Having a mother that catered many gourmet meals and fantastic wedding cakes during my childhood, it was inevitable that an affable bond with dish ware would grow in her only daughter. When my mom would do large parties she was always on the hunt for something that had the right amount of presentation but still left the food as the central focal point. We were always hunting antique stores for the next platter or tea cup or pitcher. She was a master at food art. Her table settings at home still are nothing short of amazing.

The irony of it all is that among her Spode, Lennox, Dansk, Fiestaware, and Waterford Crystal – a piece of pyrex did not exist. Even more ironic is that I’ve somehow fallen in love with the domestic staple of household casseroles – the Pyrex in all its mid-century modern glory. While browsing for vintage dishes yet again on flickr and Etsy I came across this lovely collection and just had to share, from one semi-domesticated woman to another.

Photo Credit: lolie jane originally found on Flickr.

As we pulled through the weekend, and into Monday morning, it was a rude awakening to find that my mother had suffered a stroke. I immediately headed to Salt Lake to be with her, my husband called from the ER, David had Type 1 Diabetes. It was such a shock – so overwhelming for the next 18 months. Psychologically draining. And then, it became life as we knew it. I remember family telling me, soon I won’t remember what life was like without diabetes. It felt like forever.

While I still have flashbacks of our former life, they come less often. As I reflect today on World Diabetes day I mourn every child, adult, mother, sister, brother that is affected by diabetes. Their family and friends aren’t excluded from the urgency of the disease. However, I then realize that we have SO much to be grateful for. For life saving insulin, medical devices and modern technology.

It is SO appropriate that World Diabetes Day falls in November – because it is a time to be thankful for all that we do have, and that it is a completely and totally livable disease. If you have a diabetic in your family, give them a hug today and let them know how proud you are of them. They go through hell on a daily basis, but are the most positive, energetic and inspiring people I know. Here’s to another November – cheers to my sugar baby, I love you David – you are the best son a mother could ask for!

Not only has she been wearing this costume non-stop since halloween, she might just have to become the new Twitter mascot…haha just kidding! I love you my beautiful blue bird, thanks for letting me be a part of your Halloween costume fun!

I’m excited to introduce some new offerings as well to go along with your beverage of choice while the weather gets cooler – COASTERS!

There are five different patterns based off our holiday cards from last year: Peace, Love, O Come let us adore him (above), Sleep in heavenly peace, and a new Hanukkah letterpress coaster.

All coasters are letterpress printed on 110# cotton paper with 2 waterfast inks per coaster. Packed as a set of 10 in a beautiful 4″ tin with a clear windowed lid.

To see the rest of the patterns head on over and grab a set for your coffee table for the holidays. Reusable, they’ll last you through this holiday season and into next!

Every time I hop on here to write a blog post I stop myself short and don’t end up doing anything. If I pick up where I left off, and just start blogging about work again I feel I have cheated you who have been wondering where the hell I’ve been. This blog has always been a place for business and a love of letterpress and design. Interspersed sporadically is the occasional recipe, project, window shopping binge, and family life post. While this blog is out there for the world to see, I never intended to feel such a personal connection with those who follow. What once was blogging for business, ended up becoming exploring business technique and design with friends. I feel like I’ve been on a major adventure, one that has been hard to share. Maybe someday I will. I’m torn between sharing our summer with you and ruining the fun atmosphere and life of a letterpress printer. I’m torn because I want other mothers or fathers that have small businesses to find comfort in trials and that business may need to be put on hold for awhile while priorities get changed for whatever reason – but I don’t feel like I’m totally qualified to offer up advice.

In the end it boiled down to this: I didn’t want to write because I don’t want people feeling sorry for me, and for awhile I just felt like complaining like a cranky old woman. Life is what you make it – while this year has totally sucked, it has also been one of the most rewarding. Every time I think that nothing worse could happen, it does. But in the end, I take comfort in the fact that while I am mortal, I have not yet died. My family still loves me, and my clients keep begging me to start up work again. I must be doing something right, even if all the wrong things have to happen first. I could blog about all sorts of business things to do as a fail-safe for illness, death and family emergencies. But in the end, even those aren’t insurance that you will keep your head above water.

So without further adeu, I’m slowly and insecurely coming out of my shell again and will be back with regular business posts, as I am fully back to work now officially! Thanks for your patience and understanding, I don’t really know how else to put it into words but know that I’ve been missing the regular networking and correspondence and look forward to jumping back into things come hell or high-water!

