From the Studio: Business Cards

I created these cards for my husband for our 1st wedding anniversary. The traditional 1st anniversary gift is "paper". Little does he know, it will most likely be the next 49 years' gift as well. The bikes are from a pen and ink drawing I made of a vintage racing bike, as my husband is an avid cyclist.

The Melvins Letterpress Box Set

I was so excited when I heard the Melvins were issuing a limited edition (of 200) letterpress box-set. Designed and printed by Mackie Osborne, the wife of front man Buzz, the box-sets were hand assembled by the band, edition and autographed. My husband and I just had to get our hands on one of these gems. Anyone who appreciates letterpress and the work involved understands the $200 price tag. Judging from the line at the merch booth, (box-sets are only available at shows) Melvins fans don't seem to mind.  

Little Book of Letterpress

Flora and Fauna Press is pleased to announce our inclusion in the wonderful book, the Little Book of Letterpress by Charlotte Rivers. Filled with beautiful pictures from some of the best letterpress designers, it is quite a privilege to be included. 

Other People's Presses: Hatch Show Print

I've decided to start featuring some of the wonderful presses and designers creating letterpress and paper ephemera. Why not start with the Press who started it all for me, Hatch Show Print in Nashville, TN?

Living in TN for quite some time, Hatch Show posters are ubiquitous in the area, and a visit (way back in 1994) to the Nashville shop turned me onto letterpress forever. Hatch Show is a true printmakers mecca, a shop filled to the brim with wood type and block, prints, presses...

Hatch show has been cranking it out since 1879, creating posters for some of the biggest acts in country music not to mention newer acts and adverts. 

From the Studio

A variety of custom save the date cards we've created over the last year. 

Made by Hand

The editor of Make Magazine has a new book out today, "Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World". For those of us who make stuff by hand, this couldn't be a more profound publication.  Seth Godin aptly and eloquently describes the book "...is about the increasing insulation between modern life and the idea of actually making/growing/fixing things. As Mark chronicles his journey into the world of tinkering, I realized that this is a spiritual journey, not merely a hobby. Tweaking, making and building are human acts, ones that are very easy to forget about as we sign up to become cogs in the giant machinery of consumption and production." {I appreciate Grodin referencing Marx's theory of alienation.} Buy one at your local {mom & pop} bookseller today! 

...from the studio

Some of our new products for the National Stationery Show. 

"Adopt a Shelter Pet" Stamps

Halo will be donating a million meals to shelter pets, and raising awareness with these adorable stamps. All the photos were taken of adopted animals from a Connecticut shelter. Purchase online or at your local Post Office.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

A recent project from our studio. I like the idea of sending a "holiday card" on St. Patrick's Day. 


I'll leave you with a quote which is hanging on a plaque in our kitchen: 
'Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.' W.B. Yeats

Charles Burchfield Exhibit

I finally got around to seeing the incredible Charles Birchfield exhibit at UCLA's Hammer Museum, on the closing day. Birchfield mainly worked in watercolor, depicting Americana and Nature-- I found it very interesting that he worked for Birge Wallpaper Company and American Greetings early in his career. During his illness at the end of his life, his paintings developed into  landscapes of a much looser unfinished quality, conveying a sense of freedom if you will. 

{above: artworks by Charles Burchfield}