Stick a fork in us, we’re done… looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day cards, that is.

Partycake, a Conshohocken-based greeting card start-up launched in early December, is rolling out their second batch of handmade greeting cards just in time for February 14. With lines like “You + Me = Sin” and “I’ve been hit by Cupid. Call the police,” how could we resist?

From the minds of local designers and PhilaMade members Brandon McNeely and Paul Nazarchyk, the line of “crudely concepted, tongue-in-cheek cards” provide all the sharp wit of your favorite e-cards, but with the benefit of locally-designed and beautifully-printed paper.

“It gives us a chance to step away from the computer screen, reconnect with doing print work and laugh for a couple hours. We feel that the effort put into a original, hand-crafted card has more of a personal impact than receiving a .jpeg in your inbox,” says co-founder McNeely.

The designers first explored the idea after a collection of jokes and sketches posted on Nazarchyk’s blog. The Kutztown University grads started sketching, and put out a modest first run of holiday cards – snarky notes about Christmas hangovers or a limited knowledge of the Jewish religion – to great success last month.

Partycake cards have a simple concept: crude, witty characters on quality recycled paper, with an emphasis on craftsmanship and passive aggressive humor. The founders also hope to “restore the hand-made touch lost in most communication today,” adding hand-stamped and personalized thank-you notes for every customer.

The next line of holiday cards are now available online at Partycakecards.com, featuring just the right kind of sexy/crude/passive-aggressive humor to make us laugh and hope our Valentines feel the same way.

Jennifer Hall, who many of you might know as that cute girl from Whipped Bakeshop with the R2D2 bike helmet, is at it again… this time, crafting some seriously adorable Stormtrooper leggings. How’d she make these? Check out the details on her blog.

I designed the stamp and printed the leggings, but I didn’t use the proper fabric paint. Instead, I used acrylic paint with some corn starch mixed in to increase its opacity. I think fabric paint would have been better; they have a little bit of a hand-printed rustic look (which I actually love), but we’ll see if the fabric paint brings more awesomeness to the table.

It does Jenn. So much awesomeness. You can scope out a ton of photos on her blog, and I highly recommend you do.

Oh and Jenn, if you’re reading this… please stop. Our nerdy hearts can’t take much more. *sigh*

Stormtrooper Leggings @ Philly Rawr Blog

The incredibly skilled folks over at NextFab Studios have announced their second annual Project Challenge, dishing out a $1000 prize (you heard me), to the most popular project submitted to the contest. Here’s some more details from their website:

It’s a $1000 prize for what you’ve wanted to be working on all along. Don’t let that project you’ve always dreamed of working on become another New Year’s resolution you wish you had fulfilled – you can do it now, and you can make it here.

Projects should have some physical, material component to them – something that can make use of NextFab’s tools and services – but otherwise don’t be shy! Art, science, invention, or the amazing but inexplicable – all are welcome.

The contest runs through January 6th, and you can submit your project through NextFab’s official website. All entries will be hidden from the public until January 7th, when the voting begins.

How’s it work? You’ll be able to share your project with friends, family, coworkers… anyone and everyone you think might give you a vote. The project with the most votes on January 20th wins. So yes, this is a bit of a popularity contest.

The winning project will be awarded in person at NextFab’s 2nd Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, January 21st.

For more information, hit up the NextFab website. Good luck!
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It’s time for our annual Geekadelphia Gift Guide! Hooray!

This year’s guide features a wealth of local wares. From boutiques in Rittenhouse & Northern Liberties to online Etsy shops, bakeries that whip up Ron Swanson cookies to stores in Chinatown that sell copyright infringing paper lanterns. The guide is pretty diverse, dishing out a little bit of everything from a number of Geekadelphia contributors.

Have a look and enjoy. If you have any of your own picks and suggestions, please do leave them in the comments with information for our readers. There are tons of great local shops and artists here in Philly. Buy something nice from them, would ya?

Happy holidays.

@ericsmithrocks: Looking for something handmade and original? Stop by Sara Selepouchin’s South Philadelphia boutique (and online store), Girls Can Tell, where she crafts wonderful, screenprinted housewares and other super cute things, from journals to prints, tote bags to one-of-a-kind greeting cards. For more information on her wares and the boutique’s hours, visit her website.

For those of you with geeky friends that adore vinyl toys and limited editions t-shirts, there are two fantastic shops you should visit that AREN’T Urban Outfitters… Omoi and Jinxed. Omoi, a favorite Geekadelphia window shopping haunt, is located in Rittenhouse Square, and run by Geekadelphia megacrush Elizabeth Seiber.

