The holiday season is always nuts for custom orders here at Wallyworld. At the last minute, fans of my work decide that they want something wild and funny for their loved ones and I get all these crazy emails requesting crazy pots. To top it off, I tend to put off the really challenging orders until the last day possible so I’m running around the studio trying to come up with a good idea for someone who is paying a lot of money for a stupid coffee mug. A good example: the mug you see above and below was a holiday gift for Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. Wow! I’ve been a fan of the band since the 70s, so it was a bit nerve wracking to do something special for such a legendary musician and cultural icon. The woman who ordered this piece is a personal friend of Mr. Weir and she sent me some nice pics of him and his pets to inspire the design. I’m really happy with it, and apparently so was Bobby!
My other big celebrity item this season was a custom salad bowl for the makers of the movie “Jackass 3D”. I’m somewhat oblivious to this cultural phenomenon, but I guess it’s pretty big because the movie grossed (double entendre intended) over $50 million. After an hour of serious research on YouTube, I managed to knock out this design in a relatively short period of time. Kelly, my assistant, did a great job painting this piece, and the people who made the film were thrilled and impressed. Apparently, Johnny Knoxville might be giving me a call sometime to order more stuff. Woo-Hoo!
And here’s a lovely plate I made for some regular folk here in Evergreen, CO. I think it’s pretty much the consummate wedding plate. The recipients loved it:
