Give it some gas

So, I took my little boy to the Denver Aquarium last Saturday along with his "Agi" {that's short for grandmother in Cherokee} ... anywhooo ...

We were killing some time down in on the Broadway Antique district and I came across this site. Gasp!

I LOVE this old gas station and had dreamy late afternoon visions of having this type of building to house the whole Bozeman Collaborative and, more importantly, the BirdDog Press. It is just perfect with the nostalgic look and garage doors plenty big enough for presses and bindery equipment to move in.

Someday.

Roller Coaster! Ooo Ooo Ooo!

When I was a little girl, my dad used to sneak me on the big roller coasters at the amusement parks even though I wasn't tall enough – according to the ride rules – to get that stomach-in-your-throat thrill. We would hold both hands up in the air and chant "I'm not scared ... Oooooo!" and laugh (even though I probably was)

Same is true today I suppose. I am on the rollercoaster ride of mompreneurship and I just printed these coasters to prove it! Stationery Show .... here we come ... I'm not scared .... OoOoooo!

crazy good, like a fox

Okay, worries are over for the time being. I have entered my calm submissive state. The show must go on.

Today is Earth Day. One of my favorite days of the year next to loved ones' birthdays and Halloween. Today I will be sending my friend some foxy cards that I printed on the BirdDog Press like this one in honor of her son who left this earth nearly a year ago. They are planting a beautiful garden in Cash's name at the Children's Hospital in Denver. One may remember a poster I designed for his benefit concert earlier this year on his birthday. Cash is an angel watching over his Mommy and Daddy these days – often appearing as a curious fox on an evening run near their house. His foxy spirit will always be with us.

super stressful serenade

eek. having a super stressful day. feeling overwhelmed with projects for others when the focus should have turned to my own studio projects over a month ago. i just can't seem to get ahead no matter how hard i try. not for a lack of inspiration or motivation. just never enough hours in the day. i just popped over to iomoi.com because i love their designs. this one about sums up my current state of mind. must find a mantra and push through.

to be where i'm going

So, I have several blogs and I wasn't quite sure where this one was going. I am inspired by so many things lately and I think this may be my most important blog, though I have been neglecting it the most, just like my sketchbook gets neglected as I spend more time on the computer. It is a bad habit. It is easy to post recent work on my BirdDog Press or Handmaiden Papeterie blogs. It is easy to take a photograph of my son's daily adventures as a one-and-a-half year old. It is harder to get everything that I take in and process it for consumption online. I pledge to devote more time to my design blog and give a little more of myself to myself.

What am I inspired by today? Boxcar Press. They just launched a brand new website and I read almost the entire thing. I share their philosophy on so many levels and like to see them growing in an enviable direction. Thank you Boxcar for mastering and uplifting the historical craft of letterpress in this modern world with such care and passion.

Helvetica

I finally got around to putting this one in my Netflix queue. The days of going to a movie theater are long gone for me. I have promised myself I would watch it this week. Hmmm. My birthday is Friday!

Goal Progress

You may remember my goals posted for 2008, if not, here they are again:

1. Develop product line for sale in stationery stores across the country.
2. Execute Marketing Plan like a well oiled machine.
3. Build a team for maximum streamlined production.
4. Perfect policies & process to keep things running smoothly.
5. Knock 'em dead at NYC's National Stationery Show!

Because winter is nearly over and it's time for the renewal of spring, I thought I would give you an update on how we're doing so far. Number 1 is almost finished. The products haven't gone to production yet, but the product list, ideas & designs are 99% finished! The marketing plan is certainly in action, though we may not have quite made it to "well oiled machine" status as of yet. The team descriptions and job functions have been decided, now we just need to recruit the right personalities! Policies & Process are smoothing out – we'll definitely have this one crossed off the list by Spring's end. Number 5 remains to be seen, but we are confident! Of course we'll have another update when we return at the end of May.