Let Her Press Exhibit

I’m so happy to share with you my newest print, Maple Leaves, exclusive to the Let Her Press show at OFFICE which opened last night. I felt really pushed to create this piece in a short amount of time – but sometimes that crunch is needed! I was feeling a little burned out after that calendar madness, followed by the holiday sale at Studio Olivine, but I am really pleased with the finished print. I'm posting a quick photo now, but will be back over the weekend or early next week with more detailed pics.

I really wanted to draw something reminiscent of kimono fabric – so my starting point was the maple leaves. I liked the falling leaves in rusty orange, so perfect for the very late Indian summer we were having here in Portland – and which has now turned so bitterly cold. The 11x17 format is much bigger than I've worked with before so I knew I'd want to both break up the space and also keep plenty of white space, as I'm wont to do. The teal blue wave drew the eye from left to right, but I struggled trying to put in some vertical movement. I played around with bamboo but it was too busy and interfered too much with the leaves. The dotted lines in varying lengths brought a nice sense of movement and whimsy – and helped to create a more fluid border on that big piece of paper. The full moon was intended to be a blind stamp, but after testing that out, I found that it was just too subtle. I mixed, last minute with everything printed but the moon, a lovely opaque white with just the slightest touch of gray. I'd never printed with opaque white before and I love the slight pop of color.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback about this print. I will say that it has inspired me to start working on a whole new line of designs in the coming year. {Can I really be saying this already – perhaps just the thing for a 2009 calendar?!} Just as soon as things calm down around here ...

Here's the nitty-gritty of how you can view Maple Leaves {and buy if it strikes your fancy!}

A very limited edition run of 5 ::: $125
Available only at OFFICE in Portland ::: You can view it here!

Please take a peek soon! There are only 5 prints and I’ve been told one has sold already.

{Also check out lovely work by my friend, Julie Dutton, of Studio Olivine!}

what he said

Well, as a nice note to end on for the week, here's Liam {freaking out} singing Three Little Birds – or at least his version of it!! It's good to keep in mind the lovely optimism and joy of a three year old. I know I need a reminder now and again.

Happy weekend to you!

i was tagged {a long time ago!}

So, I was tagged by Louise of Poppy Letterpress. A while ago. {Sorry!} The general rules of the game are to list 5 facts about myself and then tag 5 more people. I'm going to do the first part of this and think on who I can tag later. Here goes – make of it what you will. This revealing list may not endear me to you, but it is a glimpse behind the scenes, so to speak. And it's what comes to mind right now.

1. FOOD STUFF ::: I hate green peppers. Really. I. do. not. like. them. I never have. I do, however, like red, yellow and orange peppers. And, well, this is a bit of a contradiction – but I do have a strange fondness for green pepper jelly with cream cheese that my friend makes. It's a sort of trashy goodness that you eat on crackers – do you know what I am talking about?

2. SPELLING ::: I'm a stickler for spelling. {Oh, nerd!} A pet peeve is when people spell stationery {as in what I print} like this: s-t-a-t-i-o-n-a-r-y. No! Not the same!!

3. THINGS I COVET ::: This will come as no surprise to those who know me in person, but I covet things. Pretty things. Currently these things: Heath Ceramics Modern Mugs; White Forest Pottery; these lovely lovely gocco prints by Ah-Yi.

4. MUSIC I'M LISTENING TO ::: I have the ability to listen to the same music endlessly. This is the truth – which can mean that I don't always seek out new music. This is what I listen to now that counts as 'new' music for me ::: The Wood Brothers | Ways Not to Lose and Ray La Montagne | Trouble.

5. WHERE I'M FROM + A LITTLE BACKGROUND ::: I was born in Penang, Malaysia and was adopted at three days old. We moved to New Zealand after a year and then to Kathmandu, Nepal when I was 3. I lived there til 6th grade when I moved to Putney, Vermont with my mom and one of my brothers. I went back to Nepal for 7th + 8th grades and then moved to Boulder, Colorado for high school. I came to Portland for college {Lewis + Clark} and have more or less been here ever since. I was a sociology major at Lewis + Clark. Besides a few letterpress printing classes about 6 years ago, I haven't taken an art class since my sophomore year of high school {which was, um, 17 years ago which makes me 32}.

a few of my favorite things

How does that song go? Brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things! You can see why that popped into my head – truly, I don't go around singing this, but now I probably will. I do love the packaging, this is true.

Sorry for the long lags between posts. I am just busy. Very busy. This is a very good thing, but I am very much looking forward to a break. I'm not sure quite when that'll be, but I'll enjoy it when it happens.

I was out and about all day today, first to deliver these packages above {tied with lovely red + white bakers twine – oh how I love it!} and then to deliver to a new shop on NW 23rd here in Portland. And then, because I was on 23rd – where I never ever go! and I was sans Liam! – I popped into a toy shop and got Liam a few little Christmas presents: one Greyhound bus, two tiny plastic piglets, one small plastic donkey, one small digger truck that goes on a slightly bigger flat bed truck, two coloring books, two chapter books {Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo and Matilda by Roald Dahl}. I think I can pretty much call that a done deal.

