HAVING A SHITLOAD OF FUN: Here at AdobeMAX in Las Vegas!

PORTLAND POP-UP ALERT: This Saturday at Outlet PDX! Yes! Yeslet! Just got the big news that we’re doing a DDC & Notes to Self pop-up at Outlet PDX on Saturday, October 7 from 11am-4pm! Come hang out! Under the watchful eye of our buddy Kate Bingaman-Burt!

We’ll have a full offering of DDC merch in tow, and, Leigh's entire line of cool stuff from her new project Notes To Self! Come hang out! General conversation, weather speculation, book signing, high fiving, chewing the fat, shaking hands, spinning yarns and whatever else we can pack in from those five hours.

Here's the official link to it! Love all that yellow!

HELL IN A BUCKET: Sold out! Sold out! Sold out! Sold out! Sold out! Sold out!

TODAY'S THE DAY: Fifty Jerry posters up for sale! The link will be up in just 15 minutes, right here on Draplin.com. Like, right above this post! Come back at noon to snag one of these!

My favorite stories always involve a buddy taking matters into their own hands and creating their own way. Or brand, band, product, store, movement or whatever. Basically, the scariest of territories where you embark into the unknown, with only your handiwork to guide the whole thing. And Portland's Wood&Faulk is one of my favorites here in this exciting category of "buddies doing things on their own terms."

I met Matt Pierce from Wood&Faulk about five years back. He was partnering with Greg Hennes on The Portland Bazaar and each year when we were setting up, I'd get to check out his latest bag designs and accessories. And each season, he'd have a couple new things. I loved the detail, function, durability, timelessness and confidence in his products.

From the rustic simplicity of their "Camp Stool" to that ballistic "Carpenter Bag", the pieces were so impressive to me. And of course, their growing line of accessories and cool stuff. I'm blown away each time I hit the site to see what they've been cooking up. This stuff is special. It's not like this is some big, lumbering company. Every detail is fretted over, and there's something really special about that.

I was doing some work for The Jennings Hotel for Greg Hennes, and made a graphic for a tote bag made by Wood&Faulk. That was one bad-ass tote bag. I simply hit Matt up and begged him to make me an orange version. We worked out the colors, leather and canvas weights and in no time I had a run of 50 bags on deck! And that's what you are seeing here. Introducing the DDC Brand "Orange Tote Bag" by Wood & Faulk. Item number "DDC-147" in our proud roster of spirited merch items.

This is the nicest piece of merch we've made to date. These things will GO THE DISTANCE. I've been beating mine to shit on the road and around the shop, and it's as tough as it was on day one. Thanks, Matt. I love these tote bags!

01. Proudly manufactured right here in Portland, Oregon by our buddies at Wood&Faulk.
02. The "As Orange As Possible" canvas is from Fairfield Textile in New Jersey. Some burly stuff, there.
03. Inner pocket for Field Notes, car keys or a wallet.
04. Cool car keys/key chain leather thingie that tucks into the inner pocket.
05. Thick hit of "Way White" on the inner pocket. Discreet. Thick ink on durable cotton.
06. The soft, durable leather straps are from the world famous SB Foot Tanning Co. in Red Wing, Minnesota. Bought by Red Wing Shoes in the '80s, it's the largest tannery in the United States. Here's a little video about those amazing hides.
07. The bombproof rivets are from YKK USA. Made in Macon, Georgia.
08. Minimal hit of woven label branding on side.
09. Agreeable dimensions of 15" tall x 15" wide. Then a cool 6" deep.
10. Flat bottom allows the bag to stand up and hold its shape when loaded with groceries, books, dirty laundry, records or whatever you are lugging around.
11. Will hold just about anything!
12. The official tote bag of the Draplin Design Co.!
13. WAY LIMITED EDITION of 50 for the "First Run" of these champions.
14. In stock forever, or, as long as we can coax/cajole/sweet-talk Wood&Faulk to make them for us!
15. Check out this shot of Matt and I "sealing the deal" on these amazing totes! Interesting "hand placement" in that one. $149.99+$12 Shipping (U.S.A.)

