Art Deco Cthulhu

One of the great tragedies of our times is that Art Deco isn't the dominant design aesthetic of the world.  That's just one of the reasons I'm in love with this amazing Cthulhu idol from "Heyitsdan" over on the Replica Props Forum.  What's really cool about the sculpt is that the side and rear profiles are just as attractive as the front view. 

Pirated T-Shirts

My thanks to everyone who gave me a heads up about this advertising campaign on Facebook.  "Cool Tee USA" is indeed ripping off my Miskatonic Antarctic expedition logo.  The ad buy seems to have popped up last Monday as a "Limited Time" offer, but since then the clock has been regularly resetting as the owners shift the offer through hoodies, posters, etc.

As of yet I haven't heard back from the company, but I'm sure I'll be hearing a variation of the "we got it from some guy" story.  If you'd like to purchase a legitimate t-shirt or hoodie you can get them through the Propnomicon store on Zazzle.

Mythos Chess Set

This isn't directly prop related, but artist Sergio Mengual has been posting the pieces of a Mythos-themed chess set.   There are some impressive sculpts on display.  All of the design work is being done digitally with a modeling program for eventual production as 3D printed masters.  I shudder to think what the finished set is going to cost when it goes on sale, but I would love to get some of these as individual castings.  

The Inner Sanctum

It gives me an immense amount of pleasure to welcome Cryptocurium, our first sponsor.

Jason McKittrick is an talented Lovecraftian artist whose work has appeared here on a regular basis for years. For some time he's been offering interesting Mythos artifacts, including a range of Cthulhu idols and some amazing prop sets. Now he's come up with something I think you're really going to enjoy- The Cryptocurium Inner Sanctum.

In essence it's a sculpture subscription that gives you a regular Mythos fix throughout the year. There are three different levels of membership, each providing an impressive amount of goodies at a very reasonable price. As an example, the basic Bronze subscription includes this Yonaguni Cthulhu idol, a Cthulhu cult sigil pin, a special birthday surprise, and a Cryptocurium T-shirt. All for just $50. That's an incredible value.

If you're a regular reader you know that short run projects have been an important part of the Mythos collector community for a long time. The Inner Sanctum concept is an effective way to get some outstanding items at a reasonable price while supporting an artist who has consistently produced quality work. It's worthy of your patronage, and I'm extremely happy to be a small part of it.

Crass Commercialism

I have some bottled specimens up on Ebay that you may enjoy. I think they're pretty nifty, but I can relate if your wallet is feeling a little light. Might I suggest checking out these tutorials on making your own?

Odds and Ends

I have some odds and ends up on Ebay that you may find of interest, including two bottled specimens...





...and a backpack from a disastrous commission. The client wanted a selection of props based on "The Shadow Out of Time", but after making an initial payment they vanished into the ether. Which was a bit of a sticky wicket, since I'd already invested a goodly sum in reproducing a backpack from the Australian expedition.

"At the Mountains of Madness" Expedition Gear

In 1930 an expedition from Miskatonic University arrived in the Antarctic. Shortly thereafter a remote survey camp began exploring a newly discovered chain of mountains and radioed back the details of an incredible discovery.

Hours later, every man in the camp was dead.

The controversy over what happened to the poor souls in that isolated outpost still rages today. Where they killed by a freakishly powerful storm, as the official inquiry ruled? Or were they the victims of a mass, homicidal rage induced by tainted food, as some have suggested? And what of the mysterious discovery they claimed to have made shortly before radio contact was lost?

Those questions may never be answered, but now you can own a small piece of that ill-fated expedition's history.

"Wings Over Antarctica" Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition Patch

The 4" (10 cm) patch is embroidered on a tough cotton twill backing that will last for years of use, and the heat-sensitive adhesive makes it easy to iron it on to the garment of your choice.

The "Wings Over Antarctica" logo is as historically accurate as possible. The deco-influenced design features a stylized Dornier Wal (or "Whale"), the aircraft actually used by the expedition in the story. The silhouette of Antarctica is correct for 1930, before the true boundaries of the ice floes had been mapped, and the font used was first available commercially in 1928. Readers of the story should also appreciate the symbolism of using a five-pointed star to mark the expedition's ultimate destination.

"Wings Over Antarctica" Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition Lapel Pin

This handsome reproduction of the "Wings Over Antarctica" logo is 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter. Constructed of solid brass with an antiqued finish and a butterfly clasp backing.

Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition Notebook

The expedition notebook is patterned after the pocket journals used by scientists and researchers in the field to record observations. The front cover features the expedition logo, while the back includes observation instructions and a specimen ruler. The notebook measures 3.5" by 5" (8.89 cm by 12.7 cm) and has a saddle-stitch binding, 1/4" rounded corners, heavyweight cover, and 32 pages of high quality lined paper. All materials are 100% recycled and the cover designs are printed with environmentally friendly soy ink.

Arkham Seal T-Shirts

Just in time for summer vacation, I've added a T-shirt featuring the official seal of Arkham, Massachusetts to the Zazzle lineup. Just the thing to wear on the ferry to Amity Island.

Crass Commercialism

I've finally ordered new runs of the Miskatonic expedition swag.

The Antarctic sets inspired by "At the Mountains of Madness" are scheduled to arrive this week. The Australian patch and pin sets based on "The Shadow Out of Time" should be in my hands in two weeks. I've ordered 100 of each, and if sales go well (despite the current economic climate) I'll follow up with a new edition of the Miskatonic University gear in July. Everything will be available here on the blog with payments accepted through PayPal.

After that I'll be attempting to get back to my original concept of offering a short run, low-cost prop or memorabilia item every month. And by "low cost" I mean $10 or less for a single item, or a themed set for under $20. Here's the tentative schedule:

June/July- Reissue of the Antarctic and Australian expedition items (patch, pin, notebook). Already ordered or in transit.

July- Reissue of the Miskatonic University items.

August- New issue of Arkham Sanitarium patches and pins, along with a few extras to be determined. I'll also be working on some documents and resources that will be released at the same time under the usual Creative Commons license.

September- A set of postcards depicting locations in and around Arkham, Massachusetts. Out of the five card set three are already done, and the remaining two just need to be sent to the printers. I'd also like to include a sheet of faux-postage stamps if I can get them for a reasonable cost.

October- A set of vintage luggage labels based on Lovecraft's works. I'll be revising the designs I've already done for Innsmouth's Gilman House and the Hotel Miskatonic and adding three more.

November- A resin reproduction of the Elder Thing starstones from "At the Mountains of Madness". Ideally, this will include a vintage-style shipping crate complete with appropriate expedition and shipping markings. I looked into getting them carved from green soapstone, but the cost was well outside my $20 limit.

Again, this is a tentative schedule that may change over time. I'm planning on having 100 of each item available because that seems to be the sweet spot for these kind of projects. If the reissues for this month sell out I'll increase the subsequent run sizes appropriately to keep up with demand.

This Week's Crass Commercialism

I have some more items up on Ebay this week, but I would strongly encourage anyone who can to wait until after the first of the year. Yes, I'm telling you not to bid, yet again demonstrating my incompetence in matters of business. It pains me to no end to not have anything new for the holidays, but it's simply unavoidable.

If you have some patience I'll have everything back in stock by the end of December or early January. That should include the "At the Mountains of Madness" Antarctica map and a few other items that will be the basis of the ATMOM prop set, Mk. II. I'm in the process of budgeting the project and trying to strike a balance between increasing the run size and including as many plot-relevant items as possible.

This Week's Crass Commercialism

Thanks to the kindness of the postal gods I have a few Miskatonic University items up on Ebay this week.

Miskatonic University Field Journals

One of the distinguishing features of Miskatonic University is it's long-standing commitment to exploring the boundaries of science. It's students and faculty have traveled the globe, demonstrating a willingness to quite literally go to the ends of the earth in their quest for knowledge. On every continent, from the icy plains of Antarctica to the burning sands of Australia, Miskatonic has left it's mark.

And now you can own a small part of that impressive legacy.



The Miskatonic University Field Journals are patterned after the notebooks used by scientists and researchers in the field to record observations. Each book measures 3.5" by 5" (8.89 cm by 12.7 cm) and has a saddle-stitch binding, 1/4" rounded corners, a heavyweight cover, and 32 pages of high quality lined paper. All materials are 100% recycled and the cover designs are printed with environmentally friendly soy ink.



The back of each cover is printed with the procedural notes and ruler as above, while the front features one of three designs: the Miskatonic University seal, the Miskatonic Antarctic expedition logo from "At the Mountains of Madness", or the Miskatonic Australian expedition logo from "The Shadow Out of Time".

