Blog - Tad Carpenter

Simple Steps Children's Book

March 8, 2010 | 2:20pm

Was a huge honor to illustrate this childrens book with Chronicle Books in San Francisco. The book written by Molly Smith in conduction with The NRDC which is the Nation Resource Defense Council and a wonderful cause. The book is an activity book that teaches children ways they can help protect their environment and some the species within it. Was really fun to work on a great project. Not to mention the last two pages has more than 80 full color stickers to use throughout the book! So fun! Please go buy the book here and help support a great cause.

Ghost Whisper

March 8, 2010 | 11:52am

A fun new 8.5x11.5 art print that is 3 colors on chipboard. Printed in edition of 100 all signed and numbered. Grab one here.

Yummo Yogurt + Smoothies

February 24, 2010 | 3:07pm

A fun yogurt and smoothies concept that I branded that allows the guest to build their own yogurt combination. The Yummo brand was designed to create a contemporary asian yogurt influenced experience for the whole family. I created everything from logo, stationary package, signage, environmental graphics and apparel. More info here on my site,�More photos can be seen on my flickr page here.

St. Vincent Poster

February 19, 2010 | 8:25am

Really happy how this 2 color 18x24 print for St. Vincent turned out. It is navy blue with metallic gold ink. We at Vahalla Studios worked with Mitch Putnam who organized the St. Vincent tour art. A real good guy to work with. Pick one up here.

Happy Valentines day Cards!

February 12, 2010 | 9:53am

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I love designing greeting cards and this fun set of 6 cards is 3 colors printed on chipboard. I have 3 designs that are more illustrative and 3 more that are interactive for the purchaser. You can either fill in the blank, circle words or check a blank box to customize your valentine. Always fun to make your own messages.

Arctic Monkeys Poster on Chuck

February 9, 2010 | 4:43pm

Was a pretty cool deal when NBC came a calling and asked to use one of our posters in one of their shows. Last Monday night in the background of one of NBC's hit sows Chuck their it was. It deserved a close up I think. Sadly, the poster is currently sold out but a second edition print is in the works.

Show the Love print release

February 9, 2010 | 4:38pm

Was a giant honor to along with my Vahalla Studios biz partner Dan Padavic create this 18 artist print series. Below is a couple pics for the release as well as my print in the series. You can find more pics here and buy the set and my print here.

Show the Love preview 2

February 1, 2010 | 9:38am

Another reminder and preview of the show I am involved with coming up this Friday: Show the Love! It includes 18 artist who all contributed an 8x8 Love inspired print. The series will be releasing this friday and having an opening in our Vahalla Studios gallery that evening. Really hope you can join us. It is an amazing line up that includes the likes of: Kate Bingaman, Will Bryant, Tad Carpenter, Frank Chimero, Maura Cluthe, jennifer Daniel, Chris Eliopolos, Matt Hawkins, Hydro 74, David Huyck, Blake E. Marquis, Andy Miller, Dan Padavic, Richard Perez, A. Micah Smith, Mark Todd, Nate Williams and John Vogl.

I included the print I did for the show below. Just a couple of Love birds.

Hope For Haiti

January 26, 2010 | 4:53pm

Was a no brainer when asked recently to to come up with a tee-shirt design for the group Hope For Haiti over at StoreEnvy. If you are still looking for a way to help the people of Haiti�please go pick up one of these tee where the money will be donated to the Red Cross. Here is a link to to purchase my tee-shirt: Hope for Haiti.

Show The Love Show

January 20, 2010 | 3:48pm

Really excited about this show that myself and biz partner Dan Padavic over at Vahalla Studios are putting together. In honor of Valentines day the show is titled Show the Love. We have asked 18 artist to create an 8x8 3 color screen print with the theme of love in mind. The print series will release at our gallery and online on February 5th. So honored and excited to have such talented people involved. Here is a preview of a couple pieces.�Stay tuned for more.

Forever the Sickest Kids

January 7, 2010 | 12:17pm

Really was fun getting to work in one of my monsters into this Myspace Secret show. This is a 3 color 18x24 print on natural paper. Looks like a fun show plus a free snowball fight.�

Winter Holiday Cards 09

December 23, 2009 | 2:33pm

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you all get everything you ever wanted. Every year I do a series of Holiday cards of some sort. This year I created a series of 6 holiday cards silkscreened on chipboard. I wanted to do a bit of an untraditional color palette. I love the metallic grey and yellow on the chipboard. Really fun. All were packed together with yellow and grey envelopes and sold at our Vahalla gallery. Again, Happy Holidays!

Swell Season poster

December 23, 2009 | 10:27am

A 3 color poster for the bands show at the Uptown theater in Kansas City. Did a color swap so offering both a blue and brown color option. Buy blue poster here and brown option here.

Last minute Holiday ideas

December 17, 2009 | 10:07pm

Wanted to pass out some last minute holiday ideas.�

Love my folks over at Nonsek. Go to Nonsek grab a tee-shirt with my illustrations on it or heck you can even grab a gift card. So much fun to play with the Nonsek machine. If you have yet to play with the Nonsek site go now, it is a blast. Here is my Nonsek page.

Visit Simplistick a wall and decal company who is using some of my cowboy and indians to decorate children's rooms. Would be great for the little chief in your life.

Lastly, a few items that I am running low on. My super fun ceramic plate set. All are ready to be eaten on, microwaved or just admired. Great fun for all. Also really running low on these silkscreen prints on wood. Great little art pieces for stocking stuffers.

