dinner :: breakfast :: new stationery

Some new bowls arrived yesterday. They are from Heath Ceramics and I love them. I think the inside color might be my favorite color. We used them for dinner {cream of cauliflower and leek soup} and then again for breakfast {greek yogurt with peaches and plain granola} this morning. But as Ben says – it's not the first time I've fallen in love with a bowl. It'll surely happen again. I'm fickle that way!

I have a new stationery design that I printed yesterday. It began as a tentative design for some wedding clients – who then went in another direction with the tandem bike I discussed before. I originally thought I'd print it in an olive green, but this pale grey-green seems so much more fitting. It is available in my etsy shop.

birthday boy

Today is Liam's FOURTH birthday!! He woke us up this morning, bright and early, singing: MAMA! PAPA! It is my BIRTHDAY! I am FOUR!! Yes, it is really that exciting. I love his hair in the photo above – and the expression. Too funny. I'm semi-working in the studio today, but I'll be gone very soon to do very important things like take Liam to The Little Red Bike Cafe for ice cream.



Just for the record, he wasn't always like this. He used to be like this (on the day he was born):


And then he was like this and this and this – and now he's been talking for over three years with no signs of stopping!!




Well, that's enough of that. Maybe some more another time. Off to get ice cream!

a quiet house

The kid left with his auntie to go to Whidbey Island this morning. It's quiet, so quiet, around here. The first thing I did after they left, I must admit, is clean the house – because I know it's going to stay exactly that way until Sunday night! I ran a few errands, sorted some of Liam's old clothes to send to my newest nephew, ran on the elliptical, answered some of the many emails I have in my inbox – and since then, I've been printing, printing, printing. When the kid isn't here, the day is so long. It is nice to have a break every now and then – with time for work and time for lounging, too.

Tomorrow I plan to work in the studio more – I have a wedding and also a whole bunch of stationery that needs printing. But I also plan to go to PokPok (one of my favorite restaurants in Portland, hands down) for lunch and also get a massage! Lucky me.

next steps + simplicity

Above is one of the new books I got this weekend. I'm hoping to be able to spend some time working on new drawings for summer and for the next calendar in the next month or so.

I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out the next step for Satsuma Press. My intent when I began was to stay focused and stay true to my work. This hasn't changed at all, but I've been wondering what to do now that would help generate just a bit more steady work. I suppose it's about balance – finding that precarious balance between not enough work and too much. I really do not want to find myself so busy that I feel like a robot, because I'd surely lose sight of what it is that I love about what I do.

I am not going to the National Stationery Show next month in New York – and part of why is certainly that I am not up for it yet and that the timing is bad and the cost is high. But the other part is that I just don't know that it would be the right choice for Satsuma Press. It may just seem counter-intuitive to basic common business sense, but I don't think bringing in tons of new wholesale accounts is the direction I want to be headed. Don't get me wrong, I am seeking to expand my wholesale base just a wee bit – but, again, why knowingly seek more work than I can handle? One thing I have learned is that there are limits to what I should take on. I'm not afraid of hard work; I'm not afraid of those really long, long days in the studio now and again (like when I was printing the calendars last year) – but that just can't be my every day.

I like to think that by taking these smaller steps, slowly, Satsuma Press will grow in a very organic and natural way. I like to think that I will continue to love what I do and to do it as well as I can. I like to think that in this way, each piece – big and small – will continue to be designed and printed with care and consideration.

But, seriously, down to business. Do any of you readers have some words of wisdom for how to get the word out? I'm really, really horrible with this. I think I'd mostly rather stay home than go out and (gasp) mingle!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I like this very much.

The more care, attention, and effort applied
to that which is less, the more it shall be perceived
as more than it really is.

Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, while adding the meaningful.

John Maeda, The laws of simplicity

collaboration

Finally! The collaboration between Yoo-ii and I is ready! This was a challenging job for me because of the very tight registration and 4- color run. I absolutely love Yoo-ii's work and feel so fortunate to have worked with her on this project. The design is hers, the printing mine – I hope there will be more of these joint efforts to come.


The colors in this, all hand-mixed, are lemon yellow, pale jade green, olive green and slate gray text on the back. It is available in my shop as a set of four 4x6 pieces that would look stunning framed in a row or as a block of 2x2. I have just a few that I left uncut at 4x16 that you could order as well. These are a limited edition run of 98 with half in my shop and half in Yoo-ii's. I will also be bringing just a few to the Buckman Art Show tomorrow night and Saturday.

hydrangea

The hydrangea stationery is back in my shop now! A new one, too – poppies in bright orange, pink and ochre. Can you tell I am wishing for warmer weather round here?

Yu I and I will be putting our collaborative work up in our shops in the next couple days, too. I think you will like it a lot. I do.

Just a reminder ... if you live in the Portland area, I will be at the Buckman Art Show this coming Saturday. Come by, it's for a great cause!

wishing for summer + what i'm listening to

I've been busy lately trying to get a custom wedding design drawn so though I've been meaning to print for days now, it is just now that I am able to get started. I'm re-printing a whole lot of designs for the Buckman Art Show which is next week – along with this new one of poppies in ochre. I'll also be printing these in orange today. I am really wishing for the warm days of summer ... and these lovely flowers, which are some of my favorites. I'm thinking I'll print my peony {perhaps my very favorite flower of all time} in a pale pink – and you'll see the return of the hydrangeas, too. I've got some other new botanicals coming ... soon, I hope.

This custom wedding design I've been working on has been so much fun and such a wonderful challenge for me. A line drawing of a 1970s tandem bicycle – so different than my usual work and, for that very reason, so refreshing. I'll see if I can post photos of it all after the wedding which is this summer ... It makes me think that perhaps I can and should branch out a little more, push my boundaries a bit.

The mail just came and I'm so excited! I just got the brand new album from The Wood Brothers. I bought their first album, Ways Not to Lose, after hearing it on NPR – and it's one of my all time favorites. The new album, Loaded, is promising to be a good one on my second listen through. If you haven't listened to them, do it now. Everything about their music is damn good.