Greeting Cards
Newton Chapel African Elephant Greeting Card
$ 4.00 USD
7 x 5", blank inside
ON THE BACK OF THE CARD:
Newton Chapel African Elephant was born with a curiosity about music. Understandably really, as he watched the herd respond to seemingly inaudible sound vibrations from many miles away. Or felt the thunderous drum-like beats reverberate to his core when running with the clan. As a toddler, he would rummage through his parents' music collection with pencil in hand, unwinding every cassette tape they had in the hopes of finding the music it held. It’s abstruse and ethereal nature only furthered his fascination.
To celebrate his second birthday, the herd saved its pennies for something very special. It arrived in a huge shipping crate, weeks early, which gave him plenty of time to investigate. Running his incredibly sensitive sniffer along every crack and seam, Newtie hoped the treasure would reveal itself. It did not. Accompanying this was a second box, especially for him from his parents, very beautifully wrapped, and clearly a partner to the peregrine present.
When his big day arrived, it took Newtie all of ten seconds to break into the box. Silence. He looked at the odd thing, and then at his family and friends, and back at the odd thing. Helping him open the smaller parcel, a collection of classic records, they placed one onto the turntable of the odd thing and flipped a switch. Newton jumped back in surprise. Music resounded from the odd thing’s nose. Instinctively, and to everyone’s amusement, he trumpeted back a reply. They had gifted him a gramophone and, after explaining just what it was and how it worked, Newtie was in love.
While he no longer tries to find where the music hides, he’s enthralled with this magical device. It continues to gift him with respite, strength, inspiration, revelry, reverie, comfort, connection and, paradoxically, moments where he can both lose and find himself.
Rally Manonash Brown Pelican Greeting Card
$ 4.00 USD
– Sold OutArt Poster - 11x14". Hang naked or perfect in a 16" x 20" frame.
ON THE BACK OF THE CARD:
The sun hasn’t been up for more than half an hour, but it’s already warmed the dew from the perfectly manicured green. Rally Manonash Brown Pelican relishes these early Saturdays. Golf is his morning constitutional, sating heart and mind.
Rather unfortunately, this beautiful weather beckons everyone else, too. These days, staring at his computer screen at 12:01, as Sunday night transitions into Monday morning, hoping to book that perfect tee time, Rally hits refresh-refresh-refresh-refresh...to no avail: too soon and then too late. Between the screen refreshes, every spot has been scooped. So, he opts to make other plans and, though it may not be regulation, a course of his own.
The first hole is knee-deep in the Everglades, smack in the middle of Shark River Slough. Where eagles are eagles, snowmen melt; and it isn’t likely a golden ferret, but the even rarer goldenastor. Mulligans are still mulligans, but they don’t come cheap - if that ball is even a 100th of an inch above water, you’d better be giving it a shot.
Sure, it's agrestic, and most assuredly carry only; no carts dare tackle this terrain. And it isn’t just the occasional ball claimed by the water. Indeed, from time to time, an entire rogue golf bag is spotted half-submerged in the River of Grass, a turtle comfortably perched, sunning. But there are upswings if you’ve got the positive outlook to see them: a bit of regulation-course cabbage will look like a perfectly maintained green after playing from marl prairie; its water hazards, glorified sprinkles after the beastly mangroves; and sand bunkers? Try the karst of the Rocky Glades…this will challenge even the most seasoned pro.
The obstacles that nature provides can sometime wander to the ridiculous but, more often than not, they are simply refreshing and the corresponding landscape breathtaking. Better still, after a club-toting commune with your wild side, you’ll rightfully return a better player. This leaves Rally Manonash thinking that maybe next time he snags a coveted Saturday morning tee time, he’ll be a pelican that will have his condor - without even cutting over the dogleg.
Whitby Valentine European Hedgehog Greeting Card
$ 4.00 USD
7 x 5", blank inside
ON THE BACK OF THE CARD:
As Whitby Valentine Hedgehog ambles along the overgrown trail, he starts thinking about how many times he’s made this trip into town and back: every day, year after year, since he could walk. He doesn’t scurry along as he did when he was just a hoglet; he doesn’t even move along briskly. No, these days, it is definitely a meander, and he is just fine with that.