Happy Shopping.

Anorak Magazine maze Illustration

December 11, 2009 | 2:37pm

One of my favorite people to work with is Anorak Children's magazine. Always a thrill to work with them. For the winter issue I created a�maze. That poor pooch ate all kinds of things he shouldn't have. Good luck getting through the maze. It's a gas! More images found here.

KC AIGA INterview

December 11, 2009 | 1:32pm

Was very nice of the KC AIGA chapter too think of me and sit down and have a little discussion about what is going on with me and in the world of design. This also kicks off what is sure to be a pretty great week coming up in February. Kansas City is holding it's first KC Design week which I was asked to brand the event. Thanks again everyone involved. You can read the discussion here.

Grain Edit Holiday Give away!

December 10, 2009 | 10:01am

No one does it like Grain Edit. They are having a monster holiday give away. Was honored to have a print in the give away. Jump over to Grain Edit Give Away and sign up!

Monster Mix Up Give Away!

December 9, 2009 | 10:35am

For the rest of the year starting today if you buy any of the monster mix up set you get another set to take home and mix up for free! So basically, you get two tops and two bottoms for the price of one. This deal goes on until December 31. The free-be monster set will be at random so it will be a surprise what you get. Enjoy and let the monster mash begin! Buy em here.

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New Second Edition Print!

December 9, 2009 | 10:30am

One of my all time favs had been sold out and we just reprinted it on French Pop-tone grape colored paper. I think I like this set better than the original even. You can grab one here or on our Vahalla site.

Happy Va-holidays!

December 9, 2009 | 10:00am

Last friday we at Vahalla Studios had our december gallery opening. We can’t thank everyone enough for coming out to our opening in December last first friday. We had a blast and I hope we helped you with your holiday shopping list. We hope to be open much more often in very near future. Lots more goodies to come and thanks again! A few shots of our space and show last friday.

Featured in Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine

December 3, 2009 | 11:19am

This holiday season I was just informed I and a print I did will be featured in Pregnancy & Newborn magazine. Really nice of them to think of me. I hope all the kiddos like this robot wood print. Try not to chew on it! :)

New Vahalla Studios Website

December 3, 2009 | 11:09am

A long time coming here. Some of you may or may not know I co-run a super fun Design and silkscreen shop with my pal Dan Padavic called Vahalla Studios. This year we also opened a gallery attached to our print shop and now just released a new website where you can find tons of prints and goodies from us both. We specialize in silkscreen and letterpress specifically doing a lot of work for musicians and record labels but I think you will find a lot of other goodies too. Check the site out here: Vahalla Studios

Happy Thanksgiving all you turkeys!

November 25, 2009 | 12:21pm

I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving! Below are some designs and licensing work I have created that reminded me of the big turkey day. I know they are cowboys and not pilgrims but hey, still fun! Try not to eat to much!

Communication Arts 2009

November 25, 2009 | 11:22am

Always one of the biggest honors to have some of your work featured in Communication arts. This year I had two projects featured and 3 complete pages devoted to those projects. Pretty exciting! First project was the redesign of the architecture firm 360. Was a really fun process working with the folks of 360. I worked with Design Ranch on this project and art directors Michelle Sonderegger and Ingred Sidie.

The second project was of course my beloved chefBURGER. I talk about this project a lot but really one of my favorite brands I have yet to create. I work with chefBURGER still on a fairly regular basis and still hopeful they will be franchising in the next several years. So keep your eyes peeled. More images and info on chefBURGER here.�

Vahalla Studios featured in IDN Magazine

November 25, 2009 | 7:14am

Super excited and proud to have my buddy Dan and I's Vahalla Studios featured in the recent IDN magazine. It is on news stands now or online version here.

Illustration for Secondary Teachers

November 18, 2009 | 9:41am

An Illustration I did for Secondary Teachers magazine based out of the UK. Worked with the lovely folks at John Brown Media for art direction and design.

Portfolio book

November 12, 2009 | 10:26am

Not to often am I requested to send an actual physical portfolio to a client. Thats the joy of the internet right. I recently was asked to do so by a huge awesome client. I was happy to do so. I was lucky enough to have this design getting ready to go to press as a mini book being made for self promotional materials so, I turned it into a portfolio book of sorts. The covers are silkscreen on chipboard and interior is french folded. A nice quick representation of me I think.

Some random Sketchbook doodles

November 10, 2009 | 9:59am

Always love sharing and seeing peoples sketchbooks. Here are some random pages from my current sketchbook. A few doodles are for jobs but some just random sketches. Here are a few links to past sketchbook posts: 1, 2, 3.

A Happy Halloween rejected design.

October 30, 2009 | 10:36am

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween weekend. I wanted to share a rejected Halloween design I did last year for the Ting Ting Myspace secret show. I was really happy with the design they went with but always thought these two posters made a fun pair. Check out which design was actually used here and hope you have a ghoul-tastic weekend! See you in November!

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Print Regional Design Annual 2009

October 26, 2009 | 3:43pm

Always a huge honor when Prints Design Annual comes out and you have a piece in it. Was thrilled to have both my chefBURGER identity and Pizzabella branding project featured in the Annual this year. Really proud of my Kansas City also who really represented well on a national level. More info here on both chefBURGER and Pizzabella. 2008 design annual info here.

