A Necessary Extravagance

Business cards are not totally necessary these days. However, I love a nice one. And, a letterpress business card is some kind of wonderful. I think they stand to make an important statement: that high quality is timeless and worthwhile and should be appreciated.

Aardvark Letterpress http://www.aardvarkletterpress.com is a gem of a place from a bygone era. It is a family owned business in operation for more than 40 years. Their approach to each job is unique and the craftsmanship is sublime. Brooks Ocon, the master printer and son of the owner, was kind enough to walk me through the intricate and beautiful process. I wanted something simple and classic. Something that felt good. I brought my previous quick-draw card in that I had designed. The idea wasn't horrible, but the paper was horrendous. I found myself purposefully 'forgetting' to bring any when I went out. Brooks helped me upgrade in every way.

I am very happy with the end result. Proud even.

My old cards were quickly donated to the art-project drawer for my daughter.

And now, when asked for my card, I am secretly beaming.

A Spoonful of Sugar

The hard rain came again. This time, with wreckage. Our palm trees shed their water logged beards, and all music equipment had to be rescued from the flooded studio and escorted safely inside the house. Into the dining room to be exact. We've been in this house for a while, but now that we own it, little things seem to be falling apart. A kitchen cabinet ripped clean off its hinges the other day! Let's just call it the "money pit" syndrome, as a somewhat snarky homage to the hilarious 1980s Tom Hanks and Shelley Long film. So, what I thought might be a lazy saturday with pjs and blueberry pancakes, turned into a mad dash for boots and work gloves and family teamwork. Yay. In the midst of it all, photographer and friend, Alex Hoerner, came by to photograph our daughter for a personal project he's working on. Cool guy that he is, Alex leant a helpful hand and the bulk of the mess was gone in no time. Still, my weekend mood was derailed. Fortunately, photographer and subject clicked and were all smiles. Despite the the damp and chilly location, Isabel was all set to splish splash barefoot in the street. With a cough and runny nose to boot. (shame on me, for art's sake). Soon enough, I was smiling too. Watching her listen and take direction to do something adults would normally tell her is not a good idea. Her expression was a little confused..what tha?? Well...OK! It was a funny scene that unwound the crank that was me. No doubt some good pictures were taken and we were home just in time for rain-water tea.