Our Valentine’s Day package

February 16, 2010, 1:23 pm

My mom is amazing with mail. She sends incredible packages and letters and the one that showed up on our steps on Valentine’s Eve was no exception. There were heaps of fun clothes for Charlotte, chocolates for us, and Burt’s Bees like you wouldn’t believe (this is one great smelling kid!). On top, though, was the prize:

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As you might be able to gather from this first image, letters are not just a digest of recent events, as far as my mom is concerned, and they are rarely just text. Letters are an opportunity to recount stories, explore ideas, play with images, and send a little bit of yourself to someone.

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For the last several months, my mom has been doing painstaking work, creating a series of panels about the history of orthodontia (seriously!) for a commissioned piece. The images included on our letter are color xeroxes of sections of those panels and their preliminary drawings.

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Mom is going to write a little about these on her own blog, so I don’t want to steal her thunder, but I had to share the selection we received! Each of these illustrations is unbelievably intricate and filled with playful details (a train car straightening the Sphinx’s teeth! an elaborate system of gears and pulleys to align Constantine’s choppers!) and they’re in a style that will always be full of nostalgia for me.

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When I was small, my mom did art fairs all over the midwest (gobs and gobs and gobs of art fairs) and much of her work at the time was highly illustrative, colorful, invented, and playful. Although she’s moved well past that style in her current work, I love seeing glimpses of the old days in these new orthodontic panels. Did I mention how thrilled I am that Charlotte has one of the world’s most imaginative grandmothers?

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I have to ask: have teeth ever been this cool?

Comments (0) | Posted in influences, my mom, the littlest printer

Productivity with a 4 1/2 month-old…it’s not an oxymoron!

February 12, 2010, 1:29 pm

A quick note: My mom reminded me yesterday to make sure my blog incorporates work *and* life. To paraphrase: “Finding that blend of meaningful work and life is what we’re all after and that’s what people love hearing about.”

Lately, a lot of people have asked me how I’m managing to get *anything* done with Charlotte, who’s now (somehow!) 4 1/2 months old. Honestly, the key to productivity seems to be having very broken down to-do lists – that, a high chair, and a great baby carrier (my personal favorite is the Moby). Plus – and this is one of the most important things to remember – not getting worked up if schedules and plans change, because they always seem to!

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To-do lists, C in her high chair, and in the Moby!

We chat all day long…well, I chat and narrate pretty much everything I’m doing (have you met me? I never stop talking!) and C responds with all kinds of sounds, mostly happy ones! Honestly, she’s ready to just get up and walk and talk on her own, a reality that will be here before we know it.

There are definitely days where little to no work gets done but, for the most part, we tend to have a pretty good rhythm and I definitely can’t complain! The bonus?: our kitchen is now guaranteed to be extra clean, since C’s current favorite way to fall asleep for a nap is on my front in the Moby while I’m doing dishes!

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Getting work done

Mom is right; it’s true that what I love about my work is that it is so seamlessly integrated into our lives. By the way, that’s not accidental. As a child who grew up with a printing press in the living room myself, I can attest to the benefits of knowing how your parents do their work and how hard they work for their family. It’s all a work in progress, but unbelievably rewarding, and definitely feels like the way life ought to be.

And, just so you don’t think we’re taking ourselves too seriously around here, enjoy Kenn Nesbitt’s “Talented Family”.

Comments (1) | Posted in bookbinding, business, letterpress, paper, process, quotations, the littlest printer, workspace

Campbell Raw Press on Felt & Wire Shop!

February 11, 2010, 9:44 am

I’ve followed Felt & Wire on Twitter for some time now and was excited to see them launch a curated online paper goods shop a little while back. They’ve chosen a selection of really fantastic handmade paper work and I’ve had my sights on joining their ranks for a while.

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Well, the time has come! We applied, we’re in, and there are things up in our shop! I’ll be adding lots more in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled!

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Enjoy the collection they’ve pulled together, including some of my personal favorites – Angela Liguori and Loop, and lots more. It’s a treat to be in such wonderful company!

