Greetings from Fort Myers Florida! 

The past couple of weeks have been insane here, to put it lightly. We were fortunate enough to have survived hurricane Ian with very little damage to our personal property and business inventory, but this disaster has hit extremely close to home. Most of our work has been inspired by the beauty and nature on Sanibel Island and the fun vibe of Fort Myers Beach. These past days we have went back and forth with how to move forward. Though it is going to be difficult, we have been inspired by the support of our friends here and the overall optimism of the local businesses and government. More debris is being removed everyday, and rebuilding is already taking place. 

First order of business, you can find Melissa's new Halloween designs here! We've also added some new Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach designs. A portion of all purchases from these categories will be donated. We are currently investigating where the donations will be directed.

A lot of the events and markets we were planning the next few months have been cancelled, for obvious reasons. However, you can still find some Halloween goodies at our Virtual Halloween Market, Estero Farmers Market, Oktoberfest, and Fall Festival at Edison Ford Winter Estates. Learn more on our local event page.

This month we are focussing on surviving, participating in the Drawtober art challenge on Instagram, and printing some cards for the upcoming holiday season. Follow our journey on Patreon! This month we are preparing some interesting incenses and ingredients for the Gum Limbo tier, sharing a photo tour of Six Mile Cypress Preserve, creating a Halloween-themed coloring page, and catching up with a few posts from last month due to the storm. 

Thank you so much to those of you who have supported us during this difficult time! Your kind comments and purchases mean a lot.

The Island Octopus is excited to release a new Animals of Sanibel Coloring Book this week! Consisting of 34 fun animal illustrations, this book features some of the critters you might find while visiting Sanibel Island, Florida. The coloring book is now available in our online shop, and will also be available in our Bell Tower (Fort Myers, FL) retail space at our grand opening on March 11!

The Animals of Sanibel Coloring Book was illustrated by Melissa Rohr Gindling, and features many of the iconic animals found on Sanibel, including the brown pelican, manatee, marsh rabbit, roseate spoonbill, gopher tortoise, Sanibel Island rice rat, junonia snail, and more. This is Melissa's 12th coloring book release.

Learn more about The Island Octopus, or join our newsletter!

New arrivals in the shop this month include: Halloween art, incense, and stickers!

Join us for two events this month:

1. ShopColumbia, at Columbia College Chicago (Melissa's alma mater), is hosting Dark Market, a spooky collection of works by Columbia artists with an emphasis on the macabre. Find a handful of Melissa's creations at this event. The Dark Market will feature all things spooky and magical with mediums including art prints, zines, books, stickers, enamel, patches, soft sculpture and more! The Dark Market should delight anyone who loves Halloween or hand made, one of a kind artwork. Enjoy a sampling of spooky items on display now in store through November 5, 2021. Shop online or in store.
2. Join us Saturday October 16th for a Cat Art Fair at Mauhaus! Melissa, along with other local artists will be outside the cafe with all sorts of cat-themed goodies! Event runs from 10am-6pm, and the address is 3101 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, MO 63143.

Follow our journey on Patreon! On our page this month, we will be releasing Halloween coloring pages, discussing a recent trip, and sharing behind-the-scenes photos of our current projects! Learn more about Patreon here.

Follow our journey on Patreon! On our page this month, we will be releasing an ice cream coloring page, discussing an incense blend, releasing a new sticker design, and more! Learn more about Patreon here.

A new print & postcard set, Summertime Sweetness, have been released in the shop!

Follow our journey on Patreon! On our page this month, we will be releasing a sea turtle coloring page, discussing some incense projects & experiments, sharing a sneak peek of our upcoming t-shirt designs, and more! Learn more about Patreon here.

Later this month, we are excited to release some Magic Sand incense and a new print/postcard design in our online shop! Sign up for our newsletter to get a notification when these are available..

We now have an Island Octopus Facebook & Instagram page, so give them a follow to see some more fun pictures in your timeline.

Welcome to The Island Octopus! We're excited you're here.

The Island Octopus LLC™ was founded in 2021 by husband-wife team Matt and Melissa Gindling. Our store will offer whimsical critters, beachy art, coloring books, apparel, and handcrafted incense. We started this project with the intent of giving our creations a home, while offering clients, fans, and friends an inside-look into the creative process.

As we work towards opening a physical storefront, you can follow our journey by joining our Patreon page, and signing up for our newsletter! On our Patreon page this month, we will be releasing a bird-themed coloring page & a digital art background, talking about our Magic Sand Incense, and more. 

And, later this month, you can expect to see our online shop open!