the sycamore q+a {no. 25}: Jamie Tallerico

Jamie Tallerico is a fantastic designer, and he is also a good friend, neighbor, and recent collaborator. I'll keep my intro short because his answers are so long :) ...but promise me that you'll read the whole thing. No skipping! I'm serious -- because this is the most entertaining Q&A I've ever had on my blog. Drumroll please.........

How did you get into whatever it is you are into?

I am really going to try to make this history short so I don’t lose people. I guess like most everyone it goes back to early childhood. I loved drawing as a child and use to take private art lessons outside of school when I was around 7 or 8. I went to a small private school that didn’t offer art classes until Jr. High. So my mom sought out local artist and paid them for some educating. At that age it’s more like babysitting with colors. My earliest memory (of actual design) was around 4th or 5th grade. We would start a new skateboard club like every week. So I would draw the logos. We had different names all the time like, The Executioners or The Rad Dudes. I think there are some photos at my parent’s house of us being totally radical. We still are actually. But it wasn’t until high school that I actually thought of going to design school. A friend and I started a little t-shirt company in 11th grade called Frantic (guys) and Soft (for girls). We sold them at a local store in Oklahoma and out of the back of our cars in high school. But it wasn’t for a couple of years after high school that I decided to go to school for it… Let me just say this also. I always loved clothing too. Growing up I really wanted to go to Fashion school and almost did. But I was persuaded to go to the local university instead. So I guess it was kind of my destiny to be in the clothing industry. Since I have been designing either clothing or graphics for clothing since about 2003. It was around then that a friend hooked me up with this guy in my hometown making High End USA denim in old Lee jeans factories. He called me up asked me to design a website. That turned into designing t-shirts, then moving back to OKC to work with him full time for XVALA denim. It was an awesome time! We did so much more than make denim and tees. We screen printed posters, put out a 7inch record and made hand made little things. It was almost an art clothing collaboration with music too. From that I evolved into doing merch for some bands, namely Motion City Soundtrack. They were the ones that got me my next gig at Atticus Clothing. They wore a couple of XVALA things on tour with Blink 182 and Mark Hoppus just happened to like it enough to call me up. At first he asked me to do some freelance, but after talking back and forth for awhile I ended up moving out to San Diego start designing for them. I packed up and moved cross-country. I was 1 of 3 designers there. We did everything clothes, hats, tees, backpacks and other little accessories. It was a big line that was world-wide. It was a ton of work. TONS! But it was great for a while. But the band broke up while I was there and there were a lot of different ideas of how the brand should be. It became too strenuous and emotionally tough for me. I think it was for everyone there during that time. So I decided to leave and do some freelance for a while. Then I got a call from a recruiter at Abercrombie and Fitch. Been here ever since. Wow that was long sorry readers!!!

What’s inspiring you these days?

Oh man tons of things. Found type has always been big for me as well as old patterns and colors, I really am into color these days. Textures etc.. I don’t know how my newly rekindled love for the outdoors is going to affect me yet. I have really been on this Bear Grylls, survival, self sustainment kick lately. I really want a wooden retreat. One where I could go fish, camp and look at the stars all weekend. Just really get back to the way things used to be. Maybe it’s more of a simplistic living. I think everyone is on that kick now. But just seeing photos from early to mid century makes me wish life could go back to that. Take the computer and weird technology that I love and cant live with out, out. You know. Just go back to when like what you do. Everything was a trade and not a job. That’s the one draw back of working for big corporations. It takes those aspects out and makes you into a robot. But there are definite bonuses about working for big companies… But I don’t need to get into that here. This is about inspiration right? I really want to rebuild and old car. But according to my fiancé (she is always right, not kidding) I don’t need to do that.

Tell us about something you’ve made or done lately.

Well the last thing I made officially outside of my day job was a collab with you Eva. Mainly you! My wedding invitations. Which are beautiful and everyone loves. Other than that I did some shirts for The All-American Rejects. But unofficially, I try to draw something in my sketchbook everyday. I also have an inspiration book that I have been gluing things in for a while now. On Saturdays I try, TRY, to design something new. Something totally new for me. Some times I’ll take something that I find inspiring and try to make it myself. Like If I see a design someone else has made and Ill try to emulate it, but not rip it off! Just to keep my chops up and learn something new. Oooh I did get to do an engraving at my full time job. That was fun. I haven’t done that in awhile. I would love to do more. Sorry but I cant tell you what it is. Legal issues. Hopefully soon I will have more time to do my zine RUNNINGSHORTS again. Or not. I am always changing my mind on things. I guess just doing something outside of work is always consistent. That’s the most important thing.
Is there anything else we should know about you?

