Our Story

It started with a gardener.

The first Jaunty Dead drawing was a skeleton in a straw hat, pruning roses, made as a get-well card for a friend who did not, in the end, get well. She loved it. She said it was the first thing anyone had given her that admitted what was happening and still managed to be funny about it.

That is more or less the whole idea. Death is coming for all of us, which is exactly why the tea should be good, the roses should be pruned, and the cocktail should be shaken properly. Memento mori, sure. But also memento vivere: remember to live.

Jauntily Macabre is a small studio. The drawings begin as pencil and ink, are engraved or painted by hand, and are printed on paper that will outlast the people buying it. Everything is designed here, and most of it is made here too. We work with a handful of small manufacturers for the enamel, the ceramics, and the vinyl, all of whom we have met in person and at least one of whom we owe a drink.

What we believe

• Strange is not the same as scary. Our skeletons are having a wonderful time. So should you.
• Folklore belongs to the people who made it. The Calaveras and Yōkai collections are made with research, respect, and collaborators from those traditions. If we get something wrong, tell us, and we will fix it.
• Small goods deserve big care. A three-dollar postcard gets the same paper and the same attention as a sixty-dollar print.
• Remembrance is a practice. Half the shop exists so you can keep someone close. We take that seriously, even when the skull is wearing a party hat.