Christmas Gifts For Print Lovers

Christmas is close and what I love most about it is giving. Giving a gift isn’t the easiest thing in the world, and it can sometimes turn into a nightmare if you’re not into crowded scenes blustering with promotional sales urging you to BUY. Gifts after all should mean something; it’s personal for the receiver and the giver.

Here’s a collection of gift ideas for those in your life who are graphically, designerly and tasterly inclined. This curated list also happens to marry the digital with the wonderfully tactile medium, print.

MINIMAL PHOTO BOOKS FROM YOUR PHONE
image source Artifact Uprising

Style Your Next Party With Paper Goods

DIY PAPER GOODS: FOXY BABY
FEATHERED HATS, WOODEN CAKE TOPPER,
LETTERPRESS BUNTING & ORIGAMI FOXES

Seems like forever since I last posted, and it’s not for idleness, and actually I like the fact that I don’t have to post (despite the rules of social media), but want to post. My baby girl turned a year and I had a very full couple of months preparing for her party. As the usual, there were some obstacles, like finding the right decorations, cake and outfit. The rest and certainly most importantly fell into place when friends and family arrived and enjoyed the day with us.

I initially started by thinking up of a theme. I turned to Pinterest to gather some birthday themes for kids and created an inspiration board to gather ideas. I really liked the woods animal theme, but I also loved the origami theme too, and I knew I wanted some sort of photo backdrop. I figured out how to fold a fox, a bear, a rabbit, but as time permitted I could only project and letterpress one of them. The deer would have won out, but I couldn’t find a simplified origami version of it, and so my Foxy Baby was born!

We got a cake made, and made a calligraphic cake topper ourselves. I did some freehand calligraphy and my hubby carved it out of 2 mm aeronautic plywood--a nice keepsake for the coming years. The cool thing about this is we didn’t have to stop short with style choices that on-line businesses offer you for calligraphy cake toppers. If you’ve got a flair for doodling, I’m sure finding a laser or wood cutter could help do the job.

TEEPEE WITH STAR RIBBON & POM-POM
BIRTHDAY CAKE WITH WOODEN CALLIGRAPHY TOPPER

My color choices were salmon, gold and a watery green (best way to describe it). The watery green was hard to find in paper. Actually I did find an awesome Japanese paper in just the right color and did get it shipped from Denmark. I absolutely love it, so much I decided not to use it! So, that’s how watery green got nudged out of the design. Surprisingly gold paper was easy to find and got some shimmery sheets in thick card stock by Favini for half the price.

The idea that these party paper goods inevitably get taken out with the biodegradable paper plates and excess cake frosting made me a little uneasy. But that’s what party paper goods are made for, for the sole purpose for party. So I thought it important to weight in equal parts function, design and cost. Best not to spend a fortune on specialized paper for kid parties, but still find the right paper, design and printing technique to make it look good!

PARTY HATS & ORIGAMI LETTERPRESS FOX

I wanted party hats, but I knew I would never find them at any stationery store here. Yes it’s true, online everything is a cinch, but as noted before, most of these novelties come from America...and living in Italy you must tag on shipping costs and the like and decorations alone can push you over budget! The obvious solution was to make my own (with a little help from my friends). After looking at a few tutorials online, party hats, festooning and bunting was made.

For the photo backdrop, we got an Indian teepee custom sewn by a local tailor. We chose a cotton linen blend material for the teepee and some pretty trim and cotton star ribbon to embellish it from La Boutique, a modern old fashioned haberdashery in town.
It was to serve not only as a backdrop, but a cubby hole for our growing girl that can last her long after the cake’s been eaten.

Letterpress Chalkboard :: Beer On A Curve

My recent explorations in chalkboard paper for a client has been satisfying. On an earlier post I wrote about making your own chalkboard paper rather than downloading a digital file. At first I started off with hand lettering and a paper wire bound construction for the drink menu, but with the client we thought it wouldn’t survive the wear and tear. Back to the drawing board...

MY VANDERCOOK MAKES BEER ON A CURVE

DIY :: Chalkboard Paper

I was doing some shop comparisons and recording results. What a fun challenge to find not just the least expensive paper route, but also authentic. I needed to find some chalk paper and realized that most of the chalk paper sold are digitally mastered pdfs. Which got me thinking... Why pay for a digital file when the possibility to make my own shouldn’t be that difficult? After all, I only needed a small quantity and the essentials I already have: black card stock, white chalk pencil and a fixative to prevent my work from rubbing off. It worked!

