Jewelry Making Outside The Box

A New Home For B'sue Boutiques...The Cats Are In An Uproar!

John and I have been discussing finding a new home for B'sue Boutiques, for a very long time now.

Since 1988, * its* home has been *our*  home.   That's true for many of us who have internet webstores and web sites; it's a practical thing, too.   

In time, however, needs change....especially for SPACE.   When things start getting a bit cramped, you need to examine options.

Evie the cat  is in an uproar!

WHAT!   You won't be here all day anymore?   Are you taking me, too?

Meep is a little peeved, too!   He likes Shelley's desk right where it's always been, near this sunny window.  Here's why:

WHAT!   No more rubber bands to steal????   I prefer to sell ICE RESIN *right here*!

Yeah, yeah, I know.  Change can be tough!  I've had this business since 1988---that's 24 years!---and it's always been right here with us.   These cats came here when they were 5-6 weeks old.  It's the only place they've ever known.   Jordan came here when he was 16 months old...it's the only house he's ever known!   And in one way or another, he has been involved in the business ever since he was a little boy.

We really weren't looking to move right now, but an opportunity presented itself and truth be told, it seems the right thing to do.  It would simplify things here greatly!    So whether the cats like it or not, B'sue Boutiques will soon have a new home.

It's pretty sweet, too!

It's only 1,000 square feet, but it's all the room we could possibly want.   The building is new, only 7 years old.  It had been a florist/gift shop.   As you can see, it looks like a little spun-sugar gingerbread house!

Wanna come inside?

This gives you a little bit of a feeling for the inside decor.....she had it all decorated with depression-era, primitive and shabby chic-type furniture, which she used as displays.   I was able to purchase several dressers  like this (this one included) and also, this one:

I bought some old shutters and even some old doors from the previous owners:

You can see the pretty sponge-painting on the walls.  We don't have to do a thing to this place except bring in our stuff and get it organized.

It has windows, two big ones in the front and some along the sides:

That windowsill looks deep enough for a cat to enjoy!  LOL

There is an upper level for my office.   Also there's a very long counter, so in case I decide that I want to do some silk flowers or decorator items for the gift shop in front of the store, I'll have a place to do it:

Lots of storage and wire shelving too!

There's also a full attic that you can access by stairs, and it's all wire-racked, too!

In case you're wondering:   I will also be moving the Messy Workshop to the new building, there is plenty of room for it, our shipping facility, offices and a small gift shop right in front.  

Rob mentioned that I'd have lots of pictures to take and tons to blog about for a long time!  That's for sure.   This is a real adventure for me! 

I think the thing that pleases me most is NOW after all these years, I will have a nice place where you can actually come and visit us.

We just have to get in the place and nest a little!  Soon thereafter, I will map out a teaching schedule as well.

The cats will just have to get used to it! 

 

 

 

When a Little Wonkiness Works

I love that word,  wonky.  It just says it all when it comes to so much of the stuff I try to do in my workshop.

So many of us are self-trained artisans.   We buy books, videos, we look at as much stuff online as we can.  Some of us are really great with tools; not only do we somehow have the creative skills and ingenuity to dream a new work but we have that manual dexterity thing going on and a certain special something when it comes to be able to use tools.   Using tools for some of us is really natural.  For others, not so much.

I would have to say that I am in the 'not so much' category.  I'm a very visual person; photos work for me best of all.  I might even stand directly next to you at the workbench and you might be showing me, step by step, inch by inch....and I may not still quite get it.  So I'll walk away, think about it, and one day, pick that dang tool up and insist that it work for me.  It will....after a fashion.   Some, in time, become second nature. Others....don't.

This morning I was looking back over Candie Cooper's METALWORKING 101 FOR BEADERS, a book I very much enjoy.   There is nothing *difficult*  in this book; it's just stuff you need to take some time and teach yourself.  A class would be nice and Candie does teach---but she has done an awesome job with her book and reaches out to the home student quite nicely.

On page 114 there is a project entitled ORGANIC TECHNO BANGLE.   I found this intriguing as the little stacks of funky gypsy-artisan made bangles are all the rage now and many artist-teachers have been showing projects and offering classes.  I thought, shoot, how long can this take?   I'm going down to the workshop and do this, right away.   I figured I'd be done in half an hour.