For customers using PayPal, click the link above they'll take it from there. For customers who aren't using PayPal, send us an email to "orders(at)draplin.com" and we'll get back to you with an address to ship the funds to. We accept money orders and cold hard cash, so, get with it, man! All orders are shipped out as fast as we can. Usually a couple days after the order comes in. We ship everything USPS "First Class" rates. If you want quicker shipping, contact us and we can ramp it up to USPS Priority, or whatever you need. We aim to please! We cover the shipping in the states, but charge the basics for international orders. Before you place the order through our PayPal account, send us an email to "orders(at)draplin.com" and we'll get you a shipping quote for the goods you are interested in. As simple as that! Thanks!

©2017 DDC Dry Goods Div., Merch Dept., Portland, Ore.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The tour is done and the van is unpacked…and we miss the big road! And all the faces and handshakes and good times. Thank you to everyone who came out to a show the last couple months!

A couple of high-level Skillshare top brass tagged along for a stop on my book tour to learn about what life is like on the road with Leigh, the van and I. All the warts and moles from our recent stop in Philadelphia with our buddy Steve DeCusatis. Thanks again for pulling off a killer show!

Although this isn’t a new class, here’s a 10 minute short doc on what’s it like to go on tour, and, operate from the road: "Designer in a Van: On Tour with Aaron Draplin"

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AND DON'T FORGET OUR THREE SKILLSHARE CLASSES: These things are still raging along! Get in there and get weird with them!

01. "Logo Design with Draplin: Secrets of Shape, Type and Color"
02. "Circular Logo Design with Draplin: Combine Type & Icons in a Classic Shape"
02. "Customizing Type with Draplin: Creating Wordmarks That Work"

01. John Moreland - Big Bad Luv
02. The Posies - The Best of The Posies
03. Afghan Whigs - In Spades
04. Craig Finn - We All Want The Same Things
05. Japandroids - Celebration Rock
06. Yes - Fragile
07. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
08. Anvil - Metal On Metal
09. Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
10. Peter Sarstedt - The Lost Album
11. Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
12. Ryan Adams - Prisoner
13. The Del-Vetts - The Del-Vetts
14. Holy Sons - In The Garden
15. Son Volt - Notes of Blue
16. Richmond Fontaine - You Can't Go Back If There's Nothing To Go Back To
17. Belle Adair - Tuscumbia
18. Bash & Pop - Anything Could Happen
19. Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody
20. Beach Slang - A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
21. Beach Slang - Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken? - EP
22. Beach Slang - Cheap Thrills On a Dead End Street - EP
23. Beach Slang - The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us
24. Heatmiser - Cop and Speeder
25. Düngen - Häxan
26. Car Seat Headrest - Teens Of Denial
27. Mount Eerie - Clear Moon
28. Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem
29. Lambchop - FLOTUS
30. Dinosaur Jr - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
31. Red Fang - Only Ghosts
32. Wilco - Schmilco
33. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
34. The Buckinghams - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (A Collection)
35. Drive-By Truckers - American Band
36. Crosby, Stills & Nash - CSN
37. Morgan Delt - Phase Zero
38. Phones - Echo In Time
39. Black Sabbath - Sabotage
40. Black Sabbath - Never Say Die!
41. Shins - Heartworms
42. Temples - Volcano

FOR THE MOST IMMEDIATE OF RELEASES: Introducing our new typeface, DDC HARDWARE!

A typeface revived, designed and produced by the Draplin Design Co. and Lost Type Co-Op.

- Three weights.
- Full range of diacritics that supports over 100 languages!
- Versatile range of ordinals.
- Historical alternates.
- Split fractions and diagonal fractions.

This straight-talking typeface is ready to do the job.

