finished fridays: moments of stillness

The time: 6 pm, Friday night

The place: the studio

Last night, as I surveyed the madness that is my studio, I thought about all the other tiny little shops out there, trying to finish up whatever for the Stationery Show, plus, you know, real work.  From my corner, it's hard to find the moments of stillness, where there's nothing to check off the to-do list, no emails to answer, no telephone ringing, and no ink on the press!

So I turned off the stereo and took just a few minutes to BE--and to find something interesting (and not stressful to think about!).

When the studio is clean, it's so easy to see what might be.

And piles of paper are both overwhelming and inspiring.

Empty frames are just beginnings.

And patterns are everywhere!

press mondays: countdown

It's here, for real.  I've been (mostly) avoiding Stationery Show madness, but now with less than two weeks....

...it seems like there'll never be enough time.  But we still must print!

And paint. Oh goodness, the paint.  It will all come together, I'm sure.  Right?

on the bench: ready-set-go

My first craft fair for the holiday season is this weekend--the Queen City Craft Bazaar in Burlington.

This week I've been putting together pocket journals, and spiffing up my table banner---which today got a big patch to cover up the stains from summer rainstorms, and pretty fabric edging to finish it off!

Come by and scoop up your holiday gifts early: this Saturday from 10-5 at Union Station, Burlington, VT.

finished fridays: one small step

Well, I did accomplish a few other things this week, but this is the only one that I got to keep.

It's still just a prototype, but it's got a really nice size and weight in the hand.  More to come soon!

P.S. It's almost craft fair time! Get out your shopping lists, and meet me at the Queen City Craft Bazaar next Saturday!

on the bench: the perfect photo

It's not everyday that I hustle to get to the studio early...I'm really not a morning person.  At all. 

But I'm trying to take pictures of everything I make (and then send far, far away to stores across the country), and I know from experience that the light--the best light--for product photos is on the early side.  So I got in to the studio this morning, and almost immediately started taking pics of the brag books I finished up last night.  Coming soon to a few select stores, and my etsy shop.

See the difference?  The top one was before 11am....the bottom one was later in the afternoon, when I remembered that I should take a group shot as well!

keeping busy

I'll be in New York this weekend for the New York International Gift Fair.  I'll be sharing a booth on Pier 92 with good friends Albertine Press and Carta, Inc.  Stop by the piers to say hi!

pictures of the day: april 5

It was a beautiful, beautiful weekend. I know because I spent five minutes sitting on a chair (and eating a peanut butter + jam sandwich) in the bright sunshine in front of the studio. And then I went back to work. It's pretty rare that I get a weekend off from workshops, and rather than spend too much time relaxing, I spent it catching up on printing samples to bring to the Stationery Show next month.

This morning I cleaned up a bit, and started mixing more ink--and took some photos for a sneak peek!

mmm...pomegranate green tea.

more quirky love notes

 

new styles and colors of last word notes

 

mixing up big batches of ink

and tying up the forms when I'm done!

So posting might be a bit light for the next six weeks or so, but I hope you're all enjoying the sunshine!

holiday time!

The Paper & Chocolate Crew!

It's here again...Holiday Fair time!  And so I hope you'll excuse the light posting, because I've been working like a busy bee behind the scenes.

Paper & Chocolate!  Design Hive!  Touch of Vermont!  BCA Holiday Market!  Hope to see you four times over! 

P.S. Only two more days for the online sale...get your holiday gifts early!

works-in-progress

more re-bound journals:

photoshoot on a rainy afternoon:

brian + moose, sewing away:

a month of threes

Hello, dear neglected blog readers! I haven't forgotten about you...

Things have been a bit crazy at the studio--and in this topsy-turvy economy, I'm glad to be kept busy day-in and -out.

And so, why a month of threes, you ask? Just that! Since my last post, I've taught three workshops:



I've also printed wedding invitations for three outstanding couples, business cards for three local businesses, and have been accepted at three pretty rockin' indie craft fairs:

Saturday May 9, join me in Burlington, VT at the Queen City Craft Bazaar!

Saturday + Sunday, June 6 +7, meet me (and Shelley of Albertine Press) in Brooklyn!

Sunday, June 21--bring your dad to the Printer's Fair in North Andover, MA!

For which I'm working on over 300 new journals. And sometimes sleeping!

paper + chocolate

Not only two of my most favorite things, but also the name of this weekend's extravaganza.
For those of you that have come for the last two years, you know what a good time it is. Tell your friends, bring someone new, or whatever you have to do to get over to Somerville this Saturday and say "hey"!

the details:
Paper & Chocolate: Albertine Press + Taza Chocolate
featuring May Day Studio, Carta Inc., Beck Wasilewski, Pressbound and more.
Saturday, December 6th, from 10 am until 6 pm<---note extended hours! 561 Windsor Street, Somerville, MA
(between Inman and Union Squares)

and just because I know you're curious...a sneak peek at some new cards:
See you there!

hiding out + working hard

I know I don't have a great track record, posting-wise, but I do feel guilty when it's been too long.

Here's a peek at what's been keeping me away from the computer:
Last night I finished eight new journals--all bound with bookcloth handmade from vintage and retro fabric. They're not in my etsy shop, but these are! (P.S. After much demand for a square journal, I've started making these in 7-1/2" squares. Only available at my winter craft shows!)
And it's taken awhile, but I'm finally ready to send out thank yous--to those few select folks (you know who you are!). These are printed on handmade paper from Langdell from a handcarved linoleum block. I'll have a few extras for sale, too.

choosing the right paper

...just a quick note to say hi, and remind you about the seminar I'm offering tomorrow at Letterpress Things: Choosing the Right Paper. I have samples from several different papermakers and paper mills, lots of swatchbooks, and a pretty concise guide to the best (and friendliest!) paper peeps in the US.
There'll be a sign-up sheet at the front counter--just choose the session you want (9:30-11, 11:30-1, and 1:30-3) and meet me there! Cost is only $10, which covers the paper samples. Bring your questions!

just a quick one...

The chapbook is on hold, as the post office seems to have lost the signed pages from the poet. While I wait for my lovely, lovely mail carrier to reveal where he left the box, enjoy:Aren't stacks of things just lovely?

chapbook -- day 4 to 12

I'm almost done! Here are a few pictures from the last week:

paper "tongues," to try to stop the slurring at the bottom of the page (it worked!)

on the press, the palest orchid, but...

a solid lavender on the page!

my headache--eight hours of tiny, tiny (did I mention small) pieces of paper for makeready on the last plate.
that pic was after hour three.

it's still not perfect, but the last plate was finally printed!

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!

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.

the big to-do

I've been holding out on y'all, because I'm so excited I can barely breathe! Let's let the pictures speak for themselves...
And finally, me with my brand-new-to-me SP-15. John Barrett and I are picking it up tomorrow...and I can't wait!

it's been a hard day's night...

Nothing to report, really. New books are in progress, mostly because my internet has been down this week, and my cell phone provider's towers went down today, so I've been catching up on everything but my internet presence and my hunt for a studio space.

And if you haven't seen A Hard Day's Night, truck over to your local hip video store, and watch it tonight. It makes me giggle!

approaching the dam

(crossing the winooski river 2.17.08)

I cross this river almost every day. Today, as things and thoughts were slowly swirling around in my mind, I looked down and saw the thaw. It's still *mostly* frozen, and nothing's going over the dam, but there's a little bit of river peeking through.

I have so much to tell you about the last two weeks, but it will all have to wait for the dam to thaw. Until then, I've been getting my fill of other folks' blogs (eva's icons, the short livingroom, hot off the press) and you should too.

À bientôt.