Check out the cherry (literally) ride I spied on the street as I left work a few weeks ago! I suspect the coupe belonged to someone associated with the multiple number of movies shooting in our neighborhood over the past months as Hollywood invaded Boston. This car, a bottle of bubbly, a sunny day at the beach, and some Dion...that is maybe my description of a perfect summer day.
A gal can dream, anyway.
A little over a month ago, I finally got to take a drive out the Northern MA way to visit Letterpress Things. The morning itself was slightly grey and the drive a bit monotonous, but well worth the effort when I met John Barrett, proprietor of all things letterpressed. On certain weekends, he opens his third floor warehouse space up so that typophiles (is that even a word? Well, you know what I mean) like myself can sift through his giant collection of type cuts, presses, cases, and supplies. The Prof and I have tried to make the trip to LPT two times before, once thwarted by other plans and once by a snowstorm. We lucked out this time, though, because the morning we did happen to go to Chicopee, it was just us and John for most of our three hour visit.
John runs a printshop during the week, but LPT is his real passion, and he not only gave us the full tour but also did an impromptu demonstration back in the print shop, where we inked up a press and I got to pull my first print! Luckily, The Prof was there to photograph the whole momentous occasion...
Here's a little description of our process (I'm remembering the best I can, so please excuse if something is in the wrong order.)
Step 1: Pick out something to print
In our case, John chose a kicky little parrot, which we ended up using over my Swiss-looking cut of two children because it had better metal.
Step 2: Lock the type into the case
This step involves arranging a bunch of little pieces of wood to steady the type (or parrot) and locking everything tight with a key.
Step 3: Ink the plate
Pretty self-explanatory, except that the ink was pretty sticky and concentrated. Luckily, I have a light touch.
Ink smear on plate, how very Pollock, no?
After spreading the ink on the plate, you've got to turn the plate and run the rollers over it a bunch of times to get everything coated to the right consistency. John said that it kind of sounded like rolling wet paint onto a wall (it did) and that as a person letterpresses more, s/he knows when the ink is exactly at the perfect consistency by sound alone.
Step 4: Lock in the chase
Basically, we got the whole metal/wood thingy-ma-bob and slid it into the press.
John makes an adjustment to the guides so we don't crush the expensive little pieces in the big metal press.
Inking the type/parrot...
Step 5: The proof
Before you just "take it there", a proof is pressed to check ink coverage and positionng. This is when I first got to see the positive impression of our parrot; I'll call him Morty.
Step 6: (Deep Breath) Pulling a print
Here I am, pulling my first print of Morty. I guess most people don't have a photographer front and center to capture this moment, but luckily The Prof was there. Now we can look at this foto and remember the exact second when I stopped sinking all of my auxiliary money into Catherine Holm pots from Ebay and instead started amassing letterpress things.
Me and Morty; could I look more eerily excited?
Morty immediately after his "birth."
Karate Kid and my letterpress Mr. Miyagi (he said I was a natural.)
I loved my time at Letterpress Things and am planning to buy a press there, a little Kelsey that is in the process Mr. Barrett and start my new hobby -- as an amateur letterpresser. Wootie-woot!!!
Look, we even made the LPT blog! (click on "continue" to read, and look at some more fotos of LPT here.)
...of the illustrated variety, anyhow. I mentioned back during the BoNE Show craziness that Sefan Bucher was one of our "designlebrity" judges. Besides being a good conversationalist, he also undertakes interesting projects, the perfect example being his Daily Monsters. The last (200th!) monster posted on Friday, so congrats to Stefan!
Check out the site; there's just something so mesmerizing about watching a person draw by hand...
Now, in addition to clients giving me design direction, anyone who can navigate the Inter-net also has the opportunity to retouch photos with Photoshop Express (currently in Beta):
"First hinted at by Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen some six months ago, Photoshop Express isn't meant to duplicate/replace Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop Elements. Rather, it's a new member of the Photoshop family that's meant to make Adobe imaging technology immediately accessible to large numbers of people."
— from Jack Nack on Adobe
On one hand, I can't wait to see some of the grotesque results of "common folk" using the clone tool...on the other hand, I've looked around the PSX site, and can't quite figure out why an amateur digital photographer would choose this option over Flickr or native camera software. I could be missing something since I didn't register as a full user? The Photoshop Express site does offer some basic image editing capabilities, as well as the option to make and share galleries in a variety of configurations.
There's no other way to introduce this game than to say, bring on the comments...
The Rather Difficult Font Game
I scored 29 out of 34, and the ones I missed were out of sheer stupidity due to speed (although I do agree with someone's comment that similar faces should be compared, not obviously different options like, say, Wingdings vs. Futura.) Read about the making of the game here. For all those constantly connected design nerds out there, an iPhone/iPod Touch version should be out in the next week.
Just to prove that when I set my mind to something I succeed, here are the CatherineHolm pieces I've collected from Ebay since my post of last week:
I know that I'm content and happy in an apartment when I start setting up tableaus. Here, a 1960s sewing table+chair, dress form that I scored for a ridiculously low price last weekend, a family tree that I made for Nona, Candelas (a birthday gift from Cho+Bobby+BBK)...and two new CH orange enamel saucepots!