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THE STORY GOES: "DDC Hardware was made out of frustration. I couldn’t find a simple, utilitarian typeface that was as ubiquitous as the letterforms I’d see in my travels on the back roads and industrial yards across North America. That, and free of the latest trends and ironic twists in the type world. I just wanted something that was painfully functional. Unapologetic! I’d be in some alley or junkyard, and I’d see versions of the typeface painted on corrugated steel siding, or, ghosted on some old brick wall. So I’d take a couple shots, stew over it the rest of the ride and build a couple characters later on that night. In a couple nights, I had an alphabet to pick and choose from. This was 2004 and went on for a decade where I’d create words/logos piece by piece from my original file. And then I met Riley Cran. He expanded the character set, built it into three weights and brought DDC Hardware to life and ready for the world. Things get buried by time and progress. And sometimes you have to unearth them and bring them back to life. DDC Hardware is ready to do the job."—Aaron James Draplin, Draplin Design Company

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CHECK OUT THE INCREDIBLE MINISITE: DDC Hardware!

Built/coded by the IMPRESSIVE Kenneth Ormandy. With help from Riley Cran. Go test the typeface out there! Editable, right there in the browser! Go!

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Get your copy now: DDC HARDWARE!

No bullshit allowed: DDC HARDWARE!

Works everywhere: DDC HARDWARE!

Sands the test of time: DDC HARDWARE!

OUT THIRD SKILLSHARE CLASS IS OUT: "Customizing Type"

OUT THIRD SKILLSHARE CLASS IS OUT: "Customizing Type"

GET IT GOING, STUDENTS: Our third Skillshare class is up, out, happening, live, living, learning, loving, going apeshit and GETTING WEIRD right now, right here: "Customizing Type"

Go long, go short, kern it, track it, sketch it...just so long as you stay the hell away from the dreaded "Default" stuff! Let us arm you with a quiver of custom type tools!

Don't forget our first two, either: "Logo Design with Draplin: Secrets of Shape, Type and Color" and "Circular Logo Design with Draplin: Combine Type & Icons in a Classic Shape"

I look forward to seeing what you guys make!

And hey, thanks to Elliott, Bill and Scott from Skillshare for jumping into the ring with me. Always awesome. Thanks!

DDC "Thick Lines" Poster Series, No. 07, "Dayglow"

NOW SHIPPING: The 7th poster in our "Thick Lines" poster series! Introducing "Dayglow!" Five fluorescent colors and a hit of black. Beyond bright!

GO: Get "Dayglow" here.

01. Beach Slang - A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
02. Beach Slang - The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us
03. Beach Slang - Cheap Thrills On a Dead End Street EP
04. Beach Slang - Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken? EP
05. Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
06. Phones - Back In Time
07. Heatmiser - Cop and Speeder
08. Düngen - Häxan
09. Car Seat Headrest - Teens Of Denial
10. The Circle Jerks - Wönderful
11. Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem
12. Mount Eerie - Clear Moon
13. Lambchop - FLOTUS
14. Tad - God's Balls (Deluxe Edition)
15. Tad - Salt Lick (Deluxe Edition)
16. Tad - Eight Way Santa (Deluxe Edition)
17. Morgan Delt - Phase Zero
18. Crosby, Stills & Nash - CSN
19. Scott Fagan - South Atlantic Blues
20. Drive-By Truckers - American Band
21. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
22. Red Fang - Only Ghosts
23. Dicks - 1980-1986
24. Wilco - Schmilco
25. Dinosaur Jr. - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
26. Melvins - Ozma
27. Big Business - Command Your Weather
28. Neil Young - Silver & Gold
29. Stereolab - Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night
30. Damian Jurado - Visions of Us on the Land
31. Jim Sullivan - U.F.O.
32. William Tyler - Modern Country
33. Dianogah - As Seen From Above
34. Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon
35. Butthole Surfers - Electriclarryland
36. Butthole Surfers - Double Live
37. Elevator To Hell - Eerieconsilation
38. Richmond Fontaine - You Can't Go Back If There's Nothing To Go Back To
39. The Jayhawks - Paging Mr. Proust
40. Prince - Dirty Mind

WE'RE STILL ALIVE: And pledge to really give it a go in 2017. Happy New Year to all of you, except for one asshole in New York.

