A steamer is worth it's weight in gold

We've been more than a little busy lately. Months of working non-stop has led to a messy house and an even messier studio. After four years of working from home and studio we are finally trying to move everything over to the studio and reclaim our house. Honestly, all of it has been overwhelming me (hence the lack of blogging and tweeting).

In the midst of my dis-organizational crisis my mom and sister just came up and helped us strip the wallpaper in our hallway and the last of the ugly border in our guest room. A border, by the way, which was installed over another border that was pained over. Thanks a lot previous owners. Finally, after six years, our house is wallpaper-free! Jake picked an awesome semi-dark gray for the guest room and a much lighter and really beautiful gray for the hallway. We have someone lined up to paint for us (I'm trying to let go) and we've moved almost all of our inventory from the dining room to the studio. The studio is starting to come together, too. My sister laid out her vision for the space before heading back to Florida and my interns have been making it come true. Pictures and sporadic blogging to follow :)

Four years

I just realized that I missed my four-year blogging anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long and I have an even harder time believing that so much has happened in that span of time. In this relatively short amount of time I started Pistachio Press, we lost our old dog Tipper and then adopted Cassie and Pancake Sue, we started fostering Dolly, we've gone to weddings and funerals, we spent almost three weeks in Italy, we have painted and repainted rooms, we've met awesome new friends, we've exhibited at trade shows, we drove down the California coast, babies have been born, presses have been moved, my students have made some great work, Jake has written two novels, and mohawks have been shaved. I'm looking forward seeing what happens in the next four years!

The start of the year brings many changes

You may remember way back last April when my husband got laid off. I was terrified, but these past few months have really given us some time to think about our next steps. As Jake looked for a job we talked a lot about what he could do instead of engineering. And only just recently has a plan actually developed, a plan I think is pretty awesome. Jake's old employer asked him to come back as a contractor, which means that he now works part time as an engineer. And...the best part...he's going to be working with me the rest of the time! He's always been supportive of Pistachio Press and in order for the press to continue to grow we need a second person on board. See, I told you it was awesome! So now we just have to work out the logistics, like deciding who does what. My hope is that this will kind of fall into place and that he'll also have time to submit the manuscripts (yes, plural) he's been working on for the past year and a half. Hooray for change!

Christmas recap (mostly through cookies)

 

 

Well, Christmas came and went. And so did the new year. It flew by and somehow it doesn't seem like it should be January already! It especially doesn't seem like I've been gone from here for two weeks. I missed telling you about cookie-baking at Sara's and dog-cookie-baking at Marni's. Both humans and puppies had full bellies during the end of December! I also missed bragging about the seven dogs at my mom's house over Christmas and how well they all got along (until Pancake Sue started hoarding the bones, that is).

My intention was to take off the week between Christmas and New Year to organize my office, clean the house, sort the junk in the attic, do laundry and just generally do things that I should be doing all of the time but never have time for. Did I? Not entirely. Instead, I took a light work week (6-hour days) and spent time with family and friends. I saw a double feature movie with my husband and sister. I scrubbed under the stove and refrigerator. I tried to catch up on sleep. We hosted our annual New Year's Day brunch, which was fantastic and can now officially be called a tradition after three years :) Although I feel like I should have been working harder, I'm glad I took a little time to rest before the craziness of the new year.

Tomorrow I'm going to begin to semi-regular posting again - starting with roundup of calendars that now grace my office walls.

welcome December

It's the first of December and it's the first real snowfall we've had in Rochester. Apparently, we usually have 7.5" of snow by now, but this year we've had so little. Maybe this means we're in for a snowy winter? All I know for sure is that it's time to break out the snow boots and I'm glad Jake put the winter tires on our car. Hope you stay cozy today.

Thankful for...

My husband, our puppies, a supportive family, a stomach full of stuffing, a clean dining room table (at last), good friends, Rochester sunsets. Happy thanksgiving.

Breathing again

Thanks for dealing with my post yesterday. Although I was still grumpy for a good part of the day and although I still think everything is hard, I finished the day so much better than the last. I made some headway on a few really big projects, got almost all of my inbox cleared out, and I will likely be in bed before 5am. My studio mates showed up at the studio today while I was there and, as usual, helped to cheer me up. I'm lucky to have such great friends. I also realized that it's been cold and rainy and that when summer ends I often get into a funk. So, I am going to make the best of the changing seasons and turn my mood around.

Things I am looking forward to:
*The start of Survivor Night, where we bank episodes of Survivor and watch with friends over pizza every few weeks.
*A very long walk through crunchy leaves with my pups.
*Stripping old wallpaper and painting our hallway and guest room an awesome shade of gray.
*Launching the 2011 calendar. The design is complete and the plates will be here soon.
*Meeting up with a fantastic group of stationers to go apple picking and chat about non-work things.
*Cheering for Jake at his second cyclocross this weekend.
*Learning more about Youngna Park, who made these great photos of sunlit balloons and winter flags.

Hours and hours

On the door to our faculty office there's a bumper sticker that says "Art is Hard." And every time I see it, I silently agree. And then I think "Everything is Hard." It is. I'm really inspired by fellow stationer Julie's blog and lately she's been talking openly about how she (and other indie businesses) struggle to find balance. In the clean, design-y, beautiful blogging world this is noteworthy. In that blogging world things are perfect and no one talks about trading sleep to fold cards. No one mentions that it's almost impossible to figure out what the next step is when you're trying to turn a meaningful profit. No one mentions what a feat it is just to stay on top of what you already have in the works, let alone try to develop new product. So, I'm just going to lay it on the table...everything is hard. I have a feeling that many of you reading this also feel the same way.