Comments (0) | Posted in bookbinding, business, letterpress, paper, stores

“Making the complicated simple…”

February 9, 2010, 4:02 pm

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Charles Mingus quotation printed on translucent vellum in black ink with hand set wood type

This is a favorite quotation of mine, and was one of the first pieces of text I ever letterpress printed. Also, it’s just a good thing to remember, no matter what you’re doing.

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P.S. I just have 5 of these guys and they’re up in the shop, if you find yourself wanting one of your own!

Comments (0) | Posted in design, letterpress, paper, quotations

New Look Book for Chiyogami Letterpress Collection

February 7, 2010, 10:43 am

Despite the grey and cold of February, we are nose-to-the-grindstone around here. In addition to putting together new albums, journals, and custom books, I am also gearing up promotional materials for the year and spreading the word about what we’re up to!

This is the new look book for our Chiyogami Letterpress Collection. It’s designed to give a sense of the style and materials I’m using in these new cards and is a preview of what’s to come in our new wholesale catalog that will be available soon…just as soon as the time is available to get it all finished up!

Comments (0) | Posted in business, letterpress, paper, process

The “bottom of winter” + Richard Feynman, Maira Kalman, and Michael Bierut

February 5, 2010, 10:03 am

It seems like everyone I know has had at least one day this week that just stunk. It’s early February, it’s grey, it’s cold and, as one of our good friends in Iowa likes to say, it’s the “bottom of winter”.

We’re doing our best to fight off the February malaise with bright colors, a little work, a little play, a little reading, a little drawing, and inspiring talks and thoughts wherever we can get them. These are three of the best that came across my radar this week. It doesn’t get much better than listening to people who love what they do talk about their work:

Richard Feynman on asking, “Why?”

Maira Kalman’s TED talk on her own work:

Michael Bierut on working with clients (part of the series of Creative Mornings talks here in Brooklyn):

2010/01 Michael Bierut from CreativeMornings on Vimeo.

Enjoy the weekend – I think we’ve all earned it!

Comments (0) | Posted in breathing, design, influences, recommendations

Accordion albums

February 4, 2010, 9:30 am

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There are several new accordion albums in the shop (finally!), including a few new cover choices – and my personal favorite: goldfish-patterned chiyogami.

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A little early Valentine’s Day poem: Jeffrey McDaniel’s “The Quiet World”.

Comments (0) | Posted in bookbinding, paper

Birth announcements + laughing all day long

February 3, 2010, 8:30 am

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Someone almost has birth announcements!

Please tell me there’s some sort of grace period when you print your own announcements. There are still photos to adhere, but I’m very happy with how those colors look! Really, she’s only (!) 4 months old…4 months isn’t *that* long, right?!?

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Mixing ink

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Lunchtime reading with Sophie

Like I said, we’ve really been enjoying Jennifer New’s Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art and we read a little more during lunch today.

“Laughing Time” by William Jay Smith…it’s pretty much what we do around here all day.

Comments (0) | Posted in announcements, breathing, design, influences, letterpress, paper, process, quotations, the littlest printer, workspace

Letterpress Wedding Invitations

February 2, 2010, 9:13 am

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Our Strand invitation with Apricot Mums chiyogami paper

February! It’s prime time for wedding planning, so just a reminder that we have a great collection of designs to choose from.

All of our invite designs incorporate Japanese silkscreened papers – and you can even customize by choosing your own chiyogami pattern from the thousands out there. Samples are available here, and please be in touch if you have questions or are ready to get started on your invitations!

Comments (0) | Posted in custom projects, invitations, letterpress, paper

Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art

February 1, 2010, 5:01 pm

Drawing from Life

While bouncing around with Charlotte this morning, we took a look through a great book I hadn’t flipped through since last summer. Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art by Jennifer New (a fellow Iowan!) is a great look inside the visual journals of people ranging from David Byrne and Maira Kalman to a geologist, a scientific illustrator, and a psychologist who chronicles his subway rides.

The book is filled with all sorts of ideas, inspiration, and skill levels. It’s always nice to be reminded of all the curiosity and ideas out there.

P.S. Jennifer’s blog is fantastic!

Comments (1) | Posted in art, influences

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