We’re nuts for coffee. And tea. And pretty much anything you can put in a mug (mug cake, anyone?). With a cupboard full of our mugs, every time you drink that cup of Joe your mood will be boosted and you’ll have a good chuckle.
A well-decorated fridge shows off the personality of the house and keeps the important memos front and center. But boring magnets just won’t cut it for those family photos. We have perfectly curated sets of magnets for dog lovers, coffee addicts, and even the grumps.
Dishes. Bleh. The worst chore, in our opinion. When we’re drying dishes with a snarky towel, it gets a little better. As an added bonus, they’re 100% cotton and made in the USA.
It’s no secret that we love a good glass of wine. And in Oregon, we’re all crazy for a robust IPA. Whether you’re drinking after a long day of working from home or need a cup for your next gals night, putting that pinot in a Pithitude tumbler will make you laugh and bring you joy. Camping, anyone? Make sure you have your Pithitude travel tumbler with you.
Whether you’re treating yourself or buying gifts for your favorite people, a print of some sassy cats or lovable pups is the perfect addition to any home. Add a few to your kitchen and your cooking space will be absolutely Pithified. And don’t worry, we won’t judge if you cover the walls with our art. We encourage it!
]]>Families, cornhole-players, and the occasional fisherman will stop and cheer on bubbles that seem destined for the hills, as well as giggle and cringe along with us when a rogue bubble lands on the band's sound equipment or inside the door of the closest food truck (sorry, guys!).
Here is what you need to make your own bucket of fun:
1 TBS guar gum (sold powdered in baking aisle with specialty flours)
1 TBS baking powder
1 cup blue Dawn dish soap
1 gallon container
1 gallon water
1 lidded food container to use as dunking bowl
Slowly whisk together ¼ of the water with the rest of the ingredients in your gallon container. Slowly add the remaining water. Works best within one week of mixing. Divide it up in food storage containers to share!
For the wand:
2 narrow dowels, bamboo, or sticks of the same length (about 24 inches)
Approx. 2 yards of cotton string
1 key or metal nut for weight
Thread the weight onto your string. Fold the string in half and attach the loose ends (together) to the end of one stick.
Attach the folded end of the string to the end of the other stick, so that the weight can hang between them, forming a triangle with one side above and two below.
Dip the entire string into your container, raise your arms with your hands close together, then gently spread your arms apart to catch the breeze (Like our friend, Shirley, in the picture).
Happy bubbling!
-Tamara
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If you are in Southern California, please call Alex of Liberated Artists at (818) 681-0238.
Let's put more laughter in YOUR shop!
-Tamara
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Frequently seen on the Harbor boardwalk last summer showing her multitude of illustrated "Pithitude" mugs, Tamara Kraft has embraced the Southern Oregon scene and is now collaborating with local shops to design products unique to their stores. "In a community this size, it's important that shoppers see something different in each shop. It encourages visitors to return to Brookings as a destination, and keeps things fresh for those of us lucky enough live here," Kraft says.
Since relocating to Brookings last spring, Pithitude has experienced many successful local showings and strong growth via e-commerce.
"While my greatest growth financially has been through selling on Amazon Handmade, the time that I enjoy the most in my business is hosting my booth on Saturdays at the Port, meeting the people and laughing along with them when they see my work. I plan to make that time a bigger priority this year." To that end, Kraft says she plans to participate in the local Saturday Market on the boardwalk three times a month this summer, and show at ten regional festivals a year.
That plan begins this month, where Pithitude can be seen at the Newport Seafood and Wine Festival, happening Feb. 22-25 in Newport, OR. On March 2-4, Tamara and her husband, Ace, will be traveling north to the Custer Arts and Crafts Show in Spokane, WA, and back down to Ashland, OR March 9-11 for the Oregon Chocolate Festival.