PENCIL SHAVING ON BLACK CARDSTOCK,
CHALK PENCIL & FIXATIVE FOR ADHERING
DIY CHALKBOARD PAPER

Is Graphic Design Art?

So there’s a question older than “why are we here”.  Is graphic design art? Some say it depends on whether the project functions for the sake of monetary gain versus existing for its own sake. But maybe it’s about the scope.

PROTOTYPE, PLAY AT WORK.
EXPERIMENTS WITH HANDLETTERING
DRINK MENU 

Turntable Tuesday :: Paper Chase

What is the most important factor when designing a stationery project? Some would say the concept others would say resources. I would have to say paper a lot of times. It communicates feeling, craftsmanship and richness that is hard to convey with ink and ideas alone.

Italy is an old country and along with it come craftsmen from generations down. They have their methods, and imbue soul into what sometimes seems a soulless market place. This is indeed why we, paper lovers, are so inclined to them. They are elusive, plainly dressed and always at the dinner table to share a story.

DETAIL WINTER WEDDING Piedmont, Italy
 Letterpress silhouette bride and groom
Magnani’s Etrusca - textured Italian paper

Turntable Tuesday :: A Typecase Made with Amore

The end of the day can be an accumulation of, well just that, the end of the day. There are some habits I try to keep even with a newborn soon to turn one, like walking at the golden hour listening to my favorite podcasts.
Today on my routine walk was Radiolab’s tribute to renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks. On my normal route this evening, crossing a barrier gate I’ve crossed over a number of times before, I noted the word “nice” printed on it as part of the insignia.
I’m not sure how to come full circle with this Tuesday post except for the loud and clear message of love. The things we do and make for each other, not just on certain days, but base a life on it, like Mr. Sacks did. You base a life betting that the person you come into contact with will have a good share of it and at some point at that golden hour it will come back full circle, and it does.

MY TYPECASE MADE WITH LOVE 

Turntable Tuesday :: Ephemera Flag Tags

If you are a paper lover, chances are you have saved some type of beautifully designed ephemera along the way. I know I have! Some of my absolute favorite types to collect are paper sample booklets. They are such a great source of inspiration, as mentioned in a previous post. They are usually beautifully designed by agencies with the sole aim to showcase the companies paper. They are wonderfully tactile, and most times humorous telling the story of something or someone around the theme, paper.

Why not put some of this collected ephemera to work and create something for your own stationery needs? In this instance, I used some paper from an old sample booklet I had by International Paper featuring Beckett Paper’s 'True Felt'. Petrick Design designed a booklet with truth quotes foil stamped or engraved. With them, I cut out flag tags, punched a hole and added a paper cord.

FLAG TAGS :: MADE FROM EPHEMERA PAPER

"BEAUTY IS TRUTH, TRUTH BEAUTY.
THAT IS ALL YE KNOW ON EARTH,
AND ALL YE NEED TO KNOW."
JOHN KEATS

“THE TRUTH IS RARELY PURE AND NEVER SIMPLE."
OSCAR WILDE

How to Sketch Ideas

For some of us sketching might mean doodling on a napkin, for others it means saving visual inspirations on a mobile application (Evernote comes to mind) or perhaps Pinterest. But it all starts with an idea and then evolves into visual form.  Brainstorming the big idea is the hard part, but it’s also the most stimulating for me.

After the big idea and visual doodling, mock it up.

Print tests: checking out lay out and best paper for this project :: Stay Tuned!

Turntable Tuesday :: Letterpress Seed Packages

This post is long overdue, but hey really relevant come next spring! I organized a letterpress seed project with other European letterpress gals, except for two ladies who came from California and Mexico City. There is a brief description of the concept and list of participants here. It was fun collaborating with these talented people. I even managed to eat some of the fruits of our labor and have seen some of the plants come back to flourish again in 2015!

EUROPEAN LADY LETTERPRESS PRINTERS 
FROM GERMANY, ICELAND, BELGIUM, ITALY, NETHERLANDS, CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO

Mini DIY :: Paper Gauge Pins For Letterpress

When I first started out printing, I used metal gauge pins on my tabletop press. Now I prefer the disposable paper gauge pins made at home. I had a very tight registration to do for a client once and broke a metal one having to shift my paper around to find the perfect position.  I was a little sad about it and rather than break another, my husband jumped in and suggested we make some paper ones.

Paper ones give me a lot of leverage when I have to reposition my paper to get the colors to line up perfectly. They are inexpensive, easy to make and work well in my opinion. If you want to make your own, read on!

