Recap of the 2013 National Stationery Show

We've been back from our trip to 2013 National Stationery Show for 13 days and it was a doozy! Mr. Mate accompanied us on the trip and was a big help as support staff bringing us sweet, icy, caffeinated beverages each day.

This year Sarah from Tutta Lou Press and I shared booth 1875 and the day before our pallet was scheduled to ship, we expanded from a 10x8 foot booth to a 20x8 foot booth. With a little ingenuity and some flexibility, the booth turned out well and gave us much more space.

Unfortunately the extra space also meant ditching our flooring and going with the industrial chic look of the bare concrete floor at Javits. We covered the 8 foot wall with a curtain I had from the 2011 Seattle Gift Show and in our flameproofing adventures, found gaffters tape that closely approximated the chartreuse I used for printing our NSS mailers. You can see our mailers blogged about on Crow and Canary and Urbanic. You can see more shots of the booth blogged on Oh So Beautiful Paper.

All in all I was really happy how the booth turned out and appreciated new buyers, reconnecting with buyers I met last year, and meeting a ton of amazing artists whose work I love.
 

Spring Events

Things are getting hairy over at Orange Twist. Literally. This morning I took time out from the nonstop prep for the National Stationery Show to clean our slow-running bathroom drains. Blech.

Besides occasional household cleaning when I just can't stand the choas and dirt any longer, I've been in full out Stationery Show mode. BUT before Mr. Mate and I jet to New York next month, I'll be participating in three markets which should be festive and fun for all involved. Mother's Day is May 12th and we'll have a great selection of cards for her at each event.

Up first is the May 5 Fremont Sunday Market where I will be sharing space with our friends at Oliotto (awesome leather cuffs and screenprinted tea towels) and Rain City Forge (modern hand forged jewelry). We'll be one booth away from the start of the market in stalls 127 and 128. That weekend is also the Mobile Food Rodeo so it should be a perfect opportunity to chow on some food-truck deliciousness and pick up great cards, cuffs, and jewelry. The Market runs 10 am to 5pm on North 34th Street between Evanston Avenue North and Phinney Avenue North.

I'll be stocking cards and prints at the Phinneywood Art walk Friday and  Saturday, May 10 and 11th at The Studio of Awesome. This pop-up shop will feature over 25 handpicked artists and will run noon to 9 pm each day at 101 N 85th Street Suite 201 (on the opposite corner from the Fred Meyer). 

The final market before the Stationery Show  will be down in Portland at the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale. I'll be in booth 80 and debuting new Portland and Oregon specific designs! This is a one day show, includes goodie bags for the first 200 people in line, and new for this year, a wedding wonderland for brides and grooms looking for handmade goodness on their special day. The show runs 11 am to 6 pm at the Oregon Convention Center, Exhibit Hall D at 777 NE MLK Jr. Boulevard.

Can't wait to see you!

New cards for Moms, Dads, and More

Excited to debut nine new cards just in time for spring! Find out more information about each by clicking on the image or by visiting our shop.

Queen for a day

Sweetest Mom

You sure are swell!

I cannot tell a lie, you're a great Father

You're Tops Pop

Pretty darn glad that you're my dad!

Gee whiz!

Greetings from San Francisco

This too shall pass

Out Like a Lamb

Spring is here and April is just around the corner and I've got lots percolating.

Mr. Mate has been working on setting up a new website that will accommodate a shopping cart and be easier to update and manage.

My year long project of vectorizing and making screens for sixty-plus cards and ten posters is officially OVER!

New designs for Moms, Dads, Grads and more are on the way! Look for the cards in our Etsy shop the second week of April and a sneek peek at the designs next week.

I've been applying to and gathering acceptances for shows for this year. So far I'll be at Crafty Wonderland May 11 in Portland and the Fremont Fair June 22-23 here in Seattle. I'll be adding updates to the website so check back for additional events.

The garden has been planted and the warm weather predicted for this weekend should help things really start growing.

Have a great weekend!

Everyday Granola

Today I woke up with the headache and decided to take it a bit easy. Since then I have gotten up, made toast and tea, and mixed up a batch of granola.

A couple years ago this granola was featured in Bon Appetit and the recipe is by Seattle writer and bogger Molly Wizenburg. Almost immediately this recipe became my go-to thanks to the ground ginger, unsweetened coconut, and small amount of oil.

While I love the basic recipe there a couple ingredients and procedural steps I changed to make the nuts and coconut toasty but not burnt and the dried fruit have just a bit of chew to it.

Here's an adapted version that is delicious by the handful, or with milk, plain yogurt, or on ice cream. I also like to eat it with warm baked apples and yogurt.

Everyday Granola
Adapted from 2010 Bon Appetit recipe by Molly Wizenburg

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper and heat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix following ingredients together in a medium bowl:
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt

Mix the following ingredients together in a saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth:
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix the following ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside:
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I usually use walnuts because I have them on hand)
1/2 cut unsweetened flaked coconut
1 cup of dried fruit (I like raisins and/or cranberries; bits of apricots are also a treat)

Once the oil and honey mixture is smooth, pour over oat mixture and toss until well coated. Spread the oats on the prepared baking sheet bake until golden about 40 minutes. During baking, stir every 10 minutes. During the last stirring mix the fruit, coconut, and nuts into the oats.

Cool and store airtight for up to a week.

A pause for family

February was a rough month for me as the dark dreary days seem like they'd never end. My 95 year-old grandmother fell and gashed open her head mid-month and spent some time in the hospital. Luckily she didn't break any bones, but the passing of an elderly friend earlier in the month made me book at ticket home.