If you’ve embarrassed yourself swooning over Liz as much as we have, you can also check out Jinxed in Northern Liberties. The former South Street shop now houses a wealth of repurposed vintage artifacts for hip home decor, from old trunks to point-and-shoot cameras from the 1930′s.

And speaking of cute housewares and collectible prints, you may want to check out Hello World in Rittenhouse Square, or its sister shop Hello Home in Washington Square West. Two great local shops you should certainly spend some time in.

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@allieharch: Whipped Bake Shop. You had us at meat tornado, with your Special Edition Ron Swanson Cookie Gift Box . From the bakery that made Geekadelphia’s epic Battlestar Galactica cake, you’ll find cookies expertly created in the image of the manliest man on earth. Plus cookie steaks.

Secret Lovers. These mega-soft cotton tees from Secret Lovers are so perfectly Philly, I bought half a dozen as gifts for friends. We put a jawn on your jawn so you can jawn while you get your jawn on.

After spending a good chunk of my paycheck to pre-order the new Kindle Fire, I’m leaving the accessories work to you, secret admirers. Rouge Theory make snug-fitting cases for every gadget imaginable, in fabulously graphic fabrics. OMG BABY OWLS.

Check out NomNow and their posters. I’d use this poster as my workday pick-me-up, reminding me to get off Facebook and start creating something beautiful.

Duross and Langell. They make Honey Badger Don’t Care soap! Leave it to a specialty soap store in the gayborhood to make this meme into a reality. (seen here: http://twitpic.com/6mhxo9)

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@mikeyil: Philadelphia-based artist, Britt Miller recently started making her paintings, as prints, available on Society6.com. — She specializes in colorful impressionist/post-impressionist artwork inspired by her surroundings, animals, and life in Philadelphia.

Ed Hall, also based in Philadelphia sells prints of his stunning, modern vector-based artwork. His style is vibrant, filled with visual movement and very modern. He specializes in a combination of detailed illustration as well as repeating patterns compounded with a sharp sense of color.

Rachel Goldfarb, of Rachel Shoshana Jewelry creates one-of-a-kind handmade rings, earrings and necklaces. She specializes working with sterling silver and gemstones. Her work is unique, classy yet has a hip appeal.

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@Danthefan: Support local film and buy a membership for a friend to Philadelphia Film Society.

Signing up at the Best Boy / Best Girl level ($150), you score admit-1 to all year-round filmadelphiaEXPERIENCE screenings, discounts & advance sales for Film Festival tickets, badges & events, discounted admission to all PFS special events throughout the year, one Film Festival 6-Pack (good for 6 regular film screenings during the Festival), and way more.

Scope out some details, here.

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Photo via The Jawn

@PhillyGeekMary: For the furrier members on your holiday gift list, head over to Chic Petique at Liberties Walk for all of your dog and pet needs.

The staff is always warm and helpful, and be sure to say hello to Maesha the store cat! My kitty Flip “Bryz” Roswell personally recommends the wet food brand of Tiki Cat and the Yeowww! Catnip Banana. Chip Petique also boasts the Street Tails Animal Rescue program and the “aPAWthecary,” natural medical solutions for your pet.

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@Saint_Jon: Science geeks are notoriously difficult to shop for during the holiday season. Sodium and potassium need to be stored in kerosene. Dissecting frogs preserved in formaldehyde is smelly and messy. Forget about the process involved in getting a gas container full of hydrogen.

That’s why I go to Spectrum Scientifics in Manayunk. They have all the safe science stuff that won’t land you in jail or on a watch list. I’m getting a wooden trebuchet perfect for office cubicle warfare. Or I may invest in an army of robots to defend my cube. I should probably pick up a planetarium for my niece. Spectrum Scientifics has something for the physics, life science, or electronics geek of any age.

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@ChrisUrie Philly’s tittleandlobe sell awesome awesome looking decals for your oh so stylish macbook. You can get elements from the periodic chart, the silhouette of Don Draper from Mad Men, or a simply a hand written word. Get this one and let people know who you really are.

Bridget McCafferty-Chodak has the graphic tees that you need… if what you need are Probe Droid and AT-AT shirts. Get one for yourself and one for a friend. You can reenact the Hoth battle when it snows! Just don’t hit the person wearing the Probe Droid shirt too hard with a snowball, they might self-destruct.

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@bionicbigfoot Do you have a retronaut in your life? If so, here are some gifts that will blow their minds.