Well.

Here's the thing:  the project calls for 12 ga silver wire.  I only had some 16 and not that much, also not sure I wanted to do a project like this with my last piece.   But I did have a copious amount of 18 ga copper wire.

Knowing the effect would not be quite the same, I went for it anyway.

You know what:   my project came out NOTHING like Candie's.   And it's wonky.

I fudged around this and faked around that, used some polymer clay beads I'd made and glazed recently, and did it all in copper.   I also used some of those squiggly things I made in the video the other week:

Wire Wrapping, Making Curliques and Tendrils

Basically in the long run, I had a look at Candie's excellent project and pulled a wonky B'sue:

Let's try that again:

It's far from the original, far from perfect in any sense of the word.  And it's totally working for me.

I like wonky.

The Mugga Joe Tour (Yeah It's About Coffee)

Okay, if you are named Joe, this post is not about you.

Well....not unless you are liquid, spill into a mug and the smell of you makes tired eyes open wide, depressed souls lift up, and a stalled artist begin to think clearly again!

I've been a joe drinker since the tender of age of 16, but it wasn't until I became an adult that I appreciated the nuances of joe this and joe that.

As in, there is Joe Delightful,  Regular Joe,  Unleaded Joe, and Joe Swill.

Or, as Jordan's Dad always referred to me....as Joe Mama....

yeah, that's another subject.

Joe is not truly Joe unless it is swigged from a thick, substantial mug.   No joe for me in a prissy tea cup.   Notice, in this context, joe lost his capital J.   Prissy teacup, bah!  Only if there is nothing else!

That also goes for the Perennial 7-11 STYROFOAM MUG.   UGH!   JOE  SWILL!

Here are some  Joe mugs I have known:

Here is a mugga joe at Bob Evans.   I like the turkey omelette and banana nut bread.  The mug is thick and substantial.  The joe is...well.   Regular.

And then we have:

This is a mugga joe from B'sue's kitchen in a vintage White Castle mug.  Thick, funky, old advertising, fun....I collect the old mugs when I can get them reasonably.  I also accept cast off donations, if they are pre-60's.  LOL

My complaint about this cuppa is not the coffee.   You probably didn't know it, but you can get one of the best cups of joe you ever drank right here in MY KITCHEN.   My complaint, is this mug is WAAAAAY too small.  WAAAAAY.

Okay, more on the Joe Tour:

This is a mug of joe made for me by Mr. Opie O'Brien, in HIS kitchen, last summer when I was visiting.   Opie keeps the coffee brewing all day!  Linda and Opie are Burnt Offerings Studio and some of my fave people.    Oh sigh, they are moving to the Berkshires.  What a dream for them!

More mugs of joe....never too many:

Yes, I know, I said no styrofoam.   It's *paper*.  And it's Starbucks.   I need say NO MORE.

This mugga comes with earrings:

Big mug.  Big earrings.  I win!!

And then of course, a special treat is to have your joe in my Ghoulardi mug.  It is reserved for the most elite guests, only.

 

Okay, yeah, I know.  Ya had to be there, in Cleveland, in the 1960's.

Peace, baby.   Just gimme the joe and it will all be fine!

Now, then, I know not everyone partakes of joe.   For some it has to be off  limits because of ticker trouble, etc; others just don't like it, others are even opposed to  the drinking of joe.

Well, we can't all be joe lovers!

Today I posted one of my Joe Mug photos at FB and asked my pals how many cups it took to get them out the door in the morning.

Many said 2-4, up to a whole pot!

Still  some said, no joe for me!   Well, okay,  I respect that.

More in MY cup, then!  muhahahahaha

I'll end the Mugga Joe Tour with this sentiment:

May your day begin with Joe Delightful and your day end with his memory....anticipating a new joy-filled day, beginning with...

More joe.   And, if you have time for it, a mugga joe and a visit to B'sue Boutiques

For Those Of You Who Think They Have Nothing To Blog About

I know that's what holds you back, most of the time.

