Weekend Recap

I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend! First off, I want to give a shout out and thanks to Eva for such a remarkable job guest blogging last week -- wasn't she excellent? Thanks Eva! Above are a few of my favorite letterpress pieces Sycamore Street Press has created, (La Vie en Rose + ABCs) but there is much more you can see on their website here.

Luckily, I got a chance to meet Eva this Saturday as I attended and also taught at Art Weekend, she is a sweetheart and Art weekend is awesome! Definitely sign up for it when it comes around again, Nicole and company did a fantastic job.

I took a bit of the break from the computer this weekend, which was also nice, but now I'm back and hoping to catch up. Hope you are having a great Monday.

The weekend, briefly

I manged to catch a few quiet moments between family visits and meals with friends.

Writing a little note for a friend with a birthday (it was tied to a vase of flowers).

{birthday note}

Sneaking an afternoon nap (terriers are particularly good at taking naps).

{terrier nose}

Making Sunday morning waffles.

{waffle prep}

Sycamore Street Press by guest Eva Jorgensen

Sycamore Street Press got its start a couple of years ago on the brick paved Sycamore Street in Columbus, Ohio. We moved to Columbus so that Kirk could study Slavic Linguistics at Ohio State, and I tried unsuccessfully to find a teaching position. Looking around for something else to do with my degree, I started getting serious about printing on the vintage Vandercook letterpress sitting in our dining room (while also juggling a job in a stationery shop). Soon I began collaborating with some of my graphic designer friends, and Kirk would help whenever he had time.



Fast forward a year and a half: I had quit my retail gig, we’d schlepped our paper goods to about a dozen craft fairs, shown in the National Stationery Show, spent many late nights printing, and met a lot of great people along the way. Around that time, Kirk finished up his degree at OSU, and instead of looking for a job elsewhere, we decided that he would join Sycamore Street Press full time. We made the move back to Utah, and set up shop in Heber City.

Sycamore Street Press is divided up into 5 collections/projects:



I make the hand drawn illustrations for the {Folk} collection.



Amy Shaffer and Kristin Mills write and design the {Lark} collection.



Stephanie Ford designs the {Pop} collection.



Each month, we ask a different artist to collaborate with us on a limited edition letterpress print. They create the artwork, and then we print them and sell them. We call this project the Sycamore Club. The prints above are by Jamie Tallerico, Michéle Brummer-Everett, Kari Jorgensen, and Kirk Jorgensen (clockwise from top left).



Although we don’t have an official “custom collection” yet, we've done quite a bit of custom letterpress printing and design for clients. The designs above are by Zuzanna Audette (with hand lettering by me), Kristin Mills, Stephanie Ford, and Kristin Mills (with hand drawn map and hand lettering by me.) (clockwise from top left).



Please stop by my blog sometime for more letterpress goodness, giveaways, artist interviews, and more : http://evajorgensen.blogspot.com/

Or take a look at our website / shop / twitter / facebook / flickr

Thank you to everyone for stopping by, and thanks especially to Rachel for having me over! I hope you all have a great weekend! -- Eva

a colour story: violet + saffron

While driving the other day, I saw the most beautiful colour combination right there in front of me - in a field of autumn weeds of all places. Nature really has the best colour combinations, doesn't it? I would have never thought of pairing purple and yellow together and yet look how pretty it is! Move over Martha...I don't think you've claimed this colour combo yet! Wouldn't these be lovely colours for a wedding? Or a room? Or an outfit?

Photos:
1. inBloom Event Design
2. Rebecca Thuss
3. Style at Home {Gluckstein Home vases}
4. inBloom Event Design
5. Lindsay Landman Events

Friday flowers

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments this week. I sent my letters and signed my petitions and I feel better for it. I will be back to regular posting next week, feeling refreshed.

Dahlias this week, in a straight line. I love their long, clean stems.

{dahlias}

The poor things didn't get much space, because my work is scattered all over almost every surface in our apartment.

{dahlias, work}

Sycamore Street Press

I am very excited to add to our studio spotlight tours here at Black Eiffel, and share with you a peek into the studio of this week's guest blogger Eva and Sycamore Street Press. Aren't you loving her guest posts? I enjoy how there is an eclectic and charming artistic nature to their space. Nutella and raspberries on toast, a cozy couch and chairs, a record and globe collection, and amazing prints and artwork placed all about. There is a fresh, and funky retro feel in the details -- do you see them? Like the milk glass pen and pencil holders, vintage dishes and textiles, and paint by number image of the Last Supper. What a fun place to be inspired by!

Thank you Sycamore Street Press for letting us see your space.





(Photos by: Zuzanna Audette)
Image #1 : As for the artwork, the green kelp woodblock print is by Tugboat Printshop, the Johnny Cash poster is by Hatch Show Print, and the patterned screen prints are by Jacob Sharp. Other artwork by Sycamore Street Press.
Image #2 : We got the Buffalo screenprint at a Weakerthans concert.
Image #6 : Yeti shadow puppet by Owly Shadow Puppets.
Image #7 : The paint by numbers last supper painting was a thrift store find.

Some things that inspire me by guest Eva Jorgensen

Blogs (eg. Fine Little Day)


Music (eg.The Ronnettes)


Films (eg. Bedknobs and Broomsticks)


Folk Art (eg. The Bayeux Tapestry)

Contemporary Artists (eg. Kiki Smith)


Food (eg. French baguettes.)


Travel (eg. The time Kirk and I worked on organic farms in Denmark.)


Friends and Family (eg. My husband Kirk!)

image credits (from top to bottom): fine little day , Oldies Connection, Hammer , Britannica, The New York Times, David Lebovitz, Jeremy Jorgensen