Blog love

For those of you doing your letterpress research on the net, make sure you check out this post from Ampersand Duck. Now, I haven't been a letterpress printer my whole working career (as you may already know, I worked as a graphic designer in private and government studios), so I don't have any formal education in the history of printing, but I do my best to extend my knowledge whenever possible. I often wonder if other 'modern' letterpress printers stop to think about where their presses came from and what they were originally used for. I was glad to see such a well-written post about the Common Press on &Duck's blog, so make sure you read it. It's tonight's homework. And there may be random quizzes in the following days.

Speaking of &Ducky's blog, lookie here. I've already put my name down for one of these gorgeous posters which were printed by &Duck on her Vandercook SP-20 press (affectionately known as Kitty, who I met at &Duck's studio warming). Oh yes, and the show looks good, too :)  

Image copyright Ampersand Duck.

Fusion Photography

Everyone knows how important a good photographer is on your wedding day. It's one of the most important days of your life, so you want a photographer who will capture the day honestly and creatively, as well as having a good "aisle-side" manner. And when two graphic designers get married, such as Adrian and myself, only the best will do. I didn't really expect to find a photographer who lived up to our high expectations, so we were pleasantly surprised to find Ben Kopilow of Fusion Photography. Ben was fantastic on the day, and the photos were exceptional.

Sunday afternoon I took my little family over to Barton, where we attended the studio warming of the new home of Fusion Photography. Both Adrian and I were deeply envious of Ben's new studio -- me for the sleek white furniture, Adrian for the drool-worthy monitor and projection unit. If you happen to be getting married in the Canberra region, I highly recommend you check out Ben's exceptional work.

One of my favourites from our wedding day

Image copyright Fusion Photography

I do love a good studio warming, and yesterday I was reminded that I still haven't had ours yet, and we've been in the new studio for 10 months now. I'm hoping to do a little work on the office and studio before the end of the year, so a studio warming (1 year late!) is probably a good idea...

Paper Boat Press

I found Paper Boat Press the other day and just loved their cute ceramic wares. This little tag caught my interest, and I couldn't help but get one for my office.

The dried flowers are some that were in my hair on my wedding day.

Floral inspirations

I just love spring. For the first time in a long time, we're getting a lot of rain here in Canberra, which is a welcome relief during the drought. Everything is green and fresh, and smells spectacular. Our annual flower show, Floriade, has only just finished. 

I can't help but be inspired by the flowers in my own garden. These little beauties will be featuring in wedding invitations very soon! And what better way to spend the weekend than by illustrating them?

Poppy on Twitter

As a matter of principle, I generally avoid jumping on the bandwagon as it whizzes past, flaunting it's latest trend, so Twitter wasn't something that initially appealed to me, in either a personal or professional sense. However, after having a thorough look at it the other day, I've decided that it was time for Twitter to meet Poppy. So far, the only downside has been the character limit when choosing an account name, so we're known on Twitter as PoppyLetterpres. This irks me to no end, being the stickler for correct spelling that I am. Otherwise, I'm having fun catching up with friends of Poppy online, and meeting new ones. 

So are you on Twitter?

Colours I'm in love with

Is there a colour that makes you go all gooey inside?

I'm finding myself more and more obsessed with neutrals mixed with a splash of earthy greens and reds. I've always been a huge fan of sage green - in fact it was my main colour in my own wedding palette. The Poppy office is sage green too, as I find it's a perfectly calming colour for a work environment. 

Neutral browns and greys make me giddy, I just can't get enough of them! My loungeroom is now a rich latte with white highlights. I find neutrals are timeless - warm, inviting, scrumptious. 

So this is a hint of the colour palette for the new Poppy website. I'm so excited about launching it, but we're taking the time to make sure that it's just right, rather than hastily uploading it. When we've settled on the launch date, I'll be impatiently counting down the days, both here on the blog and on Twitter.

Missing in action

Kynan is now 14 weeks old. Being the new mum that I am, I assumed that the older he got, the more settled he'd sleep during the day, and therefore I'd have heaps more time to work on all things Poppy. How blissfully naive I was! Ky now likes to feed every 1.5 to 2 hours, with over an hour of playtime in between, which leaves me little time to get any work done. It's frustrating because I miss my beloved Poppy, and the studio seems so empty and unloved at the moment. But who can resist a face like this?

As a business person, it's hard to let go of a fulltime job that I love so much. I'm really looking forward to the day when Ky is in daycare and I can spend all day in the studio. Until then, I've made the difficult decision to focus the majority of my attention on motherhood. Well, kind of. I've actually got a few printing jobs on the go (can't help myself really). Having just a few means that I can give each job the attention it deserves, so that the high quality of design, printing and attention to detail that we pride ourselves on here at Poppy isn't sacrificed. Eessu will be back on board when the studio is back in full swing, too, and we're both very excited about the many ideas we've got for the future of Poppy.

So while my mind is thinking up ideas to entertain Kynan (instead of thinking up new designs), and my tshirt is covered in vomit (instead of being covered in ink), stay tuned for updates and our new website. I'll also write up a little about the last couple of jobs that have been on the press once I get photos.

Thanks so much to all of your for your continued support and feedback. We won't be gone for long, I promise! If you have any questions about stationery for your 2010 wedding, please feel free to drop me a line still [louise at poppyletterpress dot com dot au], but just know that I won't be able to provide a quote at this time.