12,000 MILES OF APPRECIATION: We did it! The DDC 2016 Fall Tour is complete, and man, I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to go to so many wild places, meet so many cool people, sell and sign a mountain of books, whip through so many states, and, all in an orange Ford Econoline E-350 van. #stubbornfacts

And, with the great Leigh Mckolay as my co-pilot. Thank you for navigation, merch prowess, hotel room logistics, podcast searches and gold standard open road companionship. Thank you, lady. #mush

Thank you to everyone who came out to the shows, bought some merch, brought in their books to sign, bought a book, shook our hands, told us their stories, came to a workshop, loaded in merch, shared a dinner with, helped us “find the gig”, set up any number of hospitable nights and facilitated the greatest adventure of my life.

I didn’t get into graphic design to make books. Or go on a fuckin’ book tour? I got into graphic design to make a living. So this? I can’t believe what we pulled off. Still nursing a big ol' orange buzz. So thankful. #appreciation

And, uh, we’re currently scheming up a blistering Spring Tour, that’ll cover, uh, EVERYWHERE ELSE. Dates announced after the new year!

(Late night Marquette, Michigan photo by Josh LeClair! With direction from Mike Forester!)

GET IN THE VAN: The tour starts tomorrow in Bend, Oregon at the Swivel Conference! Can't wait to get down there, and, EVERYWHERE ELSE!!!

TODAY IS THE DAY: Our book, "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything" comes out today!

We've been waiting for this one since that surreal day in November of 2014 when we got the call up to the big leagues by John Gall of Abrams Books! Things really heated up when we signed the contracts in March of 2015! That's when shit went from "maybe, huh, really?" to "we're doing this thing!", and quick. And today, the last year of fret, sweat, nightmares, freak-outs, production, color-correcting, scanning, compiling, scheming, kerning, dreaming, wondering, anticipation and general excitement comes to a big ol' "Pantone Orange 021" head.

Be free, DDC Book. Get out there!

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GRAND CANYONS OF APPRECIATION ARE FELT: To my mom for always being there, to my dad wherever the hell he is in the cosmos, to Leigh for patience, to Leah, Jacob and Oliver, to sister Sarah, to Goo and Dave for helping me shoot shit, to all my rotgut buddies, heroes and mentors who wrote a paragraph on pages 006-007, to Mark Welsh, Neil Dacosta, Aaron Okayama and Micheal Poehlman for photography, Jim Coudal, Michele Seiler, Bryan Bedell, Matt Jorgensen and Dawson and all Field Notes peoples in Chicago,

To John Gall at Abrams Books for reaching out, patience, guidance, goading, excellence and making this happen. To Gabe Levinson, Sarah Massey, Joseph Villella, Devin Grosz, Marti Malovany, Michael Jacobs, Denise LaCongo, Jennifer Brunn, Paul Colarusso, Tina Mories, Mamie VanLangen from Abrams Books.

To Andrea Robinson, Peter Donahue, Mindy Koentopp and Jane Vandenberg of RR Donnelly for helping me make the slipcase. So many people wouldn't give me the time of day and you guys CAME THROUGH and made it happen for the book. Thank you. Brillianta 4196 forever!

And finally, to all of you who bought one. Thanks, you guys. I didn't get into graphic design to make books. I got into graphic design to make a living. And today, my fuckin' mind is blown. Thank you for this privilege and opportunity, and for believing in me. And for believing in the DDC. Thank you.

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EVERYTHING ELSE, EVERYTHING ELSE, EVERYTHING ELSE: When we first got this thing going, I had a long wishlist readied. And man, Abrams hit all the big ones for the book. Debossed cover, Orange 021 spot color throughout the entire book, 256 pages...I was in heaven. And the coolest part, the book would be super affordable at the $39.99 retail price. I was proud as hell of that. I remember not being able to afford big design books. So I'd flip through them and leave 'em behind. Our book? Viciously affordable.

But of course, I went ape-shit and built a big list of "Everything Else" including a boss slipcase, mini prints, merit badge, decal sheet, bookmarks, a couple sets of fiercely limited edition Field Notes "Pretty Much Everything" edition and other goodies. Mystery items, too. That's a pretty big pile of stuff.

