Last Post Before the Holidays!

Yum! I tried a new cookie recipe this year: Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies. We sent these along in our packages to family down south. These came out delicious and are great paired with a hot cup of tea. Happy Holidays!

6 Geese-A-Laying...

I had a lot of fun making a special, limited-edition holiday card for all of the great retailers who have picked up Fine Day Press in their stores (and a few who I'm still courting!). The design is inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas carol; I made a simple block print that I then printed with gold ink on a lovely, luxe textured paper. I love the way the gold ink shimmers when it catches the light, and how each print comes out with a unique texture.

For a bit of festive color, I inkjet-printed the hot pink type and added a custom, hand-cut envelope liner in two different patterns: a zig-zag with a dotty texture reminiscent of garland or snowflakes, and a more graphic, retro ornament pattern.

I'd love to make more block-print cards in the future. Next year: four calling birds?!

Our First-Ever Holiday Market

The holiday market at the Brooklyn Lyceum was a blast. Sold lots of cards and art prints, and made a bunch of new contacts. I really enjoyed the interaction of selling directly to customers, quite different from selling online or wholesale. I met some nice gals from Charleston, SC, a super-talented photographer, a theater artist, and a whole lot of engaged couples!

Now that I've gotten this first market under my belt, I can't wait to do more. I also came to few conclusions about my display setup - what works (the colorful table cover made by my mom, for example) and what could use some improvements and changes. I'd like my card display to be more prominent and give them more real estate on the table, while the t-shirt and tote bag display will be getting revisions. All in all, a really fun and productive day!

Top pics: the Fine Day Press table, Middle pics: shots of the overall market/space (this was right when the market opened; it got much more crowded later) Bottom: some awesome screen-printed cards by my table-neighbor Karen of Carroll Gardens-based boutique Serimony.

Hectic and Busy and Whew!

I've been really lax on the posting this week, but it's only because I've been up to my ears in projects - with work and trying to get everything ready for the holidays, you know the drill. I have some fun things to post but they are going to have to wait until next week...

But in the meantime, I do have some exciting news to share - Fine Day Press is participating in our first-ever holiday market, tomorrow, Saturday, December 18th at the Brooklyn Lyceum! The Lyceum is a really nice large space, and it will be full of some great independent designers and crafters, plus yummy food too. Perfect for last-minute shopping and maybe picking up a treat for yourself, too. Come by and say hi!

Seasonal Greens

These gorgeous wreaths by Solidago Wreath Company are putting me in the holiday spirit today. Can't you just smell the piney evergreens? Handmade in beautiful Boone, NC by landscape designer Lee Carlton Swift.

And mittens.

When the weather outside is frightful (or at least has been, oh, about 10+ degrees colder than normal and is only going to get colder), I find it helps to think of my favorite things about wintertime - like hot chocolate. Enough said.

Hot Little Number

Going to any swanky par-tays this season? This red-hot number with gold detailing by Shoshanna is my personal fave frock for the holidays. Featured in New York Magazine's Shop-o-Matic party dress guide (as are the ones below).

Runners up: Tulle dress with star spangled details by Foley + Corinna; tie-dyed one shoulder dress by Rebecca Taylor.

Moonstruck

Artist Alice O'Malley shoots with an old-school 4x5 camera from the 1950s, using strictly natural light and lengthier exposure times - often working at the legendary Chelsea Hotel, citing its good natural lighting and architectural detail in her New York Times interview. There's an ethereal, silvery quality to the light in this "Moonstruck" series of portraits she created for the NYTimes Style Magazine, produced with fashion editor Susan Winget, that simply can't be found in digital photography.

Note: you can see large full-screen images (well worth a look) right here.

Sad Mac, With a Happy Ending

I found myself having major computer-separation anxiety today. I've had my iMac for oh, about 7 years (it's a little slow but still works great), and while I've transitioned to a MacBook Pro and was only using the iMac occasionally, I found it really hard to pull the plug - literally - on my cute desktop buddy. Wiping the hard drive clean felt a little like lobotomizing a trusty old friend.

Now for the good news, I'm donating my computer to a needy school via iLoveSchools.com. This is a great organization that makes it really easy to pair up equipment directly with the teachers and students who need it. I highly recommend checking it out if you purchase a new computer and want a happy home for your old one. Yay!

Good Times (Way) Down South

Hello! We just returned from 10 wonderful days in the Southern Hemisphere! We were lucky to be able to attend our dear friends' wedding in Rio de Janeiro, the home city of the bride. Shown above is the gorgeous Save the Date designed by our friend Agi; the design was applied to Havianas as wedding giveaway gifts (below)!

Rio is a city unlike any I've ever travelled to before, carved out of a space tucked between lush green mountains and dramatically beautiful beaches. We made lots of new friends and spent much of our time eating, drinking and dancing the night away. We also were fortunate to spend some time in the fishing community-turned-beach hotspot, Buzios, situated on a peninsula about 3 hours from Rio and home to the most gorgeous beach I've ever laid eyes on, Praia Ferradura.

I have a newfound appreciation for agua de coco, acai berry smoothies, Havianas, sarongs and the Portugeuse language! I'm still readjusting to life in the Northern Hemisphere after logging some serious travel hours, in particular this gloomy gray weather we've returned to here in Brooklyn, and will return to regular blog postings tomorrow.