I have 3 dogs. Love movies and food. Went to high school with your husband. I watched his amazing (terrible but enjoyable) pop punk bands play. I still love skateboarding. I want more tattoos. I change my mind all the time. I always get some new crazy idea in my head. It usually only sticks around for a couple of months. Some are more consistent. I like to make people laugh. Laughing is the best. But I can wear people out too. So I guess something you should know that I know about my self is: I think I know where I am faulty, but I am okay with me. Actually I crack myself up all the time… Oh and my fiancé is hot. Booya!

Thanks Jamie!

He definitely succeeded in 1) making me laugh and 2) inspiring me with the incredible amount of work he's done and cool projects he's been involved with.

I'll post photos of the wedding invitations we collaborated on after the big day passes -- I can't hardly wait. Jamie did such an awesome job.

To see/hear more of Jamie's work, inspiration, and daily musings, go to his blog:
skullsandroses.tumblr.com

His website should be up soon, too: jamietallerico.com.

Press Kits

photo via nytimes.com

Ok. It's time to put together a press kit.
Like all good things, the procrastination must come to an end.
Maybe I'm nervous about this task because, for some reason, I keep imagining my press kit landing in the hands of some newspaper reporter in huge, serious newsroom like this one from All the President's Men.

But really, it will probably be going into the hands of some bloggers, possibly some magazine editors, and any other members of the press who happen to be going to the National Stationery Show and end up getting lured into my booth (ahem, we're in booth #1553).

Since I really don't know what I am doing with this press kit thing, here are some links Stephanie, Kristin, and Amy and I have gathered to help guide us in the process.

+ Some photos of press kits at Unfold UK
+ Advice from Erin and Jaime of Bakery on Design*Sponge
+ Tips on writing a press release on Etsy
+ Advice from Sarah Jane Studios

I hope these links help anyone who's in the same position as me...and if you have any advice or links of your own to share, please do!

p.s. If you haven't see it, please do.

New from Studio Violet

I know Camilla and Elisabeth's new collection is already all over design blog land, but I couldn't resist. Not only do they have lovely designs,
but their styling and photography is amazing.

New Belle and Sebastian Side Project

image via warsaw magazine blog...which has a really great banner, btw.

If you know me, then you know that the band that I always come back to is Belle and Sebastian. So, I was very excited to hear that Stuart Murdoch had conducted a worldwide talent search to find 3 female vocalists for his newest project: God Help the Girl.

Here's how their website describes it:

The result is a breathtaking record from one of pop’s most singular voices, combining the strengths and feel of the early Belle and Sebastian records in a broader musical palette, which draws equally on musicals, sixties’ girl groups, eighties’ indie and, most of all, classic pop records. And, in Catherine, Stuart has found a rare talent - her clear, lilting vocals bringing to life the characters in Stuart’s imagination and making for an ambitious and engrossing musical journey.

If you go to the site, you can download the single Come Monday Night for free and watch a behind the scenes look at the making of the album.
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Thanks so much to the Washington, D.C. Daily Candy and Poppytalk for featuring Sycamore Street Press!

Friday Giveaway : New Limited Edition Letterpress Print

"This is the tattered and brave little boat I took sailing around the whole world. In my dreams."

Kari Jorgensen grew up living and traveling all over the U.S.A. She makes music under the moniker, "The Boy Who Could Fly", and currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.

I'm so excited to bring you the newest print from the Sycamore Club (If you're new here, it's a letterpress-print-of-the-month club). Kari did a smashing job with the artwork, and I had fun printing it. As always, it is in a limited edition of 100, and we are giving one away here! (You can also purchase it in our shop or purchase a membership to the Sycamore Club and get a pretty new print in your mailbox every month.)

