Gee, Thanks

Photo courtesy of Yee Haw

The holiday is over, the presents are unwrapped, and those of us not trapped by blizzards are plotting paths home. Whats next? Something near and dear to my heart - proper thank yous - the pen and ink on paper variety.

A special thanks to my father-in-law for tipping me off to a story on NPR this morning about a man who dedicated a year of his life to the craft of letter writing. In 2008 he wrote one thank you note a day for an entire year - to friends, family, co-workers, even his favorite barrista at Starbucks. Kralik eventually turned his letter writing journey into a book - 365 Thank Yous.

He said his grandfather was the inspiration for this idea to say thanks over 365 days. As a boy, his grandfather would send him a silver dollar every time he sent him a thank you note. When he'd write another thank you for the silver dollar, he'd get another coin. "'That was the way thank-you letters worked', he told me," he said. Years later, Kralik wrote:

I came up with an idea...I would try to find one person to thank each day. One person to whom I would write a thank-you note....If my grandfather was right, I would have a lot more of what I was thankful for by the end of the year.

I'd like to take Kralik's message, about the giving quality of thank you notes, to heart. This post-holiday snow-in is the perfect time for me to sit down with my address book and a box of stationery and thank everyone who made this 2010 holiday season so memorable.

"With a handwritten note, a piece of you will be in the same room with the person to whom you write," Kralik writes.

So thanks to my parents and to Dave's for sticking with us through a stressful house-hunt. Thanks to my brother and his lovely girlfriend for pup-sitting during so many of our weekend trips. Thanks to Joanna and Ryan for getting married and getting the family together for so many happy occasions in 2010. And so many, many more.....not sure if 365 notes are in the cards for me, but as a 2011 New Year's resolution, I definitely hope to perfect the craft of thank you note writing.

Photo courtesy of Penelope's Press

Kralik offers 10 tips for better letter writing in the NPR piece. Rule #1?

Focus on the other person. First, find their address, and write it out yourself on the envelope. Where are they living? What did they go through to give you this gift? When is the last time you did something like that for them.

What Park Slope has that Portland doesn't

Photos courtesy of Lion in the Sun

I know I've been on sort of a Portland bender lately. Time to give some lovin' to the East Coast.

If you find yourself in NYC this holiday season, be sure to check out Lion in the Sun, a full-service paperie in Park Slope. This shop won me over with its history as a growing-shifting-blossoming family business. Co-owner Melinda Morris (who runs the shop with her hubby, David), comes from a family of paper peddlers - like me. Her parents still man the original Lion in the Sun on Long Island. What drew Melinda back into the fold after nine years in event planning?

Melinda opened her own store specializing in custom printed invitations because she wanted to be in a business that revolves around happy occasions. Luckily, Park Slope, Brooklyn — her longtime home — was in need of just such a place. So in 2002, she hung a shingle on a cozy side street and Lion in the Sun of Park Slope was born. It is in that store that she met her future husband, David, who happened to live just around the corner.

It doesn't get better than that (for me). Luckily I already found my David. Now I just need to find my cozy side street.

So let's look at what they do.....

I love the invitation below, designed by Linda and Harriett, because it's just a little different than all other cityscape I'm used to seeing. There's something incredibly nostalgic and romantic about the streetlamp and the park bench.

The store works with a fantastic selection of printers and designers, too - from invitation giants like Checkboard and C'est Paper, to local labels like Linda and Harriett and Foxy and Winston. More from Mel and David on their business ethos:

We know that when you visit the store to place a printing order, it is our responsibility as experts to guide you through the multiple options available. It is our main goal to be absolutely sure that you are delighted not just with your order, but with your experience as well. It is with this spirit that some our best clients have become our closest friends throughout our years of doing business.

Although Lion in the Press places heavy emphasis on coming into the store for personalized attention, this year Mel and David launched an online custom invite business, PostScript Brooklyn, so that the few of us left that aren't living in Brooklyn can have access to their paper lineup. I'm with it, I suppose, but I really do think it's super important to touch/feel invitations - especially wedding invites - before you buy. There are just so many variations in quality.

