Christmas craft show coming up!

It has been a while since my last post. Things have been busy!

I have been printing lots though in preparation for my first ever craft show. I'm quite excited! On November 15th, I will be at the Gowling Christmas and Holiday Craft Show and I will be selling hand-printed Christmas greeting cards, gift tags, gift bags and boxes; all beautifully printed on my lovely Golding Pearl Improved No.11.

If you are in the Ottawa area, please make sure to stop by. There will be over 50 vendors displaying and selling their wonderful creations at the show. I can't wait!

Let the countdown begin. 

And then there was a Pearl...

I'm long overdue for this post. Life has gotten so busy! But tonight, as I walked into my studio (which I humbly call an art room), and yet again surprised myself seeing my beautiful Pearl standing in the corner, I thought to myself, it's about time to write all about how she ended up in our house.

I'm so proud to introduce my Golding Pearl Improved No.11:

Back in April I wrote all about my quest for a letterpress; different presses I was considering and things I ended up learning along the way. I mentioned back then Don Black Linecasting, the one and only supplier (to my knowledge) of letterpress equipment in Canada. Shortly after that post, I ended up placing a hold (along with a deposit) on a 5 x 7.5 tabletop Sigwalt press at Don Black's, however due to further research and stumbling upon John Falstrom of Perennial Designs and his amazing Golding presses, I ended up changing my mind about the Sigwalt. It just so happened though that Don Black had one 7 x 11 Godling Pearl in stock, fully refurbished and ready for pick up. In order not to lose my deposit, I had to act fast and make my decision quickly. It wasn't an easy one, I struggled so much thinking about the expense and all the other things that should take precedence. But I ended up listening to my heart (and my husband) and pulled the trigger on the purchase. How amazingly exciting!

On the weekend of June 7, my husband and I drove to Toronto to pick up the press. A short visit with family ended with us stopping at Don Black's shop on the morning of June 9 and loading the press onto the back of our pick-up truck.

And then we drove back to Ottawa with the press (all 700 lbs of it) sitting nicely (and securely) in the back of the truck.

We made it back safely, but little did we know that the real challenge was still ahead of us. Getting the press off the truck, into the house, and up a steep flight of stairs proved more difficult than anticipated. Luckily, we were able to detach the flywheel and the top of the press from its base.
This is how we kept all of all the screws in order to put the press back together!

The top part posed the biggest challenge though, weighing at about 500 lbs. In the end, it took three strong man, an appliance dolly, and a lot of muscle and sweat to get the press into the house and up the stairs onto the second floor (where the infamous art room is located).

You could never have guessed what a challenge it was by looking at her now tucked away in the corner of the room. 

I'm still in total disbelief that she is finally here! After daydreaming about a press for almost a year, I can finally call myself an aspiring letterpress printer and a proud owner of this beautiful Golding Pearl.

Sometimes dreams do come true...

Such a phenomenal woman

Today the world lost an amazing poet and activist, Maya Angelou. I'm so saddened by this news. I have loved Maya's poem for a long time now and "Phenomenal Woman" is one of my favourite poems of all time. Such simple words expressing so much courage and strength. Such an empowering message!  I know Maya had to overcome so much pain, disappointment and adversity in her life. She was one phenomenal woman and she will be missed dearly. She was also one of my personal heroes.

I can't remember when exactly I came across this quote, but I remember cherishing it dearly because it reminded me to be strong during those difficult times of transition and change:

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

- Maya Angelou - ”

RIP Maya.

Practice makes perfect

This past weekend I decided to take some time to practice photographing my cards and staging little vignettes. The inspiration actually came from two types of my favourite May flowers - lilacs and lily of the valley! Ahhh that captivating smell! I still can't decide which one I like better so I decided to go with both.

And then I simply played around with the placement of the cards (product of the letterpress workshop I took back in March) and the decorative pieces. Here are some shots.

Now, the goal is to actually get a professional camera...I mean, something a bit more powerful than my phone camera. On the flip side, it is impressive that these were taken with an Android, wouldn't you agree?

The long weekend

Today is the last day of a wonderful long weekend. Filled with small reno projects and gardening, late breakfasts and relaxing in the park, those were three fantastic days I got to spend with my love. What could be better than that? The sudden outburst of green and sunshine definitely added to the mix and lifted up our spirits. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:

“The earth laughs in flowers.”

This photo of the blooming crab apple tree in our yard most certainly visualizes this quote. It also sums up my weekend!

Hello May

Happy 1st day of May! I might be biased (I was born this month) but May is my favourite month! Unfortunately it doesn't feel like May outside as it has been pouring rain for the last few days and the the trees are still bare. But as the saying goes "April showers bring May flowers". Here is hoping! Off topic, but related to happy things, here is a little letterpress inspiration coming from FuguFugu Press. I received this beauty of a card as a little surprise from my husband. You should feel the impression on it! The design is brilliant and so is the printing. I love it!

The sun was shining bright the day I took this photo. Nice to see the sun beams shining through the window frame and reflecting off the card.

Quest for a letterpress

Let me start with this:

The last few weeks have been busy. Alongside a full-time job, I have been filling my days with online letterpress research, gathering a ton of information and reaching out to fellow printers. I'm on a quest for my own letterpress!

When I first discovered, and in turn, became obsessed with letterpress printing (which was shortly after my wedding), I made a secret pact with myself. I promised myself that I'll trade my wedding dress for a letterpress! I thought to myself, what a marvelous idea to exchange something as precious and lovely as my own wedding gown for something that my soul desires so deeply. And let's be honest, since purchasing a letterpress is a significant expense (as was purchasing a wedding gown), the idea of exchanging one for the other seemed ideal to me. It still does today, however the process of selling the dress is not as quick as I thought it would be. But I haven't given up yet!

And then there is the predicament of purchasing the right press. There is an overwhelming amount of information out there, yet the process is still confusing for an inexperienced printer like myself. I have reached out to the one and only letterpress equipment supplier in Canada, Don Black Linecasting, and placed a hold on a 5x7.5 Sigwalt. I have read so many wonderful things about Sigwalt presses, however the size of the press is a concern. For the amount of money to be spent, the return is questionable as the size introduces various limitations. All along, I have come across numerous ads on Briar Press (an invaluable source of information for letterpress printers, by the way). However, all of the presses listed on there are located in the US, which again becomes tricky in terms of transportation and additional expenses. I also found an ad for a 6x10 Kelsey located only few hours away from where I live. Perfect, I thought! The press however requires new rollers and some cleaning. I have also read enough about Kelseys to know that they are not the best of the best. Again, whether it's the right investment....I'm not convinced. And to top it all off, today I routinely checked Ladies of Letterpress (another wonderful letterpress community), and spotted an ad for a C&P Pilot! This the press I fell in love with during my first ever letterpress workshop and I was so excited to find this ad. The price is right, yet the press is missing rollers, has a crack in the frame, and is located in the US. Not a simple decision yet again...

Decisions are hard indeed, but I'm determined to keep going on my quest for a letterpress! I have invested so much into this process already. And I like to believe that the more time I spend on researching and asking questions, the better decision I'll make in the end.