Fun NEW Journal Jotters

October 23, 2009 | 10:55am

Made a group of fun journal jotters more so for promotional material but thought I would sell a couple too. Came out pretty fun. The envy of any office if you showed up to a meeting with one of these. ha! They are all 4.5 x 5.75 inch journals with 1 color silkscreen cover and back cover on chipboard and roughly 50 offset interior pages. Can purchase here.

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Exchange magazine spot illustrations

October 15, 2009 | 9:43am

Was fun to work with Exchange a UK based business and technology magazine as well as John Brown Media in concepting how to illustrate their specific articles. Had almost as much fun in the concept stage as I did drawing them. Love working with the limited color palette too. More info and views found here.

Anorak Magazine Interview

October 9, 2009 | 9:09am

For my money one of the best childrens magazine is Anorak childrens magazine. Great articles and really fun work. I have been really excited to be doing work with them as well. They recently did a little interview with me where I talked about my first illustration job. It was when I was 9 years old and I won a contest and draw the season tickets for my home town Kansas City Chiefs pro football team. See the ticket and fun interview�here.

Myspace Secret shows Key covers

October 6, 2009 | 9:47am

As a lot of you know I also co-run Vahalla Studios a silkscreen, letterpress and design shop with my dear pal Dan Padavic. One of our favorite clients is Myspace. We have been blessed over the years to do dozens of secret show posters for them. Myspace recently took a few our designs and made key covers with them So freakin cool! My Kooks poster and Ting Tings poster made as well as Dan's flaming Hold Steady and our pal Micah Smith who also designs secret show posters is well represented. All and all super fun stuff! Thanks Myspace!

Pizzabella: an oldie but goodie

October 5, 2009 | 4:17pm

I worked on Pizzabella sometime ago but never properly documented it. Pizzabella's overall branding goal was to create a modern, warm inviting space. It can be seen as both a destination restaurant as well as a neighborhood eatery. A super fun project. More info and photos here.

Sunrise Greetings: 1970's beach cards

September 25, 2009 | 11:25am

Always a treat to work with Sunrise Greetings. Some of my favorite people to work with. This group of 25 cards were 70's beach inspired. From typography to color to even content, that was the goal. They are all over sized (8x12-ish) and each have a fun die cut shape to them. All are for sale at Barnes & Noble or where Sunrise Greetings are sold. More info�here.

Nanny Match

September 16, 2009 | 10:37am

Was asked to create a brand for the start up Nanny Match which places nannies with families and families with nannies. Client wanted something fun, playful and showed how the service can be trusted and nurturing. A kangaroo and it's joey seemed like a great icon to do this. Brand consisted of Stationary system, website, brochures, office signage and press kit. More photos and info here.

Flatstock 22 in Seattle

September 10, 2009 | 9:50pm

If you were able to get to Seattle this past weekend it was great to see you! I loved meeting everyone who came by our recent Flatstock 22 booth at the Bumbershoot music festival. Below are a few photos from our Vahalla Studios booth at this great event. Really enjoyed signing dunnys, selling posters and talking shop. See you again next year Seattle.�

Bumbershoot & Flatstock 2009

September 3, 2009 | 11:47pm

It is that time again. Flatstock time. If you are in Seattle this weekend September 5-7 please stop by and see me at our Vahalla Studios booth within Bumbershoot music festival. The American Poster institute is putting on Flatstock and I will be there with prints and goodies. Please do stop by.

Illustration Mundo Spotlight

September 2, 2009 | 8:11am

Just like a lot of you one of my favorite sites to tool around on is Illustration Mundo. It has so many wonderful illustrators involved and is maintained beautifully. Not to mention the great Nate Williams who runs it is an amazingly awesome guy and beyond talented illustrator. So when Mundo and Nate decided to do a spotlight on me on the site I was quite honored. View the spotlight here.

Nonsek is a graphic remix!

August 19, 2009 | 3:51pm

I was thrilled to create an artist page and channel for Nonsek. Really great artist and people involved. I guess I should explain if you have yet to see it. Nonsek is a graphic remix t-shirt site from the crazy talents over at Planet Propaganda. Nonsek was born to thrive in the age of the remix.�It generates rare and random graphic remixes with a simple click of a button. You don’t like what you see? Click again. It doesn‘t cost anything, and won’t hurt one bit. Give it a try! It will churn through hundreds and hundreds of my drawing and doodles to create you your very own t-shirt that no one else will ever have. Here are several examples of remixes below. Check out my artist page here and a link to remix one of my t-shirts here.

Our well branded wedding.

August 18, 2009 | 11:00am

I dont usually like to share a lot of personal things on my site however, I recently married the most wonderful girl! She is also a designer and illustrator so we collaborated to design our big day. Below shows our invite which is letterpressed and silkscreened. The envelope for the invite is a blind debossed with an icon system we developed that tells a little story. On the reverse of the actual invite we tell what a few of the icons mean to us and in turn tell our little story. Each guest at the wedding received a set of 4 silkscreen note cards designed by us. The guest who stayed the night at the President Hotel also received the below silkscreen tote bag we designed. A few shots from the actual day are also below. It was a beyond great day and all our wedding collateral material turned out really fun. For much better and larger views of our stuff please visit LemonLime Photography. Our favorite fellas who did a wonderful job for us!

New Art Prints!

