Think or Smile Holiday Giveaway

Blogging is a bizarre activity. Passions are translated to code then buried on a digital mountain side, hoping someone will find them. At times it’s easy to feel disconnected from reality while sitting behind this computer screen, yet that is what’s celebrated here: reality, art, life. Without you—readers, artists, collaborators, friends—Think or Smile wouldn’t be. That said, I’d like to take this opportunity to show my continued appreciation for both your inspiration and support by bringing back the (now annual) holiday giveaway.

To my surprise, quite the package has come together over the course of just one day, which is a true testament to the generosity of this community. Existing primarily virtually, I think its important to remember that a lot of what I share here and love are physical objects, so included in the giveaway are some of my favorite releases, donated and signed by good friends, along with a New Directions book that traveled with me for a good part of the year, inspiring my own art, which I’ll also include an original of.

Here’s the treasure chest one winner will find at their doorstep: A signed copy of Gem Club’s “Breakers” on vinyl, an out-of-print 12″ of Monster Rally’s “Coral,” signed along with an original drawing of his. The Holy Spirits/Mutual Benefit split “Mutual Spirits” on vinyl, the Mutual Benefit/Philip Seymour Hoffman split on cassette and a signed copy of Teen Daze “A Silent Planet” on CD. I asked RxRy to include an album, instead Rx went into the lab and made an entire mix of (partially unreleased) sounds – “a.GFT” one-of-a-kind CDr in handmade packaging. It’s an Rx original art piece and will be yours alone to space to. New Directions Publishing has been kind enough to donate a copy of Eliot Weinberger’s “An Elemental Thing,” a favorite book on mine this past year. I’ll also hand make a new Thought Orb collage for you.

How to enter: Simply share a comment below. What on the site did you enjoy most this year, or what would you like to see more of next year? Or just say hello. I like hearing from you.

Please, only one entry per person. It will end on 12/25/2011 at midnight EST. I’ll randomly select one winner and notify by email in the days following.

Much love.

UPDATE 12-26-2011: …And the randomly selected winner is Peter A. Thanks to everyone for entering! Here’s to another wonderful year.

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69 Comments

  1. Found this site a while back via Designers.mx, fell in love with Mixtape 005, and I’ve enjoyed your quality posts ever since.
    Think or Smile has been a fantastic source of thoughtful reflections, new music, and creative inspiration.
    Here’s to a great new year!
    -Craig

    Comment courtesy of Craig W — December 14, 2011 #

  2. Great collection of works on this site! The giveaway sounds amazing. Keep up the great work and I look forward to being placed into the drawing. Thanks again!

    Comment courtesy of Adam — December 14, 2011 #

  3. love your work, so good. happy holidays!

    Comment courtesy of cole bazin — December 14, 2011 #

  4. teen daze <3

    Comment courtesy of seppl — December 14, 2011 #

  5. I love everything!!
    Keep it coming guys

    Comment courtesy of Flumpy — December 14, 2011 #

  6. Just a lurker saying “hello”. I’ve always appreciated your personal aesthetic and taste. My finds on your blog always pretty perfectly compliment what I’m listening to at the time. That’s all!

    Comment courtesy of Austin — December 14, 2011 #

  7. I’ve only just found this site, so my favourite part was discovering it! I intend to make it my new virtual hangout.

    Comment courtesy of Gabriella — December 14, 2011 #

  8. I most enjoyed the first mixtape ‘gazing out’, but it’s not hard to find something interesting on this site. Also, it’s very cool that you do things like this to reach out to your audience. Keep on doin’ what you do.

    Comment courtesy of Andrew — December 14, 2011 #

  9. This looks really awesome :D

    Comment courtesy of William — December 14, 2011 #

  10. I know it’s broad, but I always enjoy perusing the Portfolio section. Something calming about it. Keep it up!

    Comment courtesy of KMF — December 14, 2011 #

  11. Man your site rules. I hope I can get away with the boot!

    Comment courtesy of Guido — December 14, 2011 #

  12. Your art is beautiful, I looove this website!

    Comment courtesy of Cheky — December 14, 2011 #

  13. HELLO I AM CHRIS BREWSTER AND I LOVE UR BLOG KEEP IT UP I ALSO LOVE FREE THINGS SO DONT 4GET 2 ENTER ME IN2 THE CONTEST

    Comment courtesy of CHRIS BREWSTER — December 14, 2011 #

  14. Hi Nathaniel! Your motion videos are awesome!

    Comment courtesy of Tim Draut — December 14, 2011 #

  15. New to the site; love the artwork!

    Comment courtesy of David — December 14, 2011 #

  16. Among many visually stunning peices, I loved the Pepepiano post on bro-futurism. Keep up the great work!!!

    Comment courtesy of Matt — December 14, 2011 #

  17. Hej!
    Honestly it is the first time I am visitng your page. I really like your graphics and will visit you again! All the best and have nice holidays.
    Yours, Florian

    Comment courtesy of Florian — December 14, 2011 #

  18. Hi!

    Really like your work. Happy holidays from Norway.

    chris

    Comment courtesy of chris — December 14, 2011 #

  19. First time I listened to shine on, you crazy white cap. I was hooked! I love meditating To teen daze.

    Peace&love Nathan!