And just to be clear, the DDC "Everything Else" Enhancement Kit DOES NOT come with the book. Buy that separately. The "EEEK" kit comes with a beautiful slipcase filled with items designed to enhance the book.

BUILT LIKE A BRICK SHITHOUSE: Wait until you see that slipcase up close! Beautiful orange Brillianta fabric wrapping and thick, thick walls. Will Protect your "Pretty Much Everything" from, well, pretty much everything.

ITEMIZED: DDC "Everything Else" Enhancement Kit, Item List:

01. EEEK-001 "Decal Sheet"
02. EEEK-002 "Merit Badge"
03. EEEK-003 "Certificate of Authenticity"
04. EEEK-004 "Mini Print Set"
05. EEEK-005 "Bookmark Set"
06. EEEK-006 "Everything Else Notes"
07. EEEK-007 "DDC Pinback"
08. EEEK-008 "Troll Excerpt"
09. EEEK-009 "PME Slipcase"
10. EEEK-010 "Field Notes Three-Packs"
11. EEEK-0?? "Mystery Items!"

(TO BE CLEAR: The DDC "Everything Else" Enhancement Kit DOES NOT come with the book. Buy that separately. This is for an amazing slipcase, Field Notes, mini prints and a ton of cool extras.)

Click here to get in a little closer at all that gear packed into that slipcase! Ordering details below.

And just to be crystal clear, the enhancement kit DOES NOT come with a "Pretty Much Everything" book. Order that off Amazon here, or find it at a retailer near you. The DDC "Everything Else" Enhancement Kit is a product of the Draplin Design Co., built to ENHANCE the book you bought.

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY: Today is May 16th. Tomorrow is the May 17th book release!!! All this time. All this freaking out. All the pages. All the fret. Coming to one big Pantone Orange 021 head tomorrow.

One final day to pre-order it, too! Snag a copy for just $25 all day today!

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ACT NOW: Get your copy on pre-order at ddcbook.com. Pick from a list of fine retailers.

OUR PUBLISHER: Check out the book on Abrams.com!

ON AMAZON.COM: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

ON UNCRATE: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

COUPLE MORE TO GO: Just two days out from our official May 17th book release!!! That's Tuesday! Can't fuckin' contain myself. Nightmares, night sweats, night terrors...in anticipation for Tuesday!

- - - -

ACT NOW: Get your copy on pre-order at ddcbook.com. Pick from a list of fine retailers.

OUR PUBLISHER: Check out the book on Abrams.com!

ON AMAZON.COM: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

ON UNCRATE: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

SKETCHY THINGS COME IN THREES: Just three days out from our official May 17th book release!!! This coming Tuesday!

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ACT NOW: Get your copy on pre-order at ddcbook.com. Pick from a list of fine retailers.

OUR PUBLISHER: Check out the book on Abrams.com!

ON AMAZON.COM: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

ON UNCRATE: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

FOUR ON THE FLOOR: Just four days out from our official May 17th book release!!!

Thanks to everyeone who came to our book release at Hand-Eye Supply! Bullshitting, books and brews! Over 100 people! Bam! Thanks Tobias, Lyndsey and all Hand-Eye Supply folks!

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ACT NOW: Get your copy on pre-order at ddcbook.com. Pick from a list of fine retailers.

OUR PUBLISHER: Check out the book on Abrams.com!

ON AMAZON.COM: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

ON UNCRATE: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

FOUR FINGERS AND A TOENAIL: Just five days out from our official May 17th book release!!!

Thanks to everyone who came to our book release at Hand-Eye Supply! Bullshitting, books and brews! Over 100 people! Bam! Thanks Tobias, Lyndsey and all Hand-Eye Supply folks!

- - - -

ACT NOW: Get your copy on pre-order at ddcbook.com. Pick from a list of fine retailers.

OUR PUBLISHER: Check out the book on Abrams.com!

ON AMAZON.COM: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

ON UNCRATE: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

THE BOOK RELEASE IS IMMINENT: Just six days out from May 17!!!

