The Achewood Shop Re-Opens!

Dear Friends of the Library, 

As the Achewood machine slowly, carefully reanimates itself—blinking and aware in its droperidol-impregnated ticking shroud, but mindful of the ouzel on the doorstep, which will chirrup ceaselessly when it deems the coast clear—we have a series of announcements for you (the television project was the first one). These arrive on no predetermined schedule, as I always hated that sort of thing. 

Achewood's hiatus has been the stuff of much speculation, and the lack of information from me has contributed to this. In some cases, silence on my part was construed as disregard; this truly was never the reason for it. Some of my personal struggles became all-consuming and needed addressing. We can go over the unsavory details later. I'm grateful—and lucky—to be able to tell you that these are, after a long, dark tea-time, behind me. But during this period, many of my relationships suffered. Some were with my readers and supporters. For you affected by my difficulties, I sincerely apologize. Please know I'm working to restore that relationship—first and foremost by addressing the second cookbook—and will have good news on that to share with you soon. 

Today, I am pleased to share more of the first fruits of my efforts. 

This afternoon's exciting news—exciting to me, anyway—is that thanks to my talented friends at Amplifier, we are once again able to offer a tremendous selection of classic and new Achewood shirts, posters, and mugs. Over 500 of our most popular strips have been remastered to a 12" x 18" sheet and made available for purchase. This small miracle of merchandising has been made possible by Amplifier's new Merchify tool, the best current retail system for artists and designers. There are no risks of nondelivery as the entire line of Achewood products are made upon your order, and all production and delivery is handled by them, at their massive shipping center in Austin, TX—you can shop with confidence. 

It has been years since shirts like What We Need More of Is Science, Rabbit Ambulance, Here Comes a Special Boy/Girl, etc., were available, and now—thanks to a print-on-demand technology that is not just as good as silkscreening, but has surpassed it in look and feel—these favorites can be yours once again. Shop directly in the Achewood Shop, or from within our new Facebook Shop should you prefer. 

This has been a long time coming. Much creative work was stockpiled during this hiatus, and while emerging from it has come in uncertain fits and starts, with the first buds and warbles of spring I feel energized and excited about the prospect of a return that has been at the center of my mind for a very long time. Please keep us in mind, and for now, please come and visit the old hall of profane iconography. We’ll have more news for you soon. 

Best, 
Chris Onstad 
Achewood

PS: This is no cynical April Fool's joke, despite our timing. (Remember, we have a knack for this sort of thing, having unwittingly launched the strip on September 11, 2001.) If you seek further assurance, please witness this photograph taken by a customer who shopped during our soft launch: