Little Book of Numbers

You guys, the Little Book of Numbers is done! I completed the book last week and am so pleased at how it turned out. It has 13 pages, printed mainly in black but red was used for the back and front covers. I've also included a bookplate with every edition! I personalized the one for Marcus by printing his initials on it. The book is held together by two handy metal rings (which can be opened should I ever want to include more pages). The numbers and words of numbers were all handset and the acquired images were individually printed. This means that one book was hand-fed through the press 79 times!

I introduced the book to Marcus (19.5 months) yesterday and he was quite interested. The timing was good because he is very much into books and has recently started counting. Or rather, repeating numbers when he hears or sees them. He only gets as far as two and skips to eight and nine, but it's still a marvellous thing for his parents to hear it :) The book is nice a small and fits comfortably in his little paws and he has no trouble separating or turning the pages. He even recognizes some of the images, like the birds and the rockets (or "planes" as he refers them to). It was great to see Marcus and the book in action together.

I've only made 10 of these books and they are currently being sold in the online shop. I've also reserved a couple to bring and sell at the Parkdale Flea this Sunday!

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numbers book progress

Slowly making some progress with the numbers coaster book. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a project I started last year! It's a small board book I intend to give to Marcus when it's completed. It goes through numbers 1-10 and is accompanied by pictures and is all hand-printed with my tabletop press. I'm printing a few extra copies, so it's taking me some time. But the good news is, is that I've finished printing all of the images. Now, it's onto the numbers!

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kinfolk, volume I

I am so proud to be a part of Kinfolk's first issue that is now online today! This no-ordinary magazine is dedicated to small gatherings (just my kind of thing) and it's jam packed with food for thought and savvy ideas. Just get a load of the gorgeous photography too! The publication is both sophisticated and down-to-earth.The minimal and beautiful sparse design and layout is an oasis for the eyes.


Nathan Williams, editor of Kinfolk, kindly invited me to contribute some stationery ideas surrounding the theme of small gatherings. I picked out a few of my favorite stationers and wrote a short article (more of a list) on how you can host with simple stationery while entertaining.

It's an honour to be in the company of other artists, writers, photographers, designers, illustrators and makers in this issue. Nathan and crew have been nothing but exceptional to work with. I admire their vision and hard work and the magazine that has come to be.

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UPPERCASE magazine Issue 8

Hooray! Uppercase Magazine issue #8 is now available and stacked with beautiful photos, articles and interviews. I've had my copy for about a week now and am just waiting for a quiet moment to take in all of the great stuff that's included in this issue (see Charlotte Rivers' abcedery page for instance).

For my sample, I created 100 postcard-size prints in 3 colours and tucked them inside 100 editioned and printed kraft paper bags. I handset metal and wood type for this project. The postcards were printed on the tabletop Chandler & Price while the paper bags went through the Showcard mini. In addition to the 100 prints, I included 10 7x7 prints for the giveaway that Uppercase will be having for it's subscribers. The 7x7 print was run through the press three times - one for each line, since my Showcard bed wasn't big enough to fit it all.

It was great printing and pulling these samples together. Have a look and marvel at all of the other samples that were included from across the globe!

To get your hands on a copy of issue #8, check out the stockist list.

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Good things are Chris' new dress shirt, a highly recommended book by friends and family for cottage reading, an antique market find and homemade jasmine ice tea (a tbsp loose leaf, 30 minute steep, 3-4 tbsp of sugar, refrigerate overnight).

what I'm reading

I like tarot cards.
I like mystery.
I like paperbacks.
I like funny.
The Grift. Chapter 1.

Last Sunday's bookbinding session was so much fun. Celine, Chris, Jaime, Melodie, Rhya, Ros and I bound our books, chatted up a storm, and ate scrumptious treats all afternoon. The last few photos of the blue hardcover book is what I finished at the workshop. I was so smitten with the fabric covered technique that Melodie showed Chris that I had to try it out the next day. The grey covered book was the result. Still bitten by the bookbinding bug, I went for a third try with a book cloth. My mitered corners went a little bit better that time around. Now I'm trying to pawn these off to my family because I don't think I'll ever actually use them!

on my book shelf

"Chapter 4: Garden flowers wrapped in brown paper, love letters bundled with string. The hand gathers and secures otherwise scattered notions, infuses each printed page with a human presence and the painstaking care of craft. Whether a structural necessity or an elegant embellishment, the finishing touch of sewn thread or a wrapped package transforms everyday communication into gifts." Fingerprint: The Art of Using Handmade Elements in Graphic Design, Chen Design Associates

on my book shelf

"The rivalry that developed between lithographers, engravers and letterpress job printers is the cause of much of the formal exuberance and experimentation of artistic printing from the late 1860s into the 1890s. Developments in American typefounding techniques gave letterpress printers a decisive boost, and choice in ornamented typefaces exploded. Type foundries had always been integral to the enterprise of letterpress printing and, as sources of typefaces, ornaments and other physical accoutrements of the printing craft." Doug Clouse and Angela Voulangas, The Handy Book of Artistic Printing: A Collection of Letterpress Examples with Specimens of Type, Ornament, Corner Fills, Borders, Twisters, Wrinklers, and other Freaks of Fancy