    Comment courtesy of Nathan! — December 14, 2011 #

  20. I just want to say thank you for my signed copy of Teen Daze’s “A Silent Planet”!

    Mike

    Comment courtesy of Mike — December 14, 2011 #

  21. I just truly dig this site & the songs I have found here. Thanks!

    Comment courtesy of Mh Hughes — December 14, 2011 #

  22. I loved your post of favorite free albums of last year! The layout of the site is really clean, and I like that there is a separate tumblr and a “real” blog too.

    Comment courtesy of Ryan — December 14, 2011 #

  23. Hey, I just stumbled upon this site. Great music you got here! Keep it up and have a Merry Christmas!

    Comment courtesy of Joel — December 14, 2011 #

  24. I absolutely love your artwork, its very stylized and delicate. It looks like you put raw emotion into the pieces, which makes them powerful. I also loved Teen Daze’s A Silent Planet, as well as the amazing split between Mutual Benefit and Phillip Hoffman.

    More Teen Daze in the future!

    Comment courtesy of Tom Vickress — December 14, 2011 #

  25. This is wonderful.

    Comment courtesy of Joshua — December 14, 2011 #

  26. My girlfriend asked me what I wanted for christmas. I told her a signed autograph by Teen Daze.

    Close.

    Comment courtesy of Tyler — December 14, 2011 #

  27. The site is very well designed, this is my first visit. I was just introduced to it by Teen Daze(:

    Comment courtesy of Anthony Ponticello — December 14, 2011 #

  28. Both my eyes and my ears have been very happy since I discovered designers.mx this year. Love your work! Keep it up.

    Happy holidays!

    Comment courtesy of Candice — December 14, 2011 #

  29. Continue to be amazed and inspired.

    Comment courtesy of Todd — December 14, 2011 #

  30. Hello

    Happy Holidays Yo

    Comment courtesy of matt pollock — December 14, 2011 #

  31. Hello guys :)

    Comment courtesy of Alex — December 14, 2011 #

  32. Great site you’ve got going here, always great to see a group so passionate about contemporary art in all its forms. It’s especially important to find sources of beauty and inspiration given the monotony and hopelessness that can be given rise to by modern life. In the age of information, it’s fantastic to see such an organic project making use of the internet medium to embrace the digital age for what it should be – a medium to provide sensory experiences to those who may not otherwise witness them. Thanks so much.

    Comment courtesy of Tim — December 14, 2011 #

  33. You’re the man Nathaniel! The prize is amazing.

    I’m a Free Music Collection addict and love the art you feature on here.

    Comment courtesy of Peter A — December 14, 2011 #

  34. Visually depicting music is the most effective way of translating a song to a listener/viewer. You’re able to capture the sentiments of a song in the most entrancing way – music then is not only a single sensory experience but rather one that leaves a lasting imprint. Some of my favorite songs I remember by the visuals you’ve portrayed them with.
    With love.
    Eloise.

    Comment courtesy of Eloise — December 14, 2011 #

  35. You’re the coolest person I know. I meees you!

    Comment courtesy of Kim (aka "berly") — December 14, 2011 #

  36. Keep up the good work. Your blog is an huge inspiration to my music collection.

    Happy holidays

    Comment courtesy of Thomas — December 15, 2011 #

  37. we are big fans of your work at colectivo futuro, but you knew that already :-) keep the goodness flowing in 2012!

    Comment courtesy of Miguel Colmenares — December 15, 2011 #

  38. Saw some live visuals from you at Vitae. Keep up the good work.

    Comment courtesy of Ben — December 15, 2011 #

  39. Love ur art

    Comment courtesy of illias — December 15, 2011 #

  40. Nathaniel, Think or Smile is amazing. Enjoying your mixtapes: especially No. 005 and 006. And I’m delighted with your Holiday Giveaway, as I’m really into RxRy, Mutual Benefit and Gem Club.
    Keep it up!

    Comment courtesy of Corin — December 15, 2011 #

  41. Just keep up the great work.

    Comment courtesy of bamboo — December 15, 2011 #

  42. Hello!

    Keep the train of relevance a chuggin’

    Happy Holidays,

    Cheers!

    Comment courtesy of Scott — December 15, 2011 #

  43. i love GEM CLUB. so much

    Comment courtesy of veronika — December 15, 2011 #

  44. I was referred to your blog via a post by GEM CLUB. I love their new album “Breakers” and actually featured their track “Red Arrow” on my own blog! Check it out at http://www.deadhorsemarch.com/?p=232 . I hope I can win that vinylllll.