You think there is nothing to talk about.  Like, someone comes over and says, "What's new?"

Come on, what's the general response....you know it.  

"Oh.....nothing."

What we fail at times to understand is that there are "slices of life" all around us, to report on.  Your blog really SHOULDN'T be ONLY about your hobby, your latest tool, your latest bead, jewelry making.

The purpose of a blog is to let people into your life just enough to know you a bit.  For example, a few days ago I posted the story of the Bling King.  I recounted what he'd done in third grade to generate a little buzz and a little cash.   There was a moral to that particular story as well:  be careful what you break apart, thing of every use for it, and how items can generate the most income to help you get where you want to go.

Robin Delargy of LooLoo's Box decided to take the advice to blog about 'slices of life'.   She decided that a Facebook conversation she'd recently had with some family members was fair game, so she posted it.

A Pack of Weirdos

You'll either be rolling on the floor laughing your head off, or...well.   You won't be, LOL

But this is a perfect example of stuff you can do on your blog, stuff that can really work for you....stuff that can fill in the gaps between posts on your latest creations.   People really DO want to know about you and your life!

And I'll just mention, although it looks like this cat is dead, he is not.   He's just passed out.

YOU'LL HAVE TO READ ROBIN'S BLOG POST to 'get' that remark!  LOL

The Bling King: How To Start A Fad

There he is!

The Bling King.

And by now....you already know there's a story for the telling, there.

The year was 1993.   The Bling King's Mama was busy peddling her wares, banging her head trying to get noticed in the big old bad old wholesale world, not paying enough attention to school pictures, school clothes.....what the King was doing in school.

Not a great thing, that.   At the same time, Blingy had learned from Mama a bit about  how to peddle wares.   He had a big bushel basket full of old chains and doofus culled from all Mom's vintage jewelry buys.   Here and there, he'd take a little pin or two to school and sell it to the little girls who drooled when he regaled  them with tales of the things in his loot box.   His pals were jealous of his stash of goodies , and even more about the fact that  he could make money from them to buy....of all things....POGS.

POGS were hot stuff in 1993.   Pogs were actually milk bottle caps with advertising on them, but somehow they got turned into a trendy collecting hobby/game among kids when the Bling King was in third grade.   Of course, the one with the most pogs wins, so....... Blingy was determined to be THAT guy.

He realized that calculated raids on his pirate's chest of old jewelry would fund the Pog thing.

In order to develop more buzz for his stash of vintage goodies, Blingeroo decided that the best thing would be to have his picture taken, wearing this amazing 1960's go-go girl belt as a neck chain.

LOOK AT THAT FACE!!   Calculating.  Sly.   Savvy.....

After the photo, Blingy Boy determinedly searched out every big fat chain in his stash and anyone else's because NOW....all of his pals wanted them, boys and girls alike.

On the back of the Pogs craze, a sweet little vintage jewelry chain business was born:  one to support the other.

The lesson in that?   Bling-o didn't break up the chain, didn't rework it into something else, although, it would have been okay to do that in most cases.    Instead, he saw the wisdom in creating buzz and value in the item he had at hand....and I have to tell you, the kid was funded.  

He still has the pogs to prove it.

The end-story is that he didn't count on reaction when the photo was handed back to Mama. 

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" she cried.    "I can't give this to your grandmother, I can't give this to your aunt or our friends!!!   Didn't the school photographer say ANYTHING to you about that chain?"

The Bling King replied, "Yeah, Mom.  He said, hey dude, cool chain."

I rest my case.

Dagnab It! I've Been TAGGED!

Yep, and Kris Binsfeld tagged me.  SHE DID!

Kris has a LOVELY blog at Cherish Designs   and if you click on her link there, you can see her tag post!   You should subscribe to this blog, it's such a feel-good place, and Kris' art is FAB!

Getting tagged this way is a fun and quick way to have an off-the-cuff, spur-of-the moment blog hop, share with friends and people who like to follow what you're doing. 