My PostScript? A big thanks to Katie for cluing me in to this shop!

Holiday Cards with Star Power

Us Weekly posted photos of some 2010 celebrity holiday cards. All of these cards are from pretty b-list celebs (no presidential gems here), but still fun to look at.

Looks like celebs stuck to photo cards this year. I guess that makes sense, but don't they get tired of seeing their faces plastered all over? Anyway - here's a shot of Ashlee and Pete's 2010 card + one from Kendra and Hank.

Photos courtesy of Us Weekly

A peek at Apartment Therapy's paper favs

Photo courtesy of Hammerpress

Thank YOU, Apartment Therapy, for giving paper some sugar.

My favorite blog posted their Paper Goods Wishlist for 2010 - check it out. Lots of goodies on display, some of which I've coveted for a long time (like the custom illustrated notecards from Rifle Press), others that were totally new to me (personalized branding stamps for business cards from MaeMae Paperie - oh lala!).
Head over to AT for the complete list.

Digging the business card stamp, but not loving the price? Check out my old post on custom stamps from Love to Create Stamps. They have some new designs that are pretty cute and fit the bill.

Calendar update

My 2011 calendar is up (a wee bit early, but I couldn't resist) and it looks fabulous!

Thanks to Kristine from SandinShoo. It arrived in the mail wrapped beautifully in an envelope gilded with her drawings. I couldn't be happier.

Thanks, everyone, who answered my call for help!

Holiday Cards - Final Push

This weekend I picked up some great holiday card extras at Verbina Paper and Gifts in Shirlington. My top find was a pack of "Sweet Seasons Greetings" notecards from Oblation Press.

The back of each card includes a (too complex?) recipe for vanilla bean marshmallows, which I would implore recipients of this card to try (and to send samples my way).

I wasn't blown away by the quality of the letterpress, but the design is lovely and I also like the shape of these cards (at 3 5/8 x 6 inches, it's what the British call "Imitation" paper.)

Oblation is a studio out of...you guess it...Portland, Ore. Seriously. Portland, you paper fiend! I can't get enough. If I ever disappear from DC, you can be sure to find me hiding out in Ladd's Rose Gardens Circles and Squares, plotting a paper trail. Until then, down to the last few cards to pop in the mail this week.

Scoop! First Peak at the Obama Holiday Card

A friend and loyal Post reader who works at the Senate passed along a sneak peek at the 2010 White House Holiday Card. Hurrah! I'm a lucky gal to have well-connected buddies.

And now I'll share with you:

Inside, the message reads:

May your holiday be filled will all the simple gifts of the season,
and may your new year be blessed with health and happiness.

BEST part of this card, hands down (or paws down?) is Bo's signature. So cute! Validates my own 2010 holiday card in which David and I included our pup, Finn. (Immediate reaction from my great aunt in California upon receiving our card: call my mother - not me - and ask if we had a child. Sigh.) But seriously - nice penmanship, Bo.

To see more presidential greetings, click here.

Finger Print Prints

Not much time to write today, but these custom fingerprint cutouts by Lori Danielle are pretty great and very self explanatory.

Perfect wedding or baby present.

Prices start at $150 for one print without text and can go up to $475 for a double print with a text boarder.

Lori has a great blog about her work and her life and some gosh-darn adorable children. It's a great read for a Friday afternoon. Enjoy!

Readers, I need your help!

OK Post readers - I need help, please, picking my 2011 wall calendar.

There's a lot riding on this thing. I'll hang in my office next to my desk for a WHOLE YEAR. I need a calendar that's functional (i.e. squares for writing stuff) and that won't feel worn out by next winter.

There are so many incredible calendars on Etsy right now that don't fit the bill - no space to write. bummer.

