alt recap

Gabby asked me a while back to speak at Alt Design Summit, which is a blog conference held in Salt Lake City each January. I'll admit I had mixed feelings. From what I had seen of Alt, it appeared to be kind of a three-day-camp for blog superstars and wannabe up-and-coming bloggers. Before going I had seen the posts by bloggers worried about what to wear each day, the "aren't-we-having-the-best-time!" photobooth photos, and the power list of speakers and presenters and really... I wasn't sure I could find my place in the whole thing.

But I like Gabby, and I have friends and family in Salt Lake, and plane tickets were cheap.. so off I went.

I don't quite know how to explain what Alt is.. now that I have come and gone and seen it with my own eyes. It was inspiring and thought provoking, and nice to visit with old friends I knew in NYC (like Merilee of mermag, Kelli Ronci from uber-craft, Melanie Falick from STC Craft, and Mara from A Blog About Love). And fun to talk face to face with people whose work I admire (like Stephanie from stephmodo, Grace Bonney from Design Sponge, the lovely Amy Butler, and Pilar Guzman from momfilter). And to make new friends, like those I spoke with on the Work/Life Balance Panel (Sarah from Sarah Jane Studios, Chrysula Winegar, and Kathryn from Snippet + Ink).

Though the parties are a big draw for many Alt attendees, I guess I'm just not a big party girl. Instead, I loved having dinner with Chrysula and Sarah the night before we spoke on our panel, ditching the Friday night parties to have dinner at home with good friends in Salt Lake, and sitting and talking with people one on one throughout the day.

If you're headed to Alt you've got to bring some pretty business cards.. and I was happy to hand out these little guys I had letterpressed by Bryce Knudson of Bjorn Press a while back. They are the perfect size, smaller and squatter than a standard card and printed on a nice thick Lettra stock in a warm gray and pale cream.

Some of my favorite moments of the conference were the keynote speakers, like this panel which included Maxwell from Apartment Therapy, Deborah Needleman (founder of Domino), and Pilar Guzman (formerly of cookie, now running Martha Stewart Living). There was a lot of discussion about new media vs. old (blogs vs. magazines) and though I see that traditional publishing is in trouble, I don't see magazines and books disappearing anytime soon.

I also enjoyed the roundtable discussion groups that were led by industry experts and covered categories ranging from tax issues to ad networks to legal concerns. You just pulled up a chair and started asking questions. I would have loved to have been able to sit at every table.

I think everyone at Alt now adores Ben Silberman, founder of Pinterest. He told the story of how he turned his idea into a product and it was absolutely fascinating. I love him for quoting a line from the movie The Pirates of Silicon Valley (one of my favorite made-for-TV movies EVER). "I think .. there's something going on out there in California." And I loved hearing about how his girlfriend (now his wife) after hearing his ideas for years finally said "So stop talking about it and just go and DO IT." And he did!

The third day of the conference is small hands-on workshops and I was lucky to get to attend two: a screenprinting class taught by Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press, and a calligraphy workshop taught by Melissa Esplin of ISLY. I create so much on the computer these days, it was really nice to remember how it feels to make something with my hands.

Since Alt, I've been thinking a lot about my blog and what I want it to be (and definitely what I DON'T want it to be). I've never thought of it as a commercial venture, so the discussions about ad networks and corporate sponsors and search engine optimization didn't really appeal to me. To be honest, because my blog is not meant to make money, I do tend to put it on the back burner from time to time, setting it aside for books and shoots and other projects I do get paid for. I hope you'll understand that though I may not post five times a day, when I do post you will know it is about something I believe in (and not something I am being paid to discuss).

Many of you have asked for a recap of our panel on Work/Life Balance. I am gathering my thoughts and will share them when I have a moment (but it might need to wait a week or two.. I've got a book design due and valentines to make with the kids!).

