wow.

Night Gathering by Ed Pien

I ran across this today and just had to share...

There's a new(ish) exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC called Slash: Paper Under the Knife and it looks spectacular. The site does a good job of showcasing some of the work, but I'm sure it's even better in person.

Take a look!

Long Overdue Links

What can I say? The projects keep rolling in—and the blog continues to be neglected... ;-)

Jessica Riehl Photography
A good friend, a great photographer, and an all-around wonderful person. I had the pleasure of assisting her at our friend Megan's wedding last weekend :-)

Image from Inside My Sewing Box

John Met Betty
Cute bags made of vintage materials... and located just up the road from yours truly.

Design Ignites Change
A great site that gives students a chance to utilize their design skills to address social concerns. Boy, I wish this would have been around when I was in school... but it's never too late to participate!

FontStruct
A subsite of fontshop.com that allows you to create and share your own fonts.

Etsy's YART Sale

It's sale time at Etsy, so if you're looking for unique handmade goods and you'd like to directly support the artists that create them... head on over! Just search for YART to see who's participating.

Here are a few things I found in my search...

$10 off this hoodie by Replicca

Free shipping on everything from kid a collective

Free shipping on this handprinted bag from BlackBag

Free shipping on everything from Modernality

Several days after Monday.

Apparently, this week just ran away from me. It's Friday and I have posted next to nothing all week. Getting back to normal after vacation is always difficult... especially when I have only enough time to get settled before I leave again—this time for a long weekend in DC (leaving next Thursday.) But I wouldn't miss out on posting some links, 'cause it's always fun to share cool stuff.

Here ya go!

tshirt skirts from recreate

RECreate Designs
While in Montana, I bought one of her recycled t-shirt skirts—so very comfy. What a great idea!

Hot Type
A book of iron-on transfers. Oh, yeah!

Perforated Heart, featured on FaceOut Books

FaceOut Books
Beautiful book cover design.

Webby Awards
A good place to waste some time looking at pretty websites.

Linkz

Keeping it short today, as we prepare for a little vacation in Montana. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Letterpress invite via Beast Pieces

Beast Pieces
A lovely design/letterpress blog

Display and earrings by Polli

Polli
I bought a pair of their earrings a few years ago and they are still my most favorite pair ever.

Final result by Nicole, from Making It Lovely

Better Homes & Gardens 48-Hour Challenge
Five bloggers + two days = I'm a slacker

How did THAT happen?

Friday again? Absolutely. And it's shaping up to be a beautiful weekend. Here are a few links for all of you procrastinators.

Lala
I am constantly in search of new music, and here's yet another way to listen to it without any commitment.

Big Huge Labs
Do even more with your flickr photos. I did :-)

I think these are going to be next up on my baking to-do list.

The Post Punk Kitchen
Home of yummy vegan recipes. I made some chocolate cookies earlier this week... and let's just say they were good.

Rose la Biche
I love her clothes. They make me wish I could sew... and have inspired me to start my search for a used sewing machine on craigslist.

Friday Fun

I've decided to devote my Friday posts to fun links, things to do, etc.—diversions. I started it last week, so why not just continue? You weren't really serious about working today, anyway.


Venus Zine's Washington DC City Guide
Another guide to DC, the city that was my home for over seven years. Ah, sometimes I miss it :-) Note: like all guides to DC, Venus has included Ben's Chili Bowl... but they also included my favorite restaurant, Java Green (on another side note, what happened to their once-lovely website?)

Burda Style
I love this site, but alas, I do not sew. Maybe one day.



Flavor Paper
Not your grandma's wallpaper. I'm not entirely sure where I'd put it, but I love it!

Publish it.

I love making books. There's just something about having a tangible object to represent all of the hard work I've put into a project. It's great to be able to visit a website I've designed, but my true love is print, which is probably evident by now, if you've read any of this blog. While I take so much satisfaction in creating books by hand, bookbinding is time-consuming. And... I have lots of ideas I'd like to try. And... I have a toddler. You get the picture.

Lucky for me (and you), there are many companies that make this process a bit easier. Here are just a few:

Lulu
I'm not saving the best one for last... this is the one service I can't wait to try. Finally—a company to print small run publications that doesn't require the use of one of their templates. Just send them a PDF, your $$, and voila—your very own book! They'll even send out copies to your "subscribers", aka friends.

Blurb
These books look nice. Really nice. The only downside—you have to use their software to put it together. I'm seriously considering using this for portfolio, as it's very well-priced. Oh, and it works with your Flickr account... even better!

Hazel Mail
Not a book, but so great, I had to include it. I sent a postcard via Hazel Mail earlier today and I have to tell you... it was SO easy. Just upload a photo (or perhaps design?), write a little something, and it generates a postcard that you can send anywhere for only $1.50. Can't beat that.

I Love Letterpress!

Oh, how I long to take a letterpress class. Back in my days at the Corcoran, we had one available to us in our screenprinting/bookbinding lab—and I never took advantage. How foolish of me! Now I'm nearly 3,000 miles away and yearning to print... but with no tools. In the meantime, I drool over others' letterpress lovelies and remind myself that soon, very soon, I will find a class and the time to learn.

Images, from top to bottom:
Tree prints from Yee Haw Industries
Triumph card from Egg Press
Alphabet poster from Sycamore Street Press

And... I'm back.

What seemed like just a few weeks, was nearly a two-month hiatus from writing. How did that happen? The answer: I have been busy, busy, busy... which is great, great, great! While not blogging, I have actually put my long-awaited printing supplies to good use. My first print went out as a very limited edition of Valentine's Day postcards–each one unique. Cutting linoleum is much more tedious than I remember, or perhaps it's just that my designs are a bit too intricate and/or ambitious for the medium. Next time, I'll remember to simplify! Up next is another set of prints with a spring theme (ambiguous, I know), as it seems appropriate now that it's March—yikes! More on that soon (hopefully)!

Extracurricular Activities

When the day is through, and I have made my twelfth edit to a homepage, or tweaked a logo until it no longer resembles my original vision... I am often too tired to do what I love most—make stuff. While designing websites and brochures is great (and I feel lucky to be able to do it), it is much more satisfying to create something a bit more tangible. For me, this can be a lot of things—a handmade book, a painting, a cake. I just like to create. And feel a bit unfulfilled when I am unable to do so. I think that the same is true for a lot of designers. Almost every designer I know has several creative outlets beyond the 9-to-5, but I'm sure we'd all like a little more time (or inspiration) to get off of the computer. I have definitely taken a hiatus from my earlier artistic endeavors, and for good reason—I have started my own business, while chasing around my two-year-old. But that is really no excuse. It's time to start back up! Watch out, it's on!

My current obsession is printmaking. It's simple, striking, and allows you to create multiple images... unlike painting, which is great, but if I'm going to spend that much time making something, I prefer having several finished products to keep and share. Have I made anything yet? No. But I'm getting there. I ordered some supplies (hurry up, Utrecht!), checked out a few books at the library for inspiration, and am carving out a day to "work" in the next few weeks. It's a start. And I hope the results are fabulous... stay tuned!

This pillow is my inspiration—I purchased it from the lovely 1girl1boy at Crafty Bastards in DC last summer. It's on my bed and it serves as a constant reminder that I need to start printing again!