Review: Shoplet Featuring Ash City Ladies' Core365 Jacket

Hey all! I know I normally try to do art or office products review but I thought I'd give this jacket review a try since one can never have enough jackets when going to cons, right? ^_~ This promotional product jacket was provided courtesy of  Shoplet and Ash City to review.

This jacket is the Ladies' Core 365 and I chose the Classic Navy color in Medium. It has a waterproof shell which I love because where I live it could be bright and shiny in the morning then be pouring rain in the afternoon. It's seam-sealed so I don't have to worry about water soaking through. The jacket is extremely light weight so it barely feels like you're wearing it. Unfortunately, because it's so light weight the jacket fabric is pretty thin so it offers little protection from the elements there.

It's slim fitting and attractive. It's quite comfortable to wear. The fabric is a bit stiff, probably because it's new and waterproof but I assume as you wear it more it'll be more worn to your liking. If you're the type to like more room I'd recommend getting it a size bigger. I usually like to layer up and wear multiple clothes in case it gets cold/hot so I can add/subtract layers as needed. Unfortunately, I forgot to remember this as I order the jacket and I got it just right so I won't be able to layer up. This jacket will not stretch because of the waterproof shell.

Showing air vents for added breath-ability. Actually this is probably the only problem I had with this jacket because since it's waterproof it seemed like it limited the amount of air passing through the jacket. It says it's breath-able but perhaps I wore it on too hot of a day but I was sweating pretty badly because the waterproof shell kept all my heat/sweat inside. The waterproof shell kind of did it's job but in the opposite way. lol It kept the heat and sweat inside versus keeping water outside. Still it definitely did it's job in keeping water in or out but the air vents didn't help as much as I would have liked. It is wind resistant so that is a plus if where you live is too windy.

Underarm air vents.

Back air vents.

Showing the front zipper and flap. The velcro makes sure that water doesn't leak through which is a nice added security. You can zip it all the way up to your chin which is a bit tight for me but works. At the top white you can see the reflective piping so you can wear it at night. You can also see the reflective piping in the second photo on the lower back of the jacket.

The inner tag of the jacket which is sewn into the mesh of the jacket.

I'm pointing to the start of the zipper for the EZEM system. At first I thought it was a huge pocket! To be honest, I had no idea what this was for until I looked up on their website. Apparently this EZEM system is for easier access for when a person embroiders. This makes sense because if a company ordered the jackets they could pay an external embroidery company to embroider a company logo or an employee's name. Otherwise, it looks like it serves no other purpose.

Unzipped EZEM system.

Snap button at the bottom. It secures tightly with a nice snap.

Overall, I think it is a nice little jacket. I would like it to be a little more breath-able but it's not big turn off. I could just take it off if I got too hot. I wish it had more pockets on the inside but I do like the two it had with zippers. The two features I liked best were that it is light weight and waterproof because it's always good to have a useful jacket.

Information sent by the company illustrating the EZEM system and features of the jacket. Most of this information can be found on the product page.

**Disclaimer: These products were provided by Shoplet and in return for this review I was able to keep the product in exchange for an honest review.

2012 Sketch Dump + Wake Up Call

Life has been a bit off and on lately with comics/writing. Some days I get extremely motivated, and some days I don't feel like doing anything at all. I've been trying to get myself to write or sketch a little everyday but things usually get in the way. Still I'm finally getting wisps of inspiration to get stuff done!

I was planning on taking some classes online for Summer Semester but I ended up dropping them. Mostly because I couldn't see spending money on books I probably won't use again and thought I could learn from books instead. The classes are online and I feel that I pretty much have to teach myself when I take classes online anyways so I might as well do it free from books at the library or something. lol Not that you shouldn't take classes online, I just couldn't get myself motivated to do it, especially since the classes will be during summer.

Just read a fairly entertaining book and when I like a book I flip to the back to read about the author. Unfortunately, it turned out the author lost her battle with cancer in 2011 so the book I read was her first and last book. That made me sad because I would have loved to read more of her books. It wasn't perfect but it had potential and I loved the characters. It made me sad that I will not get to see these characters grow and flourish any more than that. The author wasn't even much older than me.



It was then I had a wake up call, seeing this made me realize that life is too short. Some of you may already have known that but for me I thought I had plenty of time. While it may be true (none of us know how long we have to live), I feel like I have not been taking full advantage of my life. There are still so many things in my life that I want to do, places to visit, and experiences to gain. I figure now is probably the prime of my life and now is the time to do the things I want. I don't want regrets when I get older. My only wish is that I have someone to experience this with but that's ok, I can do this myself too. :D

Do you guys feel the same way? Do you have a calling and have to need for someone to kick you into gear?

Review: Shoplet Featuring SteelMaster Tablet Stand

(image from Shoplet.com)

This week I got another great office supplies and promotional product from Shoplet! It's the SteelMaster Tablet Stand! I was a bit on the fence on whether I wanted to review this product or not because the primary use seemed to be for tablets and as I do not own a tablet I couldn't quite justify reviewing one. Then I realized I could offer some other ideas and uses for this product and convinced myself to review it!

