The day I discovered that fabric could be backed with Japanese paper and used as bookcloth was a banner day in my life. Manufactured bookcloth is wonderful -- don't get me wrong. It comes in a vast array of colors. It can be super shimmery or delicio...
Growing up, my brother and sister and I would play a game that only rural, bored-out-of-their brains kids could dream up. It was called Puzzle Factory, and the basic premise was that we completed puzzles for clients. Magically, we had multiple client...
I try not to preach. I mean, who among us is really all that qualified to do so? And also, no one wants to listen to someone else claim passionately that they have discovered the key that unlocks the universe. Promises like that always end up being m...
Here's a celebratory day I can get behind: National Letterpress Appreciation Day. So chosen because 0.918" is the height of a piece of metal type. If you hear someone say, "type high," they're probably not referring to the high induced by letterpress...
Over the past few years, I've been making a list of my heroes -- those people in the world, strangers to me all, who are doing such extraordinary things with their lives and careers that they make my heart at once appreciative and envious. Perhaps I'...
Here's something I'm giddy about: we are partnering with Minted this year to provide you with a way to combine: 1) the benefits of a brick and mortar staffed with human beings you can talk to, with 2) the streamlined design and printing capabilities...
Can I make a confession? Although I own a paper goods shop that celebrates gorgeous mail and although the pinnacle occasion for gorgeous mail is the wedding, I have always been ambivalent about pursuing wedding jobs. On one hand, yes! The wedding inv...
When I recently began starting my days at the shop by writing a letter, something of a seismic shift occurred. I am generally full of intentions -- beautiful ones! -- that never see the light of day. In my head, I celebrate occasions and write effusi...
You know about my obsession with stamps. But here's the truth of the matter: my obsession doesn't hold a candle to the hard-core, highly specialized obsession with stamps that some people in the world possess. As it happens, the American Philate...
There's something I've only discovered through the experience of being a calligrapher, printer, and bookbinder that I didn't anticipate when I started out: the jobs that come my way are extraordinarily meaningful. People don't hire a calligrapher to...
I've been reflecting a lot upon small business ownership this year, and I realized that among the wide variety of challenges involved in starting a business, one is this: there are no predetermined markers of achievement or success. In the course o...
A couple of months ago, I ran a new class at the shop -- Making Your Own Mood Board -- that was inspired by the boards I spied in the gorgeous home of Heather Hall. If you haven't heard me gush yet about Heather, either you haven't been paying a...
