get inspired: visit "blackwing diaries"

"Get inspired:" is a series of posts where I'll try to share some of the synergy that happens at the Stuart Ng Books showroom. During open hours, we never know who is going to show up. Lots of times, artists run into colleagues at our showroom, and the next thing you know there's a conversation about all things inspiring. It's an example of the sort of serendipity that used to happen at the old brick and mortar bookstores and is hard to replicate on the web, but we'll see how this goes.

I'm fairly new to blogging, but I'm a big fan of Jenny Lerew's "Blackwing Diaries" Not only is Jenny a great artist, she's a historian of all things animation, including the legends surrounding the Blackwing pencil! Link is http://blackwingdiaries.blogspot.com/

I first discovered Jenny's blog back in 2006. That was the year Chris Sanders first appeared at Comic Con. His sketchbook was in great demand and of course there was the usual scramble for it after the con. Chris had provided us copies to sell after the con, so they would be readily available to his fans worldwide. We had many orders off our website, but a big wave of orders came to us with the message that they learned about the sketchbook and us from a post on Blackwing Diaries. I appreciated the fact that the referral was a "win,win" for everyone, as I really do feel our mission is to try our best to make that connection between fans, artists, and collectors. It's fun to be in the "wish fulfillment" business, and help get sketchbooks and books into the hands of people who can't make it to conventions. Jenny did us, Chris, and fans and professionals a great favor by mentioning us in her blog and letting people know that the book was available from us at a set retail price.