PAPER GAUGE PINS

Turntable Tuesday :: Milan Loves Trendy

HIGH TECH IN MILAN

If you’re in Milan, and have an hour to spend, High Tech may be your type of space. It’s an all go to mash up concept store which has samples of the latest trends in stationery to post modern furniture design.

Turntable Tuesday :: DIY Kraft Wrapping Paper Tips

There’s a flood of cool wrapping paper on the market today. A simple home printer and ordinary kraft packing paper can be all you need...well almost. Kraft paper is a good choice for home printers, because it already has a rustic lack-luster look to it. Often times with home printers, color prints aren’t as vibrant as one would hope. After you’ve created or found artwork, you need to use graphic design software, in particular layout software to print the way you want on your home printer.  An alternative are the tons of savvy blogs or sites (heard of pinterest) today with free pdfs that you can print directly from!

DIY KRAFT WRAPPING PAPER 

Old Printer Trick

Before you go to press, you need your form locked up nice and tight. However, it can happen that when you lock it up, your composition inside the chase isn’t tight enough, but the furniture you have available doesn’t fit in the loose space. What do you do?
An old printer trick is to cut paper to length/height size and slip it inside. It works!

Turntable Tuesday :: Summer Sparkles

Share some summer sparkles and tunes at your next soirée. Have a great Tuesday!

SUMMER SPARKLES Playlist

FREE DESKTOP SCREENSAVER 

Turntable Tuesday :: Italian, Dutch, French Adorable Toys

There have been so many reasons why having a baby in the house has been a delight. For one, discovering cool toys and the designers behind them!

Happy July 4th :: Baby Fireworks

(updated) I’ll call them baby fireworks, but they’re actually confetti launchers. I think these are a great alternative to fireworks for babies like mine who are 8 months! We don’t celebrate the 4th in Italy (wink-wink), but I really wanted Maya to experience some of my/her root traditions.

Turntable Tuesday :: Homestyle Classic Rock-n-Roll

I like clean modern aesthetics in just about everything, but softness to a homestyle environment is essential too. Just as the birds and bees co-exist with hard manmade structures; textures and aromas can add warmth to a space.

LEFT: PHILIP BARLOW FABRIC, KOH-I-NOOR TOOTHBRUSH
RIGHT: STEPHANIE NG LIGHT FIXTURE, ABREEV’S CONCEPT DISH P SUP

E-mail Newsletter :: Letterpress, Workshop & Handmade

Pirouette Press is located in Piedmont, Italy. A very special place and just a skip from the Langhe wine hills. For those of you planning a wedding, or for those of you planning a special event I would love to work on your stationery designs. I also conduct letterpress workshops in my studio if you are more interested in learning the craft. Keep up with latest and subscribe to the email newsletter. 

La Vita E’ Bella! :: Free Screensaver Download

La Vita è Bella! Summer breeze, seaside, fruit jams, prosecco and vespa can be equated to, aww, Italy! Free desktop screensaver download for you to celebrate a HAPPY SUMMER.

What I Love About Letterpress :: Messy & Wonderful

What I love about letterpress.
Playing with paper-its colors and textures that come in direct contact with ink. The results are often surprising and even the mess ups are wonderful. They often times encourage your creative impulses. I think I’ll dedicate a few posts to the messy and wonderful!

Letterpress Summer Camp :: Risparmiate DIY Inviti

Save money on your special letterpress prints for a special event and come to a two day letterpress summer camp! By the way, I’m located in north Italy -- just a skip away from the wine hills. Letterpress by morning and sip outstanding Italian wine from the tons of wineries in our area. Sounds like my kind of camp.

IT: Risparmiate soldi sulle vostre invite matrimoniale o qualsiasi evento speciale! Venite a un campo estivo DIY.

more info. pirouettepress@gmail.com

Baptism Letterpress Invites :: Inviti di Battesimo

Battesimi (baptisms) are a pretty big deal here in Italy. A Sunday lunch out in a nice restaurant is customary to celebrate after mass. I printed up our little one’s invites for the special occasion. It had been a while since I’d used my metal type/decoration opting many times to use cliches.

INVITI BATTESIMO | BAPTISM INVITE LETTERPRESS SUITE
METAL TYPE COMPOSITION | TWO COLOR PERIWINKLE & HOT HAUS ROSE

Organic Food, Italian Markets, Gardens and Printing Inspiration

Juggling a new little being in the house has made getting back to the studio slower than I first imagined. Actually just getting out the door can sometimes be tricky. Having said that, I do add on more responsibility to my “to do list” that increases the workload and perhaps marginalizes time in my studio.