Ordering

The Field Journals are available as a set containing one of each cover design for $7.50. After clicking "Add to Cart" a second PayPal window will open where you can finalize your purchase. Shipping and handling is $2.50 per set to the US, $4.50 internationally. If you're interested in purchasing more than two sets of journals please contact me by email at propnomicon-atsymbolhere-gmail-dot-com to save significantly on shipping.


Update: Sold Out. Thanks to everyone that ordered for making the project a success.

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times

It's been quite the day.

First off, everything is in the mail. All 89 packages, including the 37 traveling internationally. Given my rural location that was considerably more volume than the nice folks at my Post Office normally get from their patrons, but they soldiered on without complaint. Things went surprisingly smoothly, despite the Innsmouth-like, bug-eyed look of shock on the clerk's face when I plopped my boxes o' mail on the counter. When we finally finished, and I paid the first triple digit postage bill I've ever run up in my life, the clerk politely pointed out that I should probably look into getting my postage printed online, and then made sure I took a couple of butterscotch candies on my way out.

I'm definitely going to follow up on his online postage suggestion. Particularly since there was a typically pleasant, but firm, "Or else" edge to it.

My postal adventure, and yesterday's rather abrupt "Sold Out" message, are the result of the huge spike in traffic I enjoyed yesterday. First Make did a post about the "From the Mountains of Madness" project. Then io9 picked it up, and the floodgates really opened. Then it got Twittered and blurbed at a number of sites, including the one that still has me smiling- Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manor blog.

Jerry Pournelle linked to my blog. That's just insanely cool in my book, 'cause I'm an ol' skool geek. Shout out to the tribe, and all that.

So I've had my 15 minutes of internet fame. I'm certainly not complaining about all the new visitors, but things should be back to normal after today. I'll have some of the leftover notebooks available tomorrow. Better than that, I've already reordered everything for next month.

Miskatonic Madness Rolls On

I want to thank everyone that has purchased one of the Miskatonic Prop Sets. As of this morning I've sold roughly half of the run, leaving me with about 50 complete sets to go. That's amazing considering I haven't done any promotion at all. Which isn't to say there hasn't been any promotion- I owe you all a great debt of thanks for telling your friends about my humble wares. Word of mouth, or the modern alternative of Twitter messages and blog postings, is the very best advertising there is.

That said, I expect things will slow down a bit today based on the initial demand being met and the holiday here in the US. Based on that I'll be posting a page where you can purchase individual items sometime this afternoon. I may not have many of the Miskatonic patches and pins, but I'm sure to have about 100 of the postcards and various notebooks available.

Just as a reminder, the holiday also means I won't be posting everything until first thing tomorrow morning. That said, when I say your package will go out first thing, I mean it. Every order will be on it's way through the mail by 9 AM on Tuesday morning.

Update: Ack! I'm totally sold out of everything. My sincere apologies to everyone.

Update, Part Deux: Just as a bit of explanation, I didn't realize I'd been linked by the nice folks at both Make magazine and io9. Believe me, I'm not complaining, but orders were coming in so fast that my sophisticated stock tracking system (a sheet of paper with hashmarks) was overloaded. So much for the "things will slow down because of the holiday" thing.

Miskatonic University Prop Set

Since it's founding in the 18th century Miskatonic University has been one of the most influential and prestigious schools in the United States. It's students and faculty have traveled the globe, earning a reputation as tireless researchers and scholars without peer. Their willingness to quite literally go to the ends of the earth in their quest for knowledge has produced a body of work of unparalleled quality and depth. With that comes a sense of pride, in both the individual and collective accomplishments of the school's alumni.

We're proud to offer this collection of keepsakes in honor of that unquenchable spirit.

The Miskatonic University Prop Set

Intended as both collectables and props, the complete set consists of four items: An embroidered patch and lapel pin featuring the Miskatonic University seal, a period postcard of the school's Orne Library, and your choice of one of three different field journals.



The 4" (10 cm) patch is embroidered on a tough cotton twill backing that will last for years of use, and the heat-sensitive adhesive makes it easy to iron it on to the garment of your choice.



The handsome lapel pin is 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter and would look perfect on your Miskatonic varsity jacket. It's constructed of solid brass with an antiqued finish and a butterfly clasp backing.



