Last week, we announced a new line of fund-raising merchandise: a poster, a scarf, a mug, and an array of buttons. Even Issue 05 and our Inform Inspire Infect hoodie are back by popular demand, all to help us make Issue 06 a worthy successor to the bling-a-licious 05. A big THANK YOU to everyone who’s pillaged our store so far. The sale ends this Wednesday at midnight PST, so if you plan to load up on Coil-goods, dally not!

Here’s the haps, comrades. We’re halfway through production on Issue 06 of Coilhouse Magazine. In recent days, as we watch its aesthetic and themes begin to coalesce, our conference calls have gotten giddier than ever. As always, we’re aiming for maximum high gloss, high concept, high impact. However, Coilhouse remains a labor of love with marginal profit, and right now our funds are rather low. Why? Because the recently-produced Issue 05 cost us an arm and a leg. NO REGRETS. But its many frills (the holographic foil, the fold-out poster, the art postcards) have left us with depleted resources.

We don’t want to refrain from pulling out all of the stops for 06 in the same manner we did for 05, 04, 03. But to ensure we keep outdoing ourselves with each successive issue, it’s looking like we may need a little help from our friends. Are you willing and able? That’s where this new wave of Coilhouse merchandise comes in.

We’re introducing several new clothing designs and styles, as well as buttons, a mug, and a poster. Yum yum yum. As you can see, it’s all a bit retro sci-fi Constructivist space cadet-chic. That’s not a coincidence! The look and feel of these items dovetails nicely into Issue 06′s themes (as you’ll soon see). We’re also bringing back limited quantities of the beautiful black-on-black INFORM INSPIRE INFECT hoodie that sold out almost instantly a few months ago.

Additionally, now that we’ve mailed off all of the contributor and advertiser copies of Issue 05, we can sell the remaining stock to our readership. If you missed 05 the first time around, or still haven’t had any luck finding it in a store near you, now’s your chance.

This round of merch is Pre-Order: meaning, you buy it, we get it manufactured, and you get your shipment about 3 weeks from now. Pretty good deal, no? You get a lovely item that you can wear proudly, or sip hot toddies out of, or frame and hang on the wall, knowing you supported Coilhouse when we needed a boost. And we get to ensure that Issue 06 stays as badass n’ fancy as it wants to be.

Click through to check out all of the goodies. As always, thank you for your support of Coilhouse Magazine + Blog.

Earlier this year, fine artist Stephanie Inagaki’s wearable sculptures made the rounds on fashion blogs such as Haute Macabre. Much like Paddy Hartley’s modified uniforms and Úna Burke’s medical armor, these pieces, susceptible to being read as fashion on account of their stylish form, were actually designed to express the anxiety that surrounds physical trauma and recovery.

Though the gorgeous pieces above are not meant for the purpose of lookin’ good, those of us craving to wear Stephanie’s work are in luck, for her jewelry line, Miyu Decay, has just launched after months of hard work. The line features gorgeous unisex fineries cast in sterling silver and featuring bat skulls, vertebrae, Old World hair ornaments, and feather pelts. The line is dedicated to James Ribiat-Finley, Stephanie’s fiancé and friend of Coilhouse, who passed away tragically last year.

In addition to the current offering of jewelry, new products will be added in the months to come. The images below were taken by Issue 01 contributor Taslimur, and modeled by performer Yellow Strange.

Brace yourselves, for a new batch of Coilhouse merch is about to appear on the horizon. Tomorrow’s merch release will see the return of an old favorite – the super-comfy Inform/Inspire/Infect unisex hoodie (modeled here and here by two stylish customers), plus some brand new items. Buttons crafted by the one and only Snarky McFuckbuttons, a beautiful 18×24 four-color poster with new Coilhouse art by Zoetica screenprinted by Mama’s Sauce, a hefty Inform/Inspire/Infect mug, a scarf, and much more await you here tomorrow.