August 12, 2009 | 10:00am

Super excited about this new little series of art prints. It includes a Mighty Knight print�11x14, a much requested Whale print on paper 11x14, a Dog and his bark�print 11x3 and my Bird posse�print 3x11. All are 3 colors, editions of 100 and signed and numbered. Click above or here to purchase.�Hope you enjoy.

Kc Biz Care environmental graphics

August 11, 2009 | 2:00pm

I teamed up with McHenery Schaffer Mitchell Architecture as well as the city of Kansas City to help brand and create a new office space and business. The idea was to create a space where people can come to ask questions or get help about starting a new business or even inquire about their existing business. The idea to have the city help entrepreneurs when starting a new businesses. The overall visual concept was positive business messages and graphic illustrations collaged together. The brand we finished is on all of the centers collateral materials as well as running along a 50 foot wall within their office space. Some details below and more photos here.

Rock For kids

August 3, 2009 | 2:38pm

Was really excited to work with and help out Rock for Kids. A great non-profit organization that brings hope and support to underprivileged kids and teens through music. I created 6 music monsters prints that get packed together and wrapped with a belly band in a clear plastic bag. Each print is a 4 color, 7x7 inches and an edition of 100. Each pack comes with all 6 prints. You can purchase the group here.

Grain Edit Poster pick

July 31, 2009 | 5:21pm

Was truly honored to have one of my posters picked as Grain Edits Poster picks this past week. Grain Edit is for sure one of if not the best Design blog to focus on classic design from the 50's-70's and all the contemporaries who are influenced from those times. Thanks so much Dave, Lad and all you associated with Grain Edit. Really appreciate it. Here is a link to the post: Conor Oberest Poster pick.

The Mighty Boosh Secret Show

July 28, 2009 | 7:52am

Just did this 5 color 18x25 print for a Myspace secret show in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom. I have to admit I did not know much about the comedy team The Mighty Boosh. I know one thing, they have a gorilla in a lot of their shows so that was enough for me. You can grab one here.�

Silly new sketchbook pages

July 27, 2009 | 11:38am

Here are some silly new doodles I did recently while waiting at the DMV. Oh, how fun that is. Think these might come in handy. Here are links to other sketchbook doodles: 1, 2, 3.

Shiny Squirrel interview

July 23, 2009 | 6:09pm

The nice folks over at the Shiny Squirrel just posted an interview with me. Was really nice of them to think of me. Was also picked up over at Notcot.org. You can read the full interview here.

New Promo Prints and Business cards

July 17, 2009 | 11:05am

I am getting ready to send out a bunch of promotional material and just made these little prints on the end of a print run the other day. I like the little indian print which is only 3.5x8.5 but pretty fun. You can buy one here if you like. Also some new little screen printed business cards I will be sending out to everyone. If you want to work together let me know, I will include you in on the mailing. Talk to you soon. :)

Anorak Magazine Game Illustration

July 8, 2009 | 2:32pm

Just did a Spot the Difference game illustration for the amazingly wonderful childrens magazine Anorak. This was for their summer issue that was focused around cycling. Their are 10 differences between the top and bottom image. Can you find them? Anorak truly is one of the best kids magazines around. Pick one up at Barnes & Noble or where magazines are sold. Also be sure to check out Anorak's new website. Top notch stuff to be found.

Conor Oberst

July 6, 2009 | 2:54pm

Was excited to create a poster for Omaha, Nebraska's very own Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band. With Omaha, Nebraska in mind and the summer classic that takes place there...the college world series this explains my baseball player theme. Not to mention who doesn't like baseball in the heart of the summer? This is a 3 color print on french construction green paper. Edition of 200. Purchase it here.

Gettin' Hitched!

June 18, 2009 | 6:09pm

Just a heads up that I might be gone for a little while. I am super excited to announce that this Saturday I will be marrying my dream girl Jessica. She not only is the best designer I know but the love of my life! With that in mind, Starting June 20th I will be away from the office until July 2nd. So any new business, print and poster sales or chit chat we might need to have will have to wait. I also cant wait to share all the branded materials we came up with for the wedding. Here's a sneak peek. See you soon!

The day I met Maurice Sendak...

June 17, 2009 | 9:25am

In keeping with the below theme of�Terrible�Yellow eyes and Where the Wild Things are these are some photos I wanted to share. Back in the early 80's when Wild Things was first being released I was lucky enough to meet The Maurice Sendak at a book release, book signing. As you can see I was no more than 5-6 years old and brought my favorite Wild things stuff toy to have Mr. Sendak sign. Each foot of the toy was signed by Sendak. One foot with Sendak's signature and the other made out to me. One of the truly great childhood memories!�One of the many reasons I wanted to become an illustrator. So glad my illustrator father took me to this event. I am sure he knew one day I would be thankful for such a meeting.

Terrible Yellow Eyes

June 12, 2009 | 9:07am

Was really excited to contribute to the fantastic website Terrible Yellow Eyes. If you have not seen it go there�immediately. It is such a wonderful idea and an�amazing�cast of artist and artwork all in honor and tribute to the wonderful Maurice Sendak and Where the Wild things Are. I am also in the coming weeks going to try and track down the photo I have of when I met Mr. Sendak back in the early 80's as a child. I still have a signed plush Wild thing from Sendak. A great childhood memory. Here is my contribution and a link to the site.

