Well my last wallpaper mini just sold today, but don't fret, there are a heap more on there way!
I just wanted to leave you something cute to go explore, check out he website of alberto cerriteno out of portland oregon. I just adore these illustrations...

note worthy

I woke up this morning to find only one wallpaper mini left in my etsy shoppe! holy cow! I didn't expect for the "Pre-sale" books to go so fast, especially since I didn't really spread the word about FB that much yet!
Well, knowing that your product does have a fighting chance, makes you feel so great and motivated! On the other hand, there are alot of other roles to take on when your the only one, some can very intimidating like doing the book keeping and making sure you have your finances in control and then there is the role of being your own "shipping team"...can i just tell you how frustraiting it is to try and give a general shipping estimate online and go to the post office only to find that asking one simple question about how to go about your shipping options, turns into a huge confusing mess! Oh and not to mention that on MAY 4th, THE USPS WILL BE GOING UNDER A HUGE RATE CHANGE, so now everything that i've finally figured out is just going to change next week anyways! UGH! so if you use USPS for your shipping/mailing needs, please be sure to go to your local post office and ask them about the upcoming changes because i heard there will be alot!

All in all my experiences have been great, and i shouldn't complain about little problems and frustraitions when they come about because no matter who you are, starting a new buisness is a hard thing to do, but if you have great support like i do (thanks again everyone!) then it definately makes things easier. I'm going to leave with a few tips that i've learned along the way when attempting to make a dream come true!!!

* never ever be afraid to ask questions, even if you think they are stupid.

* if people tell you that you'll never make it happen, ignore it and use it as a motivator to do it

* if your in the buisness of buying and selling and you don't know where to start, either talk to people who are in the line of work you want to be in and ask them how they go about it, or if your in good financial standing then you can always hire a book keeper or accountant.

* when your feeling overwhelmed, enlist family and friends to help you and in return either give them a percentage or do something for them as well. and make it fun for them while they help you! (my puppy-kitty does that for me!)


if anyone reading this would like to add a few more tips to the list, leave a comment and i will follow up on this post with your tips! Cheers for a great weekend my friends!

much needed prize...

I was so pleasently suprised to see a parcel from Austrailia from my sweet gal pal lara! It has been a rough two weeks for me at my fulltime job, a close friend will be leaving us to start a new chapter in her life. Even though i am very sad about it, i also see it as possibilities can happen for myself too...it only motivates me more to shoot for my dreams and make a living doing the things i feel most passionate about. I know it's not my time just yet, but i know it's coming soon and with the passion and hard work i put into my work and having a great support system online and off, i will do it. I sometimes just have to sit back and take a breath and remember what i'm thankful for....Lisa, i'm thankful for you being my friend and i wish you all the luck and happiness in the world for your future endeavors, we'll miss you!
So thank you lara for making my day brighter with your beautiful fabric and art, i now will have to go get those chairs from our storage unit and get to work!!!! You are such an inspiration girl!

FBpress PRE-LAUNCH SALE!!!!

I've finally been able to finish setting up the remaining books from the book fair in my etsy shoppe! Etsy was going through (probubly super frustraiting) technical issues but the great and loyal etsy tech team saved the day!

now there are only 7 books up at the moment, and within a couple weeks, hopefully just one maybe two i'll have over a dozen books back up in the shoppe to accompany my (loooonnnnggggg awaited) site launch! so if you feel like you got the shaft, don't you fret cause this is just the beginning!

one last thing before i turn in for the night, please bare with me for this first round of etsy selling, i'm still a virgin to etsy so if i make any type of malfunction with anything, please, please, please...don't be afraid to let me know about it so i can either fix it or learn from it.
god bless all my readers and supporters over and again for being soo patient with me with all of this process, so go see whats available and enjoy!

just when you think...

I was all ready to finally upload the remaining books from the book fair to my etsy shoppe for a "pre-launch" sale but come to find out, etsy is having some major problems with uploading certain images and pages so i couldn't upload anything....uurrrghh, why do i always run into road blocks??? well i guess thats just life...and my luck!
hopefully within the next 2 days i can get them up.

well, on a brighter note, i had a fantastic creative meeting with a new found friend and fellow indie designer (Shelly, you know who i'm talking about!!!) based here in buffalo. I'm not going to reveal too much about it because there was alot of great talk about collaboration including the marriage between letterpress and book binding, with a little bit of wallpaper included and a other future endeavors. Here is a small pictoral of what will be the inspiration of my next big project...i can't wait.