If you'd like a chance to win, please leave a comment telling me where you'd take this little boat if you could. (I would sail it over to Japan to visit my friend, Ikumi.)

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Congratulations to last week's giveaway winner, Daria, who said: "I'm always inspired by typography- love clean lines. I really love the saturated color in this print."

Please email me at info{at}sycamorestreetpress.com with your mailing address so that I can send you your little "Blue Patterned Garden" print. Thanks!

the sycamore q+a {no. 24}: Nina Invorm

Bright colors, folksy designs with a mid century twist, Scandinavian and Dutch design influences -- all these choice elements are taken and made into something original and wonderful in the hands of Nina Invorm. She has a shop and a blog full of her fantastic creations. And she is still a student! I can't wait to see how her work continues to unfold. Please continue on for the Q&A.

1.) How did you get into whatever it is you are into?

Hihi, ‘whatever it is you are into’, that’s sounds pretty much like what I do… ;) I can’t say anything else but that it comes from a deep-felt love and passion for ceramics, for design, for aesthetics… I hope that doesn’t sound bombastic, but it’s just the best way to describe it. The creative stuff I’m working on isn’t what I expected or was expected to do in many ways: I’ve always considered myself as some sort of an intellectual person, who was good at academic stuff but not seriously creative. That started to change a few years ago, and right now all I can think about is making and creating things, while I often feel quite alienated at university (I hope to get my degree in Humanistics this year) I hope to find a way to do the things I love and make some sort of a living like that: making ceramics, screenprinting, making collages and clothes, photographing, writing… I love them all, but I guess I still have to find the combination that works.


2.) What’s inspiring you these days?

Learning better techniques so that I can visually express more and more of the things that earlier only existed in my head. Seeing beautiful details in everyday things. And still (like many years before) 1950s design, it never bores me.

3.) Tell us about something you’ve made or done lately.

I made a lot of ceramics lately and decorated it with the ceramic transfers that I design and screenprint. I add those to my own ceramic work, but also to beautiful vintage tableware. I love to see how you can revitalize old things with just a bit of care and creativity, and how the old stuff at the same time adds something unique to my own designs.
I’m also really into screenprinting currently. I love making one of a kind pieces, but I’m also really attracted to the aspect of making larger editions. At times, I really enjoy mass-production ;).

4.) Is there anything else we should know about you?

That’s hard to say… Maybe that as a kid, I wanted to be a real estate agent? And that I would still love that job’s aspect of peeking inside other people’s houses? Maybe that the very first single I bought at age 9 was ‘Too much love will kill you’ by Brian May, and that my taste in music improved quickly after that? Maybe that’s already more than you want to know, but if there’s anything else you want to know, feel free to ask!
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Thanks Nina!

I'd just love to fly over to the Netherlands and poke around in that cheery studio of hers....which means that she's not alone in fancying a job of peeking into other people's houses! :)

Don't forget to visit her blog and shop:

blog: ninainvorm.punt.nl
shop: ninainvorm.etsy.com

Happy Earth Day!

photo via hamrungpyear6b.wordpress.com

I would love to be able to see this view in person, wouldn't you?

It seems like everyone, including myself, has become so much more aware of eco issues in the past couple of years. Just this week, I've had a couple of conversations with my mom about organic gardening, heirloom plants and seeds, and windmill and solar power. And these weren't theoretical conversations, but practical-apply-it-to-our lives kinds of conversations. 5 years ago, or even 1 or 2 years ago, that conversation wouldn't have happened.

I love that "saving the environment" isn't a movement reserved for hippies anymore. In fact, I think that the current state of the economy is pushing people to be less wasteful, look for ways to become more self-sustaining, and be careful about where they are putting their money. Basically - to live in a way that lowers their carbon footprint, but also makes for a simpler, more thoughtful lifestyle. Maybe a bit like how our grandparents or great grandparents lived.

Our economy may never again reach the crazy high that it did a couple of years ago. But I think that's okay. There's a lot to be said for modesty, for restraint, and for living within our means. And if we do this, I think that there will be an enormous impact on the earth -- for good.

A few personal goals for the next year (which will help the environment, and probably my wallet, too):
+ Grow/Buy lots of local produce, and can/dry/freeze lots to be used throughout next winter.
+ Stop using Ziplock baggies. Find a good alternative.
+ If I need something, always look to get it second hand first (with exceptions for a few things like underwear, please).

