potato otatop

This is my first ever aquatint copperplate etch, based on a vegetable I seem to mull over often. There is sure to be more to come, as I'm quite enamored with the tedious details of intaglio printing, the satisfaction of scratching metal into metal, the sweetly sour smells of mineral spirits and hardground...
Found this magic spell (i.e. 60 second unstructured word blurt) in one of my notebooks. When is a potato just a potato? C'est n'est pas une pomme de terre (pomme de terre = apple of the earth, i like that far better)... 
Today marks my last day working in the little shoe store. I am grateful and excited to start my DesignWorks internship, but I will miss giggling at the end of the day at the smartly-labeled trash heap.

a dutchman & a swede

It is -12 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now and you know what that means...

It means Jens Lekman on YouTube, that's what. When people think of Sweden I think they have the wrong idea, like Cliff Richards who thought it was just porn and gonorrhea. And on another note...

Dutch-born Tord Boontje has a studio in a castle nestled into the landscape of the French countryside. I sat in a corner of the Art Cellar today and read his delightfully die-cut filled new book, wishing it was mine. His installations are especially wonderful, as are some of his thoughts on design. Check this video. Mr. Boontje, if you are out there, are you need of any interns? 

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I am about to don a cloak of invisibility and embark on a journey to the places I've once tread.  I am in search of an elixir or a wise elder's spell to reveal the truth behind human matter, to dispel the myths of alienation, to help me understand humanity. More on this later.

a fine day for bovinae

Ankoles=most beautiful bovines i've seen

Albino Water Buffalo=spell casting luck charms

American cattle=energy sucking overcrowded McDonald's cheesieburgers

WillsomeonepleasetellmeExactlyWhatitisIshouldbedoingIn16monthsInsomanydaysOfindecipherablecrystalballsAndanxietiesAnduncertaintiesRestlessClaustrophobiasandparanoiasAlongingforfeathersorThebackofaPegasus

crushes

Der's dis Swedish fellow, by the name of Jens Lekman. He'll be coming up a lot I'm sure. He's in Australia now. Singing love songs by de ocean no doubt. Eating lukewarm English beer and vegan pancakes. Writing love songs to Lisa. Slicing avocados. Getting busted, and using his one phone call to dedicate a song to you on de radio...

I have a secret crush on Teacake design. I do enjoy cheeky boys. And playful design. And mocking typographic rules. Check their blog. Cheeky!

did i mention i like the postal service?

Look what arrived in the mail this evening!

Check out more vintage sewing notions. And packaging! The pinker in its box makes me blush. 

 

1952 Nancy Drew. I do enjoy the ribbon. And Nancy's dope DJ beats. Word. 

i like words and the postal service

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=2eedf75be4bb60ec2fc04eae1d94cdc6a0a95f29

philately [fi-lat-l-ee] n. the collection and study of postage stamps, postmarks, and related materials; stamp collecting  

S is for screenprinting. And sleuthing. 

Homage to the long-gone Red Owl Stores from Hopkins, Minnesota. No one makes packaging like this anymore! Cheers to vintage sewing notions. And sweet packaging.

collections

An introduction into my collections: First edition (1930s) Nancy Drews are hard to come by with the dust jacket, and it seems, especially hard to come by with the lovely orange silhouette interior covers, as opposed to the more common navy blue. I've been searching for awhile for old technicolor photographs. This one I picked up recently. It has a note written on the back in impeccable script in a language I cannot decipher. A passionate love note? Perhaps. "Best in children's books" series have little graphics and spot illustrations in sugary colors that I want to eat like gum drops. This one was published in 1959. If anyone should stumble on any of these, please snatch them up for me and I will reward you handsomely and reimburse you for your noble endeavors. 

A few precious gems harvested from the pages of my Sunday New York Times: enchanted forests and pictogram people! Brilliant.

välkommen

I shall begin this initial toe-dip into the mysterious kingdom of the blogosphere with the humble offering of a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie, in the hopes that if I give you said cookie, you will want to ask for a glass of milk, and if I give you a glass of milk, you may just ask for a straw, and if I give you a straw, then perhaps you will also request a napkin...Welcome friends, fairies, elves, gnomes, and bitty sprites, to notions & potions.