First up, from Chinatown’s mesmerizing Shanghai Bazaar (1016 Race Street) comes a paper lantern emblazoned with the images of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and, for no good reason, Spider-Man. This copyright-infringing wonder is a steal at $1.89, and is certain to give anyone on your shopping list 1980s flashbacks.

And speaking of the ’80s, Brave New Worlds’ Space Invaders magnets transport the timeless videogame from the arcades to your refrigerator. Each blind box toy costs $3.99 and includes two magnets.

And while at the store, pick up Jeffrey Brown’s Incredible Change Bots Two. This sardonic skewering of the Transformers is one of the funniest graphic novels in recent memory. It will run you $14.99, put can you really put a price on hilarity?

Here on Geekadelphia, we love us some It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The bizarre and hilarious show shines a wacky spotlight on our fine city, and several of us have openly admitted to having a man crush on Charlie Day.

Me? I love the show so much that it has become a traditional gift. Christmas, birthdays, Valentine’s Day (if the lady is a keeper), Easter… you bet your ass you’re getting a season of It’s Always Sunny on DVD.

But as the amount of friends who now own It’s Always Sunny grows, I find myself in trouble. What do I buy them? There’s no way I’m going to pick up some tacky poster off South Street or some lame merch at FYE.

So, I’m off to Etsy.

I’ve rounded up my favorite It’s Always Sunny Etsy picks below. Have a look, and enjoy all the creativity. (more…)

Welcome to this week’s Geek of the Week, where we highlight the fun and creative people of our city. This week we share a few words with Jenn Hall, local artist. By day, she’s a pastry artist at Geekadelphia favorite, Whipped Bakeshop. Though, her work spans multiple mediums.

So, Jenn, we happened upon you on account of your awesome R2D2 helmet (which we’ll touch upon later) but what can you tell me about yourself in general?

I think I’m really just like any other nerd out there; holed up at home waiting patiently for the zombie apocalypse, day dreaming about how bad ass it’s going to look when I kill like 27 zombies in less than a minute. You know, pretty typical stuff.

Presently, I’m a 25 year-old artist who calls Philadelphia home. I majored in printmaking at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and then went on to study art and geology at the University of Pennsylvania. If there’s an educational path that primes one better for a nerd-tacular artistic career, I don’t know of it.

I work at Whipped as a pastry artist, which has been a great avenue for all my creative energy. I love coming to work and being pleasantly surprised with a chance to make such things as a Buzz Lightyear fondant cake topper, for example.

Tell me a little bit more about that sweet R2D2 helmet you’ve got. How did you make it? Did you start off with some sort of simple one and paint it?

Initially, it was the ugly duckling of helmets. It looked pretty jacked up before I did my fairy godmother thing to it. It was an odd, dark maroon color and it had been used as a rental helmet, so it had sustained damage over time. Long story short, I did a lot of spray painting and clear coating. (more…)

Left: Rachel, Top Right: Charm Necklace, Bottom Right: Bubble Necklace

Today’s Geek of the Week features Rachel Goldfarb, local jewelry designer and friend of Geekadelphia. We’re taking a look into her life of modern day silversmithing.

So Rachel, how long have you been making jewelry? How did you get started?

If you asked my mom she would tell you I have been doing jewelry type things my whole life. I guess I didn’t properly start until about four years ago when I learned to silversmith. I started to make jewelry for friends and family and then I applied to a craft show to see if I could get into it. To my surprise I did and then my business started!

Where do you draw your inspiration?

For the most part when I am trying to come up with a new design I begin to play with things in my studio. I just start to tinker. I feel like by having fun with my materials I kind of rediscover them and it leads to interesting designs. (more…)

Like any good geek, I enjoy thoughtful things. As both a lady and art school grad, this obviously includes the most interesting of interesting art and jewelery. And I like an artist that allows me to find a sweet pendant ring and then get my man a matching set of Superman cufflinks. So, naturally, you can understand why I have a crush on Etsy’s Comic Salvage.

Oh, and double props to the artist for being from my hometown zip code. We’ve both probably spent more of our time and money than necessary at Jester’s Playhouse.

Be sure to send Sue of Comic Salvage some love on her Etsy homepage and browse about!

Comic Salvage
www.etsy.com/shop/comicsalvage

Yesterday the Philadelphia Art Sanctuary kicked off its 27th Annual Annual Celebration of Black Writing.

The two week event will feature various activities ranging from film screening and open mic nights, to mini art festivals and panel discussions.

