Sunday, May 24, 2009

Welcome, Dearies!

Come take a ride with us into our world of charming and whimsical imaginaries.

This is our first post for our new endeavor... and we could not be more excited! But first, a few words on how this all came to be...

In the beginning, there were Clowns…
So very, very many Clowns.

Which is to say, this was precisely how Jeannine and I first met: Over an enormous table full of clowns.

It was back in 1984; a hazy, smoggy L.A. summer. I’d just gotten hired at a studio that produced 24-karat gold statuettes of Red Skelton clown figurines that were hand-painted and mounted on a block of onyx. It was a meticulous, painstaking type of production art job under less than ideal conditions (read: sweat shop), utilizing perfect hand-eye coordination, and a multitude of special acrylic paint colors. Jeannine took me under her wing by sitting me next to her, and showed me the ropes of painting these things, which was not as easy as you’d think. You were not allowed to ‘color outside the lines,’ so to speak, like adding any of your own artistic flair to them. Any personal touch was strictly verboten. They all had to be uniform, consistent, and perfect, or you’d catch hell from the horrible harpy who ran the front office; fondly referred to as "horse face." She took evil pleasure in tormenting us piddly little production artists.

To be honest, clowns kinda creep us both out now. I’m not scared of them, mind you. I mean, if a clown came up to me and tried any sort of threatening postures I’d be all over its polka-dotted butt in a flash! I just think they’re rather unsettling. It’s like looking at a beautifully-wrapped birthday present, with pretty bows and colorful, sparkly paper, then opening it up and discovering a writhing nest of poisonous spiders. EEEK!

But alas! I digress.

Jeannine and I bonded quickly. We discovered that we had a lot in common. We loved the same music, same foods, and were prone to bouts of hysterical laughter over silly, kooky things (too long to list here). We even grew to look alike. Everywhere we went, people always asked if we were sisters, and after a while, we just said, “Yes.” We became ‘The Bag Sisters’ after our term of endearment to one another (that we’re just a couple ‘o old bags, ha ha).

And in the long hours we worked at this hot, stifling facility (which shall remain nameless!), we further bonded and talked of how one day, WE would create our own business! WE would share our specialized, offbeat artistic vision with others! But in the meantime we sweat, toiled, and squeezed all of our brain’s creativity onto these clown statuettes, exhausting our own creative muse in the process.

Several decades and a continent later, we’re finally at the point where we can fulfill our dream! Thanks to the magic of the Internet, our reach is far greater than anything we hoped to achieve back in the dark ages (the 1980’s, that is). Our shared vision of all fun things to bring a smile to the face includes a plethora of Halloween whimsies, animal and human (sort of) characters, stitchings, lovely Prim items of all varieties, and much more. All items are lovingly created, and all are 100% hand-made!

So, from our heart and kooky inspirations, to your home. Welcome to our world!

So go on… send in the clowns. There have to be clowns.

Don’t bother… WE’RE HERE!




5 comments:

Monkey-Cats Studio said...

Too funny you two!! Good luck on your new venture and welcome to the world of blogging!!
Laurie

Chicken Lips said...

What a great story! I actually laughed out loud :) I can't wait to see more!!!

By Way of Salem said...

We're so happy you stopped by Laurie! Everyone - Check out Monkey Cat Studios for some very awesome Halloween art!

By Way of Salem said...

We've also invited our newest friend Chicken Lips to come on by and "sit for a spell". Also some very cool stuff!

By Way of Salem said...

Yes, Ellen dba "Bag Sister I", is the writer in the family. She's a character unto herself!