Finally taking a minute this weekend to sit and reflect on our engagement party. When I told Ben I was thinking about doing air plants as a favor, so people could let love grow with them back home, he really liked the idea, and his first comment was - "Let's make a stamp!" So, that night I got to sketching a groovy little seal for us inspired by some lettering I did to commemorate one of our trips out west. After some drawing, I vectorized this guy, and then Ben found a stamp man. Within 72 hours we had our mark! Hoping to continue to post more personal projects and process in the very near future.
Aldine
Trying to start a relationship with a new printer in New York can be pretty intimidating. Where to even start?! What are the budgets? How how prompt and clear is the communication? More importantly, what are their capabilities and how is the work?
I decided to reach out to Aldine based on their client roster, proximity to my office and surprisingly enough, Yelp! reviews. One in particular made an impact. A person frantically trying to find a place to print a resume before an interview went to Aldine thinking it was more of a Kinkos, and was met with kindness as well as two free copies of their CV. How could I not want to know about this place?
After a few positive email interactions and client OK, I visited Adline's shop this morning and was incredibly impressed! The staff was super courteous, welcoming and really listened to everything my client and I had to say. My inner printer was so excited to go on a tour of the shop and get close to the presses. Ah yes, the smell of sticky, shiny, ink! All of the work was super sharp, thoughtful and held to a very high standard. Also - everyone on press had a really good vibe. Those things matter, you know?
These guys were super inspiring. Now I'm dying to get inky again. Sad to say I haven't had press access in a few years so all of my personal printing has been relegated to stamping and hand pressed linocuts. I don't think I've ever felt this good after a Tuesday morning meeting. Shout out to the awesome folks at Aldine - thank you for doing it RIGHT!