On to Asia

Tomorrow we start a one month trip in Asia. While cleaning up my studio to get ready to leave, I came across photos from my last trip there in 2012. These are in no particular order but made me very excited to hit the road again. We'll be going to Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam this time, and I'll be back with new photos soon.

PS: The shop will stay open while I am away thanks to my amazing assistant, so business will be running as usual!

A few photos to inspire wanderlust, taken in 2012:

Art on the Road

Journal / Notepad / Watercolors / Brushes / Scissors / Pens / Tape

I'm gearing up for another big trip to Asia this month (this time to Thailand and Vietnam) so I thought I would share some of my essentials for doing art on the road. These are my travel basics:

1) A good, bound journal with thick paper. I use this for painting, sketching, taking notes and sticking in ticket stubs, menus and postcards. I've been keeping journals like this for every trip I've taken since I was ten, and they are all lined up on my bookshelf. Sometimes I put a huge amount of work in to my travel journals and sometimes it's just a few sketches and tickets, but they are always fun to look over and reminisce. 

2) Watercolors and brushes. Easy clean up, easy transportation. Not so difficult to use that it prevents you from ever pulling them out. 

3) A wire-bound notebook. I like to have a second journal to scribble down notes, write down phone numbers, and for notes on trip planning that you might not want in your travel journal.

4) Scissors. I like to travel with child safety scissors since you can take them on an airplane. No forgetting they were in your bag and having to stop at security.

5) Pens and tape. I like to bring black pens and double sided tape. Black pens for sketching, writing, outlining watercolors. Double sided tape for sticking ticket stubs into my travel journal.

I used to travel with my heavy DSLR camera, but started to find that it was so bulky that I often ended up leaving it in my room. I find that if I travel with a rugged point and shoot like this I end up taking more photos that I wouldn't have taken with my big camera, and you don't have to constantly worry about it when you get stuck in the rain or drop it. Obviously if you are a photographer that advice doesn't apply, but it works for me.

So there you have it! Pack it all in a Ziploc bag to keep it dry, and you are ready to go! 

Valentine's

Somehow it's February already, and Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Where is the year going?! If you are looking for a Valentine's card, take a look in the shop right here. There are lots of block printed hearts ready to send out!

Botanicals

I'm slowly starting to develop my new line of prints for 2014-2015, and I've been looking a lot at old botanical prints for inspiration. I love the way they are highly detailed but still have that bold, 2D look to them. I stumbled across the Biodiversity Library and found these prints that have inspired a few sketches so far.

All images from Biodiversity Library

In Crate & Barrel

 

One of the biggest events of 2013 was getting a big order from Crate & Barrel, without a doubt one of the most exciting moments of running my business so far. And, they are now in stores and up on the C&B website! Check out the cards here and the gift tags here, or head to a Crate & Barrel near you. If you see them, let me know!

Photos from Crate & Barrel

Hello 2014

Obviously it has been 2014 for a while now, but things have been a little crazy around the studio. Usually January is my time to organize and regroup after the madness of the holidays, but this year that didn't quite happen. I came straight back to a huge number of wholesale, retail and custom orders plus a giant reorder from Crate & Barrel (no complaints here, it feels amazing to be so busy in January, just a little unexpected).

2014 is going to be a big year. Next month I am heading out on another big trip (more about that later), plus gearing up for my fourth year at the National Stationery Show. I have a lot of new products just sitting in my brain right now, and I'm waiting for that magical downtime to come so I can get them on to paper.

For now I am working to get this Crate & Barrel order out, which means long days on the press followed by lots of wedding invitation design for all those upcoming summer weddings. Basically it's the perfect excuse to not go outside in this -20 degree weather.

Also, the 2014 calendars are almost sold out so if you've been wanting one, get it now! There are only a few left on the shelves.

Here's to a busy 2014!

Shipping in time for the Holidays!

Christmas is coming! (Have I mentioned that already?) I wanted to post the shipping deadlines here so that everyone can get their orders in time. For international shipping, order by this Monday, December 9th, for holiday delivery. And for domestic orders, get your order in by Friday, December 20th for holiday delivery.

To place an order, head over to the shop. Or, you can shop in person at these markets, or in these stores!