Studio Snapshot

Hi all! Things have been busy busy for me lately: burning new screens, carving new linocuts, cutting new tags, printing new seals. No time for end-of-summer slacking. I've got a lot of new items to be added to the shop for the up-coming season, including a line of hand-cut and printed packaging materials. In the next few days I'll be finishing up a basket that I'm donating to a lovely fundraiser (more on that later) and then it's all product photos. Finger's crossed that this wave of bright sunshine lasts through the week!

Go Poketo!

If you've been hiding under a rock like me you may have missed August 10th's release of Target's collaboration with design studio Poketo. Target has been luring big name designers as well as quirky lesser known artists into producing budget friendly wares for quite some time now and, I gotta say, few have had me as excited as their most recent hook-up with Poketo.

L.A. based Poketo was founded in 2003 with the goal to produce art for the everyday. Working together with a slew of ever-charging artists Poketo takes otherwise expensive gallery art and showcases it on wallets, tote bags, key chains, plates and more. Their back-to-school Fall line for Target does not disappoint; full of 52 quirky print accessories ranging from wallets (that helped make Poketo famous) to water bottles.
I urge you to head on over to your local Target today and snag a few pieces of your own before they're gone. I was in there yesterday and when I saw that Poketo sign I made a b-line through the accessories department and immediately started filling up my basket. I came home with some super fun 3-in-1 pouches and a new camera bag. It hurt me not to buy it all. Sadly, I had to walk away from this wallet and luggage tag. But, not to worry, I'm sure they will find a nice home soon.

Time for Transitions

It's cool and rainy here this morning. So much so that I actually dressed in jeans! So sad, but one positive thing about summer coming to an end is that a new Fall line is soon to be released by, one of my favorite designers, Built by Wendy. And even better than that is the fact that their last collection is now on sale through August 28th.

It's a great time to shop for those pieces that, with the addition of some thick tights, a textured cardi, and some leather booties, will transition smoothly into Fall and Winter. Here's a few of my favorite multi-seasonal pieces...

Spot On

Ever feel like life might be a bit easier if there was a giant flashing arrow pointing you in the right direction? Of course. I'm sure we've all been there; wishing for a way to take the pressure off. Remembering how stress-free life was when we were six years old and our parents did all the heavy lifting for us. But the truth is, that that giant flashing arrow would take all the guess work out of life and constantly keep us on the straight and narrow. And we all know its off the beaten path that we tend to find ourselves because a good life, a full life, calls for a lot of misdirection. So, here's to getting lost...

{ Clockwise from top left: A is for Arrow, B is for Bomb tee-shirt, hand stud boyfriend cardigan, love spinner necklace, This is the spot giclee print, Struck poster, organic cotton apron in a fun red arrow print, arrow stud earrings by Jennifer Meyer, vintage Harlequin arrow pin}

A Sun-Charged Day

It has been such a great day today! I've been working on some lovely 5"x7" Swallowtail Invites in my bright and sunny workshop. My space has just been flooded with light all day, but there's not even a trace of that yucky humidity that's been hanging 'round Buffalo all weekend. So now I'm taking an early dinner/late lunch break from a productive day in my workshop and I thought it'd be the perfect time to share a tiny taste of a few projects I've recently worked on.
The only problem is I keep forgetting to photograph my local orders. I worked on a handful of them in the past few months, but because each was hand delivered it never occurred to me to take some product shots like I do for my online orders. And its driving me nuts since they were all lovely custom invitation orders and I could have used some shots for my portfolio! Ugghhh, I guess I'll have to chalk it up to part of the learning process and know that next time it will be on my mind. Well, at least I hope it will, eek!

Virtual Vaca

Ohhh, my sweet little blog. I remember you when. When, you were well tended and cared for not recklessly abandoned for months at a time. I'm so very sorry for my absence all. It's not that I lost the blog love. It's just that I had an entire virtual overload. From blogging to tweeting and facebook, as well as all sorts of other online networking I just sort-of had a digital meltdown and needed a break. The weather got warmer and I needed to create some free time to breathe; to photosynthesis and re-charge.

But I've been missing my outlet and my online friends so ya'll can consider me back! I'll return to posting my fun finds and themed tributes several times a week and hope to "see" all my online friends again real soon. So, I wish you a very happy weekend and I'll see you Monday!


shown above: love letter necklace from SimonDesigns