Hell, tonight in Portland there's a book release party at Hand-Eye Supply! Bullshitting, books and brews! Click here for details. 6pm, people!

- - - -

ACT NOW: Get your copy on pre-order at ddcbook.com. Pick from a list of fine retailers.

OUR PUBLISHER: Check out the book on Abrams.com!

ON AMAZON.COM: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

ON UNCRATE: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

THE BOOK IS COMING: And we're just a week out from May 17!!!

- - - -

ACT NOW: Get your copy on pre-order at ddcbook.com. Pick from a list of fine retailers.

OUR PUBLISHER: Check out the book on Abrams.com!

ON AMAZON.COM: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

ON UNCRATE: "Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything"

NICE GROUP OF FELLAS: Met the boys from the Master of One Podcast at Creative South, and we signed the paperwork to be on the podcast. We covered many topics, and went WAY over their allotted time. Give it a listen!

Click here, you animals: Episode 18.2: Sandbox Interview – with Graphic Designer Aaron James Draplin

Nice to hang with you guys in Georgia. Thanks you, Luke, Andrew and Patrick! Stay wild!

What New York's been seeing for a month or so.

But let me zoom in a bit...SOLD OUT!

BIG APPLE + TALL TALES + LARGE MAN: Tomorrow night's the big show! We're here on behalf of AIGANY, telling our complete story to 500 people! Sold the thing out!

My mom is here! Leigh is here! Cameron's gonna be there. And my cousin Tom who lives here in the city. Matt Cooley better fuckin' show up. Eric Baker, too. Evan and Maja are coming down from Vermont. And word is that cute duo of Dan Cassaro and Dan Christofferson might muscle their way in. And then, 490 of New York City's best and brightest.

This is our official book launch, too, so head of state from Abrams Books will be in attendance. Here's the official Abrams web site "Pretty Much Everything" page! I'm so excited I can barely type these words. We'll be signing books, shaking hands, kissing babes, righting wrongs, dotting i's, crossing t's and whatever it takes.

Plus, we've got a FULL DDC MERCH TABLE in tow, with a mountain of must-have DDC merch items at "New York-Only" prices. Things you need. Weird plastic things. Posters. Hats. Torso covers. Field Notes! Leigh will be watching over all merch activities tomorrow night.

So yeah, real excited for the whole thing. Thank you Stacey from AIGANY and my buddies at Abrams. Now we're off to get some of those boss foam Statue of Liberty hat things...

Come to the show tomorrow night!

"American Flag Bernie!"

"Red, White, Blue and Bernie"

"Thick Lines Bernie"

FEELING THE BERN: Heading up to New York City early tomorrow morning to hang out at the
Bernie Sanders "The Art of a Political Revolution - NYC Art Exhibit!" We've got three posters in the show! That's what you are seeing up above.

Leigh is flying in from Portland, Burlington's Novovic-Rose duo will be in the city and we'll all meet up with Luis Calderin from Bernie's campaign. Gonna be fun to see the show up close! New York City!

The incredible Crop logo by Matt Dawson of Stay Gray Ponyboy!

HAD A GREAT TIME ON THE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER: Crop was awesome. A fast, fun couple of days. Got to hang with Jason Craig, Mike Jones, the Hood sisters and my man, Howard Hall! Thank you to the Dawson family and all the folks who came to the conference, and, to our merch table! You guys ravaged that table. Bam! Hell yeah, Baton Rouge!

DOWN TO LOUISIANA: Heading down to Baton Rouge tomorrow for the Crop Conference! Bam!

One of the coolest nights of my life was on April 4th, 2011. In a wild town called Austin. Bart Kibbe and Josh Kramer brought me down to Austin to do my talk to the creative community there. It was a long shot. We did a Kickstarter and raised funds for the whole mess. Hell, Evan and Dale came along too, those fucks. (For backup, in case we got jumped. Nothing to report.)

The show was incredible! We packed Lewis Carnegie FULL, and their court yard too! It was ferocious. That's the night I met all the Austin heavies, too! Geoff Peveto, DJ Stout, Marc English, John Tullis and so many other boos folks. Thank you. So fun.