Naive Graphics book

June 9, 2009 | 12:28pm

Really excited to get this in the mail last week. It is the book titled Naive. Modern and Folklore in Contemporary graphic Design published by Die Gestalten Verlag. Was very happy to have several pages within the book I included a few below. It is a really great book with some of the best illustrators and designers today featured in it. Honored to be a part of it. A must buy so go get it! You can purchase it here.

Glasvegas

June 9, 2009 | 6:59am

A myspace secret show in Las Vegas for Glasvegas? Was that planned? The show was at an actual church so thats what the overall concept behind the show was. 18x24, 4 colors on black paper. You can purchase it here.

Rock the Earth

May 28, 2009 | 5:22pm

I am really happy to start working with Rock the Earth a wonderful non profit that has a wonderful message. Here are a couple illustration I did for them recently that have been made into tee-shirts and other merch. To learn more about Rock the Earth or to grab up these tees visit them here.

Tad's Endangered dunny with Kidrobot

May 27, 2009 | 10:02pm

I know I�announced�this last week but just wanted to show a quick shot of one of my samples I got from Kidrobot's Endangered dunny series. I have heard they totally sold out online within a few hours and very few are left in store if any. Hope everyone got one. If you got several of my little owl let me know I am always trying to get a few more. :)

Kidrobot Endangered dunny and apparel release!

May 18, 2009 | 10:36am

I can't tell you how excited and humbled I am for this weeks release at my pals kidrobot. I was honored to be a part of the recent endangered species dunny series which will be�available�on May 21st at 11am EST. From what I hear they sell out fast. My dunny is the owl with the glow in the dark eyes! I was also lucky enough that kidrobot and I made some apparel with my dunny which is currently�available�on their site. Did I mention it glows in the dark!!! I will have more info in the coming weeks. Here is the link to buy the endangered species dunny series and a link for my owl apparel. So excited, go kidrobot!

New Business Cards

May 12, 2009 | 6:29pm

Just had some quickie business cards made and they just arrived. I love having a variety of card backs to hand out. Kinda fun. So, if you want to do work together here in the near future I will give you a couple cards I promise.

New sketchbook doodles

May 8, 2009 | 3:58pm

I love sharing and seeing other peoples sketchbooks. I have shared several in the past. Here is a link to some older doodles: 1 & 2. Here are a couple more pages from a current sketchbook. Happy drawing!

The Killers

May 6, 2009 | 10:14am

This 18x24 3 color poster looks like it is 4 colors but it is really just the blue and yellow overlapping to create the green. We just finished this one last week. It is on a natural colored paper and printed in an edition of 180.�Buy it here.

Bloc Party RePrint!

May 4, 2009 | 9:50am

This is an 18x24 4 color screenprint. This is the second edition of this Bloc Party print with new fantastic colors. The original print is all but sold out and this new second edition is in an edition of 150. You can purchase print here.

Franz Ferdinand poster & art print

April 28, 2009 | 1:42pm

A super fun 18x24, 3 color on natural stock mermaid poster for the band Franz Ferdinand. My concept behind the poster was based on the bands new song Ulysses. If you are familiar with the story, it involves sirens and mermaids at one point. Any excuse to draw a fun mermaid really. I also did an art print without the band info. Art print available here, Franz Ferdinand poster�available�here.

The Corcoran's Wilson the Lion

April 22, 2009 | 4:05pm

It was such a thrill and great process to work with the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. I was approached to develop a mascot for their youth & family program. On the steps up to the museum are two bronze lions. So, the overall idea to keep with the lion theme was an easy one. Here is our new friend and mascot Wilson. I also included how he was used in the recent Spring & Summer issue. I have to say the Corcoran did a great job with the overall design of the piece. More photos here.

Social Bird icon set

April 15, 2009 | 8:15am

The super fun Inspired Magazine recently asked 20 illustrators to create a twitter bird icon in their own style. Some really great artist made some really great icons. They are all totally free and ready to freshen up your blog. I was also honored when my favorite blog DRAWN posted a blurp about it and featured my icon. AH, shucks. You can see my bird below

Here is a link to The Social Bird Project & DRAWN

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Flight of the Conchords

April 13, 2009 | 7:17am

This is a poster we did for the amazing and wonderful Flight of the Conchords. It is a 3 color screen print, 18x24 on white stock. I am sure you big Conchord fans know this but the concept behind the poster was the song "Business Time". As they say, "You know when I'm down to just my socks, it's business time." You can purchase it here.

Happy Easters Day!

April 9, 2009 | 8:26am

Hope you all eat lots of�chocolate covered bunnies, marshmellow chicks and do a little egg hunting over the weekend. Have a wonderful Easter Friends!

The Get Up Kids San Francisco Show

April 3, 2009 | 8:00am

A poster for The Get Up Kids current tour. This was for the San Francisco CA show. I really like the little sun and plane, pretty fun. The poster is 18x24, 4 colors on French lemon drop paper. You can purchase one here.

Myspace Music's Corporate Office

April 2, 2009 | 8:33am

I thought this was pretty great. One of my favorite clients Myspace who we do lots of secret show posters for has created some great wall graphics using some the posters we have done. Here is the one area where the Lily Allen poster I did is highlighted. Thanks Myspace!

New Sketchbook Doodle

March 27, 2009 | 6:10am

I love random doodling. Here is a doodle I did the other day while sitting at our flatstock booth. In between talking shop, selling posters and making friends I have some pretty fun and random drawings in the old sketchbook.�More doodles can be found here.