If you're in Portland, a reminder that the Last Thursday opening reception for the Let Her Press show is, well, this Thursday at OFFICE from 7-9 pm. Brave the cold and the wet weather and come by!

giving thanks

Thanksgiving has really snuck up on me this year. I think it's just been that I've been so busy. But now, here it is, Thanksgiving already! This might actually be my favorite holiday of all – good food, friends, family. And nothing marks the onset of holiday season like a bowl of satsumas. I love these little jewels {obviously so much so that I've named my business after them} – little, neat packages of sweet goodness that only come around every so often. And while they're here, let me tell you, I eat them like there is no tomorrow.

I spent all day yesterday packaging orders and printing a limited edition for an upcoming show called Let Her Press at OFFICE here in Portland. The show is for women letterpress printers, 11 x 17 limited edition prints of 5. If you live in the area, the opening reception is next Thursday from 7-9 pm – that's Last Thursday on Alberta to you locals... I am excited to show you some photos of the print, but think it's best to wait til after the show opens.

So, really, the point of this quick post is to give thanks. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive to Satsuma Press over the past year. It' s only been since last February that I really began focusing on designing and printing again – and it has been such a lovely and wonderful surprise to have such a warm reception. Thank you for making this day to day work both a possibility and a joy for me.

I'm off to deliver prints to OFFICE, mail packages and make stuffing {my favorite}. After that, I've got brussell sprouts to braise in lemon and cream, mushrooms to stuff, a pear and brown butter tart to make – if I have time ... A very happy Thanksgiving to you!!

busy, busy

I've been keeping busy. Liam and I baked this banana-blueberry-almond bread the other afternoon. It is the perfect way to use up those super squishy bananas that might be sitting on your counter. I {half-heartedly} follow the Joy of Cooking recipe for banana bread, with the following modifications. I double the recipe – you may as well make two loaves if you're making one,right? – but cut the sugar amount by more than half and throw in a cup or two of frozen blueberries {picked at Sauvie Island last summer} and a couple handfuls of sliced, toasted almonds. After you scrape the batter into your loaf pans, sprinkle the tops with almonds and scatter some turbinado sugar around. Delicious!


I've not just been baking and knitting, though. Here are some new business cards in the works ... inspired by the bird + foliage holiday design. I like them a lot. I especially like watching how my own work has been changing and evolving over the last year. It's nice to get that perspective now and again.

Fellow Portlanders ... I will be at the Studio Olivine Holiday Sale this coming Saturday, November 17th from 10-4. I think it's going to be a great line-up, so come by if you can. Studio Olivine is located at 1614 NW 15th. At the end of this month, the Let Her Press show will go up at OFFICE on NE Alberta and I'm happy to be taking part ... More details on this show soon.

I'm off to update my much-neglected website with calendar photos and, if there is time, some new Satsuma Press Wedding line pics. I'll post those here when I get the chance, too.

weekend break

The thing is, when you work for yourself and your work is something you love, it can be hard to take a break. I find myself trimming cards late at night or printing on the weekend and so on and so forth. It's actually nothing I mind, but we all need to take a break sometimes. This owl sweater is one I started for Liam last year and has since been sitting. I'm afraid that if I don't finish it up in the next month or two, it won't fit him – so it's back to evening and weekend knitting, I think.


This particular sweater, though, is hard for me to jump right back into after a year of no knitting, so I'm starting out with a simple, no-pattern cowl neck warmer. At least, with no pattern in front of me and a vague idea in my head, that's what my plan is – just a little quick something to keep me toasty warm in the chilly months ahead.

packaging

Only time for a quick note right now. This is what I've been doing this morning – packaging up calendar and stationery orders ... I love these stamps, I love the kraft envelopes. I used to send my orders with those USPS Priority Mail envelopes, but they are just so ugly. I couldn't do it. I think it's so worth it to spend a little more and get the kraft mailers and the cool stamps. Don't you?

I'm running off to the post office to mail a bunch of international orders + priority mail packages. And then I'll be back to print some custom stationery and, if there's time, my new business cards which were inspired by the bird + foliage holiday design...

A great big thank you to everyone who has ordered a 2008 calendar!!

rest.

I've been meaning to post about the now finished calendars {hooray!} and the new holiday bird + foliage cards and mini-cards {hooray!} and all sorts of things. But the thing is, I haven't. I've been sick for the past couple weeks – one of those persistent coughs that won't go away and isn't helped by the fact that I've been working myself to the bone lately. So. Instead of a long post, I'll simply say that there are new paper goodies in my etsy shop now that are perfect for holiday gifts for yourself or others.

Myself, I'm sitting down to a cup of tea and a stack of catalogs and magazines and those three new books I bought last week. I'll be back next week sometime with more photos for you.