five and a half, a collection of all things paper

a place to share the tidbits of advice, references and resources, and stories on independent stationery design.

from the artbox to 2/12

i've neglected the artbox for a little while, because i've been caught up in a whirlwind of changes. it's time for something new, i've decided, and this time, it's going to be two voices instead of one. you'll still be able to hear about my handmade journals, my books, and my thoughts on crafty and artsey things i see around me. but you'll also hear another voice, one that muses about other things, like movies, photography, books, and music.

so i've packed up the artbox, and from now on i'll be writing on 2/12. please do stop by at our new place to say hello!

at 3r living in park slope, brooklyn

an exciting moment this past weekend was to walk into 3r Living to see that samantha, the storeowner, has already put my handmade journals up on the shelves!

it was a wonderful surprise, and i'm hoping that they will sell alright. regardless, it's so exciting to even think that my first edition of books is now available in a brick and mortar store, and such a nice one too -- alongside beautiful pieces of furniture, accessories, etc., all made with the goal of being sustainable and recycled.

back to the drawing board

after a very busy past few weeks, i'm finally settled into my new home in brooklyn. i've done a bit of marketing for my handmade books, and a store in park slope, brooklyn is now carrying them. i'm still waiting on a few more places, and i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

the one thing i haven't been able to do recently is sit down and draw ... it's time to get back to work on my portfolio, and especially those children's illustrations! i had some leftover pastel papers from bookmaking that i decided to try drawing on yesterday -- i made some rough sketches with charcoal pencil, then found my hubbie's ink brushes and tested them out -- and i absolutely love the effect of them! i think i'll keep playing around with these pens and maybe adding a gouache wash so that i can add more variety to my paintings.

five and a half. handmade, recollected

the books are packaged, the website is up (thanks to help from my hubbie), and i'm now in the process of sending my information to consignment stores. hopefully some of them will be interested! i'll write more on that as i wade through it all and get a better understanding of what i'm doing. in the meantime, thanks to those of you who have been reading my blog and writing such encouraging posts and emails to me about my books!

almost ready

my handmade paperback journals are finally ready, and i'm having so much fun with the idea that the two-color covers can be mixed and matched in so many ways. i must admit that while i was making them i was thinking of the ever-eye-catching colors of those dual-tone herve chapelier bags, which change every season.

tomorrow and next week will be spent on marketing -- such a daunting task! packaging everything to have a strong look, taking final photos (i just took a round and realized how the way i display the books can make such a difference in what type of overall feel i want to express) and to write to all the stores i'd hope to show samples of my books to.

in the meantime, i've started using one of my own journals to test its functionality, and i'm really getting a lot of mileage out of the accordian pocket at the back of the book -- mine is stuffed with important little scrap papers with names and numbers and other random things. and i'm making extra ones, to give to friends ... hopefully they'll be able to put my books to good use!

hundreds of books

i took a few photos inside a bookstore, hoping that no one would see my camera and tell me to stop being disruptive or rude ... surprisingly, no one really noticed. this painting is based on one of those pictures. i must admit that compositionally it's a bit weird because the figures in the background seem to tower and somewhat overbear the girl in the foreground who is looking at the bookshelf, but i don't think i'll change it because i feel that's what makes this image a painting of an everday "snapshot" -- it's messy, a little strange on the eye, but it's true to what i see.

the color scheme is also a little odd too -- i could say that's because i'm still getting used to the new paints i'm using, but it's also because i get a little frazzled when i'm attempting to paint overly-detailed/colorful things, and there were just so many little books to paint in this piece!

it'll take a while for this painting to grow on me ...