Bottom four photos from the Alt Flickr stream.

off to alt

I'm off to Alt Design Summit in the morning! I hear it's freezing in Salt Lake, so I'm digging out all my cold weather clothes and saying goodbye to my family for a few days. If you're headed to Alt too, please stop and say hello... I'll be speaking on the Work/Life Balance panel on Thursday morning. Wish me luck!

inchmark holiday cards

I know I'm late to the party, and you're probably one of those people who has already written, addressed, stamped, and mailed your cards off. (I aspire to be you one of these days, but alas, it hasn't happened yet!) But if you are a procrastinator like I am, I wanted to share the holiday cards I designed for Tiny Prints this year... there's still plenty of time to mail out some cards to your loved ones.

I feel pretty strongly about sending out cards. I know that they cost money, and it's just one more thing to do when you're already so busy. And in this digital age, I know you can just say "Happy Holidays" on your Facebook page and consider yourself good (though I consider that cheating). I don't write family letters (like the funny ones my dad used to write), and we don't always include a picture (sometimes that's the hardest part of getting a card together) but we send out SOMETHING each year. Some are more elaborate than others. And some years they get there a little after Christmas (whoops!). But I think my friends and family understand.

Those few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite of the whole year. I love getting cards in the mail each day, I love seeing how my friends have changed and how their kids look so much like them. I love reading the sometimes cheesy letters that detail each big event of the past year. I love cards in every form: letterpressed, foil stamped, homemade, or bedazzled. I just love that someone took the time to send me a card in the mail.

Do you agree? Or do you think cards are an aniquated tradition? Are emails and digital PDFs the new way to go? What will you be sending out to your friends and family this year? I'd love to hear. 

Links to my cards on Tiny Prints:

Silent night, Holy night card

Joy (4 child option)

Christmas Tree family

Joy (3 child option)

a fall wedding

The leaves are finally changing here, just in time to make it feel a little bit like Fall right before Thanksgiving. Their pretty colors and shapes reminded me of my brother-in-law Justin and his darling wife Sarah's wedding, which happened two years ago this very week.

They asked me to design a simple wedding announcement, and we thought the fall leaves were a nice starting point. Three different colors of leaves with the text in a nice brown. I also printed some matching stationery for them to use as thank you cards.

Sarah was a strikingly beautiful bride. I loved her short pixie cut (she looked just like a young Mia Farrow).

It was also super windy and really COLD, and it had been snowing off and on all week. But what bride wants to wear a coat? Sarah is a dancer and naturally wore knit leg warmers.

My favorite part was instead of having traditional wedding cake, they had a tower of creme brulee. The day before the wedding the bride and groom made batch after batch. I loved how they stacked them up so it still felt like a wedding cake (though much more delicious in my opinion!).

Happy Anniversary Justin and Sarah!

heather ross for walden surfboards

It's nice to be friends with Heather Ross. For one thing, she always knows where really good food can be found (and if you're lucky, she'll share with you). Also, she is a fantastically funny storyteller, which you already know if you are a reader of her blog. And she's super entertaining to travel with (I once saw her catch a frog with her bare hands to use as a prop on a photo shoot, true story!). But the best part of being friends with Heather is that sometimes she asks you to help her on really fun projects.

When Heather asked me to help her design some surfboards using her artwork for Walden Surfboards, I was thrilled. Looking through Heather's artwork, we knew the mermaids were an obvious choice. You can see the original sketches we made above, before we knew the actual dimensions and sizes of the boards which would be used for the final product. Below you can see how the surfboards turned out, and you can even watch a little video of the boards in action over on the Global Surf Industries site.

One nice little touch: We asked Walden if Heather could redraw their logo so it looked a little more cohesive with these designs and Heather came up with this cute turtle. I love the way it looks on the boards and how it still relates back to the original Walden logo.

The beach was a big part of my childhood in Southern California, and though I'm not a surfer myself, I've always been surrounded by that culture. My family and I left New York several years ago and moved back west, and it's been so nice to be close to the beach again. My children love the ocean, just like I did when I was a kid. They can spend all day making sandcastles and playing with the waves, visiting the tide pools or digging for shells. There are definitely times when I miss living in the city, but during the summertime in Southern California... there's no place I'd rather be.

inchmark and tinyprints

I have some exciting news.. you can now find my designs on Tiny Prints! Mostly graduation announcements for now, but my little collection will continue to grow and change as new cards are added.