My trip was relaxing, stressful, sad, joyful, sunny, and calming. All my siblings were in town as we celebrated my mom and my nephew's birthdays and came together to visit grandma. It was good.

While I don't know that I'd use the word "revitalized," when I returned to Seattle I felt better. I'd gotten sun and a huge heap of time with family which was just what I needed.

Blinded by blue skies and blossoms in Marysville, California

Face to the sky

Breakfast with my sister

Dinner with my dad

Postage increase

Hey folks, it's that time again. The US Postal Service will be increasing postage rates again. Here's a run down of the basic changes that will effect most of us beginning Sunday, January 27.

New 2 oz letter stamp

First class mail:

• Letters (1oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents
• Letters additional ounces — unchanged at 20 cents
• Letters to all international destinations (1oz.) — $1.10 (available in a global "forever" stamp)
• Postcards — 1-cent increase to 33 cents 

 
Priority Mail Flat Rate:

• Small box — $5.80
• Medium box — $12.35
• Large box — $16.85
• Large APO/FPO box — $14.85
• Regular envelope — $5.60
• Legal envelope — $5.75
• Padded envelope — $5.95  

It's still an amazing deal to send a card anywhere in the US for $.46 and anywhere in the world for $1.10 so don't let these minor price increases stop you from writing to friends!

If you want a full listing of the new pricing and products check out this PDF from the USPS.

Twenty-thirteen

 
It's already 16 days into 2013 and I'm just starting to feel like I've recovered from the holidays.

December was filled with family, a trip to San Francisco for my first ever Renegade Craft Fair, a small market here in Seattle, and, like the rest of 2012, a lot of life and business lessons. Let me just say I kicked myself quite a bit in December, but there's nothing like experience to help you choose a better future path right?!

Last year was a seminal year in terms of sales, new clients, and career milestones. I had a great time forging new business relationships and personal friendships, trying new markets, meeting new clients, keeping up with old clients, exhibiting at the National Stationery Show, and traveling much more than in past years.

With all the good in 2012 came lots of work. The major change was the way my cards were produced. While I still hand print each card, I got a vacuum press, learned the proper way to register my cards, and started designing my cards in a new program. This change has had enormous, and good consequences for my physical well being and mental frustration. While these are amazing outcomes, I had to reburn every single design to a new screen. But before I did this, I decided to vectorize each raster image so that it would be easily scalable for future projects. This process has been fatiguing, frustrating, and taken a ridiculous amount of time but when all is said and done, it will be 100% worth the pain.


I accomplished a lot of my goals for 2012 including expanding my product line, adding new stockists around the country and internationally, reducing waste, increasing the prominence of recycled materials in my line (hello kraft brown 100% recycled envelopes), and ever so slightly increasing my profit.

I did a pretty good job of writing a to-do list every day and reading more.

I didn't get a shopping cart installed on my website, I did not blog once a  week, I don't know that my photography improved, and I failed miserably at getting up at 8 am.

All of these accomplishments and failures led to feeling totally and completely overwhelmed for a lot of the year. But I survived and am in a much better position for pretty much anything that comes my way this year.

My goals for 2013 include:
Being more productive in the time allotted for work
Playing more in my downtime
Reducing waste
Maintaining and nurturing existing stockist relationships while increasing the number of stockists carrying Orange Twist
Producing products I love
Applying for new retail craft fairs and markets in and outside of Seattle
Blogging 2x a month
Revamping Orange Twist website to include all the new images and a shopping cart

It'll be a piece of cake--with a side of humble pie I'm sure.

Happy 2013 to all!

Shopping Urban Craft Uprising

This afternoon I went to Seattle's Urban Craft Uprising and had a great time perusing and shopping all the handmade offerings with graphic designer and friend Anna Goldstein. Some of my favorites of the day are included below.

Molly Muriel is run by Branda Tiffany and features all natural bath and body products. The soap and candle scents were amazing as was the newly designed and screenprinted packaging.

Mucho Design features jewlery and fiber arts by Seattle artist Pamela Davis. Her designs are a mix of materials--think leather, feathers, fur, metal, and embroidery--and are beautiful statement pieces.

Murmur Fremo is run by Tere an artist who works with paperclay and paint makes adorable miniature animals that have endearing expressions and adorable outfits. The monkey in the banana is currently my favorite.

Three Bad Seeds is run by Amanda, Josh, and Mars and their sturdily constructed, adorable animal pillows and adorable display won my heart. Their materials come from thrifted wool and linen clothing which they then turn into stuffed love for the nursery or couch.

Flying Bird Botanicals is run by Scout Urling and features sustainably sourced drinking chocolates, tea, and body care. The drinking chocolate infused with rose, lavender mint, vanilla, and orange intrigued me to no end.

Other favorites from the show included Maple XO, and Formulary 55, Boarding School, Pampeana Empanadas, and Iris Guy Sofer Jewelry.

Urban Craft Uprising runs again tomorrow from 11-5 pm at Seattle Center.

Holiday Wrappings

I love gorgeous wrapping paper but the environmentalist in me also loves consuming less. I'm a fan of repurposing, recycling, and being creative with whatever is on hand and when wrapping presents I am particularly fond of newspapers. The imagery, the patterns of text, and headlines are great ways to tell a story about gift you are giving or to person to whom you are giving the gift.

This holiday season if you find yourself without a dedicated roll of wrapping paper, consider the simple, graphic beauty of newspaper and string.