Introducing BLACK LABEL - 25 Years in the Making!

Well, today's my birthday, and I am THRILLED to have it! My god, 25 years old. What's that line from that Megadeth song "Of Mice and Men"? "At 25 I was surprised / That I was even half alive / somehow I managed to survive!"

On top of that, I am pleased to basically announce a bunch of things at once!

First off, I am pleased in ways you can't even begin to imagine to announce the new "Black Label" line of products! "Black Label" has, in my life, always stood for quality and brilliance, and the best of the best! Also, I love the Lamb of God song "Black Label" as well. The Black Label emblem has been in the works for over 10 years, and I finally created the one I like the most and works the best. You can read all about the piece on Deviant Art.

Next, I am pleased to announce that the new LARRY WEST PRODUCTION SHOP is now up and running! What is it, exactly? The purpose of the shop is to basically connect all the shops I own to on pipe-line that's easy to navigate and highlight new products and lines that I have available! Zazzle, Cafepress, and Board Pusher are all here! Look for new partners, special offers, and original artwork and prints to come REALLY soon!

Finally, I'm pleased to note that I am now officially old enough to run for either Mayor of City Council in Philadelphia. So corrupt and inefficient politicians beware! Next year could get interesting!

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PS: Also, yes, there hasn't been a ton of news-news or updates lately. That will change. Trust me, I've got plenty to say about the Eagle, Harry Reid, and Health Care!

INCREDIBLY BUSY!

Frankly, this is what you should do during your downtime when you freelance; Stay as busy as possible!

I'm still doing a 9-5 job, but the freelance work has come to the traditional lull. It's fine since I've actually got a million and one things I want to get done. Promotions for just about EVERYTHING I do or have will be getting started, if not done, over the weekend. This includes Mark Skull Pirate Radio, the kick-ass shop on Cafepress and the one on Zazzle, as well as me busting my ass with a brand-new, top secret (for now!!) project that I can't wait to unveil! It may mean a, dare I say it, redesign of an old thing I did?

That said, hold on tight and watch this space! Things are about to go into super overdrive!

My Ugly Mug is on Cafepress

If you have a shop on Cafepress like I do, then you may have gotten today's newsletter which included pictures of the latest Meet & Greet which I have already posted about. Twice. For one reason or another, they decided to put my picture in there. And already, the requests for dates have... not been coming in. Ladies, don't worry, I'm single! There's plenty of Larry and his Mohawk to go around!

There's only two on their Flickr page, but worth checking out:

Larry at the Bar
Larry just being... Larry

Also, check out the shop often from now until Sunday; I plan on adding and removing products, and possibly re-designing the store. We'll see.

Also, on their competitor side:

I was getting ready to sit down and start this, when I got an e-mail from Zazzle.com.

Turns out they beat me to it! In a few days, you will be able to purchase a custom pair of sneakers based on one of my favorite piece's, "Punk Skull"! Now, some may consider this the ultimate cash-in or selling out. The reality is, this image was pretty much done with the idea that I would eventually put it on sneakers. I've wanted to do custom sneakers for about 3 years... I'm just psyched that I can finally do it!I'll keep you posted on this, but basically, this is the shoe!

Cafepress Bribed Me With Free Alcohol

Well, not really.

The meeting for Cafepress members was nothing short of AMAZING! The folks there were great, and meeting my fellow members was cool. Turns out I was one of the "oldest" people there since my store has been up since December of 2001. Most people were there in the last 5 years or so, which means I was actually ahead of a trend for once. Neat!

They had an open bar, free food, and free goodies (like a journal, keepsake box, bumper stickers, and buttons)! It was great, and a good time was had by all!

Even better, one of the organizers from Cafepress actually BOUGHT something I did online! Really psyched about that! What did she buy? Why, nothing else than something from my recent RULES collection! CHECK IT OUT! BUY IT! BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Cafepress Meet-Up Today

Getting ready to head out soon to a Meet-Up sponsored by Cafepress here in Philadelphia that's being held at noon in Manayunk. It should be interesting if nothing else. Not sure what to write about, really. I've been a member of the site since December of 2001, so right before I turned 17. I joined after someone in my high school told me about it after having some little store on there herself. I've stuck there ever since and really never made much.

Over the years, the quality of their products has gotten a lot better and, oddly enough, so has my art. It basically evened out I guess.

If you haven't, check out the shop: http://www.cafepress.com/larrysshop