Yay for talking myself into reviewing this!

This is the SteelMaster Tablet Stand as you can see it is made of a fairly durable materials. It looks like it could ding or dent if you drop it from a high place to a hard surface so I don't recommend doing that. If you accidentally drop it a few times, I don't think it'll render it useless. ^_~


It is made from 50% post consumer recycled content which I was pleasantly surprised to find out about. I'm not sure if the recycled content is in the steel or not but it does have some heft to the weight so one might think it was all made of steel. Below are the photos I took with my SteelMaster Stand.

An above and side shots to give you and idea of the angle and the lip of the stand. It's sturdy and I have no doubt it will stay put if you slip your tablet or anything else in there. The only adjustment I'd like is if the stand and angle were adjustable. It would also make it easy to take with you and store.

Unfortunately it's welded in place so it's fixed in only that location so you can only use it in one angle. That's understandable because it decreases the chance of your tablet slipping or moving. The angle works fine for me, if I had a tablet I don't think I'd have an issue using it on the stand or worry about readjusting it too much.

I like the seemingly durable material the stand is made of, unfortunately it is very easy to get finger prints and smudges on it by just handling or moving it. The steel is also very reflective which I didn't realize until I was taking pictures and saw my own reflection! That's probably why you you guys are getting these weird and creative shots. Those are just some things worth mentioning that may be a turn off to some of you.

Below is the bottom of the stand. It made of non-skid material which feel suspiciously like foam but not the cheap kind. I'm not sure if the material is water resistant or not so try not to get it wet just to be safe. I do kind of wish that the pad would extend a bit more towards the back edge. It's not necessary except when I use it for more than just reading. You'll see what I mean later.

Closer look at the non-skid material. Sorry, the pictures came out blurry. >_<;;

Ah, so the reason I decided to review this product was for other reasons than for holding a tablet.

Here are my lists of reasons:

1. To hold a book open as I read.
2. To hold a notebook as I edit.
3. To hold a sketchpad as I sketch lightly on it. 

The first idea of using the stand to hold a book open is that I read a lot so I often get tired of holding a book open. This problem is quickly solved by placing it in the stand as I read! Lazy for the win! lol Ok, I still have to turn the pages but I'll settle for that. This may be great for your Kindle or Nook because all you have to do is swipe the screen. ^_~ As you can see the book is held securely by the lip of the stand so you never have to worry that the item will fall as long as it is held on a flat surface.

My other two reasons are more personal but others may find it useful. I can use it to edit a manuscript written in a notebook but the thing is that you have to hold the stand and notebook steady as it'll tilt backwards if you put too much pressure on it so beware of that. This is why I wished that the non-skid pad on the bottom reached to the back end because it would help with the tilt but that isn't the purpose of the stand so it's not a huge discouragement to me.

Using the stand for this purpose is good if your neck gets tired looking down or don't feel like resting the papers on your thighs. Same with sketching because you can use it as an easel. You would also want to make sure that the notebook or sketchbook you're using has a good sturdy backboard if you're using a surface larger than the stand. Otherwise over-sized papers will flop over the top of the stand where it lacks support.

I'm sure there are a ton of other reasons to use this simple but effective stand and I've only named a few but that's all that I'm going to list. Overall, this is a nice sturdy, Eco-friendly little steel stand and if taken care of would seem to last for years to come. The only things that I wished it had were adjustable notches to adjust the angle as needed. This would also make it easy to carry around and when I don't have a use for it right away it's isn't easy to store. Still I highly recommend it if this is the type of stand you're looking for to hold a tablet, book, or whatever you plan on using it for.


**Disclaimer: These products were provided by Shoplet and in return for this review I was able to keep the product in exchange for an honest review. 

Homework Sketch Dump 15 + Upcoming 2013 Conventions

Sorry guys, no good excuse for not having any blog posts up besides I forgot and haven't been able to get myself to do them. ^^;;

I'll be tabling at Otakon and Matsuricon this year! I'm surprised I got in at Otakon but I am super excited! I'm going to need to create new stuff! What would you guys like to see? I'll be attempting to make some mini-comics or stand alone comics to sell. I'll see if I can do some buttons and stickers as well. So far, I'm trying to get more prints so let me know what you'd like to buy from me. :) Any of you guys going there?

I've been reading a lot and trying to get motivated to write my stories and get some of it done but I seem to always hang out in limbo...I have to get myself doing something. Anyone out there wanna poke and prod me into doing work? XD

Wish I had more to say. I have been messing around with my watercolors which is something. Now if only I can use that to create more art/prints then that would be grand. lol That's an idea, huh? :D

Sketches I had to do for my 3D modeling homework at school. These sketches were all copied from Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. It's interesting to learn to draw from it. Hopefully it improves my anatomy. XD