You Should Try The Toilet Paper

A few days ago my roommates sent me to pick up some toilet paper, so I decided to make a trip to Trader Joe’s since I had to grab some other groceries as well. Typically, I don’t purchase toilet paper from Trader Joe’s because I’ve always been scared that such a product from the environmentally friendly store would be made from some rough natural tree bark or something...but I decided to go for it this time because it was only 3 dollars and some odd cents for 12 rolls, which seemed to be a good deal, and it had some pretty eye catching packaging. The fashion of the illustration on the toilet paper wrapper is actually quite similar to my last post about The Little Traveler bag. On the front is a group of some fine ladies and gentlemen dressed up in 20th century style clothing for a dinner party. I stood in the aisle giggling at the captions. The guy in the center says, “If you thought the brisket was good, you should try the toilet paper.” Not included in this post is an illustration of a ship they put on the side of the package that says, “Did someone remember to bring the toilet paper?” How in the world is this related to bath tissue? Whatever, I guess it’s not, but it worked on me with my absurd sense of humor. So I was sold. Shitty toilet paper (lol) or not, my roommates would just have to deal with it.

The illustration reminds me of someecards: decorative, lots of detail, line drawings with some cross hatching, vintage-y and historical, 20th century, and very minimal color palate (this one being brown with a few pastels). I honestly could not find the artist, but in my research I did find someone who does similar work. His name is Matt Weems, and he serves as a new source of inspiration for me in line art. Here’s some of his work.

I’ve also posted some parts I cut out from the paper bag I received with my purchase of toilet paper. They have all kinds of pretty things on the bag, such as line drawings of a spoon, tea pot, and carrot(?). I think that’s what it is. I enjoyed the illustration of the two characters having a picnic with a quote bubble saying, “Is framing the bag and hanging it on the wall reusing or recycling?” Trader Joe’s commemorates art, which I believe helps with their sales (along with the friendly staff, reasonable prices, and promotion of recycling). Art is everywhere in the store, from packaging to chalk drawings on signs, which makes the environment more inviting and alluring. They actually have a sign artist position, which I might check out.