In this TAGGED blog hop there are some rules:

posting the rules ..... okay I can do that...I AM doing that!

answer the eleven questions the tagger posted for you.....  I can do that too....  I THINK!

make up eleven questions for the people you tag.....ack.   I'm speechless!

tag eleven people.....so many to tag!

let the eleven know you tagged them...ack.   dunno if there's time......

But I am so thrilled she tagged me.  ;-)

Well, I'll do what I can, if I can't do it all today.

What I CAN do is, I can answer Kris' questions.   Are you ready?

1.  Coffee or tea?    Well, for me, it's always good strong joe.   No brown juice.  I want my pants kicked!  I need that jolt!  LOL

2.  Tell us something few people know about you.   Hmmm.   I'm not a red head.  My hair is really completely grey and most of my fingers are double-jointed.  And in case you couldn't tell from the videos...I am really, really short.   How's that?

3. What kind of a student were you in high school?  Well....if I loved the subject matter, I did pretty well.   If not, I sort of languished.  ;-)

4.  What is the bravest thing you have done?    Well.....What IS brave?   To each of us it may be something different.  I don't think I am particularly brave, but somedays just putting one foot in front of the other and carrying on, is the bravest thing anyone can do.

5.  What is the proudest moment of your life so far?   Hmmm.   I have a thing about pride.   It can be good, it can be bad.   For me, fighting the bad part of pride is one of the most worthy conquests and a daily issue for me.  I like to keep the bad side of pride on the down-low.   We all need self-esteem and to feel good about meeting our goals.   The thing is....I still have so many goals yet to meet.

6.  What does your dream vacation consist of?   An afternoon with a book at Starbuck's in Costa Mesa, CA,  where my uncle lives, is hard to beat.

7.  What is your biggest splurge?  This business.  It's dang expensive to run.   But when I see how happy it makes other people, it's worth it.

8.  Please share with us your favorite motivational saying.   Well, I love the Bible and it's full of them.  In a lifetime I couldn't  remember them all, but it's such a privilege to ponder them and try in my own feeble way, to apply them in my own life.  ;-)

9.  You have 8 hours of free time tomorrow, what would you do with it?   Oh sheesh.  That's a DREAM for sure.   Give me a week to figure it out!  LOL

10.  Rule follower or rule breaker?  That depends!   As far as LIFE goes, I am a rule follower.  I believe in being obedient to the rules, it saves a lot of upset and unhappiness in the long run.  I must say, I am grateful that I know what the rules are, because so many people struggle with that.   BUT!!!

As far as ART goes, I believe in breaking ALL the rules, EVERY DAY, as OFTEN as possible.  I believe that the best-taught lessons in creativity are the result of mistakes and by being fast and loose with the rules.   The only exception would be SAFETY RULES.    Safety in the workshop must be carefully guarded, without any leeway.   But other than that, so long as it's safe, and so long as you don't mind dealing with the mess, sally forth and GO FOR IT, artistically!

11.   Who has made the biggest impact in your life?   Too many have forgotten Him, many no longer believe in Him.  And perhaps that bravest thing I've done, come to think of it:  standing up for the right thing when it was not popular, despite the opinions and sometimes, the undeserved derision of others who simply didn't understand.   For me, it is important to let God make the big decisions in my life, rather than try to use my peabrain and try to do it for myself.    Sometimes I forget to ask for guidance, though....and that's usually when I mess up.  Yep, I'm just NOT that smart.   "I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong.  It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step."  Jeremiah10:23

I'm a little skittish about tagging anyone else because there are so many I could tag, and I wouldn't want anyone to feel left out, as if they were not chosen.  So let's do this:

If you are reading this, YOU ARE TAGGED.   Post something on your blog, then come back here and let me know you used Kris' questions and then posted at your blog---AND LEAVE YOUR BLOG LINK! so there will be links and people can check them out.  Anytime you can leave a blog link--and in this case you're invited!---is a good thing.  I'm inviting you, so it's not spam in this case!

If you want to play this forward and tag a bunch of your friends, go for it!  Make up your own eleven questions or use these.   JUST HAVE A PILE OF FUN!   Blog hops are great way to get your links out there, and I am DELIGHTED for you to leave yours here with me.   When you do, tell us about your blog, too!

