Category: business

Bliss

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I first heard of Joseph Campbell in college, which was more than half a lifetime ago. His words resonated so deeply. But I’m not sure I understood them fully until recently. Bliss. To me, bliss is more like “flow,” as in Csikszentmihalyi’s research.

“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

It’s what happens to me when I am working on the press. Last week a friend brought by some ink he didn’t need any longer. Not standard letterpress ink, but what the heck. I’ve heard of using other types of ink so I wanted to give it a try.

The first few attempts were bad. I ran down my list of possible problems: not locking up the type correctly, not enough or too much packing, too much ink. Nothing corrected the bleeding I was seeing. I assumed the ink wasn’t going to work. And then I had a flash- what if the brayer isn’t getting the ink on the type well enough? I was using my proof press not my platen press to test this. Bingo! After I cleaned up the press and tried a different brayer, the sample print was much better. I fooled around a little more with paper thickness, and then called it a day. Hours of trying this and that had flown by. And in the end, I felt as satisfied and full as I have after a delicious meal and wine.

Pure bliss.

 

Creative Ways to Rest

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Ok, that title is misleading. Not everyone can do what I did to rest. My husband had ankle replacement surgery recently, and I helped in his recovery (shampooing hair, preparing meals, walking the dog, cutting the grass, etc etc). It doesn’t sound restful, but it was.

What I did while he recuperated:

  • read
  • cooked
  • thought about printing (this was actually helpful)
  • planned card text
  • took some online classes
  • wrote to people, real snail mail
  • napped

All of this put me in a calm, relaxed frame of mind.  I can tell because this week things are picking up again, and I’m finding less time to get things– you know those important “things” done. I am going to be closing the Etsy shop for a while, planning, making new cards and getting ready for fall.

And then…we’ll jump back into holiday craziness and all that comes with owning a retail space during the shopping season. I think I’ll miss napping the most. But I do have that blue sofa in the shop……

 

 

Wholesale

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IMG_2716I typically print 5 or 6 cards at a time. The joy for me is in the process of creating, not printing hundreds of copies.

But I LOVE Harriet’s General store. And when I saw them post a quote I wanted to print, I asked about using it. To my surprise, they asked if they could order some. So, two days before my husband’s surgery that will keep me out of the shop for a while, I had something to occupy my time. A wholesale order of 48 cards for Harriet’s General.

I ended up having to print way too many extras as I was having a “shifting problem” that I never did identify. But, hey, the beauty of letterpress printing is the variation in type, right? I was happy with the ones I put in the mail yesterday–two colors, hand-inked, one at a time.

Ever onward….

 

The Show, The Show!

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My first show (that’s kind of strange to say) is hung. I am so proud to see my letterpress prints at Skin Touch Therapy, a favorite place of mine. Brian, the owner, is a delight. And I’m thrilled he asked if I was interested in hanging my work for two months.

Friend Elizabeth Seaver (from Water Street Studio) helped as I had no idea how to hang prints. But now that the show is up, I’m proud. Who knew I’d be starting this new project/business?

Another plug: my cards are available at Water Street, my Etsy shop, Great.ly, and at Heather’s in downtown Fredericksburg.

I visited Charlottesville this weekend and stopped in at Rock Paper Scissors, where I saw a wall of greeting cards made by people I follow here. So cool! I don’t think I ever want to get into wholesale as that’s another ballgame, but it was fun to see such a variety of work.

 

 

Inside Weather, Cloudy With a Slight Chance of Rain

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In my head.

I keep shaking it, trying to move myself out of the gloom. I think it’s the cold. Tomorrow, though it will rain buckets, and it’s going to be 80. Sweet.

But printing goes on. I delivered cards to Heather’s today and restocked the shelves at Water Street. I’m getting ready for my show at Skin Touch Therapy on May 3. Excited!! And I’m having as much fun learning Adobe Illustrator as I am with my presses. A geek at heart.

By the way, those are new journals with letterpress printed covers in Etsy and at Great.ly.  I’m going to go write my gray day away. (Wish I could do the same for my hair.)