Running toward the new year, full speed.

I am so excited to finally share the designs for the calendar with you! I have always admired my grandmother’s delicate collection of china. The designs in this calendar were inspired by patterns found on vintage teacups and saucers.

I am still in the process of printing it, but the designs have been finalized and I am currently taking pre-orders in the shop. All domestic pre-orders will receive free shipping (all other locations receive a discounted rate) and a complimentary letterpress printed greeting card. They will be ready to ship mid-late October.

There are seven different ink colors throughout and a very sweet notes section at the bottom of each month for birthdays and important reminders. The size of the calendar is 4" wide by 11" tall and it is punched through the top and bound with ribbon. At the end of the year (or before) each month may be trimmed to 4” x 6” and framed.

I have some crazy stories for you in the next few days, we'll call them mishaps in the life of a printer. I'm too tired to write about them now, but trust me, they're coming. Have a great night!

I wish I had time to vacuum.

Somehow, in the last two weeks, I have fallen in love with blue cheese. I don't quite know how it happened, but it started innocently in salads and now I'm basically eating hunks of it right out of the fridge. I never thought I'd like it, but now I can't get enough. I had some tonight for dinner and it was quite tasty.

I am tired and it's only Monday. This was a long weekend. On Saturday Jake biked another long ride - 60 miles this time, and then he came to the studio and kept me company while I printed until 1am. It was nice to have the company. I have a few more days of printing ahead of me and a bit more design time for the calendar before I order the plates. If you're waiting for a response to an email, I promise it's coming!

I'm excited about the progress my students are making this semester. They're a quiet group, but they're making some really great drawings. Our first critique went well this afternoon and I'm glad to see that they're working so hard - all of them.

{delicious photo from here}

I love it when you call me big poppa.

Another day in the studio. Notorious BIG, Pitbull, ODB, Outkast, Parliment, and Justin Timberlake all made an appearance. Seriously, I don't think that I could get through so many hours of printing without them.

The light in the studio has been really beautiful now that the sun is setting earlier. I'm trying to settle on the color palette for the calendar and I'm just about there.

I got home at ten this evening and Jake had done three loads of laundry and most of the dishes. It was so awesome, so very awesome.

It seems like it's already October! Now that the weather has gotten cooler and the leaves are starting to fall I'm think about our yearly Fall activities - apple picking, hiking in the leaves with our puppies, moonlit corn maze, soup party. Mmmmm, soup!

Jake biked a century this weekend with our friend Jude. Really, he biked a 100 miles on a fixed gear bike and was still able to stand when he got home. They left early Sunday morning and got back before the sun set. I can barely bike the three miles to the ice cream stand!

I'm gearing up for a busy week and coming away from a busy weekend, so the posting this week may be a bit spotty. I hope to post some pictures of a big printing job I've been working on for the last few months, a very large 75-page, 4-color commemorative book.

Noa Noa

A while back I was reading Decor8 and saw this gorgeous collection from Noa Noa. Why aren't there any stores in North America? All the more reason to take a trip to Europe :)

Nobody puts baby in a corner.

I was so sad to hear that Patrick Swayze had passed away. At one point I think I could have quoted every line from Dirty Dancing, Ghost, and Point Break. To this day I can't turn the channel if I see Ghost playing on tv. I'll stop and watch it and cry every time, which I will continue to do.

How many dressers can one person fit in a house?

Twelve. I have twelve dresser-type units in my house. Some for the dining room, bedroom, guest room, and a few in the attic that are waiting for a cottage someday. I have a pretty strong attachment to each of them, but I would give away at least three of them for one of these pieces by Valentin Loellmann. These are just fantastic.

Congratulations...

The winner of the giveaway is Jess from Just Happily Ever After! Her sentiments about our blogging community echo many of yours: "I think that one of my favourite things about the blogging community is the many doors it opens to learning about new independent designers and crafters."

Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I'm excited to have found your blogs, too. I will definitely be posting more giveaways in the future (monthly), so check back.

2010 is just around the corner

Can you believe that the week is almost over? What's even more unbelievable is that we've had two weeks of classes already...and my students all seem to be on top of things! I've been working on a few big projects for the press these last few weeks, including the 2010 calendar. This year I'm doing all of the design work as well as the printing and I feel like I'm really making some great progress. All of the months have final sketches and about half of them have been drawn in Illustrator. I can't wait to post real pictures of the printed pieces, but for now this sneak peek will have to do :)

And a huge thank you to everyone who has left comments in the giveaway post. I love reading what brings you to blogging!

Giveaway

I've been keeping this blog for two and a half years and I really love it. I especially love that I am connected in some way to people I have never met in real life, but who nonetheless read my ramblings with some sort of regularity. I would love to reach out in a more tangible way...and that way is to give you something to hang in your home. I think it's about time I had a giveaway!

The winner of the giveaway will receive this print and two sets of cards of his/her choice. To enter, please leave a comment telling me (or rather, all of us) what you most love about our blogging community. To double your chances, post about this giveaway on your blog and leave another comment with a link to the post and I'll make sure you're entered into the drawing a second time! The contest will end on Sunday, September 13 at midnight (EST) and I'll announce the winner on Monday, September 14.

words to live by

I took a yoga class at the gym last week and the instructor ended it by telling as a quote from Corra Harris. "The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly." I think that sums up my life philosophy and has always been how I try to behave. Even if I'm afraid, I try to move forward.

{I love this piece from Nicole Georges}

An ode to upstate NY

Sunset in front of my house last night. Jake just finished mowing the lawn.

