My Tango Diaries

Now that I've reached the 150 designs mark (can you believe it?!) on RedBubble.com , I decided to spread out to other platforms that have different products and styles to put designs on. Society6 and Zazzle are my 2 new storefronts - though they are very limited at the moment. I also added this design, "Backwards and in High Heels", referring to Ginger Rogers doing everything that Fred Astaire did, but "backwards, and in high heels" dance quote. Also, thanks to the feedback I received from clients and connections, I've redone several of the Word Art designs to be bolder and easier to read on smaller screens (and at a distance.) Many of the designs used fonts that were to narrow or fine to show up well, so they've been reworked and resubmitted with your recommended changes. Thank you Sara, Tim and Erik for all the feedback!

Finally a trend I'm truly excited about! The return of the '20s next January! I love Art Deco, (though Art Nouveau will always be my first love.) My great-grandmother, who I was lucky to have until I was twenty, was a flapper and told me about the slang, the attitude - and the dancing! So in honor of all that I learned from her, and the return of the "Roaring 20's", I've created a new set of designs on RedBubble . Flapper Slang, Speakeasy sign, Tango sign in Art Deco design, and La Guardia Nueva! I'm still looking at the product and design offerings with a tanguera's eye though - milonga themed decor, clothes that work for dancing, and of course a celebration of 1920's tango - La Guardia Nueva! I'll have more designs coming over the next week - so keep checking if the Jazz Age and Art Deco are 'the bees knees' for you too! 

A few people have asked me how I suddenly got up the ambition to get my art store going and how I've been so productive. It's really down to one book: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven Pressfield. No fewer than 8 people recommended that book to me, probably more but I don't remember. I think I knew it would be a kick in the ass. I wasn't sure I was ready for it. It took me ages to get around to it. Now I'm the one recommending it to every writer and creative who will listen to me (who hasn't already read it.) It's a fast read. Pressfield doesn't waste your time, doesn't insult your intelligence and doesn't pull punches. It's what you need to read to get off your ass and do the work (to borrow the title of another one of his books.) I finished it in a few days and then started over and read it again. How you think of your work, and how you think of yourself doing that work

At the request of another dancer, I finally created the "Things Tango Teachers Say" Word Art on RedBubble.com .  Here's the graphic - below, the explanation. Some of this is tongue-in-cheek and highlights the conflicting instruction we get as Argentine Tango students. But some of it, particularly "Just walk naturally" , are particularly frustrating bits of advice. I often heard "Just walk naturally," directed at followers , from male instructors (to both male and female students.)  The more I heard it, the more irritated I got. I don't know how much time instructors spend their day walking backwards - particularly in 3-4" high heels, but there's nothing natural about it. We can learn to do it - and do it very well, but we're not structurally built to spend our time doing it. It's not at all natural - in heels or otherwise. */Begin rant In all honesty, and speaking as a personal trainer for dancers, it's just lazy

People who know me in tango know that at one time I designed custom tango shoes for clients. I worked with MrTangoshoes.com shoes out of Colombia to make shoes that matched clothes, shoes for hard to fit feet, custom sizing, custom materials - the works. I loved designing for clients - but I hated having an inventory to carry around to milongas and practicas to sell enough volume to keep afloat. In the end, I gave up the business to concentrate on my main (non-tango) job and personal training. As I've written in the past few posts, I'm designing again - this time accessories instead of shoes. I take commissions for custom work as I'm able and keep a steady supply of new designs hitting my RedBubble virtual shelves. It's the best of both worlds - I get to design to my heart's content, but not have to worry about an inventory to lug around. Lately though, I've really, really been missing the shoes. So I decided to do some shoe-themed designed to make myself

One of the things I really like about RedBubble.com is that my orders, because I'm in the US, are made and shipped from the US. If you're in Europe, most products will be made there as well, etc etc.  They've even been transparent enough about the process to break it down. Here are a few examples. You can go to this page to see the full list of where everything is made, based on where it is being shipped to. Not only does this get products to clients faster and cheaper - it means that the quality is generally higher. That's good for everyone.

Just a quick update since several people have asked for the list. Here are the art resources I use most for the majority of my work. Keep in mind, I use a Mac so with other platforms, your results might vary.    This is PhotoPea which does a great job, to a point. The larger the photo, the slower it gets. Paid/Desktop Apps/Software - available for desktop and tablets: Adobe Photoshop and Design, now available on subscription plans which is helpful if you're on a budget: https://www.adobe.com/ creativecloud/plans.html   I still use this for some of the short cuts I've developed, but more and more, I'm using Affinity Photo and Designer more. Affinity Photo and Designer: I'm using Serif's Affinity products more lately as they offer the flexibility of GIMP and the robust offerings of Photoshop, for less money. A new product, Publisher, is available for pre-order and I'm getting curious about that one.  https://affinity.serif.com/en- u

First, thank you to everyone who has been sending me their feedback, ideas, suggestions and critiques - you are all amazing and I love you! Golden Age Tango Orchestras on Tango Banner As of this morning, I have almost 100 designs in the shop (!), with each design on anywhere from 10-40 products each! On RedBubble , my shop is now one of the largest focused on Argentine Tango, and I still have over 30 designs waiting to be finalized and uploaded. There are several new design categories: Educational(-ish) word art designs that list works by tango orchestra or period. Tango/Milonga humor category called #milongaexcuses Traditional Art pieces (that have been remastered to better render on RedBubble's products) Tango Quotes Geometric designs - usually commissioned works to match specific shoes, clothes or accessories, or to be personalized. "I'm sorry I missed your cabeceo. That was just my RBF. *Resting Bitch Face #milongaexcuses New items: Los