Friday, June 27, 2008

good news + summer cherries

kitchen window with cherries, 6/27/08

I received *very* good news this afternoon...my business loan has been approved! The VP at the bank said that they were very impressed with my business plan and projections for the future, and that they'd be more than happy to lend me more money in the future! Hooray!

Also, I'm very pleased to be eating these cherries right now. They're organically grown in Shoreham, VT at Champlain Orchards, and I scored a pint of Ulsters because they were leftover from this week's Pete's Greens CSA share. My new studio is the Montpelier pick-up point, and I'm excited that so many folks will be by the studio every week, and that I'll get the extras!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

baby steps

Getting moved in to the new studio is taking longer than I'd hoped...so in the meantime, I'm...
printing quirky wedding invitations (they're getting married on the groom's dairy farm...)
staring at the space that's almost-mine
and watching the wildflowers that grow in the old railroad tracks just outside the new space.
Happy Thursday!

Friday, June 20, 2008

a little of this...and a little of that

press in motion! so cool, and so scary at the same time.
The week(s) in review:

Friday, June 20: They are still blasting the water mains on the next block, so every ten minutes or so I hear a loud horn, and then a huge *BOOM* and my building shakes. Not so good for filling out loan and zoning permit applications for my new studio!

Sunday, June 15: The Printing Arts Fair. The Good: several new vendors were there, thanks in part to the outreach of Angela Liguori--welcome Hannah of Paper Breakfast, Jenn of JennSki, and Shannon of Rifferaff! (View more pictures here.) Also good: more fun hang-out and chatty time with Angela, Ezra and Terri of Rainy Planet Press, Jesse of Firefly Press, Melissa of PressBound and Albertine Press, and Robin of Robin Bledsoe Books, Greg of Bull Thistle Press, Ed of Swamp Press, and the ever-industrious students from the North Bennett Street School.
The Bad: it rained all day, and we were stuck in a room on the second floor of the Museum.
The Ugly: It was a smallish room, and only one window opened. Yikes!

Saturday, May 31: Met with Shelley at Albertine Press to discuss a join venture: an intensive, intermediate-level letterpress workshop. It'll be held at Shelley's Somerville, MA studio, and will be just amazing (we hope)! Here's the proposal:
So you've learned basics of letterpress but still crave more? Albertine Press and May Day Studio are teaming up for a four-day intensive in which we'll explore a wider range of letterpress experiences. Students will work together to plan and execute an edition of broadsides using handset lead and wood type, borders and ornaments, photo-polymer plates, linoleum carving and more. The workshops will take place on two consecutive weekends, July 26-7 and August 2-3, and costs $500, all materials included. Please indicate previous experience when registering. Feel free to email me with questions, and go here to sign up!

Friday, May 23: Moving the press! My *new* Vandercook was duly picked up, put down, picked up, put down, and finally strapped onto a moving truck, only to head to it's temporary home in Chicopee. It'll be in Montpelier soon! Check out more moving pictures here.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

summer storms

Whew! We just got hit with an intense thunderstorm...and more on the way, supposedly.

Despite that, I hope you will all join me tomorrow at the... I'll have a table full o' goods, along with Angela from Carta, Inc., Ezra from Rainy Planet Press, Melissa (standing in for Shelley) from Albertine Press, Leslie from Sea Dog Press, and so many more!

Making their debut tomorrow...these sweet little wood type notes. Great for gift-giving, lunchtime lovenotes, sassy sentiments or anytime epistles.