I really need a page turner. Here are the options so far. I WELCOME your votes and your suggestions. Really - none of these are show stoppers for me. Maybe I'm being picky?

OPTION 1: Birds on a wall calendar from Valentina Design:

Pros: I like birds
Cons: It's 8.5 x 11. Might be too small? Also - not head over heels about this print. Kind of a little 2006 to me.

OPTION 2: Hand-drawn Wall Calendar from Sand in Shoo

Pros: whimsical, gives me space to work with
Cons: whimsical at work? not sure if that will fly

OPTION 3: 2011 wall calendar from And Spring

Pros: I've written about Japanese paper company And Spring before - I love their work
Cons: numbers are a bit big for the boxes (is this where my pickiness comes in?)

OPTION 4: Snow and Graham write on calendarPros: structurally, it's everything I asked for.....
Cons: ...but the designs are a snooze-fest

Option 5: 2011 calendar from Invita Paper Studio

Pros: different, dainty, kind of fun
Cons: will this shape drive me crazy? Can train my brain to read up/down rather than left/right and count my weeks by seven?

OPTION 6: DC 2011 Wall Calendar from Sande74

Cons: Doesn't fit any of my criteria. Where are the boxes?!
Pros: Self-explanatory. Very cool

Craft paper

Photo courtesy of Purl

What do you get when you combine a sewing machine with a printing press? The paper mavens at pikku have been working on it and they've created some really fun wrap around notecards in the process.

Photo courtesy of pikku

Based in Vermont, pikku (Finnish for "tiny"), blends "sweet stitches, gorgeous paper, hand screened printed and letterpress designs" to create textured, whimsical note cards.

I love the simple patterns and the bright colors. And while I've seen sewn cards before, I happen to like these a lot - they're very usable. (Others are often sewn on the fold, making them hard to write in.)

Pikku's prints are available on their site or at the online arm of Purl, one of Soho's finest craft shops.

Gorey-gous

Feeling kind of cold and dreary on this Monday in December. Saw my first DC snowflakes today. Stumbled across some paper that fits my mood from tweedle press, a design and print shop specializing in custom eco-friendly paper. Behold, the Albero card:


The images for this card is taken from photos from a trip to Tuscany. When I look at this, I see less Italy and more Edward Gorey....but that's not to say that I don't love it.

I really, really do. A good winter note. Maybe I should wait till after the holidays to send them?

Speaking of dark arts, I'm into tweedle's old-into-new ethos, a great take on on eco-friendly paper. According to their site:

One of [our] most unique offerings is the ability for clients to give their junk mail and other scrap papers to us, which we hand recycle into custom tinted papers for their print projects.

Very cool. I'd love to give this a shot with wrapping paper remnants.

Way into Wallpaper

Photo courtesy of Walnut Wallpaper

Big news, and lets not jinx it, but Dave and I put an offer on a house and if all goes well, we're moving January 12.

New house = lots of new spaces where we can leave our mark. I've always wanted to experiment wallpaper, but I've never been able to given pesky rental rules. Hasn't stopped me from web dreaming, though. Here's a peek at some of the best wallpaper bookmarks I've collected over the years.

There are two modern wallpaper powerhouse shops out there: Walnut Wallpaper (see above) and Flavor Paper (see below). Both offer detailed designs in rich colors. I love the blue-on-blue thistle paper, above, designed by Timorous Beasties and available on Walnut. Feels very ivy club chic to me. Pair it with big leather chairs, red wine and a fire place and you're set.

And please don't think I'm nutty - I know this is a little off-the-wall - but I'm smitten with the Iris print from Flavor Paper, inspired by Vincent van Gough. Very dramatic.

Photo courtesy of Flavor Paper

Not sure if I'd grow sick of it, but I appreciate the style. Sames goes for this power plant print. Maybe just one wall?

Photo courtesy of Flavor Paper

Every panel of handscreened Flavor Paper makes my heart sing. But the prices are a little high for our starter home. Each roll is 15' long by 27" wide and prices start at $150/roll.