one for you and two for me!

i usually don't gloat about materialistic things but i feel this is a special case! today i recieved my brand new Eleanor keds. i had to special order these cause they didn't have my size in the store so i had to wait extra longer to get them.


i had to get a close up of the inside cause thats my favorite part! i also recieved two books that i've been waiting to buy. i usually wait about a month or so after a book launches because you can get a great discount on a new and or used one from amazon or half.com. i guess i just don't see the point of buying a book brand new when as soon as you have it for over a week it's considered used anyways! i prolly shouldn't of said that outloud seen as i work for a publisher!!LoL

i can't wait to finally get the time to sit down and actually read them. On the note of the "By Hand" book, i also wanted to point out that there is great preview of Faythe Levine’s handmade nation: a documentary about the rise of diy, art, craft, and design, now this is going to be a fantastic documentary, i can't wait till it's done!
so enjoy my little gloating post...i really don't usually have the funds to just blow on shoes and great books because of house hunting and making FB happen and a family (husband and puppy-kitty) to take care of...so when i do get that chance i almost feel like a princess!! (yeah, i'm a big dork)

see what buffalo has to offer...

At the Small Press Book Fair last month, I met my long lost creative twin! Her name is Shelly Bronson and Letterpress is her game, developed a year ago, Shelly is the owner and creative mind behind French Press, a lovely fine letterpressed papergoods studio based here in Buffalo. She sent me a few recent projects to share with you, check these out!


My girl Shelly and myself have also be asked to speak at Buffalo's 4th Edition of Pecha-Kucha Night on May 8th.

For those that don't know what Pecha-kucha is, you definately have to check out it's interesting history. The actual event was devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham architecture). It was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. (Admittedly, it was also a way to get more people to visit SuperDeluxe - their then newly opened multimedia event space in Tokyo). Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. This is a demand that seems to be global phenomanon for creative communities world wide. So you can probubly understand what kind of an honor it is for me to be chosen with just a handful of other creative genius', literally..the list for session 4 is pretty esteemed!
So even though this puts another bump in my FB launch plans, i know it will be so exciting to be apart of. So if your in or around Buffalo and you would like to see me have an anxiety attack in stage in front of 200 people, then come on down on May 8h to the newly reconstructed and georgeous, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Ani DiFranco's Church on Delaware.

Book binding resources

i've gotten a few emails from people asking where i get my supplies and resources for bookbinding. So in this post i've compiled a list of places where the eager to learn book binder can get some answers and save some money.

When it comes down to it, bookbinding is definately not a budget friendly hobby or even career. So pinching the penny to get more for your buck is always the top goal of mine. Don't be afraid to start out slim, i've spent many a years with just a bone folder, straight edge and my fathers drill. Work your way up with the heavy machinery slowly, besides you'll get more out of it when you know your final product came out of your very own sweat and blood!

Some handy DIY tips that i've used are these:
~instead of going out and buying a $500.00 standing press, just find some bricks, or glass blocks, and depending on the size of your books, you can even use some can goods to put some weight on it.

~ a straight edge and ruler works just fine but sometimes the ruler may move around a bit so what you can do is go out to your local hardware store and get those little fuzzy dots that you stick on the bottom of your dinning room chairs so they don't scuff the wood floor, they work great in keeping your ruler steady as your cutting.

~if your really pinching pennies and you can't afford any book tape you can use cheese cloth and pva to set your hinge, i've even used musslin (a type of cheap cloth used in mock up designing)

~ and did you know that you don't have to buy the true "book binders linen waxed thread" for years i've sewn my books with regular old waxed apolstry thread, it's the same darn thing and almost half the price.

next is a list of resources that i've compiled, the internet is just a ocean of learning so you should take advantage of that!

~Even though i hate reading (I have ADD!) these three books are esential reading if your trying to train yourself. Learning the basic language and technique in this craft will unlock a ton of barriors for you. You can find them at any local book store and on amazon.

