Lauren's Last Day at Olive Route

Last May I started my dream internship at Olive Route Press, and last week it came to a quiet end. Over the past year I have learned so much from VSM about letterpress printing and design, how to run a small business, and how to nourish career choices that are personally fulfilling as well as economically viable. With her help I further specified my goals as an artist, leaning more toward illustration and collaboration. Thanks, Via! On my last day, she greeted me with a gorgeous bouquet wrapped in this great vividly patterned paper:

 

I then proceeded to work my butt off all day printing personal collateral - notecards, stationery, and oversized business cards - featuring the handwritten name of my blog (homage to my favorite inspirational quote by modern dance choreographer Martha Graham) letterpressed in a dusky gold ink. Since I plan to pair these with some quirky yet soulful Nick Bantock-esque envelopes I discovered at Paper Source, I stuck to neutral papers: a textured off-white for the square cards and letterhead, recycled cardstock and thick ivory for business cards.

Click any picture to enlarge for detail

 

 

 

Surprise! This one has an orange interior, sweeeeeeet!

 

This should last me awhile!

 

You are good!

... the latter of which reminds me to remind you to stay tuned for more on my "professional identity."

In Hindsight: St. Patty's Day at The Baltic

Baby shower: Hello, Cloie!

My big cousin is carrying the first baby of the new Aczon generation! The little girl, named for our grandmother Clotilde, is expected to join our family in June or July of this year. We call her Cloie for short (pronounced like Chloe).

I printed these postcards for her baby shower a few weeks ago. We set up a table with markers and stamps, and invited guests to write some words of widsom, love, or welcome to our baby girl.

a small testament to the butterfly tattoo on Cloie's mommy

Courtesy of Paper Plus Outlet on San Pablo, Berkeley

I paired a bold wood type with the feminine and highly symbolic butterfly (hand carved for another occasion by VSM), in a pink and green that matched the original Evite sent out to family and friends. I rounded the corners and found some cute vintage postmark rubber stamps to embellish the writing side of the postcard, just for fun.

Hello, Cloie!