Do you remember this heart themed baby shower? The invitation inspired this baby announcement (which comes in both pink and blue).

I often get emails from readers who would like to order invitations and stationery, and I've never figured out a system that worked for me (and was worth the amount of work it took for me to design, print, cut, and mail out each individual order!). I'm thrilled to be working with Tiny Prints, so I can focus on designing, and they can do what they do best — print beautiful cards (and their customer service is awesome).

I'll keep you posted as my collection grows.. holiday cards are right around the corner!

more last-minute knitted gifts giveaway

If you're a fan of Purl Soho, or of it's owner, Joelle Hoverson, then you probably already know about Joelle's latest book: More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I first met Joelle when she was working at Martha Stewart as a stylist. A few years later I heard she was opening a yarn shop, called Purl, down on Sullivan Street in SoHo and I popped in to say hello. The store was tiny, but filled to the brim with the most beautiful yarn I had ever seen... it was like a little jewelbox of a store, all styled perfectly. One evening I remember walking past the storefront after closing. Joelle had started teaching classes in the evening and the store was literally packed with knitting students. There was this buzz, this feeling of excitement in the air. A man on the street next to me asked "What's going on? What is THIS?". And I knew that Joelle had started something special.

A few years later I wandered down Sullivan Street again. Joelle was sitting out front on that cute blue bench outside Purl and as I walked up she said "I was just thinking about you!". She was writing a new book about quilting and patchwork, and opening a second store up the street (a fabric store this time) and she needed some design help. I quickly volunteered. Joelle lived just a few blocks from my home in Brooklyn, and we would meet at night in my little office and work out the details of the book (which was later titled Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts) and design things for the new store (which was called Purl Patchwork). Joelle would hold my daughter Bee, who was just a baby then, while we picked out colors and played around with fonts.

I've been designing for Purl Soho ever since. And it's been my pleasure. When I moved to California three years ago, I was worried that Joelle (and her partners Page and Jen) might want a designer close by in New York.. but lucky for me, they've let me continue to work for them remotely. They are such lovely clients, full of amazing ideas and I'm proud of the things they've let me design like knitting patterns, and twill tape, and calendars, and new logos.

When Joelle told me she was starting a third book, I crossed my fingers she would let me design it.  More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts hit the stores in the fall, and here are a few behind-the-scenes shots from the shoot (which was way back in May of 2009!). The photographer for the shoot was the lovely Anna Williams, who also shot Joelle's other two books. Anna is an old friend, who photographs regularly for Martha Stewart Living, where Page, Joelle and I all used to work, so working on these shoots is a bit of a reunion.The projects in this book are beautiful, and most can be knit in a weekend.

Joelle has a lovely home a few hours outside the city and we shot the majority of the book there. She also rented the house next door so we would all have a bed to sleep in and some pretty locations to shoot. One morning I woke up early, the fog had rolled in and the house looked so beautiful.

When I flip through this book, I see my friends. I see Joelle's gorgeous color combinations and Jen's lightning fast knitting and Page's pretty styling and Anna's beautiful light. It reminds me how lucky I am to be a small part of the beautiful things these girls create.

The nice folks at STC: Craft | Melanie Falick Books (an imprint of Stewart, Tabori & Chang) sent me a few extra copies of More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and I am happy to give one away. Leave a comment below and my little helpers and I will pick a winner Saturday morning, March 19th. Comments will close at 9 AM PST. (Sorry to my international readers, but U.S. residents only...)

And a note about giveaways: I try very hard to keep inchmark non-commercial (which is becoming a rarity these days in the blog world). Please note that inchmark does not offer giveaways for products, books, etc. except in specific cases where I was involved in the creation of the product (i.e. a book I have designed).

Update on 03.20.2011 by Brooke

And the winner is #36, Margaret! Shoot me an email with your address and I will pop your book in the mail! Happy knitting!

bee's tummy

My friend Heather Ross was on TV yesterday, chatting with Martha Stewart while they sewed baby bloomers from Heather's book Weekend Sewing. Good thing, since Heather's expecting a baby of her own this summer! You can watch a clip over at the Martha site.. and even download the template so you can make your own. I designed Heather's book and took my kids with me on several of the shoots, so I got excited because that little baby in the photo is none other than my Bee. Kind of fun to see your baby's cute tummy on TV when you least expect it...

a birth announcement for baby m

Since sweet Baby M arrived early, I thought a postal theme might be nice for her baby announcements. Just a little postmark with her name and birthday (I've changed some information here for privacy, including her name). I kept it simple.. letterpressed in gray, with a lined red and blue striped envelope.