 

 

 

The First Crayon

When did you pick up your first crayon?

We''ve been talking at the  B'sue Boutiques Creative Group  Discussion Board  about being  published, and taking the baby steps in our endeavors until we reach the place where we might wish to submit work for publication.

Baby steps is where it all begins!

In the meantime, I really must submit:  being published is not a prerequisite to being an artist.  My guess is that some of the best artists in the world are unpublished and none of us know about them.

How sad!  But it could be because they have so many personal misgivings that they have trouble promoting their things or letting the world in to enjoy their creativity.  It could also be that they are ahead of their time, on a new creative plane, and the world does not yet 'get' their art.  Perhaps someone has made fun of them.   So they retreat.

That is SO sad!

Let's reason on this:

A little child with a crayon is an artist. In time, he learns to color in his coloring book, inside the lines, neatly. He is now a better artist.

Soon, he says, let's get rid of the coloring book, I'm drawing my OWN picture! The first one is amusing....but in time, he challenges himself to draw a better and better picture, taking note of shadow and light and form. The pictures are getting really good.

So he gets a little bolder, and now he is using acrylics and painting things that appeal to him......even bolder still, now he uses oils. Not yet satisfied, he turns to varied substrates, collage, encaustic art......whatever. The process continues and continues.....

But he was an artist when he first picked up the crayon and began to scribble.

I've got to say it again, and for those of you who do not yet believe it, my fond hope is that one day you WILL:   all of God's children are artists.    Creativity is innate in humankind and it manifests itself in many ways.    Some are creative in the arts; others are creative with invention; others still, like Albert Einstein, with math and abstract thinking.

Many of the 'greats' were mocked for their art, still more were never discovered until late in life or even, posthumously.

I hope you will discover and rejoice in your first crayon....and advance to it a full box, a box that is fully used and explored, worn down to nibs because your ideas have taken flight.

You MAY indeed call yourself an artist.  We all are.

Establishing a Brand: How You Sell Yourself

It's no secret:   many people dream the dream of having their own enterprise, doing their own thing, their own way.....and getting paid to do it.

We're artists here, for the most part all of us make jewelry as well as perhaps accessories or mixed media artwork of a related kind.     Most of us aspire to THE DREAM:  we want to become self-supporting, doing what we love.

Some of us are achieving  that, some are starting to make headway, some continue to struggle. 

Have you asked yourself:   what I have I done to positively brand myself?

Branding.....we hear that word a whole lot.   Coke, Pepsi, Nike, Chevrolet, Kleenex.  All brands.   But how in the world does that apply to an ARTIST?

It applies to you and your work  the same as it applies to Coke, Pepsi, Nike, Chevrolet and Kleenex products.   There is a feeling evoked when you see their logo, hear their jingles, see their advertising.   There are memories, even a sense of touch or taste.   There is  energy.  

You like their product....or you don't.    And it MIGHT not be because you've ever even owned a pair of Nike sneakers.  OTHER things are involved besides just the product.

YES...if  you are an artist, you have a brand, too.

I honestly think that if you don't carefully brand *yourself*, it will be done for you.   If you do not guide people's thinking by your own positive energy, then it's all left to chance.   That outcome could  be that you'll appear to be someone who is not serious about their work,  who is only playing at being an artist....or worse, someone who is only interested in a quick sale.

I find the subject of branding to be extremely compelling, and there is a huge truth about it that maybe, some of us have not yet discovered:

Your brand is NOT just your abilities as an artist---just as the Nike brand is NOT just about tennis shoes.

It's not just the quality components you use in your work, or your skill at design, or the meticulous way you finish the goods.

That's just part of it.  In fact, it may only be HALF of it.

The other half, which is every bit as vital, is WHO **YOU** ARE.

Everyone who buys something you make buys your fingerprint, if you want to look at it that way.  They purchase a little piece of your heart, something that energized you and made you creative to the point that your art became a finished piece that someone could wear and enjoy.

What's in your heart?  Who are you? What is your goal in being an artist? 