A little sneak peek into what will be a fabulous post tomorrow!

Part of me feels like I just want to keep things undercover. I’m having a hard time blogging because there are so many elements demanding my attention – it is just hard to focus. With that said, my doctors told me to continue to get work done and be a mother. I’ve been working at the computer, and printing orders and wrapping up wholesale orders. I think its time to pop up around here again. I can’t guarantee I’ll be regular for the next month or two but I’ll be sure to check in and share some new product and projects.

Bear with me, it’s been raining a lot over here metaphorically. Thankfully I have my wonderful project manager Emily to help out around the studio, and Lorraine my wonderful intern just finished up an awesome job for May and June.

To brighten my day (and hopefully add to yours) I wanted to show you some awesome notebooks that debuted at National Stationery Show. I’m listing them in both shops tonight.

These are 3.5×5″ notebooks. Great for recipes, grocery lists, notes really whatever suits your food fancy. Each journal is printed on Italian Arturo mouldemade paper. (Lavender, Blush and Avacado). The covers are on 250GSM weight paper and letterpress printed in 4 ink colors. Interior text pages are 70# sheets, saddle-stitched and there are 20 pages per notebook.

When everything went pear-shaped after David was diagnosed with diabetes, my father-in-law was one of the first to learn how to give injections, check blood sugars and take care of David so we could have a date night every once in a blue moon. For a parent of a diabetic, those nights came few and far between. Oh how I wish I had been more grateful for those times instead of worrying about stupid blood sugars.

At this time, the only comfort that we have is that he is now so happy to be reunited with Brian’s mom Sandy. These last eight years have not been easy for him with her passing. I know it was a happy reunion and has been long awaited by him. While we have been clinging on to such a great man, I feel blessed to know that someday we will see him again too and be together as a family.

I feel so blessed to be married to a husband that is so much like his father. While this tears our hearts apart, I know that Brian had the best father a boy could ask for, and that their relationship will be one that will be sorely missed. Everything that I love about Brian I can attribute to that amazing man – to his wonderful parents. From drive, hard work and passion to love, sensitivity and kindness I’m so honored to know that I can look at my husband’s hands and see his father’s mannerisms and determination in them. In the way he holds our children close, the way he ties flies for fishing, the the rough skin from rowing a boat day in and day out on the river. A great man has left the earth this week and we will forever be in awe of all the lives he touched but especially for being the best father to Brian, father-in-law to me, and loving grandpa to our children. He will not be forgotten, especially by his grandchildren.

This card was fun to research and find an appropriate saying to pair with it. In the end I decided that religious or not, we can all agree that its not easy being a saint – especially when there is work to get done, or beds to be made, or children that need feeding. But having the right attitude can sure make a difference in the outcome of any chore or task. Saint or not, what are your dreaded tasks that could use a morning prayer or glass of wine at the end of the day?

This card makes me chuckle. When designing it, I intended to portray the image that good kings are best served when they serve their people. But when it came off press I kept wanting to read it instead of true kings serve their people well but as true kings serve their people hell. Because really; what king hasn’t served hell  to some degree on a silver platter throughout history?

However, after it was all said and done, I feel like we landed some amazing accounts for wholesale and are continuing to write orders from contacts made at the show. Not only were there great buyers but we’ve had some incredible press as well. Thank you everyone who has stopped by and supported Dingbat Press. Whether I met you at NSS, you’ve been a follower of the blog, an Etsy buyer, a twitterer, or facebook follower, or DEVOTED CLIENT, we really love you and wouldn’t be here without your continued support.

I’m preparing an NSS recap but that will have to wait for Business Friday as I’m still waiting on my camera to arrive (I shipped it home, gasp)! And I need to organize my thoughts. I also wanted to ask before I post, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT OUR NATIONAL STATIONERY SHOW EXPERIENCE? I’m going to bear it all because it really was 9 months of hard pregnancy and a hell of a baby to birth ;)

Upon hearing back in the comments section, I’ll make notes and blog about it Friday.

In the meantime – as stated in the post title, I’m bursting at the seams. What has been a labor of love this last year, can now be introduced to the world: our brand new every day collection by Dingbat Press (all original designs). To kick it all off, what better way to show you than with our Dingbat notes.

