happiest happier happy

Happy new year!(scene on my fire escape at 1 pm today...had to clear off the 3 or so inches of snow to get this shot!)

It's snowy and wonderful in Montpelier today. I wish you could all be here to see it. I'm sending my best wishes for the new year out into the blogosphere (and the webworld at large)--and directly to you.

I'll be taking a week or so off after the holiday to get my end-of-year business stuff in order, but after that, watch out for:

*new letterpress workshops*
**more blog posts, more of the time**
***fancy new stationery sets***
****an etsy shop full of may day goodness****
*****my original artist's books (available soon!)*****

Cheerio!

riot-grrl crafty style

My housemate Tara just ran out the door, but before she left she titled this photo "riot-grrl crafty style, or sixth-wave feminism makes me cranky." Really, it's just me wanting to show off the gift certificates I made for one lucky lady to receive under the tree this year: a day-long letterpress workshop with me! I used vintage wood type, crane's lettra in ecru (offcuts from another job) and Van Son scarlet red ink. I think it's a little less scarlet and a little more va-va-va-voom lovely. What do you think?

Need a few last-minute gift ideas? Here are a few of my favorite things this year:









(left) Limited Edition (and now on sale!) Hand-marbled, letterpress 2008 Calendar by Albertine Press. Even more beautiful in person. Buy it here.
(right) Prints by Swallowfield. I bought (ahem) a few of these as gifts for the holidays. This is my favorite, but shop for them all here.











(left) Merit Badge sets by Pod Pod Post. For the printers, binders, and zinemakers in your life. (I'm hoping that a set of these will be in my stocking this year...)
(right) Thank You notes--essential for after the holidays. Mara and Anna were, once upon a time, my bosses back in San Francisco. Now they run a little something called Dutch Door Press, where they make many more pretty things than I could list here. Shop here.










(left) One-year subscription to Ker-bloom letterpress zine. It's thoughtful, and funny, and made a few times a year with handset type and offcuts of paper. Totally Brilliant. Check out artnoose's etsy shop here.
(right) Not many of you know this, but I grew up in a little town in San Diego (California) county. A few months ago, several wildfires devastated the area, causing massive evacuations, and resulting in a whole lotta nothing but charred brush for many, many miles. My family's entire town was evacuated. Their home was unharmed, but others weren't so lucky. Many families lost homes, jobs, schools, cars, pets, and hope--all in 72 hours. Click here to choose a charity to donate a few dollars to. Please.

weekend wrap-up: sunday

On Sunday morning I was a tired bunny. I woke up rather early to head down to Somerville, MA, for the Albertine Press Paper & Chocolate Trunk Show. Shelley had mentioned that she expected a fair number of attendees, given the numbers from previous events. What she didn't expect was over 600 (600!) folks clambering for magical hot chocolate from Taza Chocolate and press demonstrations by Shelley herself on the Vandercook. The folks were prompted a bit (I'm sure) by sweet mentions on Daily Candy Boston, decor8, and the Boston Globe online. Here's Shelley taking a rare break from her press duties to pose for the camera.

My table...before the crowds hit.
Shelley's beautiful and decadent 2008 was in high demand...but I received one as a thank you. (Thank you, Shelley!) Below is a closeup of my favorite marble pattern. (Buy the calendar here before they're sold out!)
Angela and I traded: one Bingo Book for one artist's book. I don't know who made out better! My treasure is an accordion book called The Owner of the Bow, illustrated by Guido Scarabottolo. Emily's lovely deer print was behind me on the wall for the greater part of the afternoon...and by the end of the day I knew I needed to take it home with me! Take a peek at her sweet business card, too.

It was such a busy afternoon that I didn't get to take pictures of Angela of Carta, Inc., or Becca's prints and artist books, or Melissa's pocket journals and book-structure-explorations. Everyone was so nice to talk to, and it was a pleasure to be among such talented artists! Read more about paper & chocolate at edizioni and hot off the press.

After Paper & Chocolate, I ran off to Wellesley for a private trunk show at my friend Katie's house. There were only a few other artists there: Carrie and Laurie of Two Trick Pony (my new limited edition two trick print is below), whose prints will be available as part of Design Nearby at the pink comma gallery.Other artists I met at Katie's shinding: photographer Leah Cornwell makes the world look quieter and crisper than it really is. She has several striking collections--check them all out! And designer & goldsmith Ilah Cibis brought a small selection of her artisan jewelry...if I had the money, I would have taken this piece home with me. I also loved these earrings, but there were so many appealing pieces there I couldn't have decided if I tried.

Thanks to all the wonderful folks I met this weekend, and those who bought (or bartered) may day goodess, and to the weather for holding off the snow until Monday. And now I'm back to work!

weekend wrap-up: saturday

Saturday was the Queen City Craft Bazaar in Burlington...and the first of three (yes, three!) craft shows I participated in last weekend. It was a very blustery day out, which may have prevented the foot traffic from getting all the way down to us at the waterfront. The booths all looked fabulous, though. Here's a shot down my aisle on the ground floor. (Check out the new table sign. What do you think?)

















Below are some new displays--for Bingo Books and for the complete holiday card line.

































The best part of any show has to be meeting people. And, of course, scoring cool stuff in trade. Saturday was no exception. I met Victoria, whose husband makes lovely pottery here in Montpelier (if you need a sake set, check his out!), and Sarah, whose recycled and vintage-inspired home linens are right up my alley! (As a sidenote, Sarah's husband Richard is a world-renowned papermaker. He stopped by to check out my wares, and we had a lovely talk about handmade, local, and letterpress. I'm hoping to take a visit to his studio--Langdell Paper--this weekend as part of the open studios in Topsham.)

Mandy makes yummy yummy bath treats in the next town over, and will be carrying a selection of my gift cards in her online shop. Next to me was Loretta, who was showing her collection of drool-worthy and oh-so-functional pottery. Those are my new tumblers below!


















Thanks to Sara and Kacey for organizing the bazaar!