Business cards

 

 

Looking back over my blog the last few months I realized that I haven't shown many of our printing jobs. Well, my hope is that I can start posting completed jobs more frequently, starting with these business cards that I printed for alice g At Home. Betsy and Kathleen were so awesome to work with and I love how their cards turned out. I pretty much always think blind debossing is hot.

Back from the show

 

 

It was a long week, but we made it through. The booth looked great when I got to the show and we picked up some awesome new shops. I'll be adding them to our website listing this week and we'll be shipping orders as fast as we can.

 

I thought you'd like to see the behind-the-scene's carnage that comes with trade shows. On the last day of the show the union workers start to assemble on the edges of the show. The exact minute the show officially ends the lights dim to half and the electricians start taking down the spots. The carpets get pulled up within 20 minutes and fork-lift operators skillfully deliver empty crates. Exhibitors frantically pull out boxes from behind displays and pile product in boxes. Booths that took days to set up are dismantled in a matter of hours. I can't tell you how seriously organized the entire take-down is. Our booth is so easy to take down that I prefer to just sit around for a little while and watch the chaos. It took us about an hour to break down. And then we return the next day after everyone has left and load up the car.

Old Spice Guy, enough said

Thank you to my amazing friends and family

Yesterday I turned 30. Yesterday I was diagnosed with the flu. And yesterday I missed a slumber party at my amazing friend Abbey's house. It would have been so much fun. Abbey, I promise we'll make it down soon!

Today Jake left for the gift fair with our other awesome friend Sara.  After my doctor told me I shouldn't travel we called Sara and she said would go with Jake and help with the show. There wasn't any hesitation, either. Sara, this means more to me than you know. Today I will spend the day in bed with my dogs and drink orange juice. When I feel better, I will join them at the show.

In the past few weeks I have cried in front of quite a few strangers (sorry USPS workers, you're the ones who lost an overnight package/rush order two days before we were supposed to leave town). Today I cried becuase I have such an incredible support system. I am grateful for a husband who brings me water at 3am and holds me while I have the chills, who reprinted the lost rush job, who is driving right now to a trade show, and who is my best friend. I am grateful for my sister who wrote me a letter telling me to slow down. I am grateful for my mom and dad who sent flowers and balloons yesterday. I am grateful for friends and colleagues who are understanding and supportive and caring. I am grateful for my online friends who send me advice at midnight. And when I say online, it is in no way meant to marginalize the friendships we have, it's just that I've not yet gotten to give you a hug in person :) Thank you all so much.

Dirty little secrets: AKA trade show prep makes your life hell

**Disclaimer: This is a bit of a rant about how trying it can be to prep for a trade show. Read at your own risk and try not to judge me :)

Most of the time (design) blogs are escapist for me. They're beautiful and everything is "just so", but I can't believe anyone can live in those spaces. Not because I wouldn't love to live in a space like that, but because I can't image having enough time to actually keep a room that neat for more than five minutes. Let me give you a few examples. We haven't been able to do the laundry in weeks. Last time I did I sorted it into piles, did one load and then Dolly started using the other piles to sleep in. So I left them on the floor and now we have a carpet of laundry. And now I'm stuck wearing all of my t-shirts from undergrad.

Over the course of the past two weeks we have printed fourteen new cards designs, reprinted at least six old designs, printed and shipped business card, custom orders and nine weddings (most of which were rush jobs).  My awesome interns have scored and folded thousands of cards and will have to package them when we return from the trade show. We've answered hundreds of emails and sent contracts and proofs to our new clients.

I almost went all Office Space on three different printers while trying to print on some envelopes. I probably spent five hours trying to print 90 envelopes. Now I know why I don't offer this service. I will add this to the many lessons I have learned over the past few years of Pistachio Press.

Yesterday, Time Machine popped up an accusatory little note letting me know that I haven't backed up in 40 days. "Oh yeah, Time Machine?! Really?! Like I didn't know that already." Ok, so I didn't really know it and now I'm backing up my files.

My laptop battery is just about shot. During the course of writing this post it said it was at 18% and then immediately shut down.  Once again, I thought of Office Space. I opted for yelling instead, which brought three dogs running to check out the commotion. Now I have to make a trip to the Apple store to get a new one. Upsaide: I can check out Anthro and see if anything sweet is on sale.

I turn 30 on Thursday and we have to pack up the car and drive partway to NYC for the show. Upside, I get to have dinner with my parents on the way down and stay overnight with Miss Aesthetic Outburst. Oh, and I scheduled a facial for that morning. I'll probably feel behind because of it, but I need one hour of uninterrupted time to do nothing.

I've successfully procrastinated long enough by writing this post that now I don't have time to make lunch before my faculty meeting and I'll be forced to get pizza. But by now you know me well enough to realize that this was my plan all along. Pizza and Mountain Dew. Maybe two Dews. Shit, I need to get going!

same thing, different day

 

Top image = Thursday night.
Bottom image = Friday night.
Bottom line = Rachael takes pictures while Jake works.

printing printing printing

Yep, you guessed it. We're hard at work at Pistachio Press. With the Gift Show just two weeks away we've been printing like mad. Not to mention we have several great weddings in the queue that need to be printed and shipped before we leave. One that we recently printed was hand calligraphed by Grace Edmands. It always makes me so happy to print Grace's beautiful work!

