Posts tagged intern
Julia & Dan
My intern Julia Neises just got married recently and I thought it would be great to share her wedding invites. They turned out absolutely amazing, so proud of her :) She started planning early this year around the same time she started her apprenticeship—Julia splits her time at my shop and nextdoor which gives her a unique blend of both worlds.
All the text was set in metal, the image carved from linoleum blocks then hand-printed on the Vandercook. Definitely labor-intensive but worth all the work!
What’s great about this project is that she was able to take it from concept to production and learned quite a bit during the process (i.e. what makes a design suited for letterpress, basic typography and composition, how to mix inks, trim and prep paper, etc..). And her hard work shows. This wedding suite is classic and beautiful, you can tell she poured her heart into this one. Good work lady!
Do you know how to wax seal an envelope?
…well, let us tell you how! Ms. Camille was gracious enough to do this for me, what a sport :) We sent this how-to video to our client to help with her invite crafting. This just shows the extent of my OCD and how far I’ll go to try and control a situation ;) Enjoy!
P.S. Thanks to my brother, Carlos for filming the vid! It took a while to stop the giggling but he and Cam eventually pulled it together.
Hello Camille + Bird Loves Bee Event
Camille is my other lovely intern who has been a great addition to the Olive-Route family recently. Besides helping me at the shop, she keeps very busy with other things: keeping a full-time job, freelance writing, starting her own small press, publishing her first set of art “zines,” producing and curating her first art show coming up…just to name a few things on her plate. Geez, this girl is one busy bee!
Speaking of bees…Camille has been hard at work all season for her upcoming show next week titled “Bird Loves Bee” where she will release the 3 art zines she’s been producing as well as showcasing some local talent in the art and music industries. To read more about this event, please visit her pages:
Birdlovesbee
One Red Delicious Press
FB Event Invite
Here are some photos of her recent work for the event. Hope you can make it! Your support of small business and all things crafted by hand and heart is always, always appreciated. What Camille is putting together is quite an undertaking, I’m very proud of her and wish her the best! You can purchase copies of her zines as well as the limited-edition letterpressed poster at the event.
The event is on Friday, January 21st from 8-midnight (free admission).
A writer in New York: Printing and Pressing in the Big Apple
by Camille
As a writer and an aspiring book artist, I had a great opportunity to participate in the Letterpress Printing & Fine Press Publishing Seminar at The Center For Book Arts in New York in November. After submitting a portfolio of my writing, I was invited, along with seven other writers, to spend a week letterpressing and printing in the Chelsea District of New York City. For five days, I had the opportunity to meet with writers from a range of diverse backgrounds—writers teaching in art programs for youth to recent graduates from some of the top MFA writing programs in the country—who shared their insights and experiences from different cultural and social perspectives.
Taught by poet and master printer, Barbara Henry, we spent the week learning about the history of printing, handsetting our pieces of writing, and printing them as a part of a limited edition collection. We heard lectures from professionals in the field—printers, fine press publishers, book artists, and dealers—to get a practical overview of letterpress printing and fine press publishing. This included visits from book artist Sarah McDermott of The Kidney Press and editor Emily Brandt of the Brooklyn-based publication, No, Dear. This experience was invaluable, as I am currently publishing my own limited edition zine, Birdlovesbee.
It was nice to spend some time handsetting type again—a truly time consuming and detailed task. I like how, in a world that is constantly filling every free moment with something to do, it forces you to slow down and indulge in the art of typography and something old world. Opportunities like these are rare, and I love how programs at The Center For Book Arts, as well as local-based San Francisco Center for the Book, continue to inspire and teach the craft of letterpress.
Hello Lauren
Just wanted to write a post formally introducing Ms. Lauren Aczon. She’s been an intern at my shop since the beginning of summer and came to my rescue during peak wedding season when I was in over my head with production work. She started out doing some assembly work and was up for some non-glamorous tasks at the shop—organizing samples, trimming paper, archiving, and even spray painting!
But since then, her internship evolved into something closer to an artist in residence so-to-speak but without the living in my shop part :) Lauren expressed interest in letterpress from the get go, and had some previous Vandercook experience in college which always helps. She’s also a fantastic artist and after perusing through her sketchbook, I could easily see how her style of linework would translate well into letterpress. I harnessed my inner mother-hen and encouraged her to print her own work and see where it takes her…
Well, after 6 months of learning to print at the shop, Ms. Lauren attended an art Expo showcasing some of her prints, opened up an etsy site to sell paper goods, and will be exhibiting some artwork coming up at her local cafe! All this is documented on her blog here—and yes, she started a blog too. Not bad for a newbie :)
Here are some images of her work which can also be seen on her online profiles:
site: http://laurenaczon.carbonmade.com/
blog: http://quickeningforce.blogspot.com/
etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Quickeningforce
Looking forward to seeing what else she comes up with!
p.s. Hilarious how she calls me “Mistress” as opposed to “Master” which would be a term an apprentice would call someone in my case. But I don’t think either term would really work since I’m far from being a master of my craft. Funny none-the-less! :)
Inspiration: Re-imagining Holiday Giving by Making Old Things New Again
Every time during this time of year, I am inspired by how creative people are. Sometimes, in the hubbub of our busy lives, we are just waiting for an excuse to make things and be creative with our hands, and the holiday season seems to make that possible. Since we are at a time when saving and reusing is very important, I though I would share some inspiration from artists/crafters that really take the art of ‘re-imagining’ to a new level. Something old can really be something new again in the eyes of a designer who sees beyond a piece’s functionality and makes it part of something that crosses the line of what it was originally designed for. The best seem to find ways to make something ‘useless’ into something timeless. I wanted to share some designs that I found especially inspiring for the holiday season; the pieces I found I feel are aesthetically pleasing, charming, and in some cases, really functional as well.
I admit, terrarium fever is running rampant, and I wasn’t spared the sickness. I love love love how the possibilities are endless with terrariums. This is a cool little terrarium design by a local SF blogger, Ann of The Hipster Home: the terrarrium in a lightbulb. Here an old lightbulb houses a little bit of life and light again. Terrariums are great gifts because they are all kinds of pretty, they are living but don’t require a lot of work to keep them alive, and they make great gifts and centerpieces for the holidays. Also, with a bit of ribbon or string they would make great holiday ornaments, too!
The folks over at Wiley Valentine have come up with some classic terrarium inspirations, creating worlds within a world with recycled mason jars and old vases…
…while Shopground takes a more modern approach with its simple and sleek orbs!
Repurposing with old furniture is also another way to come up with creative, new, and functional pieces for your home, especially with holiday decor. I find that old drawers are great for creating 3-dimensional display spaces on walls, and depending on the occasion, can house whatever you like. Eversunny over on Etsy has created this simple drawer wall decor, which I think has endless possibilities.
And in the theme of letterpress, old type cases seem to be inspiring crafters as well. This type case drawer over at Blue Bird Heaven is shown here as a way to display your jewelry. But it could be used for special events as well: Perhaps a countdown to Christmas, with little tags showing the number of days until the big day? Or, a great way to display seating numbers for guests at a wedding reception? Or maybe a beautiful way to store spices and herbs in your kitchen? Or..0r..or….
In the end, letting your creativity manifest through old, repurposed things can bring about a wealth of new light and life into your home this holiday season. What better way is there to start the new year?
-Camille
