printmaker du jour: postal press

There is just something so charming about this Terrarium print from Postal Press. I could get lost in their exquisite website and photography forever and a day.

{image via postal press}

pleased to meet you, mrYen.

A wee bit of paper cut perfection for my fellow fantatics. These darlings are from the talented mrYen, who hails from the UK. I'm thinking that crow would look awfully lovely in my office. Don't you agree?

{all images via mrYen}
{found via laura brown}

the mister's obligatory birthday post

I'd been procrastinating this post, as I didn't have a clue which card line I should feature in honor of mister b's birthday today. With very little searching, I managed to come up with the awesome Australian line Able & Game. These cards are both hysterical and charming and so perfectly perfect for my Birthday boy.

Although, I did get b a tangible card, from the master's at Hammerpress, if you're curious. I've also developed a bizarre habit of flashing cards at the mister whether at a store, on my computer screen or from my well-stocked sample cache for work and saying "huh, huh I would totally send this to you."

And for the record, 'Even though we've been together for ages (8 of your birthdays) I still have a massive crush on you.' So true...

{all images via Able & Game's Etsy}

{shop} oakland: urban indigo

{squirrel onesie by ferdinand}

{'time flies' necklaces by adjowah brodie}

{award ribbons by ghost academy}

{terrariums by kat geiger/green under glass}

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the owner of Urban Indigo at the LA Mart in July. I'm so glad that we crossed paths, as I wasn't yet familiar with her lovely shop and was able to make a stop there in September. I immediately took note that they stocked goods from some great Oakland artists, I love that they concentrate on talent from the East Bay! While visting I couldn't resist buying a 'Time Flies' necklace by Adjowah Brodie, it was quite clearly calling my name. The collection combines vintage watch faces with bird charms and are all unique, as the designer is using found objects. I've gotten a ton of compliments on mine!

I'm looking forward to my next trip to the bay area, in January. I can't wait to see Urban Indigo's latest find. You will definitely want to check out their web store and blog!

{all images by crow and canary}

creative crush: wool & water by amy earles

{'nurse, i need you' paperdoll set}

{'little maple' paperdoll set}

{'cordial creatures' paperdoll set}

Aren't these lovelies just beckoning to live in a shadowbox? I love the idea of paperdolls as art! Wool & Water features an astounding collection of dolls and prints in their etsy shop. I also greatly enjoyed reading Amy's history of designing paperdolls over the years, found here.

{images via wool & water}
{found via portland loves: local}

halloween pick no. 1

Ghost Academy has a fine assortment of hauntingly perfect Halloween greetings. Still available on their etsy site too!

{all images via ghost academy}

paperista pen pal league: the paper thieves

{shipping tag calendar}

{letterpress notecard set}

{golden branch journal}

Another successful paper swap with the talented Stephanie of The Paper Thieves! Stephanie sent me a wonderful package filled to the brim with items from her personal line and other fun vintage paper ephemera. If you're on the search for a 2010 calendar, The Paper Thieves etsy shop is an excellent starting place!

{images via the paper thieves}

creative crush: fawn&forest

{male squirrel by ryan berkley}

{knife juggler by jayme mcgowan}

{growing spring by lisa golightly}

{hare by brent wick}

I always really dig fawn&forest's monthly 'forest finds' but, I have to say I was totally blown away by their newest collaboration with 7 of my all-time favorite artists. They are exclusively selling these plywerk pieces on their site and, hold on, it gets even better... Poppytalk is hosting a giveaway, in which two winners will receive their favorite panel. Enter here, giveaway ends 9/12!

{all images via fawn&forest}

living la vida letterpress guest post: by brandon mise of blue barnhouse

{letterpress card by blue barnhouse}

First, a little about who your dealing with: My name is Brandon. Once upon a time I thought I wanted to be a writer, or a publisher, or a professor of creative writing. By some strange twist of fate I was thrown in the business of letterpress, which for me, was intended as an extra curricular outlet for expressing literature. But somehow, client work that I did not seek out kept falling in my lap, and by the time I completed my course work for my MFA, I was simply too busy being a press monkey to look for a real job.

{BBH owner, Brandon Mise, trouble shoots a troublesome photo polymer plate with studio manager, Sarah Roberts.}

I have been a letterpress printer for close to ten years now, and started my letterpress studio, Blue Barnhouse, in 2002. We have seen many changes, but it wasn't until 2007 that we found our true calling: dirty and intelligently perverse greeting cards. There are currently 4 people in my employ, plus the usual handful of miscreant apprentices that pass through our studio on a fairly regular basis. Last year, which was our second year of slinging greetings, we sold more than 50,000 letterpressed greeting cards to retail stores across the nation and abroad.