Bear and Bird show comments

March 26, 2009 | 6:03pm

I currently have a show at the Bear and the Bird Gallery in Florida. The folks there have been wonderful to work with. They have set out a comments sheet within the gallery and recently sent me several pages of comments. Here is some of the kind words you said, thanks everyone!

Flatstock 20!

March 25, 2009 | 6:20pm

I wanted to thank everyone who came by and visited Dan and I at our Vahalla Studios booth at Flatstock in Austin. I met some wonderful people and had lots of fun. Hope you all enjoyed it as well. More photos from Flatstock on my flickr page.

SXSW 2009!

March 17, 2009 | 8:25am

A big reminder to everyone visiting South by South West�March 19-22 in Austin Texas. Please stop by and say hello to me�at Flatstock. Dan and I will be selling our goodies under our Vahalla Studios name in the Austin Convention center so stop by. It will be fun. Also, any sales this week will ship March 25th. Hope thats cool. Have a good week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 17, 2009 | 6:05am

Just wanted to tell you a quick Happy St. Pat's Day. Be careful out there!

Rhys Darby Comedy show in New Zealand!

March 16, 2009 | 5:55pm

Some of you out there like me are fans of the great show Flight of Concords. If so, you are most likely familiar with the comedy of Rhys Darby. He recently did a Myspace secret Comedy show in New Zealand. Dan and I were super excited to do a poster for the over seas event. It turned into a pretty silly poster really.

Grain Edit Stimulus Package!

March 10, 2009 | 7:38am

What an honor to be included in the recent Grain Edit's Design Stimulus package Giveaway! You can see the list of folks involved below. What a crazy humbling group it is. Very proud to be a part of it. So, shoot over to Grain Edit and sign up to win! On a side note, all of you who don't win on Grain Edit and purchase a print here from me I�will be throwing in free stickers, silkscreen greeting cards and a surprise mini print with each purchase! Like a big ol' giant grab bag! This will last 1 week so it's over on March 17th! So come on jump on it! Thanks everyone. :)

Sketchbook Doodles

March 9, 2009 | 6:14am

Happy Monday! Here are some very random sketchbook doodles I have made recently while talking on the phone, or calling in on conference calls or perhaps waiting for my car to be worked on. Some are fun others kinda silly. I sketch in a Canson 5.5x8.5 sketchbook. How about you?

Mayhem Mischief and Monsters at the Bear and Bird Gallery.

March 4, 2009 | 6:05pm

Currently I have a solo show at the Bear and Bird Gallery in Lauderhill Florida sponsored by Scion. It is more of my Mayhem, Mischief and Monsters with new prints and new paintings to go along with it. Last Saturday they had an opening reception and sent me some photos. It looks like it was a great turn out. I so wish i could have been there. Thanks to all the great folks who came and the wonderful peeps over and B&B! I appreciate it. For more photos from the opening night see Bear and Birds Flickr page here.

Deerhunter Secret Show

March 2, 2009 | 6:31am

Hi everyone! Last week I designed a poster for Deerhunter's Myspace secret show. I was excited to do this print not only because Deerhunter makes some great tunes but wanted to make a poster that said deerhunter without actually screaming a deerhunter. I think this modern camo worked pretty good. We printed 3 color options and you can purchase it here. Photos by Aaron Farley via Myspace.

Uppercase post

February 26, 2009 | 7:32am

The folks over at Uppercase Gallery have one heck of a blog as well as a great magazine among other things. They recently did a little post on me. It was for�"type tuesday". They mentioned myself, Linzie Hunter, Andy Smith and Paul Thurlby. I would say I am in excellent company. Thanks Uppercase. Leave me a comment and view the post here.

Mayhem Mischief and Monsters in Florida!

February 25, 2009 | 6:15am

Excited to have a new gallery show at Bear and Bird Gallery in Lauderhill Florida. It will feature my Monster mix up prints, new paintings, wood prints, ceramics and all kinds of other goodies. The opening reception is this Saturday the 28th of February. So if you are in the neighborhood please come check it out. I promise it will be fun!

Anya Marina

February 23, 2009 | 7:00am

I recently designed these fun posters for my friends over at Chop Shop Records. Anya Marina was playing a show in Los Angeles so I made this small 2 color 11x17 print for the show. For her latest tour and other events I took the same design to 18x24 and 3 colors. I think it came out pretty fun. We also got some pretty fun test prints which you can also see below. If you look close you can see some of the Lily Allen print I recently did in there.HA! You can purchase the Anya Marina poster in my store here.

Lily Allen's Myspace Secret Show!

February 19, 2009 | 7:01am

I recently designed some goods for Lily Allen's Myspace Secret Show in NYC. It looks like it was an amazing show. As well as the poster for the show I designed some tee shirts for Myspace and Lily's label Capitol Records. Here are some photos from the show thanks to Myspace and the photographer Matthew Salacuse. You can purchase poster here.

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

February 13, 2009 | 7:44am

I �know it is a day earlier but I will be spending the day tomorrow with my best gal. So wanted to tell everyone a big old Happy V-Day a bit early. Hope love finds you all.

Valentines Day card set

February 12, 2009 | 11:07pm

A group of 6 silkscreen Valentines day cards for Design Ranch to send out to clients and pals to help share the love. I think I like the cupid with the tighty-whities the best. :)

Hello Whale Wood Prints

February 6, 2009 | 8:02am

These whale prints are pretty big, or at least the largest screen print I have done up to now. They are 24x48 inches on .25" plywood. I really like how they turned out. I included some photos of them also from a recent show. Hope that helps get the idea across. You can purchase them in my store here.

