on the bench: the mad dash

It's amazing to me that after cleaning my studio so thoroughly for this past weekend's workshops, the piles still seem to multiply on their own.

Today I'm working on the last few things for an order shipping out to Rock Paper Scissors in Charlottesville, VA.  Above, piles of paper for journal and guest book pages, ready for sewing.

Notepads (their inky backs drying) need corner rounding and belly band labels.

And guest book cases just waiting for pages!

monday interlude: valentines edition

I spent several hours today finishing these up...they'll arrive a bit late, but they're on their way to seventy (70!) homes across the county.  My biggest holiday mailing yet...and I wish I could do more.  We all could use a little extra love in our lives, even if it's just a kind wish. 

And so, I wish you all many, many smiles and laughs on this Valentine's Day!

workbench wednesdays: you've got to make a mess to get clean

Another busy day!  Today was the first chance I've had to (kind-of) unpack from New York...but I'm also in the middle of production runs of cards + papers for wholesale orders.

So, by the end of the day today, my worktable was filled with lots of little piles--paper offcuts just wide enough to print business cards on, stacks of post-it note lists, every pen imaginable, plus (on the far side) cards just off the press, ready for a final trim tomorrow.

And at the end of the day, Brian and I attached the blade back on to my board shear! I'm a bit giddy just thinking about it.

on the press: first day back

Look!  It's a booth!  After spending a week sitting in this 8 x 10 trade show booth with Shelley, I finally got back on the press today.

 First up was a small reprint of my quirky love notes (heading out to two local shops this week!).

And then...the big grey print run (printing the first color for zigzag papers) took up most of my afternoon.  Here are the pretty bloops that transparent white ink makes when you dab it on the rollers haphazardly.  Really, I do mix very precisely (well, most of the time anyway).

oh, hello there, new york city.

Here we are...The next big adventure starts tomorrow!

finished fridays: rockstar gold

What a way to end the week--printing cd sleeves for rockstars.

Local rockstars, that is.  And the gold ink looks totally awesome over the black, don't you think?

on the bench: inventory

Oh, inventory.  It would be so much easier if I remembered to do you January 1. 

 But here we are, two-thirds of the way into January, and gosh darn it--I have a lot of paper.

So much so, I'm putting all of these on sale!  Up now in my etsy shop, $2 per sheet, and when they're gone, they're gone.

on the press: red

Here's a sneak peek at one of my new cards!  A little addition to the lunchbox notes family: awesome!  I had red ink on the press all day (printing lots of cards for two new stores)--and it just so happens to be winter colors week over on Poppytalk...and guess what today's color is? 

finished fridays: new new new!

I'm so excited to share my newest pattern:

(I'm still looking for a name, if anyone has any suggestions....)

I'll be debuting the pattern (and its five colorways) at the NY International Gift Fair, which opens January 30 in New York City. Visit me at booth number #4124 in the Studio Division--I'll be there with the lovely and talented ladies of Albertine Press and Carta Inc.

workbench wednesdays: one year later + new and exciting

Yup. I was looking at my 2010 calendar earlier, and I've had this project on the calendar since last January. One year! It hasn't been worked on continuously, but it's been on the top of my projects list for the last twelve months.  And today, I packed the last four boxes and sent them on their way.

And then I had to open up one of the boxes--I forgot to take photos of the finished books!

In other (super fun) news, I'm offering a make-your-own valentines workshop--as featured in the February issue of Country Living:

And now, just one more picture:

I love piles + rows of things...and this is one of my favorites.  Ropey, delicate linoleum shavings (and a brand new pattern is born!).

on the press: almost done!

Yesterday I finished up the last scores on the book covers--the scoring is definitely the trickiest part of the process.  After going through the press four times, just one misfeed on that last score means that cover is scrapped. (Thankfully, I only had two misfeeds!)

finished fridays: making progress

I made a little bit of progress this week--I finished up the Hadestown programs this afternoon..and they're off to New York!

And I got another tiny bit ahead on the big book project--I finished half of the scores on the covers (just the ones for the turn-ins).

And now it's time for a Friday night off!

workbench wednesdays: backwards week

So here we are, in the middle of the first week of the year...and I just can't seem to work fast enough. 

I was on the Vandercook today, printing more programs for Anais Mitchell's Hadestown show (happening next Monday in New York City!).  There's 400 to do this time around--and two ink colors, double-sided.

One color down!

P.S. Less-than-awesome photos today, because I forgot the camera at home and photobooth can only do so much!

on the press mondays: still not printing

Yes, it's sort of misleading.  I was hoping to get on the press today, to finish scoring the covers for these beauties, but the sewing took longer than expected, and I had to leave the studio early.

Instead, this lovely pile of book blocks will have to do!

P.S. Go out and pick up the February issue of Country Living, and check out page 18!

happy happiest of new years

This morning I woke up with a smile.  That doesn't happen too often, so I'm choosing to think of it as just the beginning of an amazing year. 

Wishing you all a year filled with smiles + laughs, hope + inspiration, and a few good surprises.

on the bench: busy is as busy does

I finally got to take a day off on Sunday (it'd been at least seven weeks!), but as of Monday morning, I had to be full steam ahead on the last of this year's projects.

Starting with the final 150 (of 500!) books of poetry--holes hand-punched, then sewn to the endsheets, and then cased in.  I'm just about done with the hole punching bit.   

Merry merry holidays to all--see you next Monday!

finished fridays: off to new york!

Meet me in New York tomorrow, and I'll have a little something for you! 

on the bench: pretty packaging (and lovely words!)

Thirty-one hours. Really. That's how much time I've spent (since 8:30 Monday morning) on the press and at the guillotine to print this lovely pile:

400, 4-color cards, plus 100 envelopes and 300 belly bands.  Designed by the awesome duo of Mark and Lisa at Interrobang Design, and printed right here!

Also, many thanks to Rachael at Pistachio Press for pointing me in the direction of this:

And thanks to Apartment Therapy for featuring my calendar!

press mondays: silver, silver, silver

It was a dark & snowy night, and I printed as fast as could.

300 belly bands and 600+ cards later, I looked up at the clock: 10:15!  Not the latest I've been at the studio (by a long shot), but the ink had been on the press for six hours.  And silver, being oil-based, loves to stick to rollers and not come off!

After a quick and thorough scrub, I peeked at the piles of prints.

Only three more colors to go!

finished fridays: off to boston!

Today I was so busy I didn't even get to take pictures!  But two (big!) boxes went out the door, lots + lots more paper was cut, and the car was loaded up for a big weekend!  Join me tomorrow at...

Paper & Chocolate!  Chez Albertine Press, with special guests both papery + chocolatey.

And then on Sunday, come on down to...

Bazaar Bizarre!  It'll be my first year at the BBB, so stop by to say hi and check out the new stuff!