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The Swap Meat

Read the four things that can happen when you send us something for swapping and learn how you can get involved. Selected items are featured here and the deadline for swapping has been extended through the summer. Yay! Keep 'em coming.

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Blushing Cockerel Poster

ID SM0101 (photo)
Arrived 4.17.07, PM (USPS P.M.)
From Jess R. Ewing, Medina, OH
Description 1-color Poster on Gilbert Esse, 24" x 36"
More info Inkleaf Studio
Swapped for TBD
Status In Michele's Office

This one-color poster is the result of a collaboration between Jesse R. Ewing and Su and Patricking of House of Pretty in Chicago. The paper stock has a very modern, lovely, pearl finish. We're not exactly sure why the cockerel is blushing but it must have something to do with the all that text behind him. It's a sort of stream-of-consciouness narrative of aphorisms about beauty, love and appearances.

"I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty only being skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want --an adorable pancreas?"

Pastry Footwear?

ID SM0112 (photo)
Arrived 4.20.07, PM (FedEx Early A.M.)
From Krishna Brown, Arlington, VA
Description Pastries, lovingly packaged
More info ShoeBoxOven.com
Swapped for TBD
Status Photographed, eaten.

We get excited about any packages these days, but FedEx Swap shipments are usually a little special. There's no better way to say "I paid a lot of money to get something to you quickly." So when we got an "Early A.M." shipment last Friday morning, we knew it'd be something pretty great. We tore open the box to find a fancy, expensive-looking blue shoebox, wrapped in tissue paper and lovingly tied in yellow ribbon. Inside the box were a variety of freshly-made pastries, including Canele, White Chocolate Crunch, and some sort of brownie-looking thing that Krishna would probably punch us in the face for calling a brownie, but we ate it too fast to care about the name. The masterpiece was a S'More as big as a Rubik's Cube with a giant home-made marshmallow inside (pictured). Krishna's note cited Coudal Partners as an inspiration, describing her operation as "tiny, if not completely imaginary." We love Krishna's humility, and we definitely love her pastry, and ShoeBox Oven better be real, because we're placing our Mother's Day orders, right away.

Vampirates Tee

ID SM0052 (photo)
Arrived 3.29.07, PM (USPS)
From Rumsey Taylor, Brookline, MA
Description Vampirates T-Shirts (2)
More info Notcoming.com
Swapped for SM0034
Status one swapped, one at CP

Rumsey Taylor, creator of one of our favorite film sites scored a measly 1.8 out of 5 for this beauty on Threadless, proving that Threadless fanboys aren't always right. Come on! Vampires? Pirates? Can't lose! Rumsey printed up the shirts himself, threw a party "at which legions of vampire and pirate films were screened and at which plastic fangs and eye patches were worn." Our kind of party. We heard from (recipient) Rosecrans Baldwin this morning, he felt like his swap item wasn't worthy of the shirt, so he sent some more stuff. The Swap proliferates.

"Cultivation" Gocco Prints

ID SM0051 (photo)
Arrived 3.29.07 PM (USPS)
From Dustin R. Ortiz, Leucadia, CA
Description series of Gocco prints, 5.5"x5.5"
More info Unknown
Swapped for TBD
Status on Foosball table, awaiting swap

We're not entirely sure these are Gocco prints, but they bear all the hallmarks, and Gocco seems to be popular with swappers. This series of seven prints (all numbered #24/50) features a variety of images somehow related to the theme of ;Cultivation," and the style and colors work well together. We bet we're missing some sort of important message. Dustin didn't include an email or web address, but we have his mailing address and we'll drop him a note with his swap and ask him to get in touch.

Stars Motel Prints Sold Out

ID SM0078 (photo)
Arrived 4.10.07, PM (USPS)
From David Derr, Chicago, IL
Description 2-color screenprint, 30" x 22"
More info email David
Swapped for TBD
Status at CP

The Stars Motel, one of several vintage motels on Chicago's Lincoln Avenue, was demolished last September, but its vibrant neon sign lives on in this bold daylgo-orange and black print by David Derr. David is an art director who photographs vintage signs as a hobby, then makes colorful silkscreen prints of his favorites. "I really enjoy working on the prints," he says, but I never put much energy into selling them." His "stars" print was printed in an edition of 35 on beautiful 100% cotton Arches Aquarelle archival paper.

Swap Meat Exclusive: Available For Purchase Sold Out
15 prints remain from a limited-edition of 35. 30" x 22" Signed and Numbered and Hand-Screened on Arches Aquarelle archival paper. $60 each.

Sushi Candles

ID SM0076 (photo)
Arrived 4.21.07 PM (USPS)
From Alexa Ogno, Salem, MA
Description candles as tekka maki
More info email Alexa
Swapped for TBD
Status in conference room at CP

One theme developing in Swap items is something pretending to be something else. Here's what Alexa had to say about her remarkable item, "These are left over from my craft fair days, where the feedback was generally, 'What a neat idea, now where can I get some crocheted slippers?' Most got given away to like-minded friends or sushi chefs." We'll swap this immediately for the first sculpture made from wasabi that we receive.