    Comment courtesy of Travis — December 15, 2011 #

  45. Love. A gift from one writer/obsessive to the next.

    If by some fluke you pick me, a signed copy of Breakers is the only one I don’t own. I just interviewed Gem Club a few days ago.

    And that felt pretentious to admit. So,

    Love. A gift from one writer/obsessive to the next.

    Yes,
    Z

    Comment courtesy of Z. Saint James — December 15, 2011 #

  46. really nice work! hope to see more of it in the future!!

    Comment courtesy of justin — December 16, 2011 #

  47. I was impressed and inspired by the images in each post. A constant source of amazement for me this year.

    Comment courtesy of robert — December 16, 2011 #

  48. I really enjoyed the feature on History of the Sky, clouds are beautiful, simple reminders to retain that fragile childlike amazement with the world.

    Comment courtesy of Reniazen — December 16, 2011 #

  49. I love it all! Especially the mixtapes. :]

    Comment courtesy of Alyssa — December 16, 2011 #

  50. Greetings! I just discovered the Gem Club–absolutely love them! Enjoy yourself.

    Comment courtesy of Brendan — December 16, 2011 #

  51. Hello!

    I love Gem Club, one of my favorite albums of the year. :)

    Comment courtesy of Nick Simpson — December 16, 2011 #

  52. love the site! it’s really nice of you to be giving away such a great assortment of albums. cheers and happy holidays!!

    Comment courtesy of dispid — December 18, 2011 #

  53. know your blog by gold robot records, i had 2 vinyls of Monster rally and i love these songs, like your posts you made, and the links for showing us news artists, web artists etc…
    sorry for my bad english, hope you’ll understand all :)

    greetings from Paris and merry christmas :)

    Comment courtesy of clément — December 20, 2011 #

  54. May your spirit of generosity be rewarded in days and years to come, Thanks for everything! Gem Club brought me here, they are awesome. Happy Holidays!

    Comment courtesy of Nate H — December 20, 2011 #

  55. Very nice blog! Came here via Gem Club!

    Comment courtesy of Andy — December 23, 2011 #

  56. This site is beautiful. Those mountains are a dream. Thanks for a year of beautiful content. 2012 Looking forward!

    Comment courtesy of Logan Lo-Fi — December 23, 2011 #

  57. I owe it to Gem Club for bringing me here…I am loving this site!

    Comment courtesy of Allison — December 23, 2011 #

  58. I enjoyed the photographs in the music section as well as the Free Music Collections. Gem Club though, are making me enter the competition. :)

    Happy holidays!

    Comment courtesy of Emmanuel C. — December 23, 2011 #

  59. More than anything, I’m a serious fan of the art you’ve created for Kassette Klub artists. That mutual benefit/ philip seymour hoffman split was one of the best albums this year, with the art to match. That being said, I wouldn’t have caught this contest if not for Gem Club leading the way (Breakers is our #3 album of the year).

    Comment courtesy of Z. — December 23, 2011 #

  60. Hello Think or Smile!
    I really enjoyed your work and the passion you put on this site!
    I am huge fan of Gem Club, and love their new album ‘Breakers’, one of the most exciting albums for this year.
    Keep up the good work and congrats for all the team! Happy Holidays! All the best.

    Comment courtesy of Aldo Monzon Diaz — December 23, 2011 #

  61. happy holidays to all of you commenting, from the shore of the baltic sea!

    Comment courtesy of Lord Francis Douglas — December 23, 2011 #

  62. heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

    Comment courtesy of marilyn — December 23, 2011 #

  63. As we end the year of 2011, there are many things I enjoyed this year.

    I enjoyed watching life as a general concept, unfolding and creating new stories.

    It’s true, God and the Internet write the best soap operas.

    I am grateful for all the unintentionally entertaining events in 2011.

    I am thankful for all the music that was created, whether they were good or bad.

    and I am entertained by the idea that 2012 is near us, and am excited to see what’s going to happen in it.

    Happy holidays, and kudos and many thanks for making beautiful music. : – )

    Comment courtesy of Woo Park — December 23, 2011 #

  64. love everything you do and gemclub too :)

    Comment courtesy of valerie walsh — December 23, 2011 #

  65. The form as much as the content of this site are wonderful. I want to live in these mountains while listening to this music.

    Comment courtesy of Alix — December 23, 2011 #

  66. The website is an aesthetic treasure-trove. Thanks for such an awesome giveaway!

    Comment courtesy of Alex Howe — December 23, 2011 #

  67. Best Wishes from Deutschland to You!

    Comment courtesy of Sebastian — December 23, 2011 #

  68. I literally only heard about this site because Gem Club mentioned the contest (the prizes look amazing), but it seems impressive, and Breakers is definitely one of my records of the year. Hello!

    Comment courtesy of Ian Mathers — December 23, 2011 #

  69. Merry Christmas.

    I love GEM so much, as starting this year.

    Comment courtesy of Kelu — December 24, 2011 #

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Think or Smile | Nathaniel Whitcomb © 2011