Tis the season

In three short weeks holiday fairs begin in earnest. Our first will be the second annual Design Salon holiday marketplace. It was a lovely event last year with a great group of local women designers and this year should be no different.

Of course, if you want to start your shopping early, visit our Etsy store for calendars, cards, coasters and more, or our new online holiday card customization page. Our designs - your message!

Let the sleigh bells ring.

Lotus books

Great weekend workshop collaboration - lotus books!



Here's everyone deciding in what order to assemble the book.



A finished poem.



Two finished books side by side (to show off the two sides of the book).

It's such an interesting structure and everyone worked well together to really create a beautiful collaboration. Thanks to each of our students for all of their hard work and a very professional and lovely finished project.

Photos courtesy of Angela at Carta, Inc.

Bello Photography - Stacia & Colin

I worked with Stacia and Colin throughout the planning process - from save the dates right on through to wedding day paper goods. They were a delight to work with, and their photographers, Andy and Christine from Bello Photography were so kind as to share these photos from the event.

















The calligraphy on the escort cards, as well as the stunning hand-painted table numbers was done by Lynne of Inviting Company.

Congratulations Stacia and Colin and beautiful work from my co-vendors! Thanks everyone for sharing.

Jacob Pritchard Photography

Over labor day weekend we celebrated my sister-in-law's wedding. It was a beautiful weekend and a beautiful event. Of course, we printed all of the paper goods!



Laura and Steve were lucky to find photographer Jacob Pritchard for their event - he did a bang-up job and was gracious enough to share some of his photos with us.



It's always a treat to get photos of our cards in situ, since we just package them up and ship them off. I love this detail of the escort table.



As the ladies got ready, Sadie sat wondering if her hair looked good.



The bride-to-be peeking out at the assembled crowd.



Jake didn't take the pictures from the photobooth (which were so much fun) but I just adore this shot he took of the finished frames before they were put into the scrapbook.

For more of his pictures from the event check out this blog post and for more of his wedding and portrait work, visit his website.

Portland - letterpress pilgrimage

Portland is rife with great letterpress and during the trip I dragged my sister and the baby along to visit some of my favorites.

First stop in Portland's downtown Pearl district was Oblation Papers & Press. Jennifer and Ron Rich have built up a beautiful storefront / printshop and were gracious enough to give us a tour of the print and paper making facility in back.



Oblation's special claim to fame is the fact that they print on all of their own handmade paper. Here are the machines they use to soak and pulp the cotton for the paper making.





Beyond those damp, cottony rooms we headed into the print area, visible from the storefront. My favorite detail - the flywheel chandelier!



I love their beautiful nest-inspired invitations.



Lisa and Sadie discover some Albertine Press note sets out front.




Moving on we stopped by Lark Press. Love the doorstop.



It's a small storefront, but so well put together with wonderful old curiosities sprinkled in amongst the cards and goodies.





I love the space, especially the garage door front, typical in that area.



Lark Press has a lovely collection of Portland cards like this one here. Great use of the blind print.




Last, but certainly not least was a trip to Egg Press. Just a studio, but a lively one at that, with a lot of character (for example, their meter man).



Ah beasts, you old friends.



A silk screen set up for shirts and more.



Supersweet cards.



Thank you to everyone for opening your doors to us and letting me poke through your studios. Not just idle curiosity, I love seeing how others do things because I so often learn solutions to problems I didn't even know I had (and many that I did).

And with a dream of one day having a storefront studio of my own, it's such an inspiration to see others making it happen.

Know your worth

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him. “It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art. “It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied. “B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

Portland - touring

A few weeks ago I took a trip out to Portland with Sadie, both for business and pleasure. Portland is such a beautiful city, I totally fell in love: the people, the weather, the scenery, the arts, the shops, the restaurants, the produce! If life landed us in Portland, I, for one, would not complain.



A sign from the get go - the beautiful view of Mt. Saint Helens in the foreground and I think Mt Hood in the back.



A house in my sister's neighborhood has a sense of humor about their planting. Or maybe it's a political statement?



We loved our visits to Washington Park, driving up and down the twisty-turny roads and stopping at the peaceful Japanese gardens.



We also took a walk through the International Test Rose Gardens where we were completely awash in the fragrances of roses wafting across the warm day. Here's Sadie on a bench in the Shakespeare Club section of the garden.



A city divided by the Willamette, there are at least ten different bridges connecting East and West. My sister drove us over and then under the St. John's Bridge for this stunning cathedral view.



The markets, oh, the markets! Summer produce season having nearly run its course in Boston, I could not have been more delighted to encounter still fresh strawberries, tomatoes and so much more at one of the best farmer's markets I've ever been to (it rivals Union Square in NYC for sure).



Pumpkins, squashes and gourds - a nod to approaching fall.



As urban as Portland may be, just miles outside of the city limits you find yourself surrounded by overwhelmingly beautiful nature: trails, waterfalls, gorges, rivers, mountains, heck, volcanos!



We spent an afternoon at Multnomah Falls. Here we are resting along the hike up to the top.



Back to the city, I loved all of the charming houses and yards. This one was a puzzle though.



At the Saturday arts market by the river I discovered a woman who created these Lotus Books for scrapbooking and albums. Since Angela and I are teaching a workshop with this bookmaking technique soon I found it exciting to see other applications of the technique.



Perhaps I should make one inspired by our trip.