Meat painting

ID SM0203 (photo)
Arrived 6.22.07 PM, USPS
From Ali Spagnola, Beaver, PA
Description 12x12" acrylic painting
More info alispagnola.com
Swapped for TBD
Status at CP

Ali, who has to be America's number one consumer of Frederix 12"x12" canvas panels, appeared on Coudal's Fresh signals a month or two ago, so she reciprocated with a fine rendering of a T-bone for the Swap Meat. We were pretty excited to get one of her free paintings, and without having to go through the embarassing farce of paying for it, so bartering via Swap Meat was the perfect answer. Most of us being from the vinyl generation, there's something magical about the size and weight of this piece; we sort of expect a record to drop out of the side of it. Maybe there's a Swap Meat Symphony out there, looking for an album cover. Keep it up, Ali, America needs all the quality free paintings she can get.

Rock Posters

ID SM0071 (photo)
Arrived 4.4.07 (USPS)
From Lure Design, Orlando, FL
Description Various Posters, Shirt, Pins
More info Lure Design
Swapped for TBD
Status Stacked in conference-room montage

We expected the package marked "Lure Design" to contain rainbow-speckled Rapalas and scented chartreuse worms, but we were rewarded with Michele shrieking "MINE" when she unrolled this DCFC/Ted Leo poster. Bryan happily snatched up the Melvins poster, and we all agreed the Dave Matthews Band poster was very handsome but if Dave ; Co. hadn't defecated on our proud city, we'd probably like it more. They also sent a sweet "bleeding speaker" t-shirt and some buttons. As we debated who would keep what, Jim reminded us, "Guys, we're supposed to be swapping this stuff!"

Honk For Pluto

ID SM0033 (photo)
Arrived 3.26.07 (USPS)
From Chris Spurgeon, Los Angeles, CA
Description Bumper Sticker, 10" x 3"
More info Spurgeonworld
Swapped for TBD
Status on various CP bumpers

Who isn't outraged that those pesky scientists stripped Pluto of "planet" status? Here at CP, we just bitched and moaned about it, but Web programmer Chris Spurgeon did something about it. He wrangled together a Hubble Telescope photo of Pluto and some Helvetica, made a sticker, and sold hundreds of those babies at $4 a pop, donating the money to The Planetary Society. Never mind that Planetary Society chairman Neil deGrasse Tyson supported Pluto's demotion, Neil deGrasse Tyson is a sweet name and we're happy that this sticker was a success and Pluto is once again a planet. (Yes, we're past mourning, into denial.)

Bird Paintings

ID SM0069 (left) and SM0070 (right) (photo)
Arrived 4.02.07 (USPS)
From Andrew Miller, Columbus; Katey Barrett, Atlanta
Description Mixed-media bird paintings, approx 6" X 6"
More info Elephants on Bicycles (Andrew); email Katey Swapped for each other
Status in the mail to Swappers.

Spring is here, and love is in the air. Straight out of Nora Ephron's playbook, two Swappers sent us 6"x6" bird paintings on the same day, they were even unpacked back-to-back. We're sending Andrew's "Mr. Fancy Pants" to Katey, and Katey's "Swallow" to Andrew. That was easy. Sadly, we know Andrew, and he's happily married, and for all we know, Katey is too, so they'll have to keep it platonic. Maybe they should keep the momentum going and start a 6"-square bird painting swap site.

Brooklyn T-Shirt

ID SM0061 (photo)
Arrived 3.29.07 (USPS)
From Jason Carreiro, Brooklyn, NY
Description (2) Black T-shirts, Size L
More info Loop Design
Swapped for TBD
Status at CP

"Local-Pride-via-t-shirt" makes a second appearance, and Brooklyn should be proud, we got a lot of Swap Meat items from that particular borough. Jason, Principal of Loop Design, designed this shirt for the annual D.U.M.B.O. (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) . Jason was one of very few Swappers who had the bright idea to send two items (one to swap and one for us to keep), so he gets double brownie points (and a doubly-better swap item than all the one-shirters).

Vintage Camera Poster Sold Out

ID SM0001 (photo)
Arrived 3.19.07, AM (FedEx)
From Rod Hunting, Chicago, IL
Description Vintage Camera Poster, 24" x 26"
More info rodhunting.com
Swapped for TBD
Status at CP, minor damage (lost shipping tube cap)

Our first Swap Meat items arrived this morning and if everything we get is this good, we're going to have a hard time sending it all back out again. Rod's poster features tasty line drawings of 14 vintage cameras from around the world. He writes: "I'm a big fan of vintage cameras and I've made some posters, I'll be selling them at DEPART-ment the weekend of April 13-15 along with some other stuff."

Swap Meat Exclusive: Available For Purchase Sold Out
Limited-edition of only 100. 24" x 26" Hand-Screened on French Paper Dur-O-Tone Butcher Off-White 80 lb Cover.

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