What are your eco / sustainable lifestyle goals for the coming year?

Pearl Alley Street Art

When Karl (Kirk's brother) was visiting, we walked downtown to have lunch at a Venezuelan place called El Arépazo. It's in a little alley filled with colorful street art. Very inspiring. (And the food was delicious...mmm...patacon.)

Let this be a lesson to you

Only 3 1/2 weeks until the National Stationery Show in NYC.

Let me say that again.

ONLY 3 1/2 MORE WEEKS UNTIL THE NATIONAL STATIONERY SHOW IN NYC!!!

To say I'm a bit stressed out these days would be an understatement.


Last Monday I had a little bit of a breakdown. Here's why: I had spent the whole morning compulsively organizing all my printing plates. I had them all in separate little labeled Ziplock baggies. I remembered reading that they're best kept in 55% humidity and that if it's not that humid where you are, you can spritz a little water in the baggie to keep it nice and humid. So, wanting to take good care of my plates, this is what I did.

It was to be my first day in the big printing push before the show. I had it all planned out by color over the next few weeks. But when I put the first plate on the press that day, and began proofing it, something was wrong. The letters, well, weren't crisp. They were mushy and wouldn't leave an impression. I couldn't figure it out. I thought the plate was defective, so I put another plate on the press just to compare. When I went to print it, the letters just lifted right off of the plate. This is the point where I had the realization that I had ruined my plates with the water spritzing. The plates were simply dissolving. I yelled for Kirk to come help me, and started ripping the remaining plates out of baggies, desperately wiping them off with rags as fast as I could. I tried to explain to Kirk what the problem was, but at first it just came out in nonsense phrases: "the water ...sob", "we have to...sob", " yes, it IS the end of the world...sob, sob, sob..."

Kirk was a good sport and helped me, the drama queen, wipe off all the plates. Some of them just fell apart in our hands. Some seemed fine until I put them on the press to proof them. Luckily, all the big poster plates survived -- probably because they were in much bigger baggies and therefore got a much lower concentration of water. I didn't proof every single one of my plates -- just the ones that need to be printed between now and the NSS. I'll worry about the others later. In the mean time, it cost me over $200 and a week's time in my printing schedule. No big whoop, right?

Honestly, though, there are much more important things in life (I keep telling myself). This is just one of those things where you live and learn. So -- if, for some reason, one of you letterpress printers out there might think it would be a good idea to let your polymer printing plates so much as touch any water...please think again. Let my temporary stupidity and the resulting mess be your warning! (Btw, I looked around and couldn't find a single thing about spritzing water in the baggies. Yes, 55% humidity was recommended, and yes, baggies are recommended, but no spritzing. I don't know where I got the idea. I think I made it up and convinced myself it was real.)

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Thank you so very much, blanket magazine and the shop bug, for posting about us on your blogs.

Friday Giveaway : New Limited Edition Letterpress Print

image from indian painting by joan cummins

image via royal copenhagen

image via town and country

My inspiration for this new print: delftware, Royal Copenhagen dishes, and Indian manuscript painting. I love how the combination of crisp cobalt and white with the little pop of yellow from the thread turned out in my print. I needed around 50 for a print swap organized by paper stories, and I made an extra 50 to sell in our shop. And I decided to give one away to one of you. Just leave a comment below with something that's inspiring you lately. I'll pick a winner at random next Friday, April 24th.

And congratulations to last week's winners:
#20, Chelsea who said: "my favorite thing about spring is the sweet smell of the air from all of the blooming flowers. i love your shop! rose and cocoa bean tags are beautiful!"
#29, Carla who said: "My favorite thing about spring is the Tulip Festival in Skagit County, WA. There are miles of blooming tulip fields to tour and it is so beautiful. I would choose the Marigold and Cocoa birds- so cute and springy!"

Please email me at info{at}sycamorestreetpress{dot}com with your mailing address so that we can send that out to you. Thanks!

the sycamore q+a {no. 23}: Erika Ebert

Erika Ebert and I met in a crazy-tornado-warning rainstorm in Philadelphia where we were both vendors at the Art Star Craft Bazaar. I love that her designs are mainly inspired by antique paper ephemera. She is very generous with sharing her inspiration on her blog, and she has lots of beautifully styled shots of her various letterpress projects on her website. I strongly suggest you visit them, but first, read this Q&A.