{No, I did not write this one. We can thank our resident depraved genius/caption writer, Tyler Dockery. To my surprise, this was our best selling card at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, NYC, this summer}

So the greatest thing about this job; besides sleeping in late everyday; pounding PBR's at Beer 30; bumping music at extraordinary decibels; and hurling totally innocuous expletives, sexual innuendos, and other forms of taboo hilarity at each other as we slave away in the studio; is the trade show, where a manufacturer can truly live a life like that of a rock star: getting kicked out of bars, trashing hotel rooms, showing up late and hungover to the booth, cracking up the masses with our trashy humor, leaving the booth early to hit more bars. Our travels, so far, have taken us to Atlanta, Dallas, Toronto, Chicago, and most often New York. It's safe to say that we are veterans of the trade show, having exhibited more than a dozen times in the last 3 years.

What's truly great about going to the trade shows, besides, you know, um… making money, is schmoozing with the other rock stars, folks whom you look up to and respect, folks who make a respectable living at selling their handmade products, folks you can aspire to and learn from. The great thing about BBH is that not only do we make products, we sell products from folks we've met in our travels, and I carry everyone I mention here in my own store. So now goes a tribute to my all time trade show favorites, and believe me, I have seen everything worth a spit. Enjoy.

{One of my favorite posters from our friends across the border in Knoxville, TN, Yee-Haw Industries, These folks truly are as old school as it gets when it comes to making a living of selling letterpress products to retailers.}

{Nobody does retro chic better than my good friends at Hello Lucky. With 12 employees and a London office, they are also way up there on my list, in terms of letterpress success.}

{Spitfire Girl and BBH are BFFFFF X 39. Their kitschy gag gifts have always done fantastically well in the BBH retail store and are the perfect compliment to our own F'd up line of greetings. Check out more of her wares here.}

{This totally freaky print from our very good friends at Delphine is not among what you would normally see on display as their usual tradeshow fanfare. They, too, have figured out a very success formula for making a living off of letterpress, and we are constantly talking shop/sharing information.}

{One of my faves from 9SpotMonk's "Recession Line." 9SpotMonk is an eco-friendly letterpress studio run by the Sisters Leung in NJ. The only thing they want from me when I pay a visit their booth is letterpress GOSSIP.}

{This is from BBH alumnus Kyle Durrie, who's press, Power & Light, from Portland OR, made its debut at the National Stationery Show '09 in the BBH booth.}

{Truly, our best selling line in the retail section of the BBH studio, is Red Cap Cards. We cannot keep their cards from flying off the rack. I only wish they did more letterpress.}

{Our friends at Kamibashi, Asheville Folk who travel Japan and Thailand Asia in search of handmade crafts, import cute little buggers of all kinds, including their notoriously popular String Doll Gang: each string doll is wound with one single thread! I have a Stringdoll keychain, so does my 7yr old son. Everybody should.}

Brandon Mise is the owner/operator at Blue Barnhouse, a collective of miscreant writers and artists who document their daily travesties/adventures via letterpressed greetings in Asheville NC. You can check out further rants regarding just about anything BBH on the their blog & via their stoop on twitter. Brandon is currently curating a collection of contemporary letterpress for his Mark Batty Publisher book, Adventures in Letterpress.

books on the brain

{art by olympia le-tan via all the mountains blog}

{thank you card by paper + cup design}

{library print by memoir}

{book sculpture by jacqueline rush lee}

{letterpress card by letterary press}

{bookplates by boygirlparty}

I'm getting every thing in order for the Pacific Northwest Bookseller's show this week and officially have book art and book-themed stationery on the brain. I have about a thousand and two things I should be doing in preparation for the trade show, but had to take a moment to share some of my favorites!

{all images via designer's site}

silhouette masterpiece theatre

{all artwork and images by silhouette masterpiece theatre}

It is nearly impossible to choose a favorite from Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre's prints. I could have truly posted them all, but that's verging on lunatic behavior... so I narrowed it down to a mere three. To stalk or buy these prints yourself, check out The Bazaarium.

{via the suburban pen pal}

creative crush: ashley g and drew

{follow the sparrows print}

{assorted postcard set}

{hello june print}

Have you ever fallen head over heels in love with with a print? If you're reading this blog, I suspect that the answer may be yes... That's exactly how I feel about Ashley G and Drew's 'Follow the Sparrows'. I adore everything about it. While perusing their etsy shop today, I found out that I already own a piece by this talented artist. The 'Hello June' print has a home in my living room. I bought this print from Modern a year ago and have long wondered who the artist is. I'm so happy to solve the case of the mystery artist!

I'm also really digging their postcard set. You see, I have postcards on the brain since I signed up to be a part of The Benevolent Postcard Society. It's a postcard exchange/art project, organized by Lori Langille. Members send and receive one postcard a month for the next 12 months. At the end of the year, all of the postcards will be collected and published as a book. The very first post card is to be mailed out today. Yep, today. I'm completely at a loss, as to what I want to send still. Should I make it myself, find something vintage, or support a local artist. The jury's still out, my friends.

{all images via ashley g and drew's etsy shop}