Holidays are here!

goodies from Smock Paper

look at the happy elves from Snow and Graham.  They have also jumped on some great wrap!

and from our Portland neighbor Egg Press.  Plus many more great goodies including Sweet Petula Soap and lotion, and lots of calendars:  Ilee, Egg Press, Snow and Graham, Niki McClure, and Smudge Ink.  Love to see you.

you asked

I have been persuaded (it didn't take much arm twisting) to bring in an artist's work i have long admired:  Nikki McClure.  I am so excited to get her calendar, prints, and cards.  Please take a minute to come look at her work- soon to be hanging at Birch.

bird on a chair (or camper)

one of my favorite designers is Jacqueline Schmidt of Screech Owl Design.  I love the whimsy and play between everyday objects and nature.  Jacqueline says it best:

Bird on a chair? Our images grow from an inspiration derived in nature. Our colorful cards playfully bring nature into contact with our quirky yet urbane domesticity. We enjoy cobbling these images together in a humorous and harmonious habitat where wildlife and wing chairs go hand in hand. At Screech Owl Design, we believe personal connection should not come at the expense of environmental responsibility. We print all of our cards on 100% post-consumer recycled paper or tree free 100% cotton paper recovered from scraps. Because of developments in processing recycled materials, we are able to offer eco-friendly products that look and feel as luxurious as any non-recycled paper.  

Come see for yourself at Birch.

calendars

Do I dare say it, but lately it has started to feel like fall in Seattle.  Believe me, if the sun starts shining again and I have to pull the fans out of my basement, I will be thrilled.  Until then, I get to think about some of those things that remind me fall is around the corner.  One of those is the arrival of new calendars.  At Birch we will have a small select group of great designs.  The first to arrive is the 2011 Bee Calendar from Hammerpress.

uppercase magazine

Since the creative and curious keep coming through the doors of Birch, I decided to bring my favorite magazine, UPPERCASE, into the store.

Here is what UPPERCASE says about themselves:

We're inquisitive: learning from other artists, illustrators, designers, photographers, filmmakers and musicians, whether they're upstarts or icons, famous or shy, verbal or visual.

We're inspired: enchanted by great ideas and strange inventions; by colour and pattern; things fancy and frugal; the charm of vintage in a modern life; the ridiculous and the sublime.

We're adventurous: traveling to destinations both real and imagined, peeking into creative spaces and discovering magnificent people and memorable places.

We're eclectic: curating souvenirs, collecting treasures and celebrating the extraordinary in the everyday.

We're playful: delighting in visual amusements, intelligent distraction, entertaining wordplay and sweet indulgences.

We're UPPERCASE: a magazine for the creative and curious!

and now:  We're at Birch Paperie (they didn't say that, I did).  Come in and get your own copy!

Cool Event

The ninth edition of this free, family-friendly event promises to be bigger, better, and Wayzgoosier than ever, with steamroller printing, a marketplace, an equipment swap, and demonstrations.

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, August 28, 1-6pm

LOCATION: School of Visual Concepts, 500 Aurora Ave. N., Seattle, just east of the Seattle Center

COST: All Wayzgoose events are free

FEATURED EVENTS

STEAMROLLER SMACKDOWN: Local design firms and artists will be challenged to produce a poster which will then be printed in the SVCparking lot with a two-ton steamroller used in place of the traditional printing press.

LETTERPRESS MARKETPLACE: Artists will be on hand selling letterpress posters, broadsides, cards, books, and other ephemera and promoting their studios.

EQUIPMENT SWAP: Printers will bring type, cuts, tools, printing accessories, and who-knows-what for selling, buying, or simply admiring.

DEMOS: SVC’s letterpress shop will be open for tours. Guests will get a chance to print a free letterpress keepsake on SVC’s beautifully restored iron handpress.

For more information and to RSVP for the equipment swap contact Jenny Wilkson using the link below.

wayzgoose.jpg

What would grandmother think?

