my homework for copperplate class
This weekend I am finally working on proper calligraphy samples for the site and I promise a post about our new services soon! I am really excited about it, and can’t wait to reveal all…
Until then, have a good one,
Tara
If you follow this blog, then you heard about our second, super-awesome Paperpalooza on January 23rd. Well believe it or not, I still have a big box of stuff leftover, and very little hope of actually needing it! We stationers buy things wholesale, and often have to meet certain minimums. If you order chartreuse green envelopes for your invitations, I probably have to buy 250, even though you only needed 75! And for some reason not everyone loves chartreuse. (What is up with that?)
Anyway, that leads me to introduce… a new blog page called OVERSTOCK SALE! (It’s just under the header image at the top of the page.)
Surely this is some kind of fire hazard.
If you head over to that page, you will see I’ve listed all the items currently occupying valuable space, along with their wholesale prices. Don’t get too excited… I really only have envelopes leftover at this point, but I do have them in almost every color under the sun.
Thanks for looking!
Tara
(I’m starting a new blog category called “TGIF!” — a randomish post with a photo every Friday.)
Even though December was a really, really, REALLY inconvenient time to move (really), I’m now convinced that buying a house in the rainy season was actually a decent idea — the place will never look any more dreary than it did when we fell in love with it! January is a pretty blah time of year in most places, but every once in awhile the rain stops and the sun comes out long enough for me to be absolutely positive that this place is going to be pretty great… someday.
For now, I will settle for these mysterious bulbs that are already shooting up. At least I think they are bulbs. I wonder what kind they are… I’m hoping for daffodils, but I’ll let you know 
Have a great weekend,
Tara
As promised, here are a few more of the great photos Ariel Nay Nebeker took earlier this month. I had a really hard time narrowing them down, so there are a bunch…
Some wood type. I promise we weren’t trying to be cool — unfortunately this font is missing a few E’s.
Top Row: ink knife, ooey gooey rubine red ink, furniture case
Middle Row: my ink mixing dish — a pie plate which I promise I don’t use for pies anymore — and more ooey gooey ink
Bottom Row: ink cans!
More wood type and vintage printing blocks that came with a lot of random type I bought last summer. I wish I knew what the little dude sucking up money with a hoover was all about. It’s a mystery.
The Chandler & Price printing press.
I can’t wait to ask Ariel to come back once we’ve gotten a little remodeling done — I have some pretty grand plans for the studio. Actually, they aren’t so grand — it’s just that even the basics will be pretty transformative. In fact, you can see a little of the landscaping challenge we are facing in that last photo… I don’t think anyone has raked in years. Hopefully by this time next year I will feel like the place is “client-ready.”
–Tara
As I have mentioned a couple of times, my new photographer friend Ariel Nay Nebeker recently came out to our new studio and take some photos of the letterpress process. I was blown away by how beautiful they are! Check them out…
our 10×15 Chandler & Price platen press peeking out of the big red barn
Top Row: locking up wood type, choosing a color, mixing the ink by hand
Middle Row: inking up the press, inking the form, setting up the paper grippers
Bottom Row: hand-feeding cards to be printed, the finished product
Ariel impressed me so much — she was such a pleasure to work with, and so encouraging about my new space (even though the property is currently a pretty muddy mess!). She specializes in photographing creative types, and hello: She photographs weddings too! I cannot recommend her enough. If that sounds like you, check out her site and get in touch.
Oh, and wait until you see part 2 of this post! She got some amazing artistic shots of our printing paraphernalia. It’s going to be so hard to narrow them down for you. They are stunning, and coming Monday…
Have a good weekend.
Tara
Our friend Heather at Real Card Studio is moving to a new studio space, so she, Brown Sugar Design and I decided it was high time for another Paperpalooza! If you remember our event from last summer, you’ll know that we have plenty of excess paper to purge.
If you are a paperphile, here are the details you need to know:
What? Fine decorative papers, papercrafting tools, ribbon, scrapbooking supplies, metallic papers, envelopes, pocketfolds, embellishments and much more — all AT or BELOW WHOLESALE PRICES!
When? Saturday, January 23 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Where? Real Card Studio, 117 First Avenue North in Seattle
Enter from the alley between 1st Avenue and Queen Anne Avenue North
Preview Hour! The first 20 people to email info@bsdstudio.com will receive an invitation to our EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW HOUR from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM! Get first pick of all the goodies! Coffee and yummy treats will be served. (Hurry, there are only a few spots left!)
Here’s a photo from last summer’s event — believe it or not, we had a ton leftover!
