Moondoglovesyou - “It started with some little Christmas cards…”
Lloyd tells us how moondoglovesyou came into existence.
Part Two
A: Did you promote it? Or was it all word of mouth?
L: It started with some little Christmas cards I made on corrugated card with Tipp-Ex snowmen. I put my web address on the back, and then I hard lots of little cards left over so used them as little flyers for my site. I started giving them to people and leaving the odd card in public places. Soon I was getting emails from people saying they’d found them and then found the site. I leave them in the street, on lamposts and in clubs.
A: How long did it take before it became really popular?
L: It wasn’t long before I realised that I had an idea that was very special and started sending out packs of cards to people so they could help me to perpetuate the concept.
A: How many membership packs have you sent out?
L: I have no idea. It must be hundreds. I spend so much time making them it seems like I can make them without thinking about it. I’ve sent them to all kinds of places and had them found all over the world. There was a time when I couldn’t keep up with the demand and people had to wait ages to get there packs. I’m on top of it now.
A: Were you surprised at its success? Why do you think its so popular?
L: Not really. It was gradual. My hope was that people would find the cards and treasure them. Whether you’re having a bad day or just looking for new and interesting things in life, it’s always nice to know that someone loves you, even if it is a crudely drawn one-eyed dog.
I think what people like about the cards is that they don’t know where they come from. They make people smile and I hope they make people feel loved in some way. It also first came about at a time when lots of people were interested in new ways of getting messages out there. I found myself appearing in books on street art and new graffiti and I never thought of it in those terms before that but lots of people were also doing more on the streets than just spray-painting.
A: Tell me more about your animation work? What type of animation do you do?
L: At college I did very scribbly dark animation, trying to be very serious and Channel4, when I probably should have made some fun cartoons. Then I became an Effects Animator almost by accident because I was good at shadows. I enjoyed doing light effects and abstract stuff like smoke and water. All I do now are little Flash bits but am working on a couple of music video ideas at the moment for friend’s bands.
A: What artist/creative people’s work do you like?
L: My favourite artists are Joseph Cornell and Ray Johnson. They were very much
interested in mementos and nostalgia, about making magical things out of everyday things and creating gifts and mail-art. I love collage and I also love the illustrations of Dave McKean, and the films of Terry Gilliam and David Lynch. I love the graphic novels of Will Eisner, and my favourite cartoonist is James Thurber.
The final part coming soon
To check out more info about moondoglovesyou