You know, I effing really hate myself sometimes. I had the opportunity to have my teddy brochures handed out at a super bowl party attended by multi-millionaires; Jodie Foster to name one and I forgot about it. I wrote it down on my calendar to give the brochures to my landlord and forgot to look at my calendar. Just too stressed out with looking for an apt., finances, etc., etc. Somebody just shoot me now and put me out of my misery. Depressed doesn't even cover what I'm feeling right now.

My Crowdfunder on IndieGoGo has finished and the donations that came in equaled a little over 25% of my goal. A little disappointing but it's enough to move forward with getting a couple of plush and vinyl prototypes produced and a few silkscreens for t-shirts, which should help in the cost of producing t-shirts. Stay tuned for the latest developments. Just waiting for the funds to be deposited into my account so I can begin locking down a couple of manufacturers.

Twisted Teddys - Teddybears for Social Causes

Twisted Teddys Crowdfunding Video720

Hello Everyone, Just to let you know there's only three weeks left to join me in helping to create positive social change by donating to my IndieGoGo Crowdfunder. Help make my Christmas Wish come true. I am asking you to consider making a donation to my campaign so that together, with Twisted Teddys, we can help improve the lives of children, women and men by helping support charitable organizations that deal with homelessness, drug addiction, child abuse, gang abatement and many others through sales of my Twisted Teddys merchandise. Remember, 15% of sales is set aside and is donated at the end of the year. So, the more I am able to grow my product line and expand my market reach, the more funding these organizations will have. If you're more comfortable with using PayPal, make your donation at this site: https://www.facebook.com/donate/139737080243024. If using a credit card for your donation is not an issue, go to this site: https://igg.me/at/twistedteddys. And if you've already donated, thank you so much for your support. Best Wishes and have a Safe, Healthy and Happy Christmas/Holiday Season, Preston Founder Twisted Teddys

Well, I can finally say it. Wayne Brady, host of Let's Make A Deal, owns one of my Tagger Teddy prints. I received my check for $100 from the production company today. Up to this point I couldn't even say that Twisted Teddys was on the show; though technically I wasn't since I never got picked and remained in the audience. Looks great on a resume. https://igg.me/at/twistedteddys #socialcauses #millenials #fun #unique #naughty #twistedteddys

Just an update. My Twisted Teddys Crowdfunding Campaign launches in 5 days. I'll be posting the link soon. I hope you'll join me in my crowdfunding efforts.

Intersections Exhibit Video

A link to the video that was taken at the Korean Cultural Center for the exhibit "Intersections". Out of 200 artist submitting 500 entries, they chose 44 pieces from 23 artists. I had two pieces in the exhibit. See if you can find my teddys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GguPk9Z2Rc&feature=youtu.be

July is turning out to be a busy month in a line of successive months. I attended the LIMA Expo in Las Vegas to get some exposure for my Twisted Teddys and to make some connections. Wow! it was a lot of information; a bit overwhelming at times but I met some great people and feel that I made some good contacts.Spending lots of time promoting, promoting and promoting. 4 days of some great workshops, handing out brochures, taking photos, talking to people, spreading the word about Twisted Teddys and walking the exhibitor floor. I hope to have a booth there next year. Stay tuned.

Brentwood Arts Festival

I just participated in the Brentwood Arts Festival this past Sunday, the 24th. The weather was great, there was great attendance and the music was good but there were very few sales (at least in my area). I don't know if it was due to all the attendees were getting over the shock of paying their taxes or if Passover had something to do with it but it was disappointing. This is the 3rd time I've participated in this. First year was good, second year - no sales and third year - poor sales. It takes a lot of work to get everything organized, load up the car, drive to the site, unload, spend a couple of hours organizing ones' booth space and hanging artwork. Then 8 hours later, pack up everything, load the car and drive home. Very exhausting. I'm going to give it one more chance and if things don't improve, I'm not going to participate in that one any longer. I did hand out lots of brochures and business cards, got very positive responses from the people who stopped by my booth so perhaps, I made a good contact that will offer some future purchases. Still very disheartening.

I'm on the air. Tune into "A Comics Life Radio". Online at KCAARadio.com, simulcast on 1050AM and 106.5FM from 6-8pm every Friday. I recorded a one minute radio spot advert for Twisted Teddys. Listen in (it's a great show put on by a couple of great men) and if you catch my commercial, let me know what you think.

I have been busily promoting my Twisted Teddys business this year. Unfortunately, I've been spending so much time doing that, I haven't had the time to create any new ones. Lots of exciting things on the burner. Just to give you an idea, here's what I've been up to: 01/19/16 – Attended HOPE/SCORE Collaborative Mentoring Advisory Board - Provided contact with Mayor’s office on his Homeless Initiative - Arranged phone call with Alisa Orduna, who is putting together speaker/research discussion panels. She hopes to display my artwork as a backdrop for the panels. - Will know more about this by mid-February. 01/22/16 - Designed marketing research survey on my teddys and did an email blast to my mailing list to get feedback. - Began compiling feedback – set up Excel spreadsheet - Did another email blast as a follow-up a week later 01/29/16 – Exhibit at the Vampire Lounge in Beverly Hills - Teddys very well received; no sales, good contacts 01/30/16 – 3.5 hour meeting with Ed Reyes to discuss teddy game plan 01/31/16 – Attended L. A. Art Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center - Handed out lots of cards - Made two gallery contacts to follow-up with 02/01/16 – Met with Chris Amesquita (web master), Discussed promoting teddys - Asked for help with finding 3-D artist - Posted photos of Vampire Lounge exhibit - Instagram, Facebook and Twitter 02/02/16 – Researched Teddy Bear Times and Teddy Bear & Friends. Will purchase a subscription to the times as soon as I have the money. - Posted a query on Bad Taste Bears facebook page & left my website info. 02/04/16 - Posted on my blog about Vampire Lounge and LA Art Show 02/05/16 – Drop off piece for exhibit at the Hive Gallery - Checking into renting a space at the gallery to promote teddys.