The Weird Accordion to Al/Happy Place Is Now Available In Highly Purchasable Tee-Shirt Form!
One of the things I loved most about transforming the Weird Accordion to Al column into a book was getting Felipe Sobreiro’s illustrations for the very first time. I would experience a huge surge of excitement and anticipation whenever I got a new artwork for the book. Despite my sky-high expectations, Felipe always managed to surpass them. It was not unusual for me to laugh out loud seeing Felipe’s work for the first time; I’d call over my wife so that she could share in the excitement.
Looking at these illustrations I found myself thinking, “Oh my god. Felipe’s work is absolutely brilliant and this book is going to be amazing.” I did some things wrong over the course of the Weird Accordion to Al’s three year run but one thing I did extraordinarily right was hiring Felipe to handle the visual component of the book.
Felipe’s genius contributions are a huge part of the reason I feel so confident about our epic tribute to Al. I loved Felipe’s work so much that I wanted it to have a life beyond its original literary home. So I was overjoyed when Felipe agreed to let me use it for rewards for Patreon subscribers in the form of stickers, mugs, tee-shirts and posters.
AND I was very happy when Felipe made the illustration for “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota” available as a tee shirt and various other highly covetable, highly collectible items. I was similarly excited when he expanded his store to include tee-shirts and other sweet merch to include his amazing illustration for “Smells Like Nirvana.” Check it out here: https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/9107878-smells-like-nirvana
I’m not just a dedicated salesman for Felipe Sobreiro/The Weird Accordion to Al/Happy Place; I’m also a client. I bought six or seven tee shirts for myself and tee shirts for my two sons and a tank top for my wife. Most of what I wear these days if Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place merchandise. Part of that is crazed narcissism but I also just plain love the way the tee-shirts look.
That is why I am using this blog to implore you to take advantage of a sale at Felipe’s teepublic store where you can buy the “Smells Like Nirvana” tee-shirt for a mere 14 dollars for the next day or so. That is beyond cheap! https://www.teepublic.com/user/felipe-sobreiro
As part of the Kickstarter/Backerkit campaign for The Weird Accordion to Al we offered a customized digital portrait where patrons could have Felipe paint an image of them with “Weird Al” Yankovic. We did not get as many of those pledges as I had hoped because I think people had a hard time idea envisioning what those portraits might look like.
Well, I had Felipe do one for my Al-obsessed 5 year old son Declan, and I could not be happier with the results. AND, for some reason the Backerkit campaign is open so you can still make the magic happen here: https://make-the-weird-accordion-to-al-book-a-ridiculous-r.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders/191125
These are tough times all around. Comic book artists and illustrators are hurting like everyone else in part because all the comic book stores are closed. So do yourself a favor and pick up some sweet, sweet The Weird Accordion to Al/Happy Place merchandise and you will be very directly helping me and Felipe, getting awesome attire AND promoting the website I pour my heart and soul into everyday.
That’s a win-win proposition all around!
And of course you can always help ensure a future for the Happy Place by pledging at https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappyplace
AND you can of course buy The Weird Accordion to Al through Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Weird-Accordion-Al-Obsessively-Co-Author-ebook/dp/B083QSSG6G/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=weird+accordion+to+al&qid=1586911265&sr=8-
Or buy it directly from me by Paypalling me 20 dollars for a signed copy, shipping included, at nathanrabin@sbcglobal.net
AND you should also buy my even newer book Postal, at https://bossfightbooks.com/products/postal-by-brock-wilbur-nathan-rabin