1) How did you get into letterpress printing?

Life has a funny way of presenting itself over time. In my case of becoming a letterpress printer - the road was rather curved and roundabout. The simplest answer is that my sister asked me to make her wedding invites for her in 07 and that is how I got started. The more roundabout answer has something to do with my classical training as a fine artist from The Academy, the life-changing experience of becoming a Mom, the connection I found via craft blogs and flickr to people all over the world that inspires me, a trip to a paper store in Florence in '99, my family background of entrepreneurship, & wonderful friends and family.

2.) What inspires you these days?

My daughter is my endless source of inspiration. Because of her - and showing her the world - I spend a lot of time with my eyes open. In the woods, in the sky, on our home & with the important people in our lives. The changing seasons right now has an awesome amount of inspiration for me. Spring is my favorite season. I'm also reading a book about Beatrix Potter right now, and find her life and talent very inspiring. I am also really into looking through old books - on line or from my large collection - for ideas and inspiration. Now a lot of libraries have scanned their rare books and put them online, so have been researching libraries around the world - looking at their collections...very fun though sometimes I get sucked in for way too long.

3.) Tell us something you've made or done lately?

I have recently finished a Custom Wedding Invitation set for a couple here in Philadelphia. The bride and groom both love Philadlephia - with all of it's history, architecture, places to visit and wanted to incorporate that into their design. I absolutely love to do research, and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to visit a open to the public, but very much a hidden secret here in Philadelphia, The Athenaeum. I wrote a blog posting about the experience here . I'm also working on a lot of new designs - wedding invitations, new personal identity and everyday cards.

4.) Is there anything else we should know?

When I was 17 I was a cook at a local restaurant called LeBus - and was taught how to cut like a chef and sling sautée pans for 100s of people in one night. I pretty much love to cook - though I'm not as into baking. I would some day like to make my own bread every day, but haven't quite figured out the mystery that is yeast. I hardly ever making anything twice - and if I do it's never the same. And is it terrible to admit? but I look forward to my own meals and get excited about dinner. Thanks Eva for asking me to participate!
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Thanks Erika!

Her work is so inspiring! I definitely have a thing for pretty banners and crests. And I love the photos she takes...
Don't forget to visit her website. (You can link to her blog and her shop from there.)
http://www.erikaebertpress.com/

The Light

This past weekend: Easter dinner with family and a friend's wedding.
I'm loving the way that turning these into black and white images emphasizes the light.
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+ i wouldn't mind having a house like this
+ why small companies will win in this economy
+ been seeing these 100 abandoned houses all over the web.
they're so sad and beautiful in their decay.

Yé Yé sound and style: Francoise Hardy

It's been almost a decade since I first heard and saw Francoise Hardy on TV at my host family's home in Brussels. It was an old clip of her singing "Tous les garcons et les filles de mon age", and I was immediately smitten. I'm obviously not the only one...David Bowie once said: "I was for a very long time passionately in love with her, as I'm sure she's guessed. Every male in the world, and a number of females also were, and we all still are."

Of all the singers to come out of the 60's French pop movement called Yé Yé, I think that she was the most talented. She wrote most of her own songs, played the guitar, and had a beautiful voice. In fact, she still does....but it's her songs from the 60's that I like the best.

Click here to watch her sing my favorite song of hers,
here to see her on a rooftop in Pigalle,
and here for the best view of her pretty face.

New Poppytalk Handmade Goodies

We're in the new market at Poppytalk Handmade this month. The theme is "Mother's Day and Kids". After I updated our "table" for it this morning, I couldn't help but take a look around at some of the other pretty things for sale.

links, from top to bottom:
sherpa capelet from periwinkle bloom, paisley crescent from small bird jewelery, tea cozy from inklore, tiny wood nature from the modern hunter, be a good egg from paloma's nest, porcelain mixed nuts from kg + ab, geop handbag from zelaya, thin off circle cup from yasha butler, organic cardigan from she's crafty, and sheep photo from sharon montrose.