Is it about pumping out the work, design after design, with no attention, or very little, to the customer?  Or do you subscribe to the idea of lagniappe, a little something extra, with the purchase, a way to make the customer feel that you appreciate that they work hard for what they spend, and that it means something to you that they selected YOUR BRAND?

Are you a positive person?   I used to note with great interest, back when I was selling at Ebay, how many artists would put veritable *threats* on their auctions, aimed at copyists, or even, at the customers.  Have you seen listings like that, whether at Ebay or other selling sites?

Do you know that those things become part of that person's brand?

Yeah.  It does.  It's a 'vibe', a feeling, the way a customer becomes attracted---or distracted---or in some sad cases, repelled to what you offer for sale. 

A brand is created in numerous ways.   There are skeletal, brass-tacks parts to a brand that we're going to talk about via a series I'm going to write for this blog, this installation being simply the intro. 

And then, too,  there are those sensitive, between-the-lines feelings--almost subliminal!   that people pick up on when they visit you.   These feelings  encourgage, or discourage, them from clicking on BUY NOW.

While I would never call myself an expert, I have  found a way to make a living at home doing things I like to do, for over 24 years.   I've made a boatload of mistakes and I continue to make them.   Sometimes, mistakes are the best way to learn!

My business has morphed and evolved a number of times  over those 24 years.  Some of those changes just sort of happened, others were planned.    I never had anyone to really teach me what to do, albeit I've had some pretty wonderful mentors whose encouragement was critical to my hanging on and making it work. 

I'm still making it work; the day you fold your hands and say, I've made it!.... is probably the day you begin to fold for good.   You know what they say about the room for improvement---it's the world's largest room!

My website is going yet another cosmetic overhaul because I've realized that while my brand and my vibe is indeed positive,  I'm not representing myself as I should via some key parts that are very important.   So I'll use the changes that are coming along at B'sue Boutiques as teaching examples.   I'm not saying everything that we're doing with our redesign or the work being put into the B'sue Boutiques brand is optimal....it never will be, as I mentioned, I'll always be working on it. 

But I think what I'm tapping into might be valuable for some of you.   Hang around, and let me share.   I'd love to hear what you have to say in response to what I throw out there.

In the next installation of this series, we'll talk about logos.

 

 

Come and See My Little Doll.....You Won't Believe This

She looks, well....a lot like *me*:

Sheesh, how many times have I turned my head like that, speaking to you via camera, in my You Tube videos .....

The original little doll was among many unearthed, in recent years, by an excavator in the forested Thuringia region of Germany, outside old abandonded doll factories.    Legend has it that the doll 'seconds' made in these factories  had to be disposed of by burial, since they were in human form. 

Some call such dolls 'frozen Charlottes' if female, 'frozen Charlies', if male.   What really is a frozen Charlotte doll?  Truly it's any bisque doll that is made all in one piece, with 'frozen' limbs that do not move.   There is an old song and poem about Frozen Charlotte, that is a rather dark, maudlin piece written in Victorian times by a newspaperman.   I've written about it in this blog previously, sometime ago.

While a frozen Charlotte in form, this doll is  not Victorian at all.   The original mold for this little doll would be late 1920's to late 30's, given her hairstyle and style of dress. 

Harry Wood, of Oscar Crow  and the popular jewelry-making blog, Oscar Crow Handmade Jewelry, has developed a special fascination for these little dolls, importing many of them.   Most arrive as they were found:  broken, heads only, missing limbs, carrying some of the dirt in which they were buried.....German soil.

At first, Harry used them in his design work and just sold them....in fact, he still does!  If you'd like to grab a few, please check Oscar Crow for some fab old examples.

In time, however, Harry's creative side took over.   Soon he was casting them in resin....and then, he was restoring them artfully.

Then, he decided to cast them and reproduce them in raku pottery.   The little doll that looks like me is one of Harry's full-bodied reproduced dolls.

Here's another view:

Goodness, she even has my figure....and chubby legs.   Everyone here commented about that, when she arrived this afternoon.  (Oh, they would! )

But what 'got' us the most, was the nuance of expression that Harry was able to capture from molding the original:

It's just so positively ME.  

