World of Froud

The creative minds behind Labyrinth and Dark Crystal

by Ivy McFadden
on Friday, February 10th, 2012
in Featured Book
tags art, Dark Crystal, Froud, Labyrinth
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Many of us raised in the eighties devoted countless hours to watching and rewatching Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. Decades later, their cult following continues to grow. Maybe it’s the fascinating and more-than-slightly androgynous Goblin King, played by David Bowie in tights and a Tina Turner wig. Maybe it’s the soundtrack. (Even now, if asked to recite—or better yet, sing—the lyrics to “Magic Dance” or “As the World Falls Down,” I could . . . and would, if David Bowie was the one asking.) But really—and no offense, Jennifer Connelly—it’s the Goblins and the Fireys and the Cleaners that captivate and carry you from one twist of the Labyrinth to the next. And with no human cast, The Dark Crystal is drawn by Jen and Kira and the wild weirdness that accompanies them: the Skeksis and the Mystics, the leggy Landstriders, Aughra the oracle (who has always reminded me of a grumpy long-haired Pekingese, albeit with a marginally better grasp of language).

The creatures—and subsequently, our love of them—in both films are the work of Brian and Wendy Froud: Brian was the conceptual designer for Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, while Wendy sculpted and built puppets for the films (And Yoda! Different movie).

Art in the Heartland

A visit to Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines, Iowa

by Sarah Carstens
on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
in Art
tags art, Barry Flanagan, Deborah Butterfield, iowa, Louise Bourgeois, sculptures, yoshitomo nara
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Over the holidays I travelled back to my home state of Iowa (go Cyclones!). While there, I had the pleasure of visiting the new Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much–Iowa isn’t exactly known as an art mecca. However, I was thrilled to find that the park is filled with pieces from some of the art world’s biggest names–Louise Bourgeois, Barry Flanagan, Deborah Butterfield, and Yoshitomo Nara, among many others. It was actually the highlight of my trip.

The Art of Doodling

Embellishing with pen and paper has a very special meaning

by Lindley Boegehold
on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
in Art
tags artists, doodling, drawing, tote bag
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When my father was fifteen he ran away from home (Detroit) to Los Angeles. He wanted to work for Walt Disney as a cartoonist. This was in 1937. He rode the rails, thumbed rides, and eventually got to the west coast. Disney didn’t want him, so he stayed and worked in a diner until fate sent some next door neighbors in for breakfast. Busted, he returned home. Thirty years later, having become an epigraphist and classics professor, he could still embellish a letter to a homesick daughter with a sketch of himself swinging along in a new sports jacket that his wife thought was “a little loud.” I am that daughter and I can never take a pen to paper without some embellishing myself.

ABRAMS Welcomes A New Addition

Pixie the espresso machine

by Merle Browne
on Monday, February 6th, 2012
in Around the Office
tags coffee, espresso
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Have you met Pixie? That’s the model name of our new espresso machine.

It’s shiny and red and is sitting just outside Michael’s conference room…and it brews the most delicious coffee!

We have a variety of roasts and intensities available and we’re hoping you’ll come by and have a cup (even if you aren’t on “the calendar”).

New York International Gift Fair

A week at "Gift Show"

by Matthew Dinda
on Friday, February 3rd, 2012
in Conferences
tags fair, gift show, NYIGF
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This week marked both the peak and the end of the New York International Gift Fair—a whirlwind experience of soaps, fragrances, artisanal jewelry, throw pillows, beautiful furniture, and books!

Chinese New Year

Wishing you prosperity and wealth in this Year of the Dragon!

by Alison Gervais
on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
in Holidays
tags Chinese New Year, festival, parade, Year of the Dragon
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Happy New Year!

Chinese New Year, that is. Also know as the Lunar New Year, this celebration always begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar (known as the lunisolar calendar) and ends with the Lantern Festival, which takes place on the 15th day. It is one of the most important celebrations in China, where families reunite and celebrate. They customarily wear red and decorate windows and doors with traditional Chinese poems (couplets) and red paper cuts with themes of happiness, wealth and good fortune.

2012 Winter Institute in New Orleans

Old friends and and new at the American Booksellers Association's annual event

by Jason Wells
on Thursday, January 26th, 2012
in Conferences
tags ABA, American Book Sellers Association, Winter Institute
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2012 marked ABRAMS’ second sponsorship of Winter Institute, a meeting of over 500 booksellers from all over the country. I was fortunate enough to attend alongside Erica Kochman. We divide and conquer to cover all bases during the show, with Erica handling any aspects that relate to sales and me handling all things related to entertaining. Editor-at-large Howard Reeves also attended as two of his authors were featured at the show.

Q&A with author Matthew Robbins

Inspired Weddings: Designing Your Big Day with Favorite Objects and Family Treasures

by Jennifer Levesque
on Friday, January 20th, 2012
in Interview
tags inpsiration, Matthew Robins, stc, weddings
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Author Matthew Robbins sat down with ABRAMS editorial director Jennifer Levesque to answer some questions about his new book, Matthew Robbins’ Inspired Weddings: Designing Your Big Day with Favorite Objects and Family Treasures!

Read the interview after the break!

Knitted Dinosaurs, Wee and Whomping

On the STC Craft Blog

by Liana Allday
on Friday, January 20th, 2012
in Craft
tags craft, knitting, stc craft
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It’s awfully exciting to come to work in the morning and find a box on your desk containing a knitted dinosaur. It’s even more exciting (and, okay, a little strange) when that happens every day for a week! But alas, there was a reason I came to work each day last week to find a new knitted dinosaur waiting for me: We had hired knitters all over the country to make samples of all shapes and sizes from our new book, Knitted Dinosaurs, for display at Vogue Knitting Live (last week) and for TNNA (this coming weekend).

Head over to the STC Craft blog to read the full story! >>