was designed with inclusion in mind.
It lends itself well to some of these products in my store. The clock is quite funky and without context, it all looks amazingly retro. I'm absolutely loving them all.
I kinda wish the models on redbubble were a bit more inclusive in terms of body shape and age! I've ordered myself some t-shirts so will be throwing some selfies on here soon - brace yourselves! Maybe modelling could be my next venture!
http://www.redbubble.com/people/friedandy/explore?asc=u...

//in other news...
I've pulled together some quirky colouring sheets for Easter and they're FREE! Times are tough. If these colouring sheets are going to allow you a few minutes to enjoy a cuppa while the kids are entertained then grab them now! Happy Easter folks.
This is a bundle of eight A4 PDF sheets in one single digital download. Click the download link on my website, print, grab yourself some crayons and enjoy...
https://friedandy.com/downloads/
You're welcome.

If you’ve not heard already, there’s a lot of small businesses participating in strike action against this week. TBH, I don’t make enough sales for any strike action on my part to have an affect but I couldn’t sit this one out. I had to acknowledge it...
When I set up shop on Etsy, the fees were set at around 3.5%. By the time I listed my first products, they stripped me of my free listing promise claiming it had expired and pushed up the fees to 5%. In addition, they took a % of my postage charges too meaning my calculations were out - most sellers were forced to overcharge for postage or trade at a loss.
Etsy has now increased its fees by 30% and the bitter pill is it comes just after they announced huge profits - up 11.8% on their previous year. It’s our shops that have lined their pockets and their thanks for driving such growth is to essentially offer us a pay cut by applying inflated fees! And to sour this further, Etsy have introduced a restrictive Star Seller system that is labour intensive and not fit for purpose, further damaging small businesses. Oh, and they’ve changed the way they pay us now, holding on to our money, using it as leverage against us. The support they once offered is now non-existent, there’s no policing of those who flaunt the rules on selling mass produced manufactured goods and a failure to clamp down on those who have breached copyright laws and thieve designs and artwork from other sellers. What was once a beautiful platform has sadly become another Wish.com or Amazon.
I’m not going to promote the boycott because not all small businesses can afford the fall out of temporarily closing for a week but I will ask you this: if you do use Etsy to shop this week, please take a moment to contact the sellers directly. Try and shop direct with these artists. They’ll welcome the DM, I’m sure.
Etsy has been a huge part of an exciting journey since launching friedandy so to now know fellow creative souls are shying away from sharing their art due to the greed of a company masquerading as an ethical champion of small businesses is painfully sad.

And in other news, we tested out some of the Redbubble merch. Definitely a happy post day today...

They're here!
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1195513699/happy-mothers-day-queen-momma-bear-card

Happy Mother's Day Queen Momma Bear Card | Etsy UK Let your own Momma Bear know how much of a Queen she really is this Mothers Day. This card is A6 - thats standard postcard size 148mm x 105mm, digitally printed onto 350gsm recycled card and comes with a smart crisp white envelope. These are strictly limited edition with just the one print run on

took a chance on a new local printer for my Mother's Day cards this year without seeing a same first! This is either going to be carnage or the start of a beautiful relationship. Collecting them today so I'llet you know!

Embracing this year's friedandy branding bear, and with a subtle nod to last year's Momma Bear card, here's my Mother's Day Card 22 design - I've taken a chance on a local printer this year. I've not used them for cards before so it's a leap of faith - although they did produce a sharp and impressive print a few months ago so I am quietly confident I'm in good hands.

Cards will be available through my Etsy shop from Monday - link in the bio.

Let your mum know she's an absolute Queen this Mother's Day

Date for your diary...

It's official! I'm on Redbubble! So, if you've ever wanted me to doodle on your... No! This was going somewhere but I lost the trail. Grab a T-shirt. That's where I was going. Or other product. There's a few.
friedandy.redbubble.com

And so it begins. I bloody love doing these. If you've not seen them before, I grow these trees from information you supply. Full details coming later this week, but for now, I'm gonna share a few progress shots of the three I'm currently working on right now...

I'm fighting technology tonight. I'm losing. I cleared out my creator section tonight ready to upload some new stuff but I'm being bombarded by error messages. Possibly user error. Possibly tantrums. Definitely beer! pic of what your missing...

Open for business...
Just like it says on the tin! Ha ha.
If you haven't guessed, I'm an illustrator and creative adventurer specialising in logo and character creation along with trees and houses and bears and mouses – my stuff is ideal for story books, greetings cards, colouring books, activity sheets, graphic novels, menus, invites, diagrams, logos, presentations, commissioned prints and whatever it is that you’ve got in mind!

Oh, and just to fancy pants it up a bit, I'm been a member of the Association of Illustrators since 2021 (AOI)

It all starts with a chat, a few pencil sketches and a cup of tea – so get in the touch.

The kettle’s on…

Hello March...
It's been fun taking some time off to write. I am so invested in my story and have fallen in love with my characters all over again now that I have breathed new life into them BUT... writing is not paying my mortgage. I have been in a very privileged position having had a nice lump of redundancy money to fall back on but that's now thread bare and I need to pay my way. I feel I can't bully he (who sits at the other end of the sofa) onto buying the snacks I like if I'm not contributing to the bill. The cost of living is a struggle and my materials and Etsy fees have all increased so I need to be savvy. It also got me very nervous not seeing any money coming in at all for two months so it's with a sense of relief that I welcome March.

So, what's on store I hear you ask? Well, there's cake toppers and downloads and the search continues for an agent to find me some gigs so I can spend more time creating. I have big plans for my new character Aida and a short spooky story about lonely ghost during the recent lockdown that will hopefully tug at your heart strings.
The main thing is getting my routine back. Writing means I pace around a lot and stick Post-it notes to the door in the lounge. I read aloud while thrashing out ideas and all of that drives him bonkers so we've been passing like ships in the night. I became a vampire (and I loved it) but now I need to match my days with printers and normal folk so I can actually be awake for zoom calls and coffee dates. So, welcome March. It's lovely to see you.
Who's coming along for the ride?

I'm on my way, folks...

As we speed on into the festive period, here's a link to a Christmas playlist I created for you. It's the perfect soundtrack for your road trips, christmas dinners, wrapping and, well, when ever. So, from me to you (said in classic Chuckle Bros voice)... enjoy x

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/38wE4KCQJXjVjNVEp4KOrc?si=e747950c6f6f465e

It's not quite the end of my first year – that rolls around in April - and I'll be taking commissions for January+ but for now, I'm closing the diary and cracking on with... well... Christmas!

For the first time in forever I’m in a position where I don’t have to juggle dates for Christmas leave, wondering if I'll get the "request" (because nothing was ever confirmed, it was always just a request) and trying to plan when I’d get to travel or at least eat with the family! Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed pretty much all of the jobs I've done since leaving school (with the odd exception) and some of the people I've spent Christmas with have become family to me now and I wouldn’t change that for the world. There’s something about being party of the “beat generation” (borrowing that from Jack Kerouac) that cements some of the most wonderful relationships. We’ve worn stupid costumes and earned a small fortune in tips or force-fed each other mince pies and stuck elf ears to our monitors but I’m ready to take a step away from that this year and take advantage of the opportunity – I feel like I’ve earned it!

Go enjoy your Christmas and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU a million times over for your support. You’re all bloody lovely.

Ho ho ho…