moontree letterpress

new blog address

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:06:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who has visited the blog these past 15 months, I really appreciate the nice feedback and support. From today forward I'll be using a new blog platform and can be found this new address.

Happy New Year, and best wishes for 2008!

2007 is winding down

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:53:00 +0000

Only a few more days left in 2007, what a great year! I'm back from a nice Christmas vacation and am working on some exciting new changes for January 1st.

I originally started this blog as a strict portfolio tool, but this year I'd like to expand my scope to include my environment (studio life, brooklyn, etc) and some non-letterpress things (plants, crafts, etc) that inspire me. I bought a great new camera over the holidays and am traveling down to Durham, PA on Sunday to get some photography pointers from my photoblogging guru Kathleen Connally.

Also, I'm launching a new monthly edition project on January 1st that I'm VERY excited about.

So as part of this process I'll be switching to a new blog server that will be a little more versatile. I'll post the new site on Jan. 1st...please check back. So thanks so much for reading so far, and have a very Happy New Year!

more treasures from last weekend

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:01:00 +0000

An amazing handset print by Jeremy Thompson

Postcard print by Foxglove Press

Prints from inked lace by Disorderly Quarterly

sunday sale

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:11:00 +0000

This weekend was craft sale central, thanks so much to everyone who came by! I'll post some pictures from the Center for Book Arts sale tomorrow, but for now here are were my favorite vendors from the Divine Studios sale on Sunday - including Kim from The Wild Unknown, who became an instant favorite.

Marcie McGoldrick

Sesame Letterpress

Bonbon Oiseau

Perch

Laura Normandin of Wren Handmade

The Wild Unknown

jessi klein for moontree letterpress

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:51:00 +0000

I'm working on a fun project today... I am so lucky that my BFF happens to be a VTI (very talented illustrator). This year for my holiday craft sales I'm printing some of her very lovable drawings as notecard sets. They will be available online starting January 1, one edition per month. If you're in the nyc area this weekend, stop by some great craft sales:

Center For Book Arts - Friday 6-9pm, Saturday 11-5pm
Divine Studios - Sunday 11-6pm

huge postcards

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:38:00 +0000

This week I had the great pleasure of printing a large holiday postcard order for the cool folks at Huge, a really spectacular design firm. Their team created the design, which was a 3-color job printed on 100% cotton heavy card stock. (I love their color/no color choices)

Next week I'll be printing cards for my two upcoming craft sales - including designs from a very special guest illustrator. Stay tuned....

life imitating art

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:04:00 +0000

I had quite a busy weekend at the studio, printing 2000 snowy holiday cards for a west coast architecture firm (while the real snow came down outside). I have holiday projects galore this week, but next week I'll be focusing on printing various items for 2 upcoming craft sales. I'll have more info on those soon, please check back!

peace

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:44:00 +0000

burda holiday

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:39:00 +0000

Working right up until the holiday. Today I delivered a lovely holiday card for the nice folks at Burda. They created the gorgeous design and I printed them on 110lb Strathmore.

holiday cards

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:58:00 +0000

Today I posted two special holiday cards in my Etsy shop shop. Both have a "local" angle, but I hope they have some wider appeal too. They are snowy local skylines, one of Brooklyn and one New York City. I also added a generic Brooklyn design...for use all year!

2008 calendar

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:31:00 +0000

Hooray, the calendar is finally up up for sale in my Etsy shop! I'm also working on some cards (holiday and others) that will be up Monday or Tuesday - I'll post another set of photos when they're ready. In the meantime, hope you enjoy the calendar artwork. Despite my hectic schedule for the last six weeks, they were very fun for me to print and gave me some much needed craft therapy.

holiday snowy trees

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:18:00 +0000

The holiday projects are officially underway! Here is a nice party invitation, printed on Mohawk Superfine cover. Calendars and holiday cards will be up in the online ship by the end of the week! :)

sab letterpress

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:57:00 +0000

Today is my last day here in Tokyo, what a fantastic trip! One of my main motivations for coming was to see if there was any interest in letterpress here in Japan. While there is still a lot of room for growth as a popular craft, letterpress does have some presence here. On Sunday I had the great fortune of meeting Jitsuko Takei, one of the few professional printers I've come across here. She who owns and operates Sab Letterpress.

Check out her site, I'm so in love with the photography! She is also one of the three owners of an Aoyama paper store called Papier Labo. Unfortunately I met Jitsuko on Sunday and her store is closed Monday & Tuesday, but it'll be on the top of my list next time!

kiddie land

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 08:55:00 +0000

I also made a stop at Tokyo's famous seven-story toy store, Kiddie Land. My favorite was the plush food section, including ice cream cones, lambchops and hamburgers!

muji

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 08:29:00 +0000

With the show ending last night, I spent today doing a little shopping in Harajuku. Even before I touched down in Tokyo, I was excited to visit one of my favorite stores - Muji. I discovered Muji last year on a trip to England, and the first US store will open in New York City on November 16.