My group of friends swam the master's mile swim a few weeks ago at Canandaigua.

Yes, Rochester continues to grow on me. When we moved back here four and a half years ago I hated Rochester. Well, I didn't really hate it, but I was most certainly not happy to be moving away from Buffalo. But then I got to know the city a bit more and it has steadily been growing on me. Now I would venture to say that I love Rochester. Some of my favorite things? The gorgeous sunsets. I complain that we don't get enough sun, but I truly love the sunsets around here. They're still unexpectedly beautiful each time I see one after a cloudy day.

I also love the public market. We go on Saturdays and it's totally crowded, filled with the most diverse group of people, and we leave with bags of fresh fruit and empanada-filled stomachs.

And I love my studio. There aren't too many places where I could live an afford a separate studio space, especially one that is so spacious and shared with long-time friends. Speaking of the studio, my new rollers for the No. 4 arrived last week and they are pristine.

Bring it on

When I was growing up my mom would take the first day of the school year off from work. She'd stay home and steam clean the carpets and just generally get things in order for the start of Fall. But the best part of this day off was start-of-school-dinner, usually stuffed shells and always apple pie. My sister and I would get home and the house would be super clean and smell amazing.

When I started grad school I started this tradition on my own and have continued it every year since! This year is no exception...and school started today. After finishing my syllabi, a slide lecture, photocopies and desk organization I headed home to make a big dinner. I actually went a little overboard and decided to make and freeze meals for the next few weeks, too. I made stuffed shells, roasted tomato soup, two pot pies, flat bread pizzas, and the apple pie. And after all that, I think I need to make some whipped cream for the pie!

Maybe a leotard would help

Ok. Those of you who know me (and some of you who read this regularly) know that I generally don't like going to the gym. I would much rather spend time cooking, which is why I started going in the first place. But now I really love going to Zumba. I talk about it to my friends. I take my intern to Zumba. I sometimes want to go to two classes in a day. So the last week or so has been kind of difficult...my right knee has been hurting. A Zumba injury?!! So I took the last few days off and today I was completely lethargic, had a headache and just wanted to take a nap. And then Jake told me that I was likely addicted to working out. Yes, I had heard of this freakish phenomenon, but I never thought it could happen to me. So I did a Pilates workout at home and what do you know, I feel much better. Damn! He was right! Damn! Now I'm one of those freaks!

{Super awesome leotard from Fancy Cat Vintage.}

Mona & Holly

I would wear every single piece in this collection by Mona & Holly. They're just amazing. I especially love that the line is inspired by uniforms. Maybe these could be my uniform for the semester?!

Summer is almost over

And I'm going to miss it, a lot.

you can do it!

To follow up my post yesterday on procrastination, I thought today should be about motivation. As some of you know, I have been sporadically updating a photo and a link over the past few months. I've decided to finally start updating daily, or at least trying very hard to! I guess this must have come from the fact that school starts next week, and it feels like I've been working on syllabi and assignments non-stop. I think it's going to be a great semester.

{this amazing piece is from Sébastien Preschoux, which reminds me of the photo I took last summer in Italy}

Time sink

Working for yourself means that you are often the only person around. There aren't any co-workers to chat with in the break room and no one is there to celebrate exciting news unless you call them. So, I take a few breaks every day to visit the land of the living (or at least the land that other living people visit while they work...the time sink known as the internet). A few of my favorite sites are below, and these are mostly fast reads so that I can keep moving and not get sucked in! Although now that I have the pictures linked with them I see a cuteness trend.

Animals with Casts

FUPenguin

The "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks

Fail Dogs

Dust

I just saw this video by Chloe Elise posted on our Second Storie blog and was blown away. It's completely and utterly lovely, and that's a term I don't throw around lightly. Can you believe she's only 19?

close call

Celebrities who resemble each other. Pretty awesome!

Congratulations Sara and Ben!!

This weekend was awesome. Sara and Ben's wedding was just gorgeous, totally them in every way. It was my first time being a photographer at a wedding (along with Marni and Matt). More pictures to follow later this week. Right now I have to work on Monday stuff!

Although the deadline to apply to Second Storie Indie Market is quickly approaching (August 17th), there is still time if you’re interested! Don't forget that there will be a screening of Handmade Nation with a panel discussion the Friday before the event!!

Second Storie Links:
Website
Blog
Handmade Nation Tickets

It's not all fun and games

Sometimes there are weeks on end of cleaning. The seedy underbelly of printing...50+ years of grease and paper lint, Simple Green, q-tips, rags, gloves, WD-40.

The upside...blue skies and yellow flags. I'm glad the next building over is still being renovated. The flags totally cheer me up :)

Trying hard for five days of Zumba this week. There's something about shaking it in the morning to get you pumped for the rest of the day.

Hey, Cameron. You realize if we played by the rules right now we'd be in gym?

Goodbye John Hughes. You will be greatly missed. I will forever think of you every time I watch one of your movies - which will be frequently.

Covered

I have a fairly severe chair addiction. Yes, chairs (and dressers, too). I have no less than eight sets of chairs in my house, plus several strays. I know, it's crazy. I've decided that our newest kitchen chairs need to be recovered. I'm in love with Daisy Janie's boxwood cotton fabric. The pattern is fantastic and I think the color would wear well for chairs.

And I can't get enough of Lara Cameron's Ginko design. I have this design in white/teal on a chair in our bedroom and it's just perfect. Can you believe that Lara and her partners at Ink & Spindle print their fabrics by hand?! Once I make a decision, I'll have to find the time to recover them!