And then the next night, Industry did this cool screen printing party where people could pick and choose from a handful of designs I made. Tons of people came out and got a t-shirt. So, so cool. And one of those designs, that's the patch you are seeing here.

Here's the thing: I make this stuff, and of course, I'm always going a little too fast. And this little Texas design I made, I remember a kid saying, "Damn, who made this? It's awesome." And I was standing behind him, listening and smiling. So five years later, I unearthed it and made a patch. That's what you are seeing up above. Texas. Thick Lines. Officially messing with Texas!

01. Proudly made in the U.S.A.
02. Durable embroidery. Long lasting.
02. Thick lines!
03. 2.75" x 2.75" in dimension.
04. Proudly manufactured by the longhorns at Brewery Outfitters!
05. In stock forever, and, remember the Alamo!
06. Officially MESSING WITH TEXAS.
07. Inspired by the colors of high country Texas.
08. Shipped in a durable kraft StayFlat envelope.
$7.99 - Shipping Included!!! (U.S.A.)

For customers using PayPal, click the link above they'll take it from there. For customers who aren't using PayPal, send us an email to "orders(at)draplin.com" and we'll get back to you with an address to ship the funds to. We accept money orders and cold hard cash, so, get with it, man! All orders are shipped out as fast as we can. Usually a couple days after the order comes in. We ship everything USPS "First Class" rates. If you want quicker shipping, contact us and we can ramp it up to USPS Priority, or whatever you need. We aim to please! We cover the shipping in the states, but charge the basics for international orders. Before you place the order through our PayPal account, send us an email to "orders(at)draplin.com" and we'll get you a shipping quote for the goods you are interested in. As simple as that! Thanks!

©2015 DDC Dry Goods Div., Merch Dept., Portland, Ore.

TODAY IS THE DAY, AUSTIN: I flew in yesterday, just minutes after President Obama landed. Got to see the ass-end of Air Force One on the tarmac, which was exciting as hell. Austin was buzzing for the president with stories of the motorcade, taco lunches and intense security. Man, I love our president. Just so thankful to have him leading the charge.

Anyhoo, I grabbed my rental, raced to my hotel, unloaded my gear and started making my way into the city. Made it downtown in about 10 minutes, straight down MLK. Was robbed blind by some snake-eyed parking lot attendant so I could make my interview appointment at "Analog" by American Greetings. Whatever it takes.

I'm down here to do my talk today! The schedule is up above. I'll be delivering a BLISTERING rendition of my Tall Tales multi-media fiasco, with extra emphasis on paper, slowing down and the wonders of ephemera in a world that just keeps getting fast and faster. Deep breaths, big world, deep breaths.

Our slot is at 3:30pm at the Thirsty Nickel down on Trinity & East 6th Street. Open to the public! Come see the show, Austin!

Thanks to all the good people of Mullen Lowe, Guild and American Greetings for making this event come to life. Thank you Yudit, Lauren, Enrique, Jonathan, Ruby, Caroline, Mike, Emily and all the folks who rolled the dice on me, and a cool event.

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AND CHECK IT OUT: I got to make the logo for the event! You'll see it above! So fun. Thanks! Come to the show! 3:30pm, you fire-ant-infested Austin'ers!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Our latest Skillshare class is called "Designing in Circles: Packing Type & Icons into a Simple Shape" and check it out with a ferocious click here.

From the Skillshare site:

Join DDC founder Aaron Draplin for a 60-minute tour de force championing the techniques and challenges of combining type and icons into a circle, a foundational shape of graphic design.

Follow along with Draplin as he creates variations of an often forgotten yet useful object: the travel sticker. From his wizard-like workflow you'll learn the importance of:

• Hierarchy, line-weight, and graphic balance
• Key command mastery
• Setting up and wrapping up your document

Whether you're just getting started with Illustrator or are a seasoned graphic veteran, you are sure to learn some new tips and tricks as you create circular designs of your own.

Come give our new class a whirl! Click here and get it going!