Check it out

Etsy asked me to write an article for their Handmade Wedding Series on custom letterpress invitations and it was published today! Click here if you'd like to read it. This was a lot of fun to write and it really gave me a chance to reflect on the process of working with clients. It was also a good change of pace for me, since this past week was pretty busy, complete with a broken press, some tears, an awesome Book Fair, and laughs with friends I haven't seen in a while.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Small Press Book Fair. It was so much fun...I bought way too many books and zines and was able to catch up with Nicole, Shelly, and Tara.

Buffalo Small Press Book Fair

If you're in Western NY this Saturday, stop by the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair and say hello! Pistachio Press will be there, along with many other talented vendors. I'm really excited to buy some new books to add to my growing collection!

When: Saturday, March 22, 2008 noon to 6pm
Where: Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Buffalo NY

Gesine Hackenbeg

I was going through my recent bookmarks when I came across the beautiful work of Gesine Hackenbeg. I originally saw her work posted on Bloesem {a wonderful blog by Irene Hoofs} and immediately fell in love. I particularly enjoy that she uses old plates to create new pieces of jewelry.

In her own words, Gesine says: "I’m fascinated with this aspect of personal preciousness that I observe in relation to all kinds of belongings. Especially such objects that usually seem to find a place quite close and near to the body. I like exploring the ways in which such a connection to us and our body manifest themselves."

Personal preciousness...what a wonderful way to describe this idea. I have been interested in preciousness in art making for a while now, and it's something I discuss with my students when they start making work.

thank you

I just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who braved the weather to come to the opening of The Raven and the Writing Desk!

I was completely amazed at the turnout we had, especially considering the weather and all of the other openings that night. I'm so happy that my work and Nancy's work fits so perfectly in the space. And the pieces really play off of each other well!

This is a detail from one of the books in my show. The title is Will they find me in time? It's made from screen print, inkjet print, acrylic, hand stitching, cloth, and ribbon. Will post more show images on my Flickr site shortly.

Rachael Loves Dogs

So, I am posting about the best dog in the universe, Sammy the three- legged lab (Rachael has yet to take my access off of her blog, so I am populating it with puppies).  Sammy is currently being housed at Animal Services League and I have been in charge of his therapy since the beginning of the year.  Sammy needs a home.  He is fairly agile on his three legs now, but needs his customized cart for long walks in the park (he loves the dog park).  Please pass his information along, and read and fall in love with him here at his very own blog. 

Hope to see you tonight!

Eliza and Eninaj

Check out this beautiful pebble ring by Eliza Mundy of 12linden. All of her pieces are so sweet, but I just love the contrast of the silver on the dark metal. While I was looking at her shop I found her great blog, which featured this incredible scarf by Eninaj. Eliza certainly has good taste!

When I first saw this I thought it was a necklace...and I would like to keep thinking it is!

Auction frenzy

Abbey introduced me to a very evil auction site and I spent the better part of evening trying to out-bid other buyers for these gorgeous chairs {after I finished hanging my show, of course}. I stopped at $170! When I told Jake my final bid he was very obviously relieved that I didn't win them, but my dining room continues to be very sad. In some happy news, Marni and I did win some beautiful card catalogs! I'm trying to decide where to put them and will post photos when I find the perfect spot.

for the market

Ok, so now I have a bag fetish, not like I didn't before. These market bags are super cute, and would actually make great totes for school books.

Yellow messenger bag by ZiaZia.

Beautiful twill bag with blue accents, also from ZiaZia.

And finally, a great moleskin-colored bag from Bespoke Boutique.

A whole year!

One year ago today we adopted Cassie! And we're very happy that we did (although I wanted to send her back at the time). Our girl turned out to be super sweet and cuddly, just the kind of dog for us!

Check it out!

Abbey Hendrickson's originals and prints are for sale at The Shiny Squirrel!


The Visual Studies Workshop silent auction is March 7 from 6-9 pm. The work above is by the talented Kris Merola.

I'm having a show with Nancy Topolski next week at Studio 354 {in the Hungerford Building}. Opening reception is March 7 from 6-9 pm. It's the same night as the VSW auction, so if you're close to Rochester stop in to say hello!

It's begun...

