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. 

on the press: august 30

There's not a whole lot of printing happening in the studio this week--but there's more bookbinding than I can shake a needle at!  Today, my fantastic intern Yim set up the Pilot for printing the backs of notepads.

While Yim was printing busily, I was stitching pretty envelopes for catalog mailings.

finished fridays

Part three of the new blog goals: Finished Fridays!

Every Friday, I'd like to show off a little something that I finished during the week. This week, a lot of stuff is still in progress, but I did complete one wholesale order, and dropped it off at the chocolate factory(!) Friday. Thanks to Nutty Steph's for falling for my Quirky Love cards!

workbench wednesdays

Part two of my awesome new blog regime: workbench Wednesdays!

This is it--my worktable as of 4:00 this afternoon...piles of paper cut down for Bingo Books, casebound journals and notepads to fill my wholesale orders from the Gift Show.  Final count: 32 notepads, 12 Bingo Books, and 4 casebounds, all ready for my intern to fold tomorrow!

on the press mondays

The first of a new series (I hope) of blog posts about the daily life of a letterpress business. And to start us off:

No rest for the press!  I returned (triumphant! I might add) from the Gift Show on Friday, and immediately started working on the custom jobs that had been piling up...these are birthday announcement/cards for the President of Saint Michael's College.  1300 of them, to be precise.  I finished the printing and final trims last night, and today am sorting and shipping.      

And yes, I know it's Tuesday.

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!

picture perfect

Oh, it's been much too long since my last post.  More peeks coming soon, but for now: these clouds were just unbelievable.  This is definitely the most picture-perfect sky I've ever seen!  

here we are again!

Meet me in Brooklyn, tomorrow!  I'll be sharing a booth with Albertine Press again this year--let's hope the rain holds off a few more days.

it's time!

It's been a whirlwind month, and now I'm here!

Three days + eight fine ladies + two fine gents = a pretty spectacular booth (in my humble opinion!).

Come visit the Ladies of Letterpress at the National Stationery Show (booth nos. 2256-2258): Thomas-Printers, Ink & Iron, Hazel & Violet Ink, Pistachio Press, May Day Studio, Paper Mill Designs, Dandy Lion Press and Flywheel Press would be glad to see you!

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!

internet convolutions

Woo hoo!  One of my BINGO Books is on the etsy front page right now.  How did I find out, you might wonder?  An email notification of a comment posted on my facebook wall, in response to an automatic "My Etsy" posting.  Sometimes the internet really astounds me!  

repeat-repeat-repeat

I just saw these and thought...wow.  I think I'm in love.

letterpress Dice Print - Delta Geminorum

Letterpress Dice Print - Chi Velorum

via UPPERCASE journal, images courtesy Stukenborg's etsy shop

hearted!

I know it was a few days ago, but Valentine's Day in Montpelier is one of the best things ever.  This year, the Phantom trekked all the way out to my little studio...and we can't bear to take it down!

so much, so fast: story in pictures

Being a printer (and my own boss) has its ups and downs: I sometimes go two weeks without a day off, but I get to make pretty, pretty things that will make people gloriously happy.  Or in this case, make a birthday surprise that much more surprising.  

 
That's Saul, my apprentice for the month, working on the big beast.

 Going into the press for the third time!

Getting the second pass through the gocco!

Registering for the second color!

Lovely!

Just waiting for assembly!

Those are CD sleeves for my dear friend and local rock star Sara Grace.  It was her birthday a last week, and her partner (as a surprise) had the singles from Sara's album-in-process professionally pressed, and designs finalized by Bridget at Brand New Key, and finally printed letterpress and gocco at May Day Studio.  Sara also got a three-week, all-expenses paid trip to Amsterdam, with three shows booked in advance.   All this came together in less than ten days...and we're all thrilled (and exhausted)!

so here we are at the beginning...

...of something completely new and promising.  I'm so excited about the things to come (and things to do! and things to share!) this year.  Thanks for being along for the ride.

I wish you all the best and brightest of new years.  Cheers!

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!

studio sale!

It's time to clean off the shelves!  

I'm working on some new styles for the holidays--and letting you reap the rewards!
25% off all Journals

Now through November 25th!