Remember in junior high school when you'd sign the yearbook "Keep in touch"? Well, we at dog & pony show designs are helping people reach that goal. Oh yeah, we're also helping people "stay cool."
That’s the company tag-line, and to be honest, it’s all true. Melissa Altman runs her own dog & pony show out of the kitchen of her Echo Park, Los Angeles home. She hand-paints, prints, packages, and solicits various artists to create drawings for her stationery company, dog & pony show designs. Currently, the dog & pony artist enclave consists of a number of internationally known artists and musicians who make original pieces of art to be used for the quirky and unique products, some hand-made and some digitally printed, that the company currently offers. Not only will you find the ever-necessary “happy birthday” and “thank you” cards, you will also find the occasion to share your less-expressed thoughts, like the poignant “I know, I know” with a burning cigarette and ashtray for your friends that are trying to quit smoking (or get through any hard situation), or the all-too-true, “I told you so”.
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MEET THE OWNER::
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When not flying to Europe aboard cargo planes (or driving across country in big-rigs) in order to secure precious art for MOCA, Melissa Altman haunts the East Side of Los Angeles like a friendly ghost. In a past life she haunted the East Side of NYC in much the same way while pursuing a Masters in Art History at Hunter College. Known widely for lighting up most rooms with an infectious laugh that quickly becomes infamous, Altman prefers German art, American beer and Mexican siestas.
Altman's current passion is her bespoke greeting card biz, described by one notorious crank as "what Raymond Pettibon would do after estrogen therapy." Altman is available for bachelor parties, competitive beat boxing and dropping the flag for any form of illicit street racing.
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MEET THE ARTISTS::
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Alexis Hartman was born and raised in Los Angeles, and has stayed there thus far because she likes it just fine. She attended Otis College of Art & Design. Alexis spends her time memorizing song lyrics, drawing portraits, and finding people who want her to draw things for them. She is also a dog person who has recently adopted a cat and fallen hopelessly in love.
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Emily Frye is an artist and filmmaker living in Orange County, California, and together with Melissa they form the internationally renowned super-team of Mel ‘n Ema. Emily has a secret desire to live in Tokyo and a very open and devoted adoration (some might say obsession) for miniature bull terriers. She’s been seen burlesque dancing with a midget, but now spends her time as a freelance designer. We’re currently thankful that her close proximity to Disneyland has not affected her design sensibility.
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Heather Goldberg is an environmentalist by day and a creative warrior by night. She likes napping, kissing, and listening attentively to the wind (especially through the trees). Her red-headed sister, Jenny, is her best friend. Together they create gourmet vegan delicacies as Spork Foods. Heather has an unflinching love affair with Los Angeles, where she plans to stay forever.
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Mel Kadel is from the suburbs of Pennsylvania and has been living in Los Angeles for the last 8 years. She began showing her drawings all over the city, as well as collaborating with many local bands, and now her work reaches well beyond the city of LA. Mel works out of her log cabin, using ancient papers, tiny pens, q-tips and glue...and is often mistaken for a boy. Brian Canning stems from Northern California. Besides being a high class poet, he is also a member of the bands Irving and Afternoons. As you can see, Brian is a chardonnay man.
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Aside from owning every volume of Monster Ballads, riding around Billburg on his two-wheeler (just lost the training wheels last week!), and sitting on stoops drinking 40s, the elusive jokester behind JS Studios is an internationally exhibited painter. He’s ditched his Northern California roots in search of a better life that entails catching fireflies in a jar and eating Asian fusion every night of the week.
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Marcos Lopez is like a Los Angeles treasure. A master at word play, buying records in 7’s, and making gazpacho, Marcos can tell you anything about MST3K and Ricky Gervais. When not doing amazing drawings for dog & pony show designs, he’s playing in one of the best bands in LA: Tables and Chairs.
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Jen Garrido was born and raised in Los Angeles but now spends her time on a windy hill in San Francisco with her husband, their dog Peanut, and their cat Puppy. When not in yogilates or digging through flea market piles, Jen spends her time painting beautiful paintings and wishing for sunny days.
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Dana Dencklau is more tattooed than any dude I know. Dana and her pitbull Bambi can be seen ridin’ durdy around the OC, on the lookout for sideshow collectibles, holiday decorations and tattoo art. When not designing cards for dog & pony show, she’s designing images for Empire Graphics. Athough she dreams of getting tattooed in various countries, we hope she stays pretty close to home. We like having her here.
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Gina Kelly brings her midwestern charm with her all the way from Kimberly, Wisconsin. Gina went to school at MIAD in Wisconsin (home of beer and frozen custard, and therefore one of Melissa's favorite places) and now attends CalArts in Los Angeles. Gina is the talent behind the amazing weathermaker press , which makes gig posters for your favorite bands. An astrology buff, she's freakishly good at remembering people's birthdays, even if she doesn't remember your name, which she's not so good at. Word on the street is, she's working on that.