My friend Sue Corral at Page Stationery printed these for me. Back when we were both art directors at Martha Stewart, Sue showed me the ropes, and then she left to do what every art director dreams of doing: starting her own stationery company. Page Stationery is now 11 years old, and Sue has perfected the art of letterpress printing. I love the nice thick card they use, so the letterpress makes a nice deep impression. (You can see their pretty holiday cards here..)

Lining envelopes always makes things feel special. I printed this striped pattern myself, but you can line an envelope with wrapping paper, colored glassine, old maps, copies of blown up photos, etc. I always use this tutorial, which uses a glue stick (I like to use a spare catalog for scrap paper, turning a page for each envelope so you don't get any glue residue on the next one).

So when is it too late to send out baby announcements? I always like to wait a few months to take a birth announcement photo. My babies tend to look like scrawny old men for the first few weeks, then get progressively cuter as they put a little chub on. Three months is my favorite age for pictures... you can get them to smile on cue, yet they still have that sweet new baby feel. I got these announcements out the door when Baby M was 4 months old, and they are mostly sent to friends and family who live far away and have not seen her, so I'm calling it good.

Now on to the Christmas cards!

wee wonderfuls: the book

Wee Wonderfuls was one of the first crafty blogs I discovered, so I have long been a fan of Hillary Lang and her handsewn toys. The folks over at STC Craft, also the publisher of many of the books I design, asked me to be part of the blog tour for Hillary's new book, Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love (you can see the entire schedule here).

Lucky for me I had an eager four year old who happily flipped through the book with me, and declared about eight projects her "very favorite". It's tough to pick just one. Tiny little mermaids, topsy-turvy dolls, sweet little bears and giraffes, there is a ridiculous amount of cute. Bee finally settled on one project, the Tag-a-Long doll, which fits in a little apron you can wear. We'll be starting it immediately.

One of my favorite parts of Hillary's blog has always been her stash of vintage children's books, so I asked her to share a bit about her thrifting habits and share a few of her favorite books.

Where do you find so many beautiful books?

We spend a lot of time at used book sales. We try to hit more remote, less "hip" communities and then go on the last day when the books are dirt cheap, like a dollar a bag, and there are always lots of great vintage books to scoop up.

How did you start collecting?

One of the things my husband and I discovered we had in common when we first met was our love of the second hand. We spent a lot of time at flea markets, book sales, thrift stores before the kids arrived on the scene. And we're both book lovers and suckers for great illustration so we had quite a book collection ready to read to our kids. Funny though, they're not all great reads. I definitely pick a book by its cover, and endpapers and font and illustration, etc. When we started actually reading the stories out loud we discovered we have some real stinkers. Especially some of the crazy bad holiday books. They're hilarious!

Here are some favorites from Hillary's latest haul:

Love the sleeping animals on the endpapers of this copy of Sleeping Beauty (illustrated by Vivienne Blake). How cute would it be to make a series of sleeping stuffed animals, bedtime pals.

I love books that are done in just a few colors. (Ten Big Garms, written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar)

And books with every color are good too. Love the technicolor of this one! (Foolish and Wise, editors Nila Banton Smith, Hazel C. Hart, and Clara Belle Baker)

Eloise Wilkin melts my heart every time. Those little faces are burned in my memory from my childhood books. (The Make-Believe Parade, story by Jan Margo pictures by Eloise Wilkin)

I just love these colors. And that poor sad little Betsy, how cute is she. (Betsy's Adventure, story and pictures by Gwyneth Mamlok)

To see more of Hillary's finds, check out her Vintage Books flickr group.

And to enter to win a copy of Wee Wonderfuls, visit STC Craft's website and tell them about your favorite childhood toy.