When artist Lesley Bruce and I collaborated to produce the first one several years ago, we were pulling from her entire stash of previous farrier drawings. Finding 13 (12 plus a cover) that fit with the massive collection of phrases from the T-shirts and coffee mug was quite a project, but we pulled it off. Whew!

When the next year rolled around and we were faced with the prospect of doing that all over again, we decided our first effort was working just fine - so we convinced ourselves that no one would notice a repeat from one year to the next. And the next, and the next... After a while, customers were asking more frequently if the pictures were still the same.... and we knew something had to be done.

Except we'd used everything she already had on hand - so Lesley drew ALL NEW PICTURES just for this project! What an enormous undertaking. And, while the calendars are small at 3.5" wide (the width of a business card) the pictures are not. Even at this tiny size, the detail is just incredible - something farriers and horse owners will enjoy looking at for a month at a time for a whole year.

Check this out - it's detail from September's page - where the farrier is toiling away on the horse's foot, and the guy who is supposed to be holding him is instead leaning on the fence musing about the job he's doing and the money he's making from such an "easy" vocation: " along with "All it takes to be a farrier is a strong back and a weak mind." - Meanwhile his dogs are underfoot; this Jack Russell is having a good, vigorous roll in the turds.

This one from February takes a lighthearted look at the barefoot vs shoes controversy - the horse is nicely shod, but his OWNER is barefoot and obviously in great need of protection for her own feet.

"She only bites men she doesn't know." nuzzle, followed by

"I can't believe he just bit you!"

I could go on and on about the virtues of each month's drawing - but it's important to share what hard working little promotional items these calendars are, too.
For years, my descriptive copy for the calendars said;  "Our handy magnetic business card calendar lets you keep your card in front of your customers all year round, and give them a chuckle, too! Each month has different Things Not to Say to a Farrier phrases, paired with humorous farrier drawings. Great to enclose with your invoices, or with your holiday cards. These stick to any metal surface. Just remove the liner, and apply your own business card to the adhesive." 

What I never took the time to describe, was the fact that with each calendar comes an EXTRA magnetic piece that you punch out and stick to a SECOND business card. This lets you turn any ordinary business card into a handy magnet that you can bet will stay around where clients can see it a lot longer than a regular card.

It's a tough concept to convey with just a small picture and a few lines of copy. Many folks who were interested in the idea, got tripped up when I tried to explain that they needed to use business cards that they ALREADY HAD or place an order

  for some separately. So, I took a new picture and constructed the graphic at the top to hopefully give folks a better idea of how this all works.

Lesley and I are wrapping up the finishing touches on the calendars and they'll be ready to ship shortly. You can see more of the pages and place your order for them here.