In addition, we’re selling the last 150 copies of Issue 05 - our remaining stash before our Boogie Edition joins Issue 01-04′s status of being Sold Out Forever. We weren’t sure how many we’d have left after mailing out all the freebies to advertisers and contributors. Now that all issues have been mailed, we’re selling the remaining quantity to make room for Issue 06.

Speaking of Issue 06, this round of merch is going to help fund Issue 06 printing. With its many frills – the holographic foil, the fold-out poster, the art postcards – our recently-produced Issue 05 cost an arm and a leg, eating away at some of our budget for printing Issue 06. With this merch, we hope to raise enough money to make Issue 06 just as grand.

This round of merch will be Pre-Order: meaning, you buy it, we get it manufactured, and you get your shipment about 3 weeks from now. Stay tuned for the reveal of the new items tomorrow – live, in Technicolor!

For nearly two decades, Rasputina has been rocking out with some of the most unlikely instruments (cellos and the occasional banjo or harpsichord) and in some of the most fanciful and restrictive attire (tightly laced corsets and hoopskirts). They have paved the way for experimental cellists to break away from the traditional classical strictures and move toward a much wider audience. Melora Creager, the mastermind and directress behind the formerly ladies-only Traveling Cello Society, has long held a passion for Victoriana and is an avid huntress through the more peculiar annals of history.

Her wonderful lyrics are often about marvelously obscure subjects such as Snail-Fever, meltable aliens, and the egg-races performed by Easter Islanders. Rasputina’s seventh full-length album, Sister Kinderhook, is stuffed with melancholy gems about the perils of ocean-faring and little girls raised in birdcages. The tone and sound of the record harkens back to early days of Thanks for the Ether, the band’s first groundbreaking album. I had the opportunity to catch up with Melora and company over migas and coffee in Austin. Rasputina’s traveling retinue included not only some delightful new band members (Daniel DeJesus and Melissa Bell), as well as Dawn Miceli, whose documentary about touring with the band, called “Under the Corset” came out this summer. The star of the show, however, was no doubt Melora’s adorable new baby, Ivy – who appears to be a human incarnation of a Kewpie doll. Doll artist and photographer Christy Kane made some lovely portraits of mother and daughter, which we are very pleased to include with this interview.

CH: Over the past 18 years, Rasputina has evolved musically, but has also remained totally true to a beautifully anachronistic aesthetic, and to an experimental sound that has engendered a very devoted fan-base. As directress and songwriter, you never seem to waver from what inspires you. Has it been a battle to lead such an uncompromisingly iconoclastic band through the wilds of an industry which is so increasingly concerned with accessibility?
MC: I’ve always had faith – that to be true to my ideas & taste would help me win in the end. Even if it’s a victory in honor only. But win & victory are battle terms, it’s true. A band is like sports. I’ve been at this so long, that I’ve seen many trends come and go. Sometimes Rasputina is lumped in with them, but these trends always pass away. I keep faith that my best efforts are beyond fashion. Rasputina started on a major label, has grown steadily smaller, and has gotten more and more fun as it shrinks. I was raised in the industry to try to make hits, to try to get on the radio. It took a few years to get that out of the back of my mind. Maybe 5 years ago, I started to be free of it. It’s funny though, because think of all the weird songs I’ve made- you’d never know I was attempting hits!

CH: Much of Rasputina’s inspiration appears to come from the hardworking and meticulous ladies of yore, who stitched and slaved away to create lasting things of beauty. You make and design the majority of your album covers and merchandise by hand, including the embroidery on the cover for your newest album, Sister Kinderhook. With the collapse of the traditional music industry as we know it, have you noticed more musicians getting motivated to be more DIY with their careers? What are your thoughts on the craft renaissance and the renewed appreciation for fancy handwork?
MC: With other musicians I talk to, of different levels of success, I don’t hear about labels anymore. Do they exist beyond Beyoncé? I really stay out of the whole music industry. I make my things as hand-made as possible. I use a cd manufacturer that’s here in my little town. I was looking through the craft magazine section at a book-store, and was shocked at how much material there was and how common advanced techniques are. That is a great thing that lots of people want to spend their time that way. I have heard that young people shun Facebook and prefer quilting & etc. Good.

