trendspotting: overprinting

Overprinting, one of the trends I noticed last year at the National Stationery Show (NSS) and New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) is really starting to hit mainstream. I think the overprinting trend was influenced a lot by, ahem, letterpress (okay, okay, and screen printing).

Because every color you print costs money (additional plates, additional passes through the press, more wasted paper), a lot of printers use the less is more approach, and overlap two inks to create a third (i.e. yellow and blue make green).

It’s a technique that can be simulated in flat printed artwork by utilizing the transparency filter in Illustrator, and I’m seeing A LOT of it lately (including in my own work … look for Delphine Christmas cards this year using overprinted text and artwork). 

John even used this technique last weekend while coloring Easter Eggs! He has a lot more patience than I do. I like to color on the eggs with white crayon then let them sit in a single color. Boring, huh? 

I’m excited to head off to NSS next month. I predict a lot more overprinting at the show this year, as well as nautical stripes, anchors, ikat and other patterns pulled from textiles, yellow, yellow, yellow, dark teal, metallics and pennants/flags. 

<<<IMAGES>>> Alphabet print by Ryan Beshar via OhDeeOh   GAP Sale eblast     Overprinted wedding invitations by Erin Jang     Elum thank you card on the cover of Stationery Trends magazine     Easter eggs by John at Delphine. 

wish list: pill keychain

On my wish list: Jonathan Adler's new enamel heart pill storage keychain. I am constantly shoving my Excedrin Migraine meds in my pocket (gross).

BYW, at NYIGF last week John nearly ran over poor Jonathan Adler in the aisle. Sorry, Jonathan!

wish list: urban totes

I spotted Property Of at NYIGF last week and fell in love with their bags. I could tell that a designer was having a blast with this line -- everything from the booth design to the hang tags to the business cards ... to the bags themselves are executed flawlessly. There are not too many cool guy's bag lines out there. After nearly a year long search John finally settled on a rather ugly and uninspired bag from Target for his computer bag. Had we known about these awesome bags I think he'd be much happier toting his gear around! The two I've shown here are made of waxcloth. Love them. I think they'd make cool diaper bags, too. Check out the Property Of site (well designed, easy to navigate, full of cool stuff... yahoo!) to see the rest of their range of bags.

i heart new york

I had a wonderful time in New York last week at NYIGF. One of the highlights was hanging out in the lobby of the ACE Hotel, sipping St. Germaine & sodas with an old friend whom I had met on the gift show circuit several years ago. In this economy, when so many people are either out of work or stuck in jobs they hate, I feel SO SO SO lucky to be doing something I love for a living, and to be surrounded by so many other "creatives." It was wonderful to catch up with my friend, who is also doing something uber creative (she helps design the window displays at Anthro. Swoon).

Next time you're in New York do yourself a favor and check out the ACE Hotel. I don't really want to spoil it, so I won't go into much detail here, but it was cool, artsy and unpretentious.  Not an easy combo to pull off.

monday morning mimosas: nyigf

I'm in New York for NYIGF. Today and tomorrow I'm setting up the booth (we have a display in the VIGO cards booth). Sunday the show opens ... come see us in booth 2808. And, of course, swing by on Monday morning for some bubbly! See you soon.

excuses, excuses ...

I know, I've neglected the blog this month. Sorry! I hate excuses, but I have to say that with the combo of planning for a sixth birthday party (2 parties, actually), a house full of guests (whom I don't get to see very often), stomach flu, preparation for NYIGF, creation of a brand new greeting card collection, a few unexpected design opportunities (requiring an updated portfolio), a huge design project with an overseas client, and an overall blah feeling, I've been overwhelmed and haven't done a very good job with this blog thing. Do you ever feel overwhelmed? What do you do to cope? My desk is a real mess right now. I think that I'll clean it off and have a fresh start...maybe that will help.

One thing that is helping our family stay organized this year is a chalkboard. It's been collecting cobwebs in the corner of the warehouse for years, but we just cleaned it up and put it up in the kitchen, at 6 year-old eye level, with our son's to do items for the day. Every morning while he eats breakfast we talk about what we'll do that day and put it up on the board. I think it helps to have some structure to the day. He also really enjoys checking things off as we complete them. Sometimes he erases things he doesn't like to do (the word "homework" seems to mysteriously dissapear nearly every day).

sneak peek: easter card

Another sneak peek from our upcoming greeting card collection: our first ever Easter card.

busy bees

The studio is busy busy busy as we prep for our upcoming appearance at the VIGO booth at NYIGF. Last minute we've decided to introduce a brand new collection (it was originally slated to debut at NSS in May)... so we are drinking lots of coffee and frantically sketching around here. Yesterday morning I literally poured coffee into my cereal bowl! Over cereal! Whoopsie.

If you'll be attending NYIGF please do stop by to see us at the VIGO booth -- and if you're around on Monday morning make a beeline to #2808 to grab a mimosa. Mmm.

seriously, new york?

"Fresh air now available inside." Seriously? One more reason I am glad I live in California. Bobbi snapped this photo when we were in New York City last month for Monday Morning Mimosas and NYIGF.

monday morning mimosas: open to trade and press

If you will be attending the New York International Gift Fair, we’d love to have you join us and our friends from Smock, Green Paper Company, Russell+Hazel and Linnea’s Lights for an exclusive wholesale event on the morning of Monday, August 17. We’re bringing special releases available only at Monday Morning Mimosas, a bit of bubbly and lots of good cheer. You can read more on the Monday Morning Mimosas blog. Hope to see you there! This event is open to trade and press only. Rsvp required for entry.

sample sale! open to the public

If you will be in New York City next Monday we’d love to have you join us and our friends from Smock, Green Paper Company, Russell+Hazel and Linnea’s Lights for an exclusive sample sale. Monday, August 17 from 5 pm to 8:30 p.m.

We’re bringing limited edition, one of a kind and discontinued delphine letterpress items available only at the Sample Sale, plus our brand new releases and our fresh-off-the-press 2010 letterpress calendar. Sample Sale prices! Yay!

Please bring a five dollar donation to help raise money for The Fresh Air Fund. This event is open to the publicK. indly rsvp to erika [at] delphinepress [dot] com if you plan to attend.

save the date: monday morning mimosas

Attention buyers!!! We're throwing another Monday Morning Mimosas party this August during the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). We will not be exhibiting at the Javits--we're just doing MMM this summer. If you'd like more details please email me or leave a comment and I'll get back to you right away.

I'm so thrilled to let you know that some wonderful friends will be joining us as "exhibitors" at Monday Morning Mimosas: Green Paper Company, Linnea's Lights, Russell+Hazel, and Smock