Pistachio Press

A day off

This weekend marked Jake's 30th birthday. It was pretty low key, but it also meant that it was one of my first days off in what feels like a long time. It's weird, when you own your own business, you work every day. It may not be the entire day, but work is certainly never far from my mind (like when I was glued to my laptop working on a deadline even though we were at a cottage on a beautiful lake). Even on the weekends, it's impossible for me not to check my email and then likely that I will get sucked into a long response or remember that I need to finish a proof for a client. Well, Saturday I made it a point to not do most of these things and just spent the day at the market, going to dinner, and then staying up late talking with friends we barely get to see. It was such a nice night.

We've also been making an effort to cook more. Before Jake got laid off I had been making a bad habit of eating out a lot. Way too much. It was easier and it was less stressful and it meant I could just veg out and not think about anything. Which is so sad because I love to cook. So now that Jake is around during normal dinner hours, we have started making meals together. It's amazing that cooking together can be so satisfying. Even the easy meals come together so much quicker. The pics in this post are from some of our recent meals...yogurt parfaits with fresh berries and peaches...sweet yellow tomoatoes waiting to become roasted tomato soup...summer salad with beets and clementines.

A photo and a link: Jeff Nishinaka

Really amazing paper installations. I would love to see one of these in person. To see more, check out his website!

images from Jeff Nishinaka

Le Train Bleu

With the gift show looming, I've been spending tons of time in the studio lately. And every now and then I take a mini-break to daydream about what I might wear to the show. Actually, I'm really thinking about what I would wear on a daily basis if I weren't printing in a 90-degree studio and my nails weren't coated in rubber-based ink. Le Train Bleu totally fits the bill - stylish, vintage-y, and feminine. They're even having a sale right now...which is quite tempting!

A photo and a link: Kimberly Hennessy

Kim Hennessy's work is completely awesome. Period.

Thanks to Abbey for the heads up.

At long last!

I'm so excited to finally announce two brand new Pistachio Press wedding collections! The first is the Finer Things Collection. Designed by Michelle Chasse, this intimate collection offers stunningly intricate designs inspired by textiles, teas, and sweets: some of the finer things in life!

And the second collection is the Calligraphy Collection. Yep, you read that correctly - custom calligraphy can now be yours! Pistachio Press and Grace Edmands have teamed up to develop an elegant line of calligraphed invitations. Choose from several distinct hand lettered styles to be impeccably letterpress printed.

I can't tell you how amazing it feels to launch both of these new collections and to have worked with such talented women. To celebrate, I'm offering a 20% discount on all invitation orders placed by September 30th. No need to have them printed by the cut-off date, we just need to have a contract in the works! The discount applies to all collections, even the custom calligraphy line.

Eric Yerke

I came across Eric Yerke's beautiful photographs while reading about a DIY wedding last week. His photos are really stunning and I particularly love the way he captures little things from a distance.

Application time!

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by! The Second Storie ladies and I have been moving full speed ahead with plans for this year's indie market and it's going to be amazing. If you've been procrastinating putting in your application, well, stop! The deadline for applications is this coming Monday, August 2. Seriously, get moving! And tell your friends :)

You can get your application here.

photo by chickydanger

New designs

I just added a few more invitation designs to the signature collection and included them in the shop. I've been working on some website updates, too, and those will hopefully be live by the end of the week. Fingers crossed!

A photo and a link: Blu

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Ok, so this video by Blu is pretty much mind-blowing.

For your Friday

I could have posted more. I probably will at some point.

Herb & Dorothy

HERB & DOROTHY Trailer from Herb & Dorothy on Vimeo.

Last night Jake and I saw a screening of the film Herb and Dorothy and I was so inspired. It is a documentary about two average people (a librarian and a postal worker) who spent their lifetime collecting minimalist and contemporary artwork. Obsession might be a better way to describe their style of collecting. To see such passion and love of art reflected in such unassuming collectors was incredibly heartening. My favorite part of the film was having the opportunity to look inside their small apartment and see just how they lived with the art. It was hung in every available inch of wall, suspended from the ceiling, and drawn directly on the bathroom wall. It wasn't collected as an investment or for noteriety. Art was collected to be lived with and loved.

The next time you call me...

OMG, this one almost made me fall over. Why isn't my name Pandarr?

A few more...

MinxShop

With the Gift Fair looming in my near future I've been daydreaming about what I am going to wear to it. I think these pieces by MinxShop are fantastic and perfect for such an occasion. Anna-Marie decribes her clothing as "An exploration of luxuriously wearable dresses, shirts, and skirts designed by me and inspired by antiques and adventure." I love antiques AND advanture :) Her styling of the photos is just perfect, too!

It's a foodie day

It's been awful trying to find the time to cook lately. So, I've been trying to find easy and delicious recipes that Jake and I can make (or sometimes that Jake can make himself). This aged cheddar and apple melt from She Eats Bears looks incredible and is going to be added to our repertoire. We've also been eating quite a few pizzas and this lemony zucchini pizza tops my list. I've actually made it with fresh ricotta from our local cheese shop and it's amazing. Any suggestions for easy meals out there?

almost time

I've been keeping an exciting new collaboration under wraps for a little while now and we're almost ready to launch! Can't wait to share more details :)

Extra Seed shoes

We've had some killer heat in the studio lately and I've taken to wearing flip flops most days. These eco-friendly flats from Extra Seed are just beautiful and look so comfy! The soles are made from recycled car tires tubes and the outer shells are made from scrap materials.

I'm pretty sure that by my vacation posts you think I've been slacking off. Not quite :) I'm gearing up to launch a few new wedding collections (sneak peek above) and I'm officially headed to the New York International Gift Fair in August. And even our trip to California was driven by business and learning some new techniques. I promise that more regular posts are coming soon.