Paul and Kat, as taken by valramos2003

Thanks to everyone who came to support at the Renegade Craft Fair! It was tons of fun, it’s always great to see the different reactions that people get as they browse through our buttons. Even better when we see them all decked out with all that tiny wearable art that we make!

Happy holidays to you all, and hope 2011 was a blast for you guys, as it definitely was for us!

Will definitely be tons of fun. Come say hi at Table 30, we’re gonna be sharing space with the awesome Janie XY!

Our photos were shot by a photographer friend of Paul’s, Jay Tablante. Our videos, which we’re really excited to see were filmed by Ted and Alanna from Modern 8. They were all so much fun to work with!

Pillbox hat custom made by our friend, Janie XY.

One typical Thursday flight, I was on my way to LA for a long weekend. It was Paul Lovine’s birthday, and I was on my usual routine: Leave work, take the BART and BART Bus to OAK Airport, wait at Gate – either read or sketch, get in the plane, and pass out (as this is the quickest way to get to Burbank). Little did I know that on this “typical” flight, I was already being watched as early as while I was waiting at the gate, and that when I passed out, I was to wake with the most unexpected (and pleasant) surprise!

Kat's Typical Pre-Weekend Pass Out Party

So I woke, mid-flight, to a flash of light, and the sound of a guitar. I open my eyes, and there Lovine stood, smiling, and playing. And a stranger stood next to him, also smiling, and taking photos. Hands with Iphones and such were faced my direction, taking photos or videos of that poor little shocked sleepy girl and her serenading boyfriend.

Paul Lovine Plays

It was a mix of emotions. Still half asleep, I was all confused and just kept saying “What’s this about??” “How did you get here?!” “What’s going on??” “Where are we?!?” “Is this a dream??”  It was pure confusion from a half-asleep girl! For a minute there I thought that the plane had already landed at Burbank and Lovine must’ve hopped onto it and we’re off to some other connecting flight. Yes, I was that knocked out not to feel a thing. Then my thoughts shifted to “Hey! Lovine’s playing “Real Love!” By the Beatles!” “Oh! Wow!” I remembered asking him some months ago if he can play that, because he normally plays any song I ask him to, but that particular song, he never really did. Turns out he was saving it for the big one.

Me, realizing that he was playing "Real Love"

Him, just rocking it out

I then just let it all go and sang along, people behind me were singing along too, and he finishes. Later on I found out that he printed out copies of the lyrics to pass out to the other passengers, which also included a Beatles cartoon drawing that I made years ago. And it wasn’t over. He then asked me to please step out to the aisle, because someone special wanted to say hello as well. And sure enough, it was Nickel! Popping out with that cute flight attendant hat from a bag I did not recognize! (I later on found out that Lovine had to get a new one, since Nickel’s flight bag was left up north with me.)

Paul Lovine knelt down and placed a ring on top of Nickel’s hat. I was shocked.

... Will you?

And at 30,000 feet above the ground,  I said YES.

Yes.

We're getting married!

It was amazing. Even more amazing on how his proposal happened in a place that’s really, really significant to our relationship. I am forever thankful to Southwest Airlines for not just helping my now fiancee make this possible, but also for the fact that this company is not just any airline you hop onto. They’re like one big family, ready to serve, and always happy. Their cheap flights made it possible for Lovine, Nickel and I to see each other almost every weekend, which helped make our relationship grow.

Nickel laughs, because he knew of all these plans all along.

Now here I am excited for all the adventure, and art, that’s in store for us!

For more photos of the proposal, and Paul Lovine’s side of the story as well (believe me, he went through a lot that day to get there!) click here. 

Check out more of his amazing illustrations in his site. Love it!

Thanks for those who dropped by and said Hi yesterday. Looking forward to another day at awesome San Francisco!

Kat and I always share a sense of leftover euphoria several days after these events. Weeks of planning and powerhouse button making make the weekend when we meet new (and old!) friends, totally worth it. It means a lot to us when people stop by to take a look at our little 1.25″ of art, and warms the bottom of our hearts when we see the occasional sparkling eye when a special button finds a new home.

Thank you again, Los Angeles!

We are super excited to be vendors at the following craft fairs:

Los Angeles
Unique LA
California Market Center Penthouse (Downtown LA)
December 11 and 12, 2010

San Francisco
Renegade Craft Fair
Concourse Exhibition Center East Hall (Design Center District in SF)
December 18 and 19, 2010

I have a burning need to tell you that there is a TON of really cool stuff at these fairs, and that’s not because we’re attending as vendors – matter of fact, Kat and I will most definitely take turns making the rounds and spending all our money!

We’d love to see you there!

Hey everyone! Paul and Kat is gonna be part of the 2nd Annual Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale in San Francisco on December 18 + 19, from 11am – 7pm in the Concourse Exhibition Center’s East Hall (620 7th St.)! We’re extra excited since this will be our first time to take part of a craft fair in NorCal. So save the date, SF people! We’ll see you there!

Jason Mecier

Audrey Kawasaki

Gary Baseman

Reminds us of last year’s Hello Kitty Three Apples Exhibit, where Hello Kitty celebrated her 35th birthday. (Which I really did enjoy!) Better check this out, it’s gonna be running from Nov. 12-21… They even have a Scavenger Hunt on Sunday, and Sushi, Felt, and Wood Figure Workshops sometime in two weeks! Yay.

Just got the email this morning. We’re so excited be part of this year’s Unique LA Holiday Show! More details to follow!

via You Me The Royal We

The perfect little fella to keep you company at your home. Check out Pretty Random Object’s etsy for more oh-so-cute goodies like this!

He was down the corner from us at the last Unique LA shindig, and was tempted to get a tie or two.  But I realised, that I don’t have the shirts to wear a tie with, so I put it off for a randy dandy rainy day.  And there are days that I wish I looked spiffy with a Cut by Wes tie, and a soft pair of Fluevogs, so I can conquer the world in style.

I love Bob Dylan. I listen to mostly his early music, and there is something about his voice that I find so calming, it does make one sit and pause. (And we do need that occasional moments now don’t we?) Along with that distinctive singing voice of his in comes his harmonica, an instrument that naturally blends in with him, like bread and butter does. With his intelligently written lyrics and guitar, it all blends in… music so natural, music that’s real, music that refreshes one’s soul.

I scored a chromatic harmonica some few years back, with hopes that I can someday play it Bob Dylan style. And although I’m not quite the blues playing little cat that I want to be, it’s been fun playing it to children or just to myself. Something that just passes time!

I’ve also heard that there are these mini harp necklaces too that you can just wear around and play music with, but never actually got to get my hands on one. For the love of Bob Dylan and the harp, it’s something that I’ve always wanted, a teeny tiny music maker that I could just wear around with me…

Lo and behold! One happy Unique LA day, it was found for me by Paul, the perfect harp necklace, from  Charcoal Designs, who was the table right next to us!

My own teeny harp!

It was meant to be. It doesn’t work the same way as real harmonicas do, but hey, you can still blow away one or two note solos now can’t you?

In between selling we’d chit chat a bit with Laura and Mike from Charcoal Designs, and I found it really interesting on how much attention to detail Laura puts in into her work on creating her intricately designed hand cast resin pieces. A lot of lovely little playful accessories in her site one just ought to check out! (Makes it even more special knowing that there’s a lot of love that comes with these whimsical and unique vintage-esque items!)