studio storage

potential storage solution

work has been incredibly busy. we’re growing by leaps & bounds. it’s wonderful! along with all this growth has come some storage challenges. i’ve spent years collecting wonderful, unusual, vintage shelving & items not normally used in a shop as our storage. it makes for a very fun working environment. however, it also limits space. and many of the items were hand me downs that i used only because they were free. we’re in a place now where we can invest some money into a few more efficient storage items. i have a limited budget & space but am determined to find some attractive, industrial storage solutions. perhaps an old factory cart or shelving. maybe a wall of basket lockers. we’ll see but let the treasure hunting begin!

amazing taxidermy

amazing taxidermy

on one of my august adventures, i stumbled across this amazing case of taxidermy. it was part of circus world & was the only case of its kind there. it had a splendid assortments of creatures. i’ve always been a little terrified & delighted by taxidermy. there’s something endearing & peaceful about a taxidermy animal. most are in a natural position, looking confident & proud.

taxidermy box

i’d like to think someone enjoyed or loved that creature so much they want to keep the animal with them even after it has passed. however, it’s most likely the animal is a prize. a trophy. not loved for the comfort, companionship or happiness it brought the human. but instead an award to show how skillful the human is with a weapon. hunting seems to help lesser men feel superior. and taxidermy is the reminder to the rest of us.

but as mentioned before, i have an affinity for vintage taxidermy. the animals look so elegant & regal. i was fascinated with this lovely display. it was filled with so many exotic creatures: a snake, baby alligator, albino ferret, a squirrel, a turtle, a parrot, a moth & oh so many birds. it’s magnificent! i could have stared at it for hours. there were so many lights reflecting in the glass i couldn’t capture a good shot. but, you’ll get the gist.

time flies

packaged cards

wilamina's counter

packaged cards

it’s been over a month since my last post. it seems august came & went in the blink of an eye & september quickly followed. fall is here & our beautiful garden & flowers are starting to show signs of less sunshine & cooler temperatures. the studio has been hustling & bustling filling holiday orders, designing & printing valentines. since march wilamina (my 1913 chandler + price printing press) & i have printed over 100,000 impressions. in fact, this week i think we’ll hit 150,000. i’ve had a month & a half filled with wonderful adventures both at home & work. i’m hoping i can spend some time in october blogging about them.  stay tuned!

wood type love

100 years of type

this morning while looking through etsy i found this strikingly, beautiful wood type print. wow! what a lovely little display of wood type. and the sales of the poster go to a good cause. check out all the goodies in print museum’s etsy shop. they have a wonderful selection of letterpress goodies including some collectible type specimen books, ink, wood type blocks, type necklaces, an amazing 3 color circus poster & more. oh etsy, how i love you.

i scream, you scream!

cherry cheesecake frozen yogurt

we all scream for ice cream! sunday was a busy day filled with visiting, treasure hunting, parade watching & dining. tom made a lovely lupper (lunch + supper) and mom brought dessert. i had gotten a text earlier in the week asking if i wanted cake. i declined. every time we have cake half of it goes uneaten & i feel bad throwing it away. then lovey (that’s what we call my mom) asked if i would prefer homemade ice cream. who can resist ice cream? especially homemade? plus it’s been over a year & a half since we bought lovey the ice cream maker attachment to her kitchen aid but have yet to reap the benefits.

deliciousness in a bowl

tom insisted we buy my mom a kitchen aid for christmas several years ago. he loves her cookies & thought maybe he would get more of them if he bought her the proper tools. i think it’s worked well. for the first year, i’d say she brought tom oatmeal chocolate chip cookies almost every time we saw her. i think it’s tinkered out over the last two years but it was a good run. and the holidays aren’t that far behind, so we’ll be back in the cookie receiving end soon.

however, now we have the option of homemade ice cream! and that’s exciting. this weekend lovely made a cherry cheesecake frozen yogurt. it was creamy, flavorful & just plain delicious! plus, it looked pretty. thanks lovey!

greek icon

greek icon

as i mentioned my mom visited us last weekend. she brought me a present. and man, oh man! it’s beautiful. it’s a gorgeous, old, sterling silver, greek icon. it’s the perfect gift for an icon collector like myself. the intricate metal border is divine. i also love mary’s halo. it almost has a lace pattern or doily effect. another attribute to this icon is the elongated hands and face of mary. the artist made jesus’ head tiny but his body looks bigger. plus he has this scrawny leg sticking out that makes me smile. i would’ve loved to talk to the artist. ask him or her what images they looked at for inspiration. how they decided the position of mother & son, how did you choose their clothing & where did the detailed, delicate halo come from? i’m guessing they didn’t take a perspective class but spent hours & hours practicing custom, ornate patterns & borders. either way, it’s amazing & i love it. whomever the craftsman (or woman), they did a fine job. i’m hoping to capture a few more photos once i have her mounted on the wall of icon amazingness. stay tuned!

wasp thingys

 

prickly thingys

wasp thingys

so i might have mentioned once or twice about our urban garden & our flower boxes. well, here in chicago we have some amazing garden centers. really amazing. one of the best & also most costly is gethsemane garden center. i love to visit this place. and i was very lucky to have a rather large gift certificate to this magical garden center, so i’ve been having a delightful time all summer visiting, shopping & browsing. this weekend i was wanting to purchase a rose of sharon shrub or perhaps another hibiscus of some sort. while visiting the garden center i became extremely distracted by these wasp things. that’s what i’m calling them anyway. they are large, very large & black with blue highlights with giant-sized bodies. so creepy & yet intriguing. they were really attracted to this prickly, gorgeous periwinkle blue like plant. it was really striking but painful looking too. needless to say, i didn’t get my rose of sharon. nor did i pick up a hibiscus. but i got a few shots of the prickly pretty plant & the creepy intriguing wasp thingys. i guess i’ll just have to go back…