It won't be just mugs on display this year. Kraft acquired new equipment to expand her product line recently. "I'm working on the t-shirt line right now," grins Kraft. That's going to be so fun. Then we're going to expand to canvas prints and wrapping paper. There's so much to do, and I can't work on those projects while we're traveling, but I can at least sketch and plan while Ace drives, so it will work out fine."
For an updated Pithitude show schedule or to order direct, visit www.pithitude.com.
]]>A Plethora of Pithitudes
by Jane Stebbins
Tami Kraft can often be found sitting in bars, listening to people as they drink.
And from them, she is capitalizing on pithy sayings, which she turns around and puts on T-shirts, buttons, coffee cups and tote bags.
The Cape Ferrelo artist listens and sketches while her husband, Ace, sings karaoke.
The part-time business — by day, she works as a lab tech at Curry Health District’s clinic in Brookings, and he just took a seasonal job at Harris Beach State Park — didn’t start in the congenial atmosphere of bars, however.
“It was born of grief and sadness,” Kraft said, of her first husband’s unexpected death in 2009. That Christmas was somber, with family members overcompensating for their sadness by overindulging in gifts no one really needed, she said.
Kraft started drawing gift tags for the presents — silly animals with wild eyes and an edgy vibe. The gallows humor in them allowed her to release some pain. The drawings depict colorful and whimsical animals, many with oversized eyeballs — and pithy quotes to accompany them.
The laughter — and healing — began.
And Pithitude — “Laughter you can hold in your hand” — was borne. Pithitudes — pithy with an attitude — has even made it into the “handmade” section of amazon.com.
“I pooped today!” reads a coffee cup with a goofy beaver drawn on the other side.
“You still asleep, human?” reads another, with a scruffy cat’s head right in one’s face.
“Go away; I’m introverting,” with a cranky-looking cat.
“Coffee is for mermaids.”
Another reads, “Kindly do not alter my calm,” with a depiction of a giraffe lazing in tall grass.
A killer bunny says, “They will never find the bodies.”
“This, too shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.”
The work was a new creative outlet for Kraft.
“I wasn’t one of those doodlers, I didn’t take art classes in school,” said the Spokane, Washington native. “And I was doing inch-and-a-quarter magnets and buttons. You couldn’t (see much detail) because they’re little. Customers keep asking for bigger and bigger items, and through practice, they improved.”
She first sketches a drawing, fine-tunes it on the computer and clamps it to a polymer-coated blank mug. Then she puts it in the oven for 15 minutes. The heat causes the mug’s polymer coating to open “pores” into which the dye sublimates; as it cools, the pores close to ensure the print is permanent.
Right now her favorite is an angry little yellow chick: “Who left the box of idiots open again?”
“Follow your dreams,” another says, depicting an owl in flight. “So I went back to bed.”
She avoids the political, although she admits Donald Trump’s “covfefe” garble at the end of one of his Twitter posts could lend itself to something.
“It’s the celebration that when everything is going wrong, the small graces in life take on greater significance,” Kraft said. “They can be the crack of light that reminds you the dark places don’t have to be forever. The humor saved me.”
Pithitude has evolved, and inventory has grown to include T-shirts, coin purses, art tiles and notebooks. This Christmas season, Amazon will feature two of her cups in its Pet Lovers Holiday Feature section.
Ace’s first contribution to the trite quotes was one depicting an angry orange cat and reading, “I’m punching you with my eyes!”
Her merchandise is available at McMillans Gallery just south of the Oregon border, or at the Saturday Market on the Port of Brookings Harbor boardwalk — look for a bright sketch drawing of a very offended ostrich.
And she’s open to receiving new pithy comments at pithitude.com.
-by Jane Stebbins
http://www.currypilot.com/features/5448056-151/a-plethora-of-pithitudes
]]>And I can find nearly half of the stuff I need - that's a win, folks. I'm so looking forward to getting settled in enough to start bringing you some fresh snark and sass. Have ideas you want to see brought into the world? I've had lots of requests for German Shepherds lately.
Write me anytime: Tamara@Pithitude.com
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