Several months ago, we were joined by an energetic intern named Jacquie, who emailed us out of the blue asking if we needed help. Jacquie ended up helping us with many crucial aspects of Issue 05 production and beyond. She looked over magazine proofs and flagged issues before they went to print, edited down several articles into the pages allotted to them, coordinated the printing of the Dorian Gray postcard playbills that came with Issue 05 when ordered from our site, set up our mailing list, and helped us with a myriad of other tasks.

Now that we’re putting together Issue 06, the time has come for us to once again seek out a self-motivated, creative individual who would be willing to give us 4-6 hours a week to help out with both the magazine and the blog.

If you’re interested in magazine publishing, apply within. The tasks you’ll be doing are varied, but we can tell you now that there’s going to be a lot of writing. Other tasks include: checking of Issue 06 proofs, research and maintenance of older blog posts (fixing YouTube links that no longer work, for example). Photoshop, graphic design and FTP skills are a plus, but at this time, we mainly need someone who excels at writing and communication. The internship is unpaid, but will leave you with valuable insight on the triumphs and tribulations of independent magazine publishing. You will have a title on the masthead of Issue 06, and we’ll be happy to write recommendation letters to employers.

You can be based anywhere in the world. If you’re interested, please contact us with a short cover letter, include a resume if you have one, and most importantly, send us a link to at least one sample of your writing (blog posts are good). The internship lasts from now until the end of the year. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Deadline for applying is 11:59 PM PST on Friday, October 1st.

One satisfied customer.

Just a courtesy notice for those of you still seeking out Coilhouse Issue 05, which sold out on our site a while ago: you can still find Issue 05 in stores nationwide. Click here for a list of all the stores that carry Issue 05. We suggest calling the stores before you go over there, just to confirm that the issues are still in stock. Unfortunately, we don’t have an updated database of store inventory, just the list of stores we know received copies of Issue 05. If there are any other stores you think should carry Coilhouse, please let us know. We love hearing about places like Criminal Records in Atlanta and Powell’s in Portland… perfect candidates for Coilhouse! If you’re a bookshop interested in selling Issue 05, you can go through your wholesaler to get it. If you deal with someone like Ubiquity, Ingram, RCS or Last Gasp, they will hook you up. Thank you again for your support!

There are also two places where you can buy it online. For those of you living in Australia or New Zealand, you can still mail-order Issue 05 from our esteemed friends at Wildilocks. In the States, we recently learned that Last Gasp Books is offering Issue 05 for sale online. Atomic Books also had it, but it’s now sold out. It’s costs $12.99 at Last Gasp (as opposed to $15, which is how much it cost on our site), and it’s less expensive there because the copies Last Gasp has are unsigned and don’t contain the exclusive Dorian Grey art postcards which were included with the version of Issue 05 you could get directly from us. We hope to have something special for those who order directly from us for every issue.

If there are any other shops you know of that carry Issue 05, let us know! Thank you again for your support.

Last week, the Coilhouse crew and extended family – Courtney, Mer, Mildred, Stephanie Inagaki and Andy Ristaino – got together with Zo on the roof of the Standard Hotel in LA after Mer and Zo had joined forces to prepare a particularly juicy Coilhouse blog feature that will be revealed at a later date. I couldn’t be there, but the picture from that night filled me with joy. Next month it’ll be three years since we all started working together, and to me, the photo speaks volumes regarding how much we’ve grown together, and all the changes we’ve been through. This is especially true in Zo’s case. An epic wedding, a house move, and a full transition into a freelance career – that’s a lot for anyone to handle, but our co-editor makes it look effortless. So in lieu of being able to wish her a happy birthday in person, I present Zo with the cake above (with a little bit of help from R. Stevens). You are a vital, talented, creative force of nature, and the world is more strangely beautiful with you in it. We luff yoooooo!

Cuddle puddle: Courtney, Zo, Mer and original fourth co-editor Mildred Von.