Oops!

Well, in the chaos of the last few weeks I must have had some serious brain fade. I left off two amazing calendars from my round up! The top image is from Leah Duncan and the bottom is from Paper Boat Studios. They're both totally incredible!

Proceed and be Bold

If you're in/near Rochester this weekend you should check out the film Proceed and Be Bold. On Friday, January 14th there will be a 5pm screening of the film in the Gowan Room at U of R. The film is a documentary about Amos Kennedy and how he left his job to become a printer at age 40.

After-Party/Poster Sale/Meet and Greet with Amos
Time: 8:30 pm
Location: Boulder Coffee (Brooks Landing location, within walking distance from U of R campus)

Free Workshop
Saturday, Jan 15: Letterpress Workshop with Amos
Time: 10 am - 2 pm
Location: Printing & Book Arts Center at Genesee Center for the Arts
FREE: Call Mitchel Cohen at (585) 244-9312 to reserve your spot

Oh Rochester

Rochester has the most beautiful sunsets, when we have sun that is. Every time the sun sets while we're at the studio Jake and I race over to the window. I love how the cloud barrier is moving in, but hasn't quite taken over the sky.

Joining: collaborative print

I'm excited to announce a new collaborative print with my friend Sara Dankert. It's titled Joining and it's a three-color 6x8" print. It's always fun to work on projects with friends and I think this one turned out beautifully!

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!

Calendar Roundup

 

 

The start of the New Year brings about one of my favorite activities – hanging the calendar wall in my home office. For the past three years I have purchased, traded for, and been given an entire wall of calendars. And every month I’m excited to flip the page and reveal new artwork. This year I thought it would be nice to show you the beauties I have hanging – some of which are still for sale!

1. Oddball Press 
2. 42 Pressed 
3. Paisley Tree Press 
4. Carving My Initials & Pistachio Press
5. Ink + Wit 
6. Pistachio Press
7. Linda & Harriett 
8. Seesaw Letterpress 
9. May Day Studio
10. Albertine Press 
11. Laura Macchia 
12. Lori Hutchinson 
13. Genesee Printing & Book Arts Center 

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.

Christmas tree picking

A few weeks ago we picked out Christmas trees with our friends Sara and Ben. It's become tradition for us to eat breakfast together the first weekend in December and then hunt for the perfect tree at Powers. Sara and Ben always go for the long-needles big round trees, but Jake and I almost always end up with a fraser fir, which is able to hold all of our heavy ornaments. And the best part of Powers is the animals runing around. This year we got to pet a baby goat while the snow fell!

Concepcioun Books

 

 

During Second Storie I got to sit next to Christine, owner of Concepcioun, and chat about making work as indie business owners. In addition to being a great person, Christine makes the most awesome felt notepads. There are six different notepad inserts available. My favorites are the web account log (to store passwords) and the checklist (of course). She also makes gorgeous and impeccably crafted custom guest books.

{all images from concepcioun}

stamps, cards and gift wrap

Christmas is fast approaching. As usual, I feel like I'm behind. I can't believe December is already half over! I've given up on getting holiday cards in the mail before the actual holiday, but I've resolved to send new year cards instead. I'm happy to see these great stamps from the Post Office, which I have to order today!

Also, a little update on calendars. We still have them in stock, but they're going quickly! If you're planning to order one as a gift you have a bit of time left and we just listed some expedited shipping and gift-wrapping options.

Hope you all had a great weekend. I'll fill you in on mine in the next day or two :)

Bust Craftacular this weekend!

Hey NYC friends...Pistachio Press is coming to your neck of the woods! We're going to be at the Bust Craftacular, which is always a super fun show. We'll be on the second floor - stop by and say hi!

letterpress love going strong

Letterpress has been going through a period of renewed popularity in the last few years and our local alternative newspaper has taken notice. City Newspaper created a cover story on the new wave of letterpress and we're so excited to be part of this feature!

Photo by Matt DeTurck, who is incredibly nice. Here's his blog and flicr.

Holiday ornaments, hooray!

My good friend Abbey from Aesthetic Outburst created an ornament challenge for herself. She's making 20 ornaments in 20 days and they're pretty awesome! You can check them out right here. It's totally inspiring me to make some new ornaments for my tree, which we got this weekend! Oh, and we also got about eight inches of snow over the last few days. It's beautiful outside and the lights from the tree makes the inside so much more cozy.

Holiday Gala this weekend

This weekend: 
Anderson Alley Holiday Gala
250 N. Goodman, Rochester, NY

Friday, December 3, 5-9pm
Saturday, December 4, 11am-4pm

I'll be showing work in my studio (#4-7) with my talented studio-mates Jim and Sara and friend JoAnn. Stop by and say hi if you're in town!

mad skills

Wow. I just saw this video on Pidge Pidge's blog and had to post it. So amazing to think about the work that goes into these rugs and how much skill the makers have.

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.