Tokyo Bunnie post

February 5, 2009 | 8:35am

The blog TokyoBunnie just did a little post on me. Thanks for that! Some nice words from the Bunnie. Be sure to check out�TokyoBunnie and the post they did on little old me.

The Republic Tigers on Vinyl

February 4, 2009 | 7:15am

I just received this yesterday and really like how it turned out. The Republic Tigers�latest album Keep Colors�was something I designed last year see pervious post�or entire package here. That album was just released on vinyl. I love how the actual record looks. Feels a little like a 1970's record with the minimal color label. If you would like to purchase this album on vinyl Amazon is currently carrying it.

Halloween and Beach Cards

January 29, 2009 | 8:10am

Thought I would share some Halloween and Summer Beach inspired cards I have done recently for Sunrise greetings. They have been lots of fun to work on for sure. They will be die cut cards which is pretty fun. I also included a Halloween card that got rejected. I really liked it though. I think I just respond to the limited color palette. It feels very retro childrens book to me which is my favorite. All is ok though, the direction they went with is pretty great too.

Flattering, I think...

January 27, 2009 | 7:17am

This is a little odd but very flattering when you think about it. I was sent this photo yesterday by a gentleman who this past weekend literally went out and had my little octopus character which you can see below tattooed�permanently�on his arm. Holy cow, how crazy is that! Hope you enjoy the arm art Jake, it's an honor.

Oldies but Goodies RePrints

January 21, 2009 | 8:21am

The Shins Double Monster posters and Decemberist Robot prints have all but sold out. Dan and I have only a couple left of the originals so we are releasing NEW second editions of the two posters. The new Shins double poster is now in a great green color palette and the Decemberist robot is now on a French brick red paper. Both in editions of 200. Both available here in my store.

Blog Love

January 19, 2009 | 7:35am

I just wanted to give a little love back to a couple Blogs out there that gave me a shout this past week.�The design magazine How has a blog and mentioned me and some of my hand drawn type. Pretty swell of them. Check out their blog here. The two others were Rare Bird Finds and Brain Pickings which listed me as one of 5 artist to watch. Pretty nice of them to say and to be in the company of the other 4 artist which are all fantastic.

Gig Posters Volume 1

January 18, 2009 | 10:42am

I had meant to mention this some time ago. It is quite an exciting new book that I am very proud to be a part of.�It is Gig Posters Book Volume 1! Congrats and great job Clay over at Gig Posters and all the folks at Gig posters for putting this together. It really will be an amazing book. Dan and I are super proud to be featured in the book under our studio name Vahalla Studios. The book will be released in April but you can pre order it now here.

Grain Edit post

January 12, 2009 | 8:17am

The other day one of the top blogs around did a little post about me. Please check it out and leave a comment! I have to say, it was quite an honor to even be mentioned with some of the other folks they frequently post about. If you have not been to grain edit before you are really missing out. They really do a great job showing great new and retro based design and illustration. Thanks grain edit, keep up the goodness! Here is a link to the post they did about me.

The Hello Show Video

January 9, 2009 | 7:15am

I am pretty excited about this. My friend Eric over at LemonLime Photography was at my previously mentioned Hello Show. Eric took some of the amazing photos you see below as well as this wonderful video. Everything about it is just great. Bravo Eric, Bravo. And thanks a million thanks. Enjoy.

HelloShow from Eric // LemonLime Photography on Vimeo

The Hello Show!

January 8, 2009 | 8:34am

As I mentioned before,�myself and my�Vahalla Studios�poster partner�Dan Padavic had a gallery show this past month. The Hello Show at 1800 Baltimore in good old KC MO. It was so much fun and a huge success.�I can't thank everyone enough who came and said hello and purchased some of our goodies. Here are a few photos from the show and a link to my flickr account where I have tons more shots. I will keep everyone posted cause we might show again in February.�And between me and you, we might have a permanent gallery/store sometime around March. I will keep you posted, promise.�Thanks again everyone for coming!

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A few new Paintings

January 5, 2009 | 8:00am

Here are a couple new paintings I just added to the site. I painted these for the Hello Show in Kansas City as well as my upcoming show at the Bear and Bird Gallery in Florida next month. I will have more on that upcoming show soon. Happy Monday!

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Happy New Years Friends!

December 31, 2008 | 3:37pm

I hope everyone had a wonderful 2008. I have to say i am going to miss the little guy. All the best in 2009.

My Christmas Characters on Cupcakes

December 22, 2008 | 2:35pm

One last bit of Holiday info before the big day. I recently was contacted by Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle Washington. Jennifer the owner is so nice! This Holiday season she started making cupcakes with a couple of my illustrations on them. Pretty cool idea if you ask me. Not to mention it looks like Jennifer and Trophy have the most amazing set up for cupcakes exotic drinking chocolates and all kinds of other goodies. She was recently on Martha Stewart also, pretty amazing stuff Jennifer. So, if you are in Seattle go by Trophy Cupcakes and buy a Tad cupcake and gobble it up. I can promise you they taste even better than they look.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

December 18, 2008 | 9:30pm

Hi Everyone! Let me be one of the last to say Happy Holidays. I am here to bring a little help for all you last minute shoppers. From today until the end of the year everyone and anyone who orders anything from me will also receive a free 3 color Holiday screen print and a group of random Holiday greeting cards and gift tags. So, not only do I give you a great gift to give a loved one but also the card and gift tag. Man, you are set up! So, try not to eat too many suger cookies and candy canes! No one wants a tummy ache. Have a Happy Holiday friends.