UP FOR AUCTION. COMPLETE SET OF COILHOUSE MAGAZINE ISSUES 01-05.

We know there’s a lot of demand for all of the out-of-print issues of Coilhouse Magazine. Unfortunately, there’s just no way we can financially swing reprinting 01-04 at this point in time. We are looking into revamping past issues for various e-reader formats –which, obviously, we know isn’t quite the same– but it’s something. If anybody would like to give us some constructive feedback regarding that idea or other viable alternatives to make our previous editions available, please give ‘em here in comments.

Meanwhile, some of you may be interested to know that I’ve just put a full run of Coilhouse Magazine 01-05  up for auction on Ebay –donated from my own limited personal stash– to help out a cherished friend with mounting medical bills. Her name’s Whitney Moses; I met her several years ago via our mutual chum Amanda Palmer. Over the years, Whittles’ given me tons of links to cool/kooky/brilliant stuff that often becomes instant Coilhouse blog fodder. She’s a healer, a mover, a shaker and a peach. I love her very much.

Two months back, a freak trampoline accident left Whit’s knee in shreds. She’s had to have a fuckton of intensive, expensive surgery. And, wouldn’t ya know, right now she’s without insurance, despite working long hours at a local hospital, and making the bulk of her bread as a licensed massage therapist. ARGH. Sarah Dopp (who you may remember me gushing about), and who had this to say about our dear Whitney, explains why our community is working overtime on her behalf:

It’s true she’s probably facing $30,000 in medical bills and 6 months worth of lost wages, but there are also hundreds (maybe thousands) of people who are committed to helping her out.  The crowds are already organizing a central calendar to plan visits, transportation, and meals for her, and schemes for several fundraisers are already in the works.

She doesn’t have that kind of safety net because she’s a nice person. She has that safety net because she has spent her entire life listening to and supporting the people around her, pursuing her dreams as honestly as possible, and including as many people as she can in them.

Photo by Tanya Anguita

So please check out my Coilhouse auction listing. Bid knowing that all proceeds will go toward helping a truly exemplary and luminous young woman to get back on her feet, literally and financially. Also! Be apprised that there are two big fund raising parties for Whitney happening in Oakland– one tomorrow night (July 29th) and another on September 12th.  The organizers understand that lots of Whitney’s supporters are out of town, or otherwise can’t make it to either show, so they’ve put together an e-raffle as well. Prizes include signed books and collectibles from Neil Gaiman, handmade hair flowers, one-of-a-kind paintings, matted limited edition photographs, unique jewelry and accessories, and much more. Purchase e-raffle tickets here via GiveForward for $5 each. The winners will be selected tomorrow in a separate drawing, and prizes mailed out.

Best of luck to Whittles, best of luck to all who bid on the auction, and thanks as always for reading.

Just a quick last-minute reminder for our fellow Comic-KHAAANNNgoers: Nadya, Zoetica and Meredith will be selling and signing copies of Coilhouse 05 from 11am to noon today (Saturday, July 24th) at the Weta booth (#2165 2615). We’ll also bring along copies of 1-4 for folks to peruse, but not to buy, sorry! (Sincerely, we don’t mean to be teases– we figure folks will appreciate at least having a look at these rare, out-of-print editions.) However, everybody should stay tuned to this same bat-channel for news of an upcoming charity auction wherein a full set of Coilhouse Magazines (issues 1-5) will be sold off to the highest Ebay bidder. More on that later this week.

Meanwhile, check out Zo and Mer geeking out with LA WEEKLY columnist Liz Ohanesian about SDCC! Nadya was supposed to participate as well, but was found lying in a crumpled heap next to her laptop shortly before the deadline, unconscious, with an erratic pulse and her responses unfinished. We figure she was either asphyxiated by one of those uber-deadly roving Funyuns nerdfart doom clouds, or sustained internal injuries after being jabbed by a facehugger-on-a-stick. She’s still pretty out of it, but don’t worry– we’re sure she’ll be fine by tomorrow morning. Hope to see some of you there!