This one is going in my china closet! ..... along with a number of other vintage German porcelain treasures, found during happy days of searching flea markets and attending auctions.    None of them will be *quite* so special as my little B'sue doll.

Be sure to subscribe to Harry's blog.   He generously shares so many techniques you can really use, with clear descriptions, practical advice and great photos!

A Cleveland Icon and a Friday Night Phenomenon

I am a lover of kitsch. 

Perhaps that's because some of my fondest memories as a kid growing up in the Greater Cleveland broadcast area were  the television shows I used to watch.  Local programming....nothing like it.

If you are of an age, as I am---a baby boomer--you remember the  days when you were doing well to get three channels with your rabbit ears on an old black and white TV.    You especially remember having pajama parties,  crowding around on Friday and Saturday nights to watch your favorite monster movies and local programming.   The shows usually included a local character dressed up in some strange manner, speaking with a weird accent,  promoting local events and contests and doing silly things.

We had Barnaby, Woodrow the Woodsman, Captain Penny....even Dorothy Fuldheim, if you liked the news and her commentary.   But there remains one more who truly stands apart.

The king of ALL such characters was this guy:

Some may remember him this way:

or this way:

He was so compelling to watch that they say crime went down by 35% on Friday late nights, when the program was broadcast---LIVE, of course.  

 So in other words, kids and teenagers and criminals!!  loved Ghoulardi, the Dictator of all things cool about Cleveland local TV (channel 8, WJW, to be exact) in the 60's.

I'm sure the cops did, too....and were glad for the break.

Ghoulardi had the lowest of low-budget kitcsch shows which aired, I believe, exactly at 11:35pm on Friday nights, after the news.   Usually he came on, face first, in the dark, shining a flashlight under his head to make himself look other-worldly.   Or ridiculous, depending on your viewpoint!

Immediately, you were drawn in.  Ghoulardi had that sort of train-wreck thing going on.   Once you began to watch, you could not tear your eyes away from him, his antics, or the ridiculously awful D-grade monster movies he aired. 

In fact, they were so bad, there was no pause in the movie for  the commercials.   They just burned through  the movie, so  when you came back from commercial, you had to figure out what happened.   Really not so hard  since the movies were all of an ilk and formulaic:  evil scientist creates monster, monster escapes, monster eats Cleveland, a hero figures out how to kill the monster.

No big deal.  Who cared!  Anybody remember the Mantis?   We used to cheer for the Mantis.

You  also stayed because you never knew what Ghoulardi would do, and you didn't want to miss it as everyone would be talking about it in school on Monday.   A Ghoulardi  fave was blowing up matchbox cars with little cherry bombs.    It worked like this:  kids would send Ghoulardi their little cars, and he would select a couple each week, call out the kid's name, and blow up the car.  

You were then the coolest kid in school for at least a week.  ;-)

Well, anyway.....today, Chelsea brought me a little gift.  Where she got it I dunno, she's 18, what does she know about Ghoulardi?   But she found this:

My husband, John, said OH NO!  Another mug.   He's become the mug nazi since he does so much of the housecleaning for me of late.   Then he saw the mug....and shut up.

You know, I'd forgotten that  the show was called Shock Theater. 

 We just called it Ghoulardi.

Whether you watched away back then or not, and whether you know it or not....you DO know Ghoulardi.  Ghoulardi was actually Ernie Anderson, a man who went on to do countless voiceovers for the major networks after the schtick of the show fell flat.  

Remember hearing, "And now....here's the Loveboat!" on ABC?

That was Ernie.   He got paid the big bucks, he made the big time, and nobody knew his name.

I treasure my Ghoulardi memorabilia.....there's not much of the original stuff around, but here's a piece that adorns our office:

If you're intrigued enough to want a better look at Ernie Anderson's Ghoulardi, there are some YouTubes....and here are some links (Warning, it's pretty dumb....but that's what we liked, back then):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e52cXCrmauc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gWAAit4WPE

There is also a book:  Ghoulardi: Inside Cleveland TV's Wildest Ride, by Tom Feran and R.D. Hendenfels

It's true, you kind of had to 'be there'.....but oh....IF YOU WERE! 

What great memories.

Stay Sick, Ernie!