Muji has just about everything for the home, but also clothes and even food (with the greatest packing). The products are all bauhaus-inspired, here is a sneak-preview for new yorkers.

designboom - part two

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:28:00 +0000

Some more great items from the Mart, and the rest of the show:

magnetic and snap cups by Inv/Alt Design (USA)
waffle scarves and bags by Samira Boon (Netherlands)
m. series palladium and clay cups by Jiro Noguchi (Japan)
felt interiors by Takehiro Ando (Japan)
bedside 'book homes' by Ingredient (China)
textiles by Salvia (Japan)
hairclip caps by Hausfrieden (Germany)

designboom - part one

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:58:00 +0000

Finally, here are some shots of the 100% Design show. I was located in the Designboom Mart, where designers were selling limited edition products. There were so many great items, I'm going to split my favorites up into two sections. Here are some photos of the show itself, and...

cement rings by 22 Design (Taiwan)
teapot juicers Dekuba (Cuba)
gorgeous laminated paper bags by Cina (New Zealand/Tokyo)
kimono fabrics turned into hats, belts and shoe laces by Zillion (France)

More to come tomorrow!

japanese letterpress

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:48:00 +0000

Okay, I'll be posting lots of great show pictures tomorrow but until then I have to share a fantastic experience I had today...

I visited to the Tokyo Printing Museum this afternoon, and what an incredible day. They have a great exhibit on the entire history of printing (no pictures allowed) and at the end they offer a letterpress workshop. I got to print some moontree coasters and take pictures of the gorgeous Japanese type cases. It was honestly one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.

The funniest part was their reaction to my interest and enthusiam. Letterpress isn't that big over here (the main reason I'm attending this show) so I don't think they understood why I was so ga-ga about the presses and type cases. I tried explaining that I was a professional letterpress printer back home, but I don't think I quite got my message across. Anyway, my 'letterpress sensei' gave me a little demo on a tabletop Adana press and then let me print 8 of my very own coasters.

Here are some photos from my class. That's me printing near the bottom, barely containing myself. :)

early morning prayers

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 09:38:00 +0000

I'm staying in the Akasaka area of Tokyo this week, which has a number of small temples scattered around its winding streets. This morning before heading over to the show venue, I stopped by a few of these peaceful and secluded spots.

The rest of this week's pictures will be of a *very* different nature. The 100% Design Show will begin tomorrow, and I'm so excited to see it up and running. :)

cozy bird gloves

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:03:00 +0000

I'm off to grab breakfast before starting the day but had to post these cute bird gloves by Da Reiko. I found them at the insanely gorgeous Takashimaya department store yesterday. We are scheduled to start show set-up at 3pm (actual show starts tomorrow), so I'll try to fit in some more sightseeing this morning.

japanese paper and flowers

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:50:00 +0000

I spent so much time today in a Ginza paper store called Kyukyodo. They have an amazing selection of washi, traditional Japanese paper, and calligraphy supplies on the second floor. Right outside was a gorgeous flower stand...

Later this week I'll visit another notable paper place called Kami Hyakka, and hit the Toppan Printing Museum. These are both closed on Mondays so I couldn't make it today.

konnichiwa!

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:19:00 +0000

I arrived in Tokyo yesterday for the 100% Design Show! Show set-up doesn't begin until tomorrow, so today I did as much sight-seeing as possible before work starts. Here are some pictures of Meiji Shrine and the surrounding grounds. Even though right in the middle of Tokyo, it's incredibly vast and serene.

casper and liam

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:39:00 +0000

I know I've been remiss lately with updating the blog. I just finished my CD cover project yesterday, which took all of October (I'll post some pictures after it's released).

On the side I've also been preparing for my trip to Tokyo (leaving this saturday!) and a few other small projects, including this very exciting baby announcement. Twins! I'll be posting pictures from the 100% Design show next week, please check back and take a look!

japan!

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:47:00 +0000

I'm really excited to be getting ready for a trip to Tokyo at the end of the month. I'm going to be participating in the DesignBoom Mart at Japan's 100% Design Week. I'll be introducing the Holiday collection there, which includes a 2008 calendar, a series of holiday cards and some nice little gift tags.

I'll be blogging a little more about the trip after I finish my current job, which is beyond mammoth - a very large CD cover project. I'll post some shots after I'm finished...but for now the studio is totally upside down. :)

autumn dreaming

noreply@blogger.com (rebecca / moontree letterpress) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:05:00 +0000

I'm printing programs, menus and table cards for two weddings this week. They both have neutral autumn colors (my favorite), but it's 85 degrees here in nyc today. I hope we'll get some fall weather, and not go straight to deep freeze...