~ When it comes to buying your basic supplies, some places have better prices then others, i'm constantly on the look out for a better deal. Here are some places that may be helpful to you ( you can also find any of the links on my sidebar)
~Talas- my mainstay for buying bulk
~paper-source- great quality, pricy
~paper mojo- lots-a-paper!
~the paper place-soon to sell online
~briar press- great classifieds
~hollanders- they have everything
~The book arts web- need i say more!
~five and a half blog- tutorials
~rag and bone blog- inspiration

So i hope this helps you out a bit and don't be afraid of the web, these days it can be our greatest resource! feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions on book binding, i'm nowhere near being a master but i do have the experience so i will be happy to offer up anything i may be of help with! good luck and happy binding!

exhausted

Today we took the long 6 hour drive back home from our eater in NYC. It's a nice change to be able to visit with my husbands friends and family. Being that he took a huge sacrafice in making a move to stay in Buffalo to marry and start a life with me, i do try and make a point to put his family and friends in priority during the holidays because of the distance.
We spent the day touring the city on saturday, it was chilly but we didn't even think about it cause we had such a fun time. ( i've posted a few more pics of our experience here) After drooling over some great new papers at kate's paperie in soho we went for a great dinner at this amazing little hole in the wall Italian resturant in soho called Minettas Tavern. Last time i was in the city with some friends, they took me and i was so excited to be able to take my husband and his friends there and they came out raving. so if your in the area its definatey worth a stop. you can find some directions here.
So now that i'm back, tomorrow i get to go to work and hopefully not find a pile of projects on my desk and put in some orders for chip board and hardware to make some more books!!!

off and running...

Hey look theres a little girl holding judy's journals!!!! Judy has pointed out a very cool and free online goods trade called the Swap Meat, which is being held by some very talented creatives over at Coudal Partners. Basically, you send them something you have made and they send you something that someone else has made for aprox equal value and everyones happy with a fun new suprise arriving to them at any time! I love trading my work for someones elses super talented unique pieces, it's so much cooler then selling! If i get enough time to send them a book or two, i think i may participate, you should too! they have extended their trade dealine until may 1st.
Well, i'm off to NYC tomorrow so i'll be away from blog land till monday or tuesday and then i'm back into the laboratory for another round of books so that i can bring them to all my Blogger buddies....i feel so bad that i sold out before i could bring any to the "cyber table"...BUT, i did not lie when i said my site is coming, cause IT REALLY IS, i promise it is my number one priority as soon as i return!
i hope you all have a great easter and don't eat too much chocolate, you'll get a tummy ache.

INK & WIT

I got an email this morning from the super talented Tara of Ink & Wit. Looks like the site is now up and running! WHEHOO! looks fabulous and I've noticed that she has the same great idea as myself of connecting to an etsy shop for the retail side of things. I've noticed that a few others in our community are doing the same thing. I love the fact that i can use etsy to update my pieces for sale in a quick enough way so that i don't have to worry about waiting for my husband to go into the code of my site and make changes when a purchase is made. So props to you Etsy peeps for being so convenient and helpful to us indie artists! anywho, so go check out Tara's new site and check out all her wonderful original sample works and then go right on over to her etsy shop and buy it all!!!!

etsy finds

Etsy :: Smack of Jellyfish

As i was inquiring about setting up my etsy shop i came across these great paper goods from the Smack of Jellyfish shop out of Alaska! These cards are inspired by a childrens book she made which shows an animal for each letter of the alphabet and the collective nouns for each of the animals. such a clever idea to turn them into greeting cards! and some of the collectives i've never even heard of, so i also learned something new while gawking at the brilliant graphics!

one other thing, does anyone have any tips on how to go about shipping charges when selling through etsy?

great success!

what a whirl wind of a weekend i just had! The Buffalo Small Press Book Fair was fabulous to be apart of. It was such a success for Freshlyblended Press as well. I brought over 50 handmade books expecting to come home with maybe 75% left and now i'm only left with about 6 books! This definately changes my plans of getting the books out to all you guys. My new plan is to set up an etsy shop within the next few days and have my husband change up the website a bit to allow me to sell the remaining books right away through my etsy shop and i think i'll just do a monthly updating thing for the limited edition books through etsy.

and for all other goodies like the matchbook jotters, which sold completely out, you'll be able to purchase them regularly through the new site.

i'm also going to feature some great scrap packs which all proceeds will be donated to a local buffalo animal shelter, which in fact is where we got puppy-kitty! i felt the need to give back for gettning my beautiful baby! i'll also post the remaining pics from the fair and of the books on my flickr site. also, i'd like to thank all the locals for coming out and supporting the fair and also for those particualrry interested in my work, i am very humbled by it! so thank you again and again.
so for now bare with me a little bit while i collect myself this week from the unexpected aftermath of the fair and get a new game plan for more book production so my most favorite people in the world can their hands on some freshlyblended goodness!