This morning was completely annoying (no real reason, just one of those days) but one of my coworkers helped put things into perspective. I'm pretty lucky that today was a teaching day, too. On non-teaching day I often sit in front of the computer all day working, designing, emailing, and over thinking the little things to the point where I can make myself come to a stand still. On teaching days I have the opportunity to immerse myself in my student's work, to troubleshoot with them, to laugh, to put things in perspective, and to be inspired to make my own work.

But that inspiration and excitement only last so long and when I get home and head back to the computer (or the press) I find myself drawn back into the same routine. I'm just not sure how to find balance. I know it means that I probably need more of a schedule, a routine time to check email, to make proofs, a designated art-only time, and time when I know I will be printing. For me the hardest part of running a business is knowing that only I can do it. That I just have to make myself set up a schedule if I ever hope to have free time. So I'm going to try it. I think I'm ready.


{Images were shot during NYIGF tear-down. Maybe the weight of an impending gift show and calendar printing induced this post...}

Cyclocross

Jake participated in his first cyclocross this weekend. It was pretty intense and even though it was his first race he chose to do the 45-minute event instead of the 30-minute race. He's so stubborn! I am so proud of him for finishing it, even though his pedal broke off right before his final lap. That just meant he had to push or carry his bike through the course aside from the downhills. And...he was one of only two people riding a single speed bike. How's that for stubborn and determined!?

Studio love

Lately I've been feeling really antsy. I change my mind daily on whether I want to move into a new house or stay put. Would I want a studio at home if we moved into a bigger house or do I really love having an outside studio? Could I handle printing in a garage? I think that maybe I should move my studio to a new location and add a storefront component. Or maybe it would be better to build a structure on our fictional new land, not quite attached to the house. Do you have the same irrational thoughts?

We actually just fell in love with a house that we can't afford, especially since Jake's income is less than stable at the moment. We even had our realtor come over and look at our current house to let us know if it's sellable. So while we contemplate our options we're going to do some long-overdue home improvements (like finally nail down the moulding in the bathroom four years after we "finished" the remodel). And I'm going to keep looking at houses and daydreaming about studio spaces. The spaces from Kanga Room Systems seem like an awesome solution, as long as we can build it on concrete for the presses and they have heating for the Rochester winters.

Gratuitous dog pics

Our girls sat next to each other while I shot these. They actually stayed put for a solid minute, maybe even two. Dolly is starting to fit in a bit more. I still am hoping to find her a home before we really start to like her. Any takers? Look at that face!

{Left to right: Dolly, Casie, Pancake Sue}

Made BY Oots

When we were at the NY Gift Show I found the Oots lunchbox and fell in love. We've been trying to pack our lunch and not eat out as much. We've actually been pretty successful and I think a lunchbox like this would help anyone want to pack their own meal. I think my favorite thing about this is that they come with stackable containers. According to their site: "All materials used are food safe and kid-friendly: made of BPA-free and phthalate-free polypropylene plastic, and safety tested for lead. The Lunchbox and containers are dishwasher safe (top rack) and the containers can be used in a microwave."

Office

I've been spending a lot of time in my home office lately. Lots of getting ready for classes, email, design work. I also have a small studio set up in my office and I'm hoping that things will settle into a schedule in the next few weeks.

Wis Design

Wis Design was started by two Swedish designers and is a collection of some pretty rad furniture and accessories. You may remember that I have a slight fetish for dressers, so it should come as no surpise that I would love the chest of drawers above.

No. 5

Today is my and Jake's fifth year anniversary. It's so nice being married to my best friend, who knows me better than anyone else, cooks me breakfast every day, paste's my toothbrush at night, loves the dogs as much as I do, and has the same life goals. So much has happened in the past five years and happily this seems like it will be a really amazing year for us.

good updates

I don't know if I mentioned this here, but I've been having some pain in my left hand for a few months. I finally got to see an orthopedic specialist today and the news is good. I only have tendonitis, not arthritis like I had been delusionally envisioning. As treatment I got a shot to lubricate the joint, which felt like fire running up my finger. I should be on the mend soon!

And...I finally have a real mailing list set up. I'll be sending periodic updates for new products and special promotions, but I promise, not too many! I'd love it if you'd sign up.

On Monday I have a very special new launch that involves the talented Jacqueline Bos. You may remember when I previously gushed about her work last year. Well, we finally met in real life and have developed a really wonderful collaboration. Check back on Monday and join the mailing list :)

(image from Jackie's I Heart the Arctic book)

I think it's spring!

April has been unseasonably warm, at least from what I remember. We've had decently warm days and all of the plants in my garden are starting to pop up. The tulips are running full speed ahead and the peonies are growing inches each day. I can't wait until the blossoms start to open on the tree in our front yard, which happens after most other trees have blossomed.

Casserole Easter

It turned out to be a great weekend.  Most of our bad news from last week turned out ok in the end.  Almost all of our family members who were in the hospital have been released and my uncle was taken off the ventilator and able to eat real food on Saturday.  And our yearly casserole Easter was delicious. It was sad to not have my sister around, but we both made Savoy Cabbage Gratin to take to our respective dinners. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.