Hope to see you there…
Tara
The Seattle Wedding Show was this weekend, and we had a blast as usual! It is always a whirlwind, but this year seemed even busier and more hectic than ever (in a good way). We had so much fun talking with all you brides and grooms, and showing you hands-on the basics of letterpress printing. If you spent some time in our booth, you’ll remember we had a little Kelsey tabletop printing press in the booth, and we printed the number nine in green on these cute cards for you to take home.
I bought a lot of random wood type last summer so I could experiment with this “ransom note effect.” It is a really fun and unique look for quirky monogrammed invitations, personal stationery, or even save-the-date cards where the date is sort of “up in lights” like this.
oh no, another terrible picture courtesy of my phone!
Our booth featured our favorite custom-designed letterpress projects, as well as a few of Ariel Nay Nebeker’s amazing photos. The photo above doesn’t do them justice whatsoever, so look for a post in the next week or so featuring her beautiful work in all its glory.
If you liked what you saw in the booth, I invite you to get in touch. I’d love to hear about your project ideas and provide some solutions with a customized price quote for you to consider. Plus, you probably picked up our 10% savings coupon as well — bonus!
I’ve got lots to share in the coming days — a web site update, a shift in focus, new services, and lots more blogging in 2010… Oh and Paperpalooza-two-za!
Until then, thanks for stopping by…
–Tara
Hello and Happy New Year! I am so pumped for 2010 – let’s get it started!
We survived our move in December, and things are starting to come together in the studio. I can’t believe how much more space I have! I don’t think it really sunk in until last week when my new photographer friend Ariel Nay Nebeker stopped by to take some photos of me and our Chandler & Price platen press in action. That was the first time I’ve printed in the new space, and it just hit me: THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!
Although the studio is a work-in-progress, Ariel still managed to produce stunning photos, and I can’t wait to feature them on the blog and web site very soon. If you can’t wait either, you should come check them out at the Seattle Wedding Show this weekend, January 16 and 17. We are exhibiting in a new booth (#1434) that will be packed with pretty paper and loaded with letterpress eye candy.
Did I mention we’ll have a special 10% savings offer available in our booth?
Plus…
This little guy (a Kelsey 5×8 Letterpress) will be on display for a fun demo. (This is an extra-bad photo taken with my phone because I have not unpacked whatever box contains my camera. I’m sorry.)
More later… Stay tuned!
–Tara
Thought I’d pop in from hibernation to wish my beloved a belated happy fifth anniversary! On November 13, Dave and I celebrated 5 happy years of marriage. Time flies when you’re having fun…
my favorite wedding picture
our wedding announcements
We’ve come a long way from that autumn afternoon on Orcas Island. In fact, today is a very big day for us. We just closed on our first house!
don’t worry, it’s bigger than it looks
We cannot believe our luck…
Not only did it tick all our “must” boxes, but it’s only 12 minutes from Dave’s workplace. That is a huge relief. The best part, however, is that it’s on a full acre, wooded lot. When we first moved to Seattle, we were in love with the trees. We loved everything about the area, but mostly our time on Orcas Island — that’s probably why we got married there. We always stay try to stay at the same little rental house in Olga, about as far away from the ferry dock as you can get. With beautiful territorial views from every window, this place feels like a little piece of that.
Right behind the house is our very own creek, which runs into a nearby pond. Beyond the creek lies what will become an ideal, 700+ square foot letterpress studio. A studio you can visit! Right now it’s just a fairly dilapidated shell of a shop, but we’ve already got calls into contractors to get it more or less up to snuff for me and my gear by the end of December. A few repairs, insulation, drywall and flooring should be enough to move everything in and get back to work. After that I have visions of a flower and vegetable garden on the north side of the studio, with rows and rows of lavender in the summertime.
Here’s the catch: It’s definitely a fixer-upper. It’s certainly livable, but very outdated (dare I say fugly?) in places. Every room needs work. We have lots to learn, and more to do. But luckily we have imagination, each other and (from what I can figure) all the time in the world.
I can’t wait to show you more, but I have to go celebrate!
–Tara
I just wanted to state the obvious and let everyone know I’m taking a break from blogging for awhile. We have lots to do in the next couple of months: a big web site update, several new designs are in the works, I have a “new” press to get in production mode, a little more organizing to finish, and much more.
I’m excited about the changes we have in mind for 2010, so I hope you’ll just stay tuned and have a fabulous Fall while we get it all sorted out for you!
Stay cozy!
Tara
