on the bench: annotated

It was a quiet day in the studio...just finishing up on casebound journals for another wholesale order. Click on the picture to see notes!

on the press: september 27

It's a rainy, rainy Monday, after a long weekend...but no rest for me!  Today, my intern Yim came in, and I immediately had her on the press--she's so enthusiastic about printing (even cleaning the press!).

Project 1: Proofing a birth announcement--printed from handset type and a vintage cut.

Project 2: a two-color, four-fold wedding program.

finished friday: late night

Why yes, it is 10:30 on a Friday night.  I'm actually home early (for once this week)!

I've spent a lot of time on the Vandercook this week--first, three runs x 200+ sheets for Anais's Hadestown programs.

And tonight, three hours on the press for the last batch (for a little while) of charcoal grey for decorative sheets. 

P.S. I saw the October issue of Martha Stewart Living at the grocery checkout, and squealed like a little girl.  Go out and get one!

on the bench: multitasking

One of the greatest joys curses challenges of being a small business owner is having each day be completely new, and completely unplannable.  Yesterday I had to step away from May Day Studio for a few hours, to train for a few additional responsibilities at the Savoy (for when my dear friends Eric and Megan are on maternity leave!), and didn't get to all the bookbinding that I needed to finish up.

But some of it did get done--the Bingo Books, at least, are ready for next week's shipment.

And I had to squeeze in a last-minute reprint of Hadestown programs for my friend Anais Mitchell. 

Here's the first color down--two more press runs to go!

on the press: this weekend

So, I didn't actually print anything today.  But this weekend was chock-full, so here you go!

Saturday brought seven enthusiastic ladies into my printshop for a bridal shower weekend extravaganza. 

It's a lot of fun to see things start to click--Meredith was all set to do a second color with stars, and on the very short walk to the press, turned to me and said, "What if I use a star here?" And it was perfect; the teeny tiny star is just the right little touch.

And trying out blind impression....

Mixing up wood type (and loving the "salty" effect of printing it on the Pilot) and using silly little cuts for casual notes.

Playing with border pieces!

And Lydia used the unicorn!  I've been trying to find a good reason to print to for almost two years.

Two ink colors!  And excellent use of my skull & crossbones.

And finally, a little "woot woot" and they were on their way.  Thanks to Kate, Kelsey, Maggie, Lydia, Maggie, Meredith, and Becky (who made the cutest cards that I didn't get a photo of!) for an inspiring day!

finished fridays: the big reveal!

I've had to keep this under wraps for so long! And I'm really a very good secret keeper, but this has been bursting out of me, especially since my copy came in the mail Saturday.

I'm in the newest Martha Stewart Living!

The section called "Great Finds" is all reds & purples for October.

And my little journals and decorative sheets made the cut!

Hooray!!  The issue should be in subscribers' hands any day now, and on newsstands shortly.  In the meantime, all of the featured items (and more) are available in my etsy shop!

on the bench: cozy time

It's been a rainy and blustery couple of days--and that, combined with a misplaced camera cord, has made me want to cozy up to a movie with a big mug of hot cocoa and two lap kitties.  Alas, work keeps coming in, so today I brought the movie to me--Katharine Hepburn's 1933 tear-fest Little Women.  And brag books, ready to sew.

finished fridays: september 10

I'm not feeling super accomplished this week (I spent a lot of time on the computer, which doesn't feel like "work" to me), but taking photos and updating the blog does make it seem like things happened.

I cut down piles of paper for notepads--these are trimmed and waiting to be glued.

Yim actually printed these for me--it was her first real crash course on the Vandercook--three colors in under three hours.  She was very patient while I mixed a slightly darker yellow ink, fiddled with the underlays and slipsheets, and reminded her over and over again that precision and perfect prints are way more important than printing quickly.

These postcards were my "fun" time for the week.  They're my submission to the latest Ladies of Letterpress swap, a collection of "Hello from...." postcards.

on the bench: so clean!

Possibly the cleanest you will ever see my table--packing the last of this batch of wholesale orders.  These beauties are my new photo albums, and are on their way to the classy shelves of Bowne & Co Stationers at the South Street Seaport Musuem.

behind schedule: on the press 9/6

It was a long, late night of printing, and at about 10 pm I remembered to take a photo--first, the lovely red ink.

And then (sorry for the dark photo)--reprints of "I Spy" from my quirky love line!

finished: one week at a time

It's been such a busy week.  I haven't stopped since getting back from New York (and tonight, I'm really feeling the drag).

This week I finished three wholesale orders--to three stores that I'm so excited to be a part of: Urban Mercantile, in San Francisco, Papel New York in Brooklyn, and The Drawing Board right here in Montpelier.  I did a little photo shoot with the Drawing Board's goodies before I dropped off the box with Jodi, Liz, and Jen. 

Don't you just love the way pages drape and curve?  They're so sturdy and practical, and yet are so light.

Also this week: I've been thinking about this packaging for six months--no, seriously.  My decorative papers, stitched on the sewing machine into pretty little packages for card sets.

workbench wednesdays: september first

Can you guess what this is?

It's so satisfying to peel back in one big piece--like peeling an orange in one spiraling globe.

And at the end of it, two really big sheets of perfect bookcloth!

Also on the table today: twelve BINGO books in two straight lines.