Of particular interest to you Philly geeks, is the event on the 4th. On June 4th from 10am – noon, Art Sanctuary will host ‘Thinking in Pictures: Writing for Graphic Novels, Comic Books, and Cartoons‘. Afterwards there will be an outdoors festival that will feature an appearance by Brian “Deka” Paupaw.

A more detailed description of the events below.

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What do recycling broken umbrellas, puppies in raincoats and a serious self-starter all have in common? Well, you’re about to find out in today’s Geek of the Week, a weekly column on some of the finest folks in Philly up to some crazy/awesome things.

This week we talk to Taryn Zychal, product designer, recycler and out-spoken entrepreneur.

Let’s hear it, Taryn. Tell me about yourself. What do you do?

I’m a 26-year old eco-minded product designer originally from Scranton, PA. I came here in 2004 to pursue a degree in Industrial Design. Since graduating, I’ve done a plethora of different things such as extensive marketing work for some of the country’s most recognizable brands to heading a graphic design department literally Photoshopping models’ imperfections for 8 hours a day.

However, the job that essentially changed my life was a brief stint I did at Terracycle, designing a laptop carriers from reclaimed billboard material and pet products from cardboard. I was hired as a fulltime employee and eventually got pushed down to freelance after the huge economic crisis hit.

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The only way my morning coffee could be more epic than drinking it from a Stormwind mug is if Kato himself brewed and poured it for me.

A World of WarCraft mug from Taverncraft, the same Califorina-based company who provided us with The Walking Dead barware, might possibly be the most badass way to start my day of writing or end my long nights of dungeon crawling. This massive 18-ounce stoneware mug is microwave and dishwasher safe, so don’t worrying about tarnishing the art of James Zhang wrapping around it.

This particular version features Stormwind (commence immense geekery), the center of the Alliance in the Eastern Kingdoms and home to King Varian Wrynn. It’s here where the majority of the Alliance does its commerce and launches their major assaults against the Horde and now Deathwing’s Twilight’s Hammer cultists.

While the artwork may not look exactly like the Alliance city (I imagine it’s tough to emulate on a stoneware mug), I think Zhang did a fine job of depicting Varian in his stoic if mildly schizophrenic disposition. And does your everyday coffee mug have an Alliance hammer as its handle? Didn’t think so.

For $20–remember, it’s 18 ounces–a World of WarCraft stoneware mug is a fine way of showing your loyalty to the Alliance or Horde.

Speaking of which, we’re giving away one Orgrimmar stoneware mug right here. So, give us one good reason you think the Horde is better than the Alliance in a comment and we’ll randomly select one of you to enjoy a real orc’s coffee.

You have one week from today, so you better give us something good and fast. And no, “The Horde have Blood Elves!” does not count.

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Shawn Smith, former video game journalist for EGM Magazine, and creator of the character design studio Shawnimals.

In the world of Shawnimals lies Ninjatown, featuring a wide selection of ninjas with their own unique story and design. Ninjatown has been everything from toys to videogames. You can even read about Ninjatown on your various Apple devices thanks to the Ninjatown: Adventures of Wee Ninja comic book App available in the iOS store.

I had the chance to talk to Shawn about his background, how Ninjatown came to be, and some of his favorite games from the past year.

For those not familiar with the world of Shawnimals or Ninjatown, could you tell me a little about its creation, as well as a little background information about yourself?

Shawn: Sure thing, Shawnimals is a character design studio that believes in the power of unbridled, astonishing, ridiculous joy. Each Shawnimal comes with its own story that starts in the Shawnimaland universe, but is then given over to you to continue each unique creature’s adventure in your own universe.

Our huggable friends appear as designer toys, lifestyle accessories, apparel, comic books, video games, and as anything that fosters companionship. We believe that the best artistic experiences are participatory and affordable, and that – with an open heart – friendship can happen between you and just about anything. Even facial hair.

We have a staff of four: Myself, my wife and biz partner Jen, Monte and Eric. And two rotating intern positions.

As for me: I’m the creative force behind Shawnimals, and started the company before I even knew it by watching cartoons, drawing pictures and playing video games as a kid.

Fast forward to my job at EGM magazine as a game reviewer (1996 – 2000), I made the difficult decision to leave and focus on my first love: Art and design. I had the opportunity to explore my various characters and the countless sketchbooks on my shelf filled with hundreds of unused characters. In a way, Shawnimals were born shortly after. Without a doubt I have pop culturally-inspired aesthetic: Simple, compelling character designs, strong narratives, and a healthy dose of humor. All of the stuff that makes great pop culture great.

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