It’s baby food making mode here lately. It’s a bit of a paradox finding organic food living in Italy, and you’d clearly expect for every Italian mother to make her own baby food (yeah, 25 years ago). I mean, EXPO is being held this year, and everyone should be conscious of healthy eating habits (that should start at birth) right? Still, there are two main producers of canned baby food and a lot of mothers opt for it. Actually I think it’s probably more of a trend in America making homemade baby food, but I could be wrong.

Another paradox I’ve found is locating organic food here. Yes, we have farmers markets and yes families in rural areas generally have plots dedicated to food for big folk, but living in the north means there are pockets when there are no veggies growing in the garden and all depends on the weather. This year, for instance we have tons of cherries! And like the weather, studio time comes in pockets when I can sit down to sketch or typeset and start to think about what colors to use on the next project. 

Papê :: A Pre-Cool Stationery Shop and Lab

We spent Sunday afternoon in Genova to visit friends Nora and Marco - aka Manolab. Nora has just ventured into opening Papê, a boutique stationery shop in Genova. It’s no ordinary card shop and showcases some fun & unique graphic design pieces as well as screen printed t-shirts and children's art books. I picked up the one and only children’s book illustrated by Saul Bass...

NORA & MARCO

PAPER FLOWER BOUQUET TO SEND VIA POST

Spencerian Calligraphy at Castello di Morozzo

Today I spent some hours at an introductory course on Spencerian style calligraphy with Simona Picciotto at the equally romantic events location Castello di Morozzo. During these short months away from my press, I'm interested in taking my doodling one step or two forward. At first we did an exercise I found fun and visually interesting. We taped together two pencils to simulate the behavior of calligraphy nibs. Then, just like in grade school, we spent a great deal of time copying letters again and again until we felt more rhymic in our wrists.

Valentines :: Doodling, Hand-Lettering and Coloring Book Style

Valentines must be one of my favorite holidays...a day set aside to just say I love you and share something nice. Yes, I know everyday should be so sweet. This year, no printed cards! My little Maya has consumed me and I’m alright with it. Actually it’s given me the time to practice doodling again and creating things “handmade”. Typically, I think of my cards as handmade, and they are, but sketching entails no machines.

Pushing myself, or exploring the romanic and softer side of things too. Botanicals are a theme I’ve been wanting to play with and here I drew tons of tiny rosettes which could be colored in to your liking and varied--kinda like a coloring book.

Letterpress Bomboniere

These letterpress “bomboniere” (fancy sweet box) were made for a baby who was born about a month after Maya. In Italy, it’s common to give back a little treat to those who gave you and your baby a gift. Here in Italy that gift is typically given after the baby is born...baby showers are a newish thing here.

I’d really like to add more of these wooden vintage toys to a collection soon!

LETTERPRESS BOMBONIERE | TWO COLORS BLOSSOM PINK & STEEL GREY
PRINTED ON CLASSIC CREST 110 LB PAPER | BESPOKE DESIGN

Letterpress on T-shirts

I had fun experimenting with letterpress on t-shirts with other creatives. The shirts were designed and made by Korai. It wasn't the easiest because letterpress in my opinion isn’t made for t-shirt type material. Still I had to try it out for myself to understand the pros and cons. The pros were the modern/vintage effects obtained. The cons were the difficulty in obtaining a clean print or making sure the roller didn’t get snagged on the cloth.

WILLIAM BLAKE’S ‘TIGER TIGER’
LETTERPRESS AND HANDSET IN WOOD  TYPE

Baby Shower Invitation

New Year upon us and if you are like me, you’ve got plenty of design inspiration and desperately seeking for time to do it all. Like mentioned on a previous post, being a creative means enjoying just about all acts of creating, which can be daunting but very satisfying!

Illustration and Design Pirouette Press | Screen printing Sire Press |
Gold Ink on French Paper Whip Cream

Lately it’s been pretty baby centric here. Before we welcomed Maya, a baby shower was given to her back in Texas. Needless to say, stationery is my specialty and I wanted to design her cards. This time round, I decided to focus on the design and leave the printing to Sire Press who did a great job screen printing! I absolutely love the gold ink on French Paper's Whip Cream!

The design is available for letterpress or flat printing.
Send inquiries at pirouettepress@gmail.com