Upon returning from the New York Stationery Show I have been thinking about a theme that appeared around every corner:  “back to basics”.  I think after a few years of tightening the old family budget, many of us have started to revert back to the traditional ways of doing things - just like our mother’s and grandmother’s used to do, or perhaps still do.  Meal planning, sharing recipes, canning, growing our own vegetables, spending more time reading after canceling our cable, inviting friends over for pot-luck dinner, etc.

Here our some examples of the wonderful cards and ideas I saw:

Wiley Valentine's seed cards (when you're done, plant the card and watch your garden grow!)

Old School Stationers canning cards
 

Pinkerton Design's garden cards & notebooks

Snow & Graham's Recipe cards

when did this happen

Apparently having a facebook and twitter account doesn't help the aging process. I used to wear cool hats, clips, and feathers (ok- never did wear feathers) in my hair. Now...magnifying glasses to go along with the contacts. It doesn't help that I work with a bunch of talented 30 somethings and they have decided to print the numbers on the back of their cards in the smallest of fonts! I just want to get some new cards for Birch and they are making it tough.

One of my favorite culprits for making me feel, shall we say, "super, really, amazingly small print" challenged, is Stacy Pancake of Pancake and Franks- but that will NOT keep me from sharing her work. All of Stacy's cards are printed on 100% recycled paper. Enjoy.

Hours

I have had many people ask me when Birch is open. Since it is just me running the show and I have responsibilities outside of Birch (it's true!), I have hesitated to post any set hours. Instead, what I would like to do, is post my hours for the week here every Monday.

So, this week Birch Paperie will be open:

Thursday: 10 - 12 and 3 - 5

Friday: 11 - 4

Saturday: 10 - 3

Hope to see you.

Connection

A friend recently asked me "what is your word for 2010?". She wanted to know what I wanted to focus on for the year (and beyond)- much like a New Year's resolution, which I had decided not to "do" this year. For some reason, I haven't been able to shake the question. I have been sitting on it for a few weeks and it finally hit me. The word I felt described what I wanted to focus on this year is "connection". Connection to my kids, now teenagers, my busy husband, and my friends. Connection to my community- local and global. Connection to myself-my creativity, my body, my work. It will be my goal this year to look at those "connections"- how do I make them deeper, why have some "unraveled", what value do they bring me, how do I reconnect. The list goes on.

As part of getting more connected to myself and my global community, today I registered for the an exciting class: Unravellling: Ways of Seeing My Self. It is an e-course which last 8 weeks- taught by Susannah Conway, www.inkonmyfingers.typepad.com, from the UK. Using photography and journaling you dive into where your are, where you have been, and where you want to go. Registration started at 8 am this morning and closed 10 minutes later. I have already heard from one of my new "classmates"- a mom, writer, and Texan!. How cool.

Today I also received a box from Mr. Boddington's Studio, www.mrboddington.com. They have an amazing line of letterpress cards. Great color and design. I have been working on connecting with them for several months and finally started working together recently. Like many of you, I am terrible about sending cards: birthday, thank you, thinking of you, etc. But how fantastic would it be to receive a real card in the mail? Today, as part of my year of "connection" I will send a card to a friend that recently (as Mr. Boddington would say) joined the stroller set.

so glad I found you!

Today has been a little quiet at Birch, but I still have enjoyed being in my space, visiting with customers, and sneaking out for a lovingly made latte and cookie from Hiroki (great bakery in the neighborhood). Did I mention I am surrounded by bakeries: Mighty O Donuts, Zoka, and Hiroki? Another good reason to visit.

While sitting at my desk, thinking about getting my tax "stuff" together, I spotted one of my favorite cards designed by Brian Reed of Old School Stationers. Perched on a branch, two brown birds gaze into each others eyes and above the birds "I'm so glad I found you". I feel that way about my new space. I'm so glad I found it, I'm so glad I decided to make a change (not easy for me), and I'm so glad customers are also enjoying the space.