A little back story behind this one. David our six year old has recently developed a love for the game of Chess. Brian has played and played with him, teaching rules and strategy. I wanted something that naturally reminded me of this time in David’s life and thought it would be a great launch for a Dingbat collection. After all, if you don’t know what a dingbat is (besides being a simple minded person ;) then now is a chance for education.

DINGBAT : n. A typographical device other than a letter or numeral (such as an asterisk or ornamentation), used to signal divisions in text or to replace letters in a written word. They became quite popular in printing and as ornamentation in the mid 19th century during the Victorian era.

I’m sort of a romantic at heart, and although I’m stand-offish (especially pre-NSS) I really respect an honorable man. My husband has to be the pinnacle of honor, and I love every gentleman-like quality that he has. While I was in New York with my brother Matt we were talking about great gentleman qualities. He asked me what one of my favorite gentleman moves that Brian had mastered. Immediately I thought about “the passover”.

Brian always ALWAYS walks on the outside of the sidewalk. But its not just him positioning himself there, its how he gets me on the other side that is so great. He does this smooth arm-around-the-shoulder move that switches me from the outside to the inside. It is truly a gentleman’s masterwork. No one had ever done that for me before. Even better when followed up by a tight waist squeeze. He’s letting me know he’s there but not being overly invading which is just the way I like it.

Over the next few days I’ll be introducing the whole new collection to you along with their back stories because everything has a beginning and an end and I thought I’d shed a little light on what the Dingbat has been secretly up to this last year.

I’ll be missing in action this week on the blog as we do recovery and hospital treatments for his burn. The burn area is on the bottom half of his left leg and ranges from 2nd to 3rd degree in some areas. With his diabetes, there poses greater risk of infection. I’ll be back next Monday hopefully, but its sort of insane around here. For now, you can enjoy these lovelies!

The first request I had was from a friend that emailed me wanting to know some tips on hiring a designer to do her identity. As I started to think about it I came up with a lot more than 5 but eventually narrowed it down to my top 5 (if I weren’t to do it myself).

1) P O R T F O L I O
I CANNOT stress this enough. New designers are the only exception to this rule (see No. 2 if you are looking at hiring a newbie). The most important thing to look at is a designer’s body of work. If you like what you see, then you’ll like what they will create for you. When you have a potential client, open the dialogue (or if you are the potential client, tell the designer what you love about their work). This conversation is usually the most important because it reveals a lot about both people and their interests as well as work ethic.

I used to be timid in showing my work – it sort of felt like I was bragging too much about myself and I’m a little shy. I soon learned though that if I wasn’t willing to stick myself out there to win the job, the job would go to someone else. I needed to prove that I was capable of doing the work and so the timidness went away and now I shamelessly get excited to show what new projects I’ve been working on! If you are shy and have a hard time talking about your work, start small. It took me about a year to get comfortable with my “voice” and imagery in explaining myself. The old adage rings true – practice makes perfect!

2) P E R S O N A L I T Y
This is another big one. We all get along with certain type of people. Make sure the designer is someone that you can be honest with (and they won’t cry when you critique their work) as well as someone that is similar to you. This is sort of a hard one, because on the internet and with google sometimes it feels like you are drawing a designer out of the hat. I know, it feels like there are a million of us out there!

Do your research – try to find out the person behind the business. If they work with a lot of photographers doing their branding they most likely know a lot about the photography business and would do a good job for you (if you are a photographer).

Discover if you can a little about what they do when they are not in the “designer shoes” (heh, no pun intended). I have kids, a hubby and a family. When I’m not working I’m playing with them, or change diapers, or giving injections (my son is diabetic) or read bedtime stories. We like to swim and do stuff outdoors a lot. If you haven’t noticed on twitter, I have a slight obsession with fashion and SHOES! And if you have been paying attention, you might notice that yellow, in any shade, is my favorite color.

It doesn’t hurt either to be forward and drop an email to the designer. Tell them that you are big fan of their work (we always love that ;) and that you wanted to know a little more about how I got in to graphic design, or letterpress or whatever. Usually if you are nice they’ll email back. RESEARCH is key to finding someone that you think you’ll work well with.

