F**K 2020 holiday cards, community-art calendars + other boutique-y merch…
HALLO LOVES!
i hope this particular missive brings you some cheer.
the time for holiday merch is upon us. as you may know, all of team AFP is about as thousand-mile-stare and exhausted as it gets….and we wanted to keep things as simple as possible this year with as little extra stress on the team as possible.
that being said, our plucky lil’ merch queen in london, ALEX KNIGHT, hero, has come through with flying colors and single-handedly saved our almost holiday-merch-less asses….taking the organizational lead and making sure we at least had some holiday cards to send out (and oh, they are GOOD), and he also dreamed up some artisanal collaborations that are going to make you GLEEFUL. i dunno, they make ME gleeful.
merch has always been complicated. people want it, but i always want the merch to be art. art is hard. (wait did i say that). finding the right balance between “art” and “product” is not easy. i think we can safely say alex has slammed it outta the park on this one.
so here we go…ENJOY SHOPPING FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE
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Hello hello hello!! Team AFP Resident Merch Queen Alex here to introduce you to this year’s holiday merch haul….. we have HOLIDAY CARDS! We have CALENDARS! We have HANDMADE BOUTIQUE GOODIES!
everything is available HERE on the UK store
IMPORTANT NOTE: AFP’s US merch is currently changing hands, so this year’s holiday merch extravaganza is available exclusively on the UK store. The UK store DOES ship worldwide, so everybody is still able to order, it may just take a little longer to reach you! If you want to check on all order deadlines to make sure your goodies reach you in time for the holidays, you can do so HERE!
And now, to introduce our new merch to you….
*DRUMROLL PLEASE*
THE AFP 2020 HOLIDAY CARD
As Amanda said, we deliberated a little bit over whether to uphold our yearly tradition of a holiday card, given the state of 2020… But in the end, we decided that actually, given the shitstorm of the year, maybe a holiday card would provide some much-needed joy and catharsis.
And so, presenting this year’s holiday card…
FUCK 2020 INDEED.
The gorgeous photo was taken of Amanda, in her lockdown bathroom in Aotearoa, by V Hoy. Then our wonderful designer Andrew Nelson in New York created this lovely Virgin Mary-esque added-stars image. The inside of the card features a message from Amanda, to help you wave good riddance to this year, and begin to look forward to hopefully brighter days.
THE CARD IS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE HERE
AND SORRY, but given the global pandemic and mail systems being awful, we won’t be signing any cards this year. It’s just too hard. Next year….
And speaking of looking forward to next year, how about…
THE AMANDA FUCKING PALMER 2021 WALL CALENDAR
There hasn’t been an AFP wall calendar produced for many, many years, but someone floated the idea on the Shadowbox (shout-out to Chrissy if you’re reading this!!) about creating a calendar based on patron art, so I ran full force at the idea, and after spending hours poring over artwork that’s been posted online, we’ve pulled together 12 pieces of art, designed by 11 artists all within the community, ready to hang upon your wall.
All the pieces are absolutely magnificent – this community truly does include some incredible artists. The artists included are @how_to_be_invisible, @fellow_passengers, @zugart, @j0ni_augustine, @mkemptattooer, @caroloife, @hb0m8, @tortoise.vortices, @phantomburned, @christykirkstudio, and @alicecaoillustration.
And since we know people are based worldwide, the calendar contains all the major holidays from the US, UK, Australia and Aotearoa, as well as festivals from all major religions. PLUS, it’s got all the significant AFP anniversaries, and historic landmark dates.
THE CALENDAR IS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE HERE
And over in our hand-crafted boutique section, we have two brand new items, as well as restocking an old favourite…
HANDBOUND LYRIC JOURNALS
These handmade journals were originally available online last year, and then sold on the European leg of the There Will Be No Intermission tour, where they sold out EVERY! DAMN! NIGHT!
Each journal contains 160 blank A5 pages, and the hardcover features random segments of Amanda’s handwritten lyrics. There are five song options available: Machete, In My Mind, Sing, Girl Anachronism, and Lost.
Each journal will have slight variations, as they are all lovingly handbound and crafted – cue the behind the scenes construction photos!!
Made by Rosie Sherwood:
www.rosiesherwood.com
IG: @rosie.sherwood
Twitter: @rosie__sherwood
THE JOURNAL IS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE HERE
And if you’re looking for a piece of AFP wisdom to carry around with you, how about…
“JUST A RIDE” PENDANT NECKLACES
These beautiful pendants come on a 26 inch chain, and are entirely handmade – cut, drilled, patinated, and polished from copper pipes.
(OOOOH FIRE)
Made by Lucy Atkinson:
www.lmwdesigns.co.uk
IG: @lmw_designs
“IT’S JUST A RIDE” NECKLACES ARE AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE HERE
And finally… have you ever wanted your own pacifist fascist-killer?
“WAND OF THUNDER” PIN BADGE
These super cute lil pins are based on Amanda’s own graffiti-ed ukulele, photographed here by our own dear Hayley Rosenblum:
These have been laser cut into wood, and assembled with a bar back pin to keep it nice and secure!
(coffee, the ultimate tool in wand of thunder creation!)
Designed and produced by Cherie Bruce:
www.squidlykitten.com
Twitter: @squidlykitten
IG: @squidlykitten
“WAND OF THUNDER” PINS ARE AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE HERE
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All three of the hand-crafted boutique items are available in LIMITED QUANTITIES – once they sell out, we MAY open pre-orders for round two, but since they are handmade, there will be a delay in getting them dispatched, and we can’t guarantee delivery in time for the holidays!
Speaking of which, if I may get real for a second…… these handmade boutique items, as well as all of the art featured in the calendar, have not been made by disinterested, faceless corporations just looking to churn out something quickly and fill a paycheque. They are members of our community, creating work out of their love for Amanda and this community, and some of them have been hit hard by the pandemic. One of my favourite parts of my job is getting to connect with real life human artists, working with them to create beautiful things, and being able to give them actual, real cash in exchange for their art. So please know that when you are buying any of these items, you’re helping us to be able to support these artists – and helping us to continue doing so in the future!
And – if you too are an artist, or a maker, and would like to help keep up this tradition of AFP boutique merch, or if you have any questions about any of this new holiday merch…. give me a shout at alex@amandapalmer.net!
And as a side-note, gift-wrapping is available too, so if you select it at checkout, you can add a little gift note, and be safe in the knowledge that it will be lovingly wrapped by my own fair hands 🙂
YAY HOLIDAYS!!!!!