Echino

Echino is a medium weight fabric that is made by Japanese textile designer, Etsuko Furuya. The patterns and color combinations always make for unique projects. Below are some of my favorite styles that incorporate different types of animals. I love it because it is quarky, fun, yet stylish and interesting at the same time!
You can find these particular fabrics at reprodepot.

art rogue

I'm really loving the work of Matt Mikulla (Nashville, TN). His use of photography, montage, and collage is so engaging and it really allows you to peel back the layers of his creations. Art Rogue is his gallery in downtown Nashville so if I ever make it out to TN I will definitely put it in my itinerary.

Wedding Inspiration

Here are a few interesting ideas I have regarding the wedding. If you can't tell, I'm into orange :-)

Alisa Miller

I found Alisa Miller's work on Etsy this morning and just had to share. Her pieces of jewelry are made from metal and were originally inspired by honeycombs, see the resemblance? I love how she carries over the design to different pieces, changing it slightly, but sticking with the original form.

Print + Palette

Print + Palette Sourcebook 2 is a book I got for Christmas and love it! It is a great resource for vintage yet contemporary color combinations as well as an inspiring handbook for interesting patterns. Below are a few pages from the book.

Adventures in Letterpress

We just received two big packages in the mail full of letterpress goodies that we bought. How exciting! People have been asking us for weeks if our press is up and running but we always regretfully say "no, we are still waiting to on more stuff." Those days will soon be over because we are very close to being stocked up! Check out our new additions...

Above: In this pic we have boxes of business card size paper, ink, lead spacing, quoin, keys, and a composing stick. (clockwise)Aboev: A box full of "furniture" to pack the "chase" so that the type you use can stay in place while you print.
Above: Here is an example of a packed chase.
Above: We were finally able to fill our first type case with the type we purchased! Here is Dustin putting it in the "California Case" one by one!
Above: Pieces of metal type.
Finally done! More to come when we actually start printing!

Improvements

I am constantly changing my mind when it comes to decorating so I am still working on my studio/office space. Over the holidays I made a few improvements that I thought I would share!Above: On a large wide desk, I needed something vertical so that all of my knick knack items could have a clutter-free home, so I opted for a shoe rack shelf from Target. I also re-distributed my two desk lamps further apart leaving my desk a little on the dark side. I decided to bring more light in by running x-mas tree lights along the back.Above: Photos galore :-) I collaged my favorite photos on cork board behind my desk.Above: The beginning of my wedding inspiration board.Above & Below: While I love the storage space under my desk, the clutter look was driving me nuts! So, I bought kitchen curtains and altered them to hang under my desk and hide the chaos!

Location, location!

I apologize in advance for the wedding posts to come in the future. I am slightly excited about the big day and can't help but share the details as they unfold. We have a place! We're getting hitched on the Merle Watson Stage in our hometown. This stage is home to a festival called Merle Fest which happens to be the main event in our small town and in October '08, the home of OUR main event! It's got the rustic feel we're going for and the perfect place to have an outdoor ceremony followed by a fabulous reception. I am so excited for the clean palette I have to work with :-)

Calendar Alert

The New Year brings about the necessity to run out and buy a 2008 calendar...but wait! Be sure to scout out Etsy first before making any decisions. Below are a few of my favorite finds in the calendar division...

Joom

Happify
Elfrida

Something's Hiding in Here

Color Palette

After much deliberation, I believe I have decided on my color palette for the wedding. Any thoughts? Orange has always been one of my favorite colors so I tried to find something that could help offset it in a vintage way with the pale-aqua while also including a neutral brown base.
For a DIY contest over at Style Me Pretty someone created their own flower bouquets from origami! Pretty cool, huh? I decided to try it out and the results were lovely!

Creative Resolutions

I feel especially jolly about this upcoming year so I have decided to create my own list of "creative" New Year's resolutions. Hopefully these will serve as a palette for inspiration throughout the year!

1. Get letterpress up and running (this is the priority considering I have a few wedding invite orders on the way)

2. Purchase more books (I fall victim to putting all of the design books I find on amazon into my wish list and then nothing comes of it!)

3. Take more photographs (my new digital SLR should fix that!)

4. Participate in a local craft fair (I know this a long shot, but maybe if I can buckle down and actually finish making something in some type of quantity...)

5. Focus on blog (I love sharing my thoughts and inspiration with you guys, I am really hoping to take it to another level this year!)

Hello 2008!

After a long and lovely vacay, I am back. I spent the last two weeks visiting with family, relaxing, celebrating, and most importantly...not working. I had the chance to do a little shopping, attend a wedding, open the new year with a bang, and register for my own wedding :-) yay!

For an appropriate introduction to the new year I spent the day organizing what I like to call "my world." I am of course referring to the side of the office where I keep my stuff. FINALLY, everything is nicely labeled and neatly put into place. Maybe this is a sign of a rather productive year, let's hope so!