3) s c o p e   o f   P R O J E C T
This is another big one. Don’t hire a print designer to do your stop-motion video. Do hire your print designer to do your letterpress business cards ;) Learn and ASK what type of work they do. If you REALLY love their style but don’t see a large body of work in the type of thing you want to hire them in, ask them if they’d be interested in trying something new. I’m no hard-core programmer, but I really love html and css – something I’d have never found out had a client not begged me to do their website. Now with 5-6 sites under my belt (and trusting and patient clients) we’ve come up with some awesome customizations for them.

4) B U D G E T & C H A N G E S
This is really no way to sound nice in saying this but you get what you pay for. With that said, it can still be quality but just not quite as much quantity. (letterpress cards are not the cheapest things around, but they are beautiful). I have been on the client end of things. I planned my own wedding, have built a house (what a terrible experience) and much more. It all comes down to budget.

When we built our house we had a set dollar amount for our loan and about 20% saved as a down payment. We hired a “family friend” as a contractor who looked at numerous house plans and provided the same estimate for all. I had specific photos of cabinets, window trim, drawings of the exterior of the house and more. Our contract was bogus though and paired with a contractor that couldn’t follow a budget turned nightmarish for us. Every time we wanted to do something, he said “Sure, no problem!” To which we’d ask “how much extra” - won’t cost extra. Well it did, in labor. Look at your budget for your project. Talk to your designer to make sure you understand what that entails, and if changes are made beyond what is outlined in the initial estimate or invoice make sure you know what you are paying before the estimate turns over. It will save a lot of grief in the end. As a designer I like to know what a budget is, so I can advise what will be best for the client with their allotted dollar amount. I don’t like estimating in the dark just as much as you don’t like giving out a dollar amount. If you have no idea what your budget is, just tell your designer that you have no idea what x & y will cost you but you’d like to see their pricing. If it’s way more than expected then go back and ask the designer how you can shave your costs.

5) T I M E L I N E
Everyone wants their stuff done yesterday. When hiring a designer, it is actually a good thing if they are busy – it means they have work. If you have a tight deadline, be prepared to pay extra. If there is flexibility then that will go a long way. Be considerate of how long it takes to design something. If you have no idea, then ASK! I love it when my clients ask, “how far out are you on branding packages?” Or what will it take to get my cards printed and in my hands in 15 days – to which my response would be, “provide camera ready artwork”. Printing always adds to the time-frame. If you are looking for a specific service and are bidding out with a couple of people/companies ask them all the same questions regarding if they can meet your deadline. Lastly, don’t make the decision solely on deadline. Some processes can’t be rushed or the work that is churned out is crap. Sorry to be so frank but usually rush jobs have a lot more stress than love put into them.

In the end…
it might be hard to find all of these in one designer but at least be aware of what their strengths and weaknesses are and be willing to compromise in one area if another area is really important (like you really love their portfolio but they are booked 6 months out you’ll have to pick which is more important to you). I’d love to hear what other comments or suggestions you have if you are a designer – or if you are a client what have I missed that is important to you?

Booked flights. Plated 3 invitation suites for the book. Plated ink chips for the book. Plated Edge-paint cards for the book. Plated a few other surprises too (think food…). Bought a simple saddle-stitcher, hmmmm. Shipped my holiday cards to the Louies that I was nominated for – woohoo! STILL IN SHOCK! Hooked up my Endicia for Mac label shipper. Ordered carpet from FLOR for booth. Designed new baby announcements to launch at NSS and online. Re-structured pricing for everything due to paper changes, and paper price changes. Updated the shop with draft listings so they’ll go live in a timely manner. Requested estimates from FreightQuote.com, UPS Freight & Freeman for the shipment of my NSS booth (even though I have yet to build it). Got in all our NEW AND EXCLUSIVE PAPERS that we’ll be launching in the book. Compiled a list of all collections being launched at NSS 2011. Am tired, have fever blisters and chapped lips. Still love my clients, and love my kids & hubby even more.

Let Love Grow (above) inspired by Mumford & Sons Winter Winds:

Love, it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free…

Here is Mumford & Sons live with Sigh No More (inspired above) – you have to listen to the song change about half-way though and then go check it out on Amazon or iTunes. It’s truly magical.

Cards Letterpress printed on Arturo 4Bar notes with blank interior, paired with matching envelopes and sold in singles in our Etsy shop. 2 inks, deckle edge, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Calligraphy ©2011 Grace Edmands , Design ©2011 Dingbat Press