studio

office supply fave // embroidery scissors

embroidery scissors

Another favorite unconventional office supply? Embroidery scissors. I got this particular pair at the premiere of Handmade Nation a couple of years ago. I use them all the time. They are nice + sharp and perfect for cutting washi tape, ribbon + twine.

office supply fave // pinking shears

pinking shears

I love office supplies. From different types of pens to colorful tape and everything in between. I especially love unconventional office supplies. So, I thought I’d share with you some of my unconventional favorites and how + why I like to use them.

Like my pinking shears. Lately, I’ve been getting lots of use of out of them. Originally intended for cutting fabric to reduce fraying, these specialty scissors create a nice zig zag pattern. I use them to dress up tags, envelopes and washi tape. I recently used them to cut down extra long glassine bags. They can be used on all sorts of things, and I often reach for them instead of standard scissors. I love the extra oomph they give to straight edges.

around the studio // 11.17.11

studio 11-17-11

studio 11-17-11

Around the studio today – tiny packages for a little secret mailing that went out this morning, plus my favorite striped tape.

chandler & price

How was your weekend? Ours was super busy. We printed, brought Em to a pumpkin patch and took a road trip to pick up that Chandler & Price press. The move went so smoothly. Best case senario really. And I’m so relieved. The press is now residing in our garage waiting to be cleaned up + painted. Again, we have quite the press restoration project on our hands!

old style c&p

c&p old style

This weekend, Kacey, Em and I took a look at a handful of presses for sale. This is one of them. An old style C&P. Although it’s quite dirty and will need some restoration work, it seems to be in good shape structurally. We have a bit more research + thinking to do before we determine if this is the right press for us. It would definitely be a large jump from our little Pearl but that’s what we’re searching for.

press parts

press parts

Let’s see. Where were we on our Pearl restoration journey? Oh yes. Back at the end of July, our new rollers had come in. Since then, we’ve found an original crank and found someone to fabricate the connecting rod. Those are the final pieces in converting our press from a motor operated press to one that’s powered by our foot. All that’s left for us to do is create feeder boards. We have the wood + stain. Now to find the time!

PS – The picture above was taken several months back when we were priming all of the press parts a nice ketchup color.

around the studio // 07.25.11

new rollers

The new rollers for our second Pearl came in! We’re one step closer to getting it up and running. We’ve got two parts to get fabricated so that we can convert it from a motorized press to a pedal-operated one and feeder boards to make. That’s it!

office lighting

We’re on the hunt for new lighting for our office + studio. What we have now is definitely not bright enough, especially since we do so much printing at night. We need something that will provide lots of light – either with multiple bulbs or have a clear cover. I’d also really like a fixture with a vintage + industrial look, too. Here are a few that have caught my eye.

sources – one / two / three / four