We finally finished the Great Craft Room Reorganization of 2008 last weekend, and took the new gocco out for a spin. (Love it!) We made a triptych of prints called "The Cruel Sea" which we'll be selling on Poppytalk Handmade in May. Please stop by and visit our virtual table--we are very excited to be a part of the "Paper Pops" market from May 12th to June 6th!
A couple months ago I was invited by Kuler to share my thoughts on color and design, and they've just recently published it on their spotlight section. I was an early adopter (and continue to be a big fan) of their color application, and am honored to be a part of their site.
By the way . . . this song also rules.
xoxo!!
I have to admit I've become a bit obsessed with SFist. I pretend I read it to be informed about local events, but really I think it's the snarky tone that's got me hooked. (Especially from fellow banana slug, Brock.) Items like the Photo du Jour and Vandalism Report Card crack me up on a regular basis. Looks like there are -ists for several other cities as well, so you don't have to live in the Bay Area to enjoy the attitude.
Last month I had the spring cleaning bug pretty bad, and was threatening to do the Apartment Therapy Eight Step Home Cure. Well, it ends up I wasn't really in the mood for such a disciplined program, though I was definitely inspired by a lot of ideas from the book. Especially the "less is more" approach, in terms of dealing with all the stuff we are bred to be so attached to. So in that spirit, I'd like to share The Story of Stuff: a short film about where exactly these things come from and where they end up. I found it pretty inspiring, not just in terms of being more conscious about what we consume (which ties in with the "buy handmade" movement), but it's also a kick in the pants for us to use more recycled/repurposed materials in the things we make for the Treatzone store.
I just can't say enough good things about our friend Cher. Not only is she one of the nicest people I've ever met and an amazing hair stylist, but she also makes the most adorable things. Over the years I've been lucky enough to receive countless little handmade gems for birthdays and holidays, like the quilted ipod case and screenprinted make-up bag above. Matthew and I keep bugging her to set up an etsy shop, so hopefully one day the rest of the world can get their hand on these treats!
Our new gocco arrived today and it's absolutely gigantic! We got silly and decided to take the above shot of the PG Arts with both Matthew and the ukulele to give a sense of scale--seriously, we just weren't expecting this. It also includes some parts that aren't in the PG5, so I'm really hoping that instructions in English are included. If not, I may have to finally buy Claire Russell's New Gocco Guide (which I probably should have anyway). Oh, and our cat Buster also got involved in the excitement, check it out here.
I recently discovered Pucci Manuli and have been quite inspired by their collection of handcrafted toys, especially the tops by Klaus and Margit Mader (possibly the cutest couple ever). We ordered a few for our own collection and are completely smitten--so much so that we're looking into making our own tops for Treatzone. Stay tuned!
We just ordered a Gocco PG Arts as a gift to ourselves for wading through our taxes, and I can't wait until it arrives. Our little stationery line pretty much came about by accident when I got a PG5 for my birthday in September. Originally I was just planning to use it to add prints to some collages I wanted to make, but with 60 or so prints from just one inking I quickly had more than I knew what to do with! Matthew & I have wanted to make letterpress stationery for ages, but decided to make gocco stationery instead for the time being. I can't wait to see what happy accidents occur when we receive our new machine.