Practicing Bling

I've always maintained I couldn't put a feather on an invitation to save my life. But my friend Caroline at Carciofi Design is great at all that bling. She's inspired me to give the jewels, feathers, buckles and bows a run. First out of the gate is a few Swarovski Rhinestones mixed with both letterpress and digital printing. “Digital” means “cheaper” so will also be exploring how that can fit with letterpress this season. Thanks, Joanna Lenck, at The Wedding Salon for the shout out to this design on her blog.

A New Beginning

Escrow closed! Now it's got to look worse before it looks better—see Brian getting busy on the floor below. But we're close to having a new home for the presses...and that huge fair trade order that's winging its way over from Bangladesh.

The New Brown

My new year’s resolution is to not get stuck in a color rut. Since beginning Sustain & Heal in 2007 I’ve printed through two pounds of soy based dark espresso brown ink. But last year two customers declined my brown suggestion and went their own way. I’m glad they ignored me.

David and Mark chose dark olive ink over brown for their Rosetti invitation.

Carin and Michael were married under a grove of Aspen trees. Their custom invitation is printed in warm Pewter on real Aspen wood.

Holiday Sprites Photo Frames

A slower November than usual was a chance to concoct a really challenging print project. The more color runs, tight registration, die-cutting, and hand-gluing the better. The many production hours provided a good distraction while I waited for the bank to approve my Small Business Loan (they did) and for the seller of a foreclosed studio space to honor our contract signed way back in July (they didn’t). More to come later about the space issue. For now let’s just be merry!

Holiday Sprites Photo Frame—This labor of love is printed on fair trade jute paper and available online.

Unique LA

Overheard yesterday at the California Market Center: “I usually hate shopping, but this is fun!” Unique LA lives up to its name and brings out the best of local California artisans. Letterpress, of course, is very much at home in this creatively charged venue. I had fun yakking it up with letterpress friends old and new.

Of the four printers here I've known Sharon from Papermum Press the longest. We met way back in 2000 when she was just across the street from De Milo in Old Town Pasadena as the manager for Mimio Papers.

Mabel “Master-of-the-Heidelburg” from Dee & LaLa

Tina from Joie Studio does all this beautiful work with an 18-month-old tagging along. How do you manage it?!

Tianyi from Tiselle is getting married this year. Can’t wait to see her invitation!

Remembering Regis...and my mistakes!

December 6, 2010 marks five years since letterpress printer/mentor Regis Graden passed away. The news of his Cancer early in 2005 hit me like a pressful of bricks and I tried to write that out in a 2005 blog post. He assured me then that he was carrying out a “serious argument” with the disease. Today I still miss him and am still carrying on that same argument. I started this cobbled together letterpress business during the dot.com bust of the mid-late 90's when my once-hot art school web design services had cooled. I made so many mistakes. Killer Mistakes. Embarrassing Mistakes. Unforgivable Mistakes. And he had a response to every one of them. My remembered favorites:

“You made a mistake?! That’s unheard of. Why, the last time I made a mistake was [long pause while he computes]...ten o’clock this morning.”

and

“The only way to never make a mistake is to never do anything.”

Thankfully, my mistakes are much fewer now. But, ironically, I treasure my mistake history (now that it's mostly...hopefully...over). And when I have the chance to teach new printers you'll hear Regis'isms spewing forth loud and plentiful. Thank you, Regis.

Letterpress Artists for a Day

A College Professor, an Advertising Manager, and an Uptight Letterpress Printer walk into a bar...wait, no, that happens later... Earlier they walked into the alchemy of friends together, three inked up presses, and plentiful fair trade paper that made for a fun day thriving with shared creative energy. Thanks, Friends!

The College Professor and Ad Manager quickly got the hang of platen press printing
while the uptight Letterpress printer relaxed and took photos.

Carol's classic stationery and Karen's modern holiday complete with snoozing feline.
Both printed on fair trade jute and paired with fair trade marble papers.