The pocket journals are patterned after the notebooks carried by scientists and researchers in the field. Each book measures 3.5" by 5" (8.89 cm by 12.7 cm) and has a saddle-stitch binding, 1/4" rounded corners, a heavyweight cover, and 32 pages of high quality lined paper. All materials are 100% recycled and the cover designs are printed with environmentally friendly soy ink.

You have your choice of which cover design you'd like to purchase. The back of each cover is printed with the procedural notes and ruler as above, while the front features one of three designs: the Miskatonic University seal, the Miskatonic Antarctic expedition logo from "At the Mountains of Madness", or the Miskatonic Australian expedition logo from "The Shadow Out of Time".







Update: Unfortunately, I'm now sold out. My thanks to everyone that ordered.

It's A Mythos Miracle!

4:30 PM, Friday afternoon- I receive an email from FedEx that my lapel pins have been scheduled for pickup.

12:05 PM, Saturday afternoon- I arrive home from the Farmer's Market to discover the package filled with Miskatonic goodness on my doorstep. I didn't think they would be here till Tuesday, but it turns out FedEx delivers on Saturday.

I need a little time to take some photographs of the goods, but the ordering page will be up tomorrow. Initially I'm just going to take orders for the complete set (Miskatonic patch, lapel pin, Orne library postcard, and your choice of one of the three pocket notebooks), but once those orders are satisfied I'll have anything left over available individually.

Despite the delay things actually worked out well. Because Monday is a national holiday I'll have time to get everything packaged up and in the mail first thing Tuesday morning.

Good News, Bad News

First, the good news. The Miskatonic patches arrived today and they look awesome. Just click through for the super-sized high quality version.



One thing this scan doesn't capture is the reflective quality of the white and yellow areas of the patch. As the light-colored thread moves through the embroidery machine at high speed it actually gets polished, producing a finish that displays spectral highlights as the light catches it. That effect was mildly noticeable on the Antarctic patches and it really popped out on the Australian patch because of the areas of bright color. The reflectivity of the Miskatonic patch is somewhere in between those two in impact.

With the patches in hand I have almost everything for the final Miskatonic sets...except the lapel pins.

That's the bad news.

Unless there's a miracle the pins aren't going to arrive by tomorrow, which means I'll have to push back putting everything on sale until next week.

My Wrath, It Knows No Bounds

It looks like I won't be releasing the Miskatonic project this week after all.

The production of the patches and pins has been plagued by delays from the start for reasons that escape me. The only explanation I can think of for the factory's continual footdragging is an unexpected back to school rush from sports teams. No matter what the cause, I'd feel a lot better about it if they had been a little more forthcoming.

That said, everything else is on schedule. I have the Orne Library postcards in hand (and I'm particularly happy with how they came out), the notebooks should be delivered by UPS within the hour, and all of the packaging is ready to go. Now I just wait, and wait, and wait for the centerpieces to show up.

On the bright side, that does give me a little more time to finish up some interesting Miskatonic ephemera.

Update: Perhaps the Old Ones do smile upon me. It looks like the patches and pins will be here on Friday after all. I knew sacrificing that goat would help.

This Week's Crass Commercialism

I have a number of bottled specimens up on Ebay this week, including one of the parasitic worms created for last week's tutorial. I shudder to think what my penchant for worm-like critters says about my mental health.

Miskatonic Moves On

The Miskatonic project is moving along, but I'm increasingly glad that I give these things a month to actually get done. The notebooks are already approved and being printed, but it wasn't until today that the pre-production samples for the patches and pins started getting made. Between production and shipping time the finished goods should arrive in time (cross my fingers) for the scheduled October date.

In the meantime I've been thinking about changing the way I do business a little bit. Since the first run of Antarctic patches last year I've always made things available on a Sunday and then spent the next week sending out packages every morning. For the Miskatonic project I'm going to try something different and make the full sets available on Saturday, October 3rd. That way I can spend both Saturday and Sunday taking the initial rush of orders and get everything in the mail Monday morning.

I'm also going to be fiddling around with my packaging. I've been using three different kinds of mailers to handle different items, but once I use up my current supply I'm going to switch to bubble envelopes for everything. The cardboard mailers were great when everything I sold could be packed flat, but since the lapel pins have become such a popular item I need something that can handle them without requiring excessive folding.

Truly, I lead a life of adventure and excitement. Who needs fiction when decisions about what kind of envelope to use can consume days of your life? Heh.