As he heads into his twilight years, Whitby may have less might and dexterity but at least the universe gifts him with a growing reserve of wisdom and patience to offset. His eyesight is fading, too - a more difficult adjustment - but Whitby figures it is simply an opportunity to see with the heart rather than the eyes alone. True, he now listens better and speaks more thoughtfully, and even though he had a beautiful spirit before, he now connects with others more deeply and wholly. As Whitby rounds the final curve of the brae, gingerly treading up four low, wide stairs before reaching his house, he steps squarely on a fire ant hill. Totally unintentional, of course; his eyes being dim, he couldn’t see. But those ants, protecting their formicary, alert Whitby of his misstep by nipping at his legs straight up to the knees. Unbeknownst to him, James Willoughby Red Squirrel, a stained-glass artist by trade, had been perched in a nearby tree and saw the entire debacle. As Whitby bumbled home to soak the sting away in an herbal bath, James returned to his studio, inspired to help. Being ever resourceful, he found some old pop bottles and, from their bases, was able to chisel two thick magnifying lenses just the right size. He fitted them into makeshift wire frames, and they fit perfectly.
Whitby Valentine loves his new spectacles and wears them proudly; he is eternally grateful. So are the fire ants. But, from time to time, he’ll leave them on his console table as he heads out just to remember what it means to really see.
Murray Maynooth Moose Greeting Card
$ 4.00 USD
5 x 7", blank inside
ON THE BACK OF THE CARD:
Murray Maynooth, a very gentle spirit, is a veritable Thoreau on four legs. He lives in an off-the-grid, solar-powered geodesic dome constructed entirely of found twigs whittled to perfection by his old friend Ford Buckminster the Beaver.
Being a staunch vegan (his favourite autumnal treat is baked butternut squash with birch syrup), Murray spends his mornings foraging for berries and vegetables and crafting his harvest into wonderfully tasty treats.
Afternoons have him leisurely toot-tooting around the neighbourhood on his trusty bicycle. Not simply for the exercise: he loves the social that his daily ride offers. Stopping to chat at nearly every house, Murray always leaves a much appreciated package of preserves. The exchange of ideas is always invaluable, providing the pith for his ever-developing philosophies.
Albert Finnegan Black Bear Greeting Card
$ 4.00 USD
5 x 7", blank inside
ON THE BACK OF THE CARD:
Albert Finnegan always appreciated a good tea party and hosted them often. But he got to thinking, “Why serve dainty finger sandwiches and delicate petit fours when I have all of these blueberries from up the hillside? I'll serve nice BIG pieces of pie. A-n-n-n-d I'll serve them on dinner plates, even if it is only mid-afternoon!” So he did.
Albert's tea parties were always a great success due, in part, to his generous portion sizes. But it was his charming personality and make-you-weak-at-the-knees recipes that had everyone coveting an invitation. So, after much encouragement from the neighbourhood, Albert and his love, Eleanor, opened their waterside patisserie, Portage. Dawn 'til dusk, they are serving up all sorts of sweet treats. Swim, slither, walk, or fly to Portage; eat on the patio or take away. But get all you can while you can because, come the first sign of snow, the culinary couple will be packing it in for the winter
Midge & Mondo Pines Field Mouse Greeting Card
$ 4.00 USD
5 x 7", blank inside
On a separate sheet, accompanying the Art Poster:
Midge and Mondo get on like a house on fire. And whenever they’re around, everyone knows it - there is such a spark between the two; it is both electric and contagious.
No one knows how or when the pair met; they’ve just always been. Daydreaming, talking, or simply cozied up with each other reading. Usually, if the latter, it’ll have something to do with cars. Mondo’s four-wheel love is the iconic Porsche 911, while Midge fancies a beefy 1969 Corvette L88 with the ZL-1 big block.
But, when reading turns to daydreaming, they chatter away about restoring an oldie: a 1949 International Harvester Half Ton. They found the mix of curves and power absolutely titillating. Heaven forbid (for the community at large) they should actually ever get it built, though. How on earth they’d negotiate the steering wheel, the gears, and the brakes clearly hasn’t come up in conversation.
