May 23, 2017
Posted at 11:06 AM
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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" - - - - 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"
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01. John Moreland - Big Bad Luv
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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. This straight-talking typeface is ready to do the job. - - - - 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 - - - - 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! - - - -
Get your copy now: DDC HARDWARE!
No bullshit allowed: DDC HARDWARE!
Works everywhere: DDC HARDWARE!
Sands the test of time: DDC HARDWARE!
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February 21, 2017
Posted at 07:51 AM
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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!
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NOW SHIPPING: The 7th poster in our "Thick Lines" poster series! Introducing "Dayglow!" Five fluorescent colors and a hit of black. Beyond bright!
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01. Beach Slang - A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
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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.
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December 08, 2016
Posted at 12:34 PM
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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!)
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October 09, 2016
Posted at 05:35 PM
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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!!!
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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! - - - - 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.
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" (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.
Will Resume Shipping December 1st!!!
READ THIS! The Fine Print:
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.
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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! - - - - 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"
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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"
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SKETCHY THINGS COME IN THREES: Just three days out from our official May 17th book release!!! This coming 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"
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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! - - - - 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"
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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"
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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"
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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"
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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!
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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!
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April 16, 2016
Posted at 02:53 AM
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FEELING THE BERN: Heading up to New York City early tomorrow morning to hang out at the 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!
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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!
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Product Description:
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! Product Details:
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. Ordering Details:
$7.99 - Shipping Included!!! (U.S.A.)The Fine Print:
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!
International Orders:
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.
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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. - - - - 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!
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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 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!
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March 06, 2016
Posted at 10:10 AM
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BEAMING WITH PRIDE: Thank you, San Francisco! For coming to the show. For ravaging the merch table. For shaking hands. For sharing stories. For bullshitting. All of it. Thank you. - - - - WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THESE PEOPLE: Leigh McKolay, Lauren Draplin, Mike Monteiro, Erika Hall, Rena Tom, Whitney Deatherage, Liam, Stephanie, all the radical Mule peoples, Rupert the dog, Fresno Street, Mule Gallery, Mule Design and the North Beach neighborhood. - - - - SUCK IT: The dickhead parking lot attendant up the alley. Dick.
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March 03, 2016
Posted at 07:55 AM
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TODAY, WE PUT EVERYTHING UP ON THE WALL: We barely made it to San Francisco. A wild-eyed town. We're driving around the city, upside down and aimless. We're putting our faith in our Volvo drive train and transmission on the steepest of hills. We're parking and cranking our steering wheel towards the curb. We're walking up and down inclines. We're eating sandwiches on sourdough. We've got our ear to the ground for tremors of any/all sort. We're marveling at gingerbread details on row houses. We're distracted by the spiderweb of wires that hang over intersections. We're hearing sounds we've never heard before. We're smelling smells that we can't quite place. We're listening to the Red House Painters while the fogs rolls in. We're listening to assholes racing up and down the streets on the loudest of motorcycles. We're here and we're putting stuff up on the wall. Come to the show tomorrow night at 6pm! At the Mule Gallery on 80 Fresno Street! Our "DDC Mobile Command Pop-Up Shop" is in effect tomorrow night, and 12-6pm Saturday and Sunday. Posters, mini prints, pencils, Field Notes memo books, tote bags, action caps, beanies, porcelain cups, click pens, magnets, things, stuff, trinkets, goodies, doo-dads and what-the-hellls. Come hang out, San Francisco! Parking brake activated!
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February 29, 2016
Posted at 12:16 PM
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HEADING DOWN TO S.F. TOMORROW: We've got an art show opening this Friday at the Mule Gallery in San Francisco! We're dragging a mountain of work down I-5. Posters, logos, catalogs, records, t-shirts, process sketches, hits, misses, successes, failures, sketchy stuff...all up on a couple big walls for you to peruse. Basically, "everything we can pack in" to the space. And we aim to give yer eyes a real workout. Plus, we'll have a FULL DDC MERCH TABLE in effect with must-have DDC merch at "San Francisco-only" pricing. And, we'll be unleashing a new "San Francisco" poster, filled with everything we've ever loved about San Francisco. Shit gets going Friday at 6pm! Come hang out, San Francisco!!!
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Having a nice time in Amsterdam. Check this old Holland tourism poster from early '70s. Poignant today, as Leigh and I are going on a canal cruise tour. Tourists, you bet. Incredible poster, but damn, check those tulips! Wow.
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February 17, 2016
Posted at 01:15 PM
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01. The I Don't Cares - Wild Stab
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