DesignWorkLife Blog Post

December 15, 2008 | 8:00am

Some of the nice folks over at designworklife just posted a little blurb about me on their blog. They really have a great blog. I love their holiday shopping tips, great stuff! Please check it out and drop me a comment. Here is the link: designworklife:tadcarpenter.�

PikaLand Interview

December 11, 2008 | 7:30am

The wonderfully great Amy over at PikaLand asked me sometime ago to be part of their PikaPackage for December which I was quite humbled and honored to do. She then recently asked me a few questions for her fantastic site PikaLand. It was great to be apart of such a great site! Thanks Amy! Here is a link to the full interview.

Illustration Mundo!

December 10, 2008 | 8:18am

What a week! As i mentioned we all have favorite sites and blogs and forums on the world wide interweb. Another site I look at a trizillion times a week is Illustration Mundo. It is an amazing place for illustrators to showcase their work. It is created by Mr. Nate Williams who I adore his work and what he does for the world of Illustration. Anyway, I was featured on the site today which is a huge honor! View here. Viva Illustration Mundo!

DRAWN!

December 7, 2008 | 9:16am

Everyone has their favorite blogs out there in cyber-ville. One of mine for sure is DRAWN! The best Cartooning and Illustration blog out there. I was just featured on it the other day which is a huge honor. Thanks all you DRAWN-ERS, and you Mr. Johnny! You can veiw the post here.

A Brand New Website! Really, it is!

December 3, 2008 | 10:56pm

You are at Tad's website do not be fooled my friend. I have done a little clean up and have a new look, a new store, a new blog and lots of new work! I hope you enjoy it. Drop me a line and say hi, it has been way to long I am sure. Thanks for the support and see you soon.

Hello Show!

December 1, 2008 | 9:36pm

That's right. A show in Kansas City. It has taken long enough. Dan and I are putting together a show of all of our posters plus new artwork from each of us. I will also have most of my Monster mix up prints, wood prints and lots of fun new stuff. It is at 1800 Baltimore in good old KC. MO. It is in the former retail space where Habitat Shoe store once was. We are having an opening reception on December 5th, first Friday and the show will run through the 28th of this month. Please stop by and say HELLO wont you.

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Jolly Good Show!

November 29, 2008 | 7:31pm

I am at it again with the folks out in Seattle at the Blue Bottle gallery. This time they are pputting together a group show focusing on fun Holiday art for the holidays. I have several prints in the show so check it out. Here is a link to the show: Jolly Good.

The Ting Tings Secret Show.

November 8, 2008 | 11:50pm

I just got done designing The Ting Tings Myspace Secret show in Philly. The show was on Halloween too, how rad! So I made the posters like those skeletons you cut out as a kid at Halloween and hung in your door. Pretty cool. I will have a couple for sale soon. I bet it was a great show to be at!

Print Regional Design Annual!

November 7, 2008 | 10:24pm

Not sure if you got the new Print Regional Design Annual but I got crazy lucky and feel very fortunate to be featured 6 times plus I was interviewed to speak about Kansas City. How cool is that. Thanks print folks. I got a coulpe great projects from Design Ranch into the publication, 3 Vahalla posters that Dan and I did and a personal favorite my Republic Tigers silkscreened EP packaging. Kansas City had quite a bit in the magazine which is great, Go get 'em KC!

Interview On Stickers & Donuts!

October 24, 2008 | 3:44pm

The nice folks over at Stickers & Donuts�recently interviewed me. It was really nice of them to think of little old me. You can read the interview here.

Yummo yogurt and smoothies! Heck Yea!

October 10, 2008 | 7:45pm

I just designed another new restaurant in the Power and Light District in Kansas City. I really am glad to see KC jumping on this yogurt craze! This place is called Yummo and is right next to chefburger. I have my own little corner now. It is a great place owned and operated by local folks who are a treat and truely good folks. They serve�16 yogurt flavors and you just add whatever toppings you want. Hello, 2 lbs of cookie dough! I wil have photos and other goodies soon.

Mayhem, Mischief and Monsters in Seattle

September 23, 2008 | 12:45pm

In September I had a show at the Bluebottle Gallery in Seattle Wa. It turned out so great and the folks at Bluebottle are amazing. I hope everyone in the Northwest enjoyed it. I am sure I will show there again very soon. Here are a couple shots of the work. I have lots more photos on my flickr page.

Republic Tigers On Letterman!

September 10, 2008 | 12:03pm

I recently designed The Republic Tigers full Length Album "Keep Color". The guys have hit the road to promote the new album and one of their stops was on Late Night with David Letterman. I was so stoked for the the Tigers. Not to mention Dave held up the CD! How cool is that!?

Chef Burger

July 2, 2008 | 6:17pm

If any of you live in Kanas City or are passing through I got the place for you to eat. I recently designed a great new burger joint in Kansas City's power and light district called Chef Burger. It is fantastic! Great hamburgers with yummy things like friend green tomatoes on them, a salmon burger, and they even have spiked milkshakes! I designed the identity and lots of the interior so please check it out please.