Not ready to spring for these semi-permanent works for art? Look no further than your local Art Institute. Blogger Kindra shares with us a peek inside the Minneapolis College of Art and Design's cafeteria, which dons the wall papers shown here:

Photo courtesy of Kindra

Kindra writes:

Recently, I asked my Intro to Graphic Design students to engage with their local environment & beautify it. Their wallpaper patterns had to address subject matter, narrative, sequence, scale and image quality — they definitely rose to the task; each of them created 6ft strips of amazing pattern!

Photo courtesy of Kindra

Artist Elisabeth Dunker at Fine Little Day, offers great paper for kiddies rooms, like the Mountains paper, show below, or my running favorite, Ohoy for little adventurers....

(or maybe just for me?)

Photo courtesy of Fine Little Day

Want more? Check out More Way's to Waste Time's post about wallpaper.

The perfect calendar/journal combo

Great idea for a DIY perpetual calendar from Ashley at DesignSponge. Mixing vintage postcards with index cards in a farmer's market fruit punnet, Ashley created a calendar-turned-journal that lets her track her days over the years.

This totally appeals to me. I'm always day dreaming about where I was - in the world, in life - one year, or five years, ago to the day. (A perfect example: last December 8th I was gallivanting around Argentina - taking tango lessons and snacking on my first Big Mac....sigh).

Ashley's inspiration:

Growing up, I kept a daily journal. I always enjoyed looking back at previous entries to see what had changed over the course of a year. These days, I can’t seem to find the time to journal, but I do try to jot down a little note from each day on my perpetual calendar/journal. The idea is very simple — flip to the current date and at the end of the day, write down something that happened. Some days it is big things like “Annie took her first steps.” Other days it is small, like “needed more than one cup of coffee this morning.”

The first year is the least rewarding, but I imagine that in 10 years, it will be a daily treat to be reminded of what happened on that date over the last decade.

Here's a peek at the finished product - makes an adorable homemade holiday present.

Mr. Postman and A Box Full of Letters

Photo courtesy of Canon Talk Forum

If the USPS goes through with its proposed plan to shut down Saturday delivery service, I'll be bummed.

Not just because it will take an extra day or two for future me to thank any one of future you who's kind enough to invite me to dinner, or send me a birthday package, or drop an encouraging note in the mail me me one day.....

(no surprises here - I like sending handwritten thank you notes almost as much as I like the impetus for the thank you itself.)

But last week NPR made me think about all of the great music that might be lost if the postal service becomes obsolete.


Ok, not this Postal Service, but I'd miss them, too, if they were to disappear.

NPR's music partner station KUT in Austin put together a list top songs about the Postal Service.

The bops around from postman classics like "Please Mr. Postman," by the Marvelettes, to the 90s alt-rock ballad "Box Full of Letters", by Wilco. And one of my favorites, Fat's Wallers, "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter."

The complete list:

1. "Please Mr. Postman," The Marvelettes
2. "Box Full of Letters," Wilco
3. "The Letters," Leonard Cohen
4. "Strawberry Letter #23," The Brothers Johnson
5. "Care of Cell 44," The Zombies
6. "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," Fats Waller
7. "The Letter," The Boxtops
8. "Take a Letter Maria," R.B. Greaves
9. "Return to Sender," Elvis Presley
   

Postage Due

Thank you loyal reader (and excellent sister-in-law) Joanna for sharing these adorable (and very Post-friendly) birth announcements with us courtesy of Inchmark.
Blogger Brooke Reynolds, formerly the senior art director at Martha Stewart Kids and Martha Stewart Living, dreamed up these cards and put them together herself, with help from her friend, and letterpress maven Sue Coral. (She even crafted her own liners!)
Of course I love the postage stamp theme. And notice how Brooke took time to find matching stamps? Perfect finishing touch to mark the little one's arrival!