It's definitely wedding season, or at least wedding invitation season. I'm working on quite a few weddings right now and seem to get daily inquiries! This is really exciting and gives me a chance to work on several different projects at once, which is generally the way I work.

It's also exciting because I have teamed up with designer Tara Hogan for a few of these weddings {you may remember our calendar collaboration}. Over the weekend I printed the above design {created by Tara} and mixed the exact shade of Raspberry Pudding ink the bride requested {from a Behr paint chip}. I love how they turned out!

Whatever

I love this print of a collage by Dollface Design. I think it would be great to reflect on this during those days where I don't feel like making decisions! You can learn more about Layla on her blog and Flickr.

I hate dishes, but I love lace

Two exciting things happened this weekend. The first, our electrician finished wiring our kitchen for the dishwasher (a Christmas present from my parents) and the counter that Jim helped us install is awesome! I love the new set-up of the kitchen. The space is much brighter and I have so much more room to work now. You can really see the difference in the pictures above.

And my second piece of fun news is that I have a new card design in the shop. I love lace and blind embossing, so this card is the perfect fit for me. I'm also working on incorporating this pattern into a wedding invitation, which I think will be quite beautiful!

Yesterday marked our one-year anniversary of losing Tipper. I can't believe how quickly this year has passed and how much we still miss him. But, if this hadn't happened our ladies would never have been brought together, and they love each other more than any two dogs I've ever met. And every so often I'm lucky enough to have a vivid dream about my boy.

how to do nothing...

I've been reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and I love it! She's a beautiful writer and I feel like I couldn't be reading this at a better time in my life. For starters, I've barely read any book in the last three years just for fun. I used to be a voracious reader, but the intense reading load in grad school just took all of the joy out reading. Every time I pick this book up I don't want to put it down!

In the first section of the book she travels to Italy in pursuit of pleasure. I was particularly excited about this because Jake and I are going to Italy this summer with another couple and I'm looking forward to relaxing. But as I read further into this section I came across the following excerpt, written by the author when she was trying to "learn" how to relax and take pleasure in doing nothing:

"...many Americans feel more happy and fullfilled in their offices than they do in their own homes. Of course, we all inevitably work too hard, then we get burned out and have to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas, eating cereal straight out of the box, and staring at the TV in a mild coma (which is the opposite of working, yes, but not exactly the same thing as pleasure). Americans don't really know how to do nothing. This is the cause of that great sad American stereotype - the overstressed executive who goes on vacation, but who cannot relax."

This really hit a nerve for me. From the time I wake up until I go to bed I feel like I'm constantly working. The only time I even watch tv is if I'm folding cards at the same time! The fist thing I do when I wake up on Saturday is check my email and I can't even seems to make time to go to a yoga class once a week. How is this possible? How am I going to be able to go to Italy for two weeks without my cell phone or computer? I'm taking this excerpt as a sign that I need to prioritize a little bit of time for myself every day to do something (or nothing) without feeling guilty. With that in mind, I'm going to make a real lunch (no Cheetos) and read some more of this book!

Thank you

I made my 300th sale on Etsy today! This is a personal milestone for Pistachio Press and I'm super excited. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and the press!

For your Valentine...

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this...chocolate type! Two of my favorite things wrapped up into one! Typolade is a German-based company, which means that I have no idea how to order these lovelies.

Equally tasty and awesome, chocolate bubble-wrap from DeLessio Bakery. I think Jake would also love this, although it might not give him that satisfying pop that real bubble-wrap does!


{both chocolates were found via sub-studio design}

Whew!

Well, after many long hours I finally finished binding a set of beautiful save-the-date booklets. I printed and bound 80 booklets (12-pages each) for an upcoming wedding and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out! And this whole experience has reinforced my love for my guillotine paper cutter, which was one of my best studio investments ever!


The pages were printed on pearl white Lettra and the cover was printed on light blue Magnani Pescia (a gorgeous Italian paper).

Pistachio Press BABY

I am so excited to announce the launch of Pistachio Press Baby! I've been working with Canadian designer Sam Posnick on a set of super cute onesies and caps. This set features a dreamy squirrel on the onesie and two acorns on the brim of a cap. Both are printed with water-based inks on organic cotton. Check them out in the shop!