I've won a few other auctions, so there are more pots/bowls to come. I'm still on the lookout for red and yellow pieces, since those colors seem to be fairly scarce. The Prof is doing ok with the influx of my new collection...although now that he's gone 100% and shaved all of his facial hair, I'm still adjusting to my "new" roommate.
This morning, I am inspired (and a little giddy) to have discovered Jan Korbes's Garbage Architecture (via BoingBoing via Cribcandy.)
"...Garbage Architecture is a trove of beautiful things made out of salvage and trash, from a chair made out of radials to a staircase made out of timbers from a castle."
YESSIR!
I think some of these examples show that I am, in fact, not insane for continuing to feed my salvage addiction by picking up random street "trash." Plus, these ideas could come in handy for a possible big future project The Prof and I are contemplating starting sooner rather than later (more on that in another post.)
My Garbagetecture favorites:
Elske dining and working table (perhaps our favorite craftsman might oblige to help us make the modernist farm table of my dreams come true if we find the salvaged wood...hmm?)
Bed for Marianne (coincidentally, we could use a new bed frame as well)
Freestanding Stairs
Although Bobby Crocker might argue that some of these projects are more "art" than "architecture" (and he'd be correct,) there's still something so interesting about the transformation of waste into a usable, every day objets d'art...or d'life(?) Also, I enjoy observing the aged textures and colors of reused materials and imagining their life pre-me...probably why I love thrifting so much as well. Plus reusing is "so green" and, in my mind, giving salvage of whatever kind a new purpose maybe atones for all my years of not recycling?
For the Massholians (I use the term only in affection) out there, here are a few local salvage centers that come recommended:
ReStore Home Improvement Center (Springfield, MA)
Boston Materials Resource Center (Boston, MA)
New England Demolition and Salvage (New Bedford, MA)
Restoration Resources (Boston, MA)
We all wish we could live in California, and not just because of the fabled 70 degree weather or bitchin' television ads. Now we East Coasters can bask in the afterglow as the Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury exhibit visits Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover.
I need no further enticement, but should anyone else, "Birth of the Cool presents over 150 objects that examine the painting, architecture, furniture design, decorative and graphic arts, film, and music that launched mid-century modernism in the United States and established Los Angeles as a major American cultural center."
Even more details in this Boston Globe article, but don't ponder for too long -- the exhibit closes on April 13, 2008. In case you miss the midcentury boat, there's always a consolation prize: Eames stamps being issued this summer by the USPS. (photo by David Kamerman/Boston Globe)
Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, through April 13
978-749-4015
Andover.edu/Addison
Depending on perspective, the city of Providence might already seem like a "place of temporary punishment, suffering, expiation, or the like." I mean, look at Buddy Cianci's saga. Through next Wednesday, though, you can check out purgatory baked up nice and neat with a crispy crust -- at the Purgatory Pie Press exhibit (at RISD library.)
A little background on PPP:
"Dikko Faust started Purgatory Pie Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison when he spilled (or pied) an overfilled case of 8 pt century oldstyle his first day at Walter Hamady's letterpress class.
Esther K Smith entered Purgatory when they made their wedding invitation in 1980."
The letterpress studio now operates out of NYC and specializes in collaborating with artists to produce prints, books, and the letterpress application du jour these days, wedding invitations.They set all type by hand; Faust and Smith also publish and teach.
Luckily, The Prof and I are headed down to Provi tomorrow morning to attend a paternal family reunion/Providence College basketball game with the Murphy clan and I have a few a.m. hours to myself while Mark is tutoring in Final Cut. I think I'll try to catch the PPP exhibit, check out a store (Rocket to Mars) that I've had my eye on for over a year, then end with some leisurely browsing on Wickenden Street.
I also found a great post on things to do for a super-packed day in Provi (and everyone who knows me knows that I love to overbook). Read the post here and look a few fun photos.
Yea!
Even though it's only early February AND snow fell this morning in The Bean, I'm ready for Spring, with its bright colors and abundant sunlight!
Various sources of inspiraion, seen and noted during my daily travels this past month...
Obtaining oilcloth, with its cheerful palette and fun patterns, used to mean a trip to Santa Fe (not that I minded) but now locals can get their fix at Tags Hardware in Porter Square for $7.99/yd. I'm thinking of buying some for the bottom of a set of kitchen dinette chairs I'm refinishing.
Could JaquelineKnits Ltd. Apple and Pear Jackets be any cuter, either in name or look? They are like little fruit-protecting babushkas!
I got my red Hunter Wellies years ago, ordered direct from the Scottish source. Of course, now they're "hot." Grrr. One good thing about popularity, I suppose, is that we Yanks can get the cozy "Welly Socks" (shown above in a shot that I took at Tannery's new store in Harvard Square) stateside. I love the idea of my feet being all warm and snug in a big fleecy sock while I tromp through puddles.
Finally, for those early adopters reading, check out the official color forecasts for Spring and Fall (!) 2008...
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