New shelves for studio

As well as working on client work, we've been making little changes here and there to the studio. Oh, I've got big plans for it. Our latest addition is a set of 6 massive shelving units. The photo doesn't really show how big they are - only 4 of the units would fit next to the sink in the studio. That's the platemaker next to them. And yes, a gumball machine. Why? Every studio needs a gumball machine!

Busy in the studio

We've been busy little beavers in the studio lately. 28 A4 pages of plates to print in the next 3 weeks with more on the way next week. But I'm absolutely loving seeing the final pieces all printed and ready to send to clients.



On the press today are a few print proofs for Katharine & Murray, and Renee & Adam. Some lovely combinations of charcoal and old gold, and azalea pink and ruby red. Below are Katharine & Murray's old gold plates being printed on Collie.

Countdown: Two weeks to go!

I'm quite excited about our little countdown to big changes. What changes, you ask? Well I suppose I can reveal a little more...

In two weeks' time we will be RELAUNCHING Poppy Letterpress!

Our workload slowed down considerably since our darling little boy Kynan arrived 6 months ago now. Feeding routines, appointments, playtime and lack of sleep really does take up all of a parent's time. However, Ky should be starting daycare in January, which means we can come back to Poppy with a lot more energy!

Firstly, it's no secret that we've been working on a new website for quite some time now. What I can tell you is that it will be much bigger, cleaner, and have far more content. Our new pricing structure is what makes it the most exciting though. Lucky for me, Adrian is quite the whizz with websites and all things digital. I love watching him bring my design to life.

Secondly, in two weeks' time you'll be seeing some fab new designs from us. But you'll have to wait to hear more about that.

The countdown continues!

Countdown: One month to go!

So yesterday marked exactly one month until a very exciting day for us in January. I can't tell you much more just yet, but stay tuned. The countdown has started!

Missing in action

Kynan is now 14 weeks old. Being the new mum that I am, I assumed that the older he got, the more settled he'd sleep during the day, and therefore I'd have heaps more time to work on all things Poppy. How blissfully naive I was! Ky now likes to feed every 1.5 to 2 hours, with over an hour of playtime in between, which leaves me little time to get any work done. It's frustrating because I miss my beloved Poppy, and the studio seems so empty and unloved at the moment. But who can resist a face like this?

As a business person, it's hard to let go of a fulltime job that I love so much. I'm really looking forward to the day when Ky is in daycare and I can spend all day in the studio. Until then, I've made the difficult decision to focus the majority of my attention on motherhood. Well, kind of. I've actually got a few printing jobs on the go (can't help myself really). Having just a few means that I can give each job the attention it deserves, so that the high quality of design, printing and attention to detail that we pride ourselves on here at Poppy isn't sacrificed. Eessu will be back on board when the studio is back in full swing, too, and we're both very excited about the many ideas we've got for the future of Poppy.

So while my mind is thinking up ideas to entertain Kynan (instead of thinking up new designs), and my tshirt is covered in vomit (instead of being covered in ink), stay tuned for updates and our new website. I'll also write up a little about the last couple of jobs that have been on the press once I get photos.

Thanks so much to all of your for your continued support and feedback. We won't be gone for long, I promise! If you have any questions about stationery for your 2010 wedding, please feel free to drop me a line still [louise at poppyletterpress dot com dot au], but just know that I won't be able to provide a quote at this time.

Closed for impending baby!

After vowing I wouldn't keep printing in the last few weeks of my pregnancy, here I am, still going at 37.5 weeks! But at least it's on a big job that I really love looking at. Can't show you what it is just yet, but stay tuned! Hopefully I'll have time to upload the finished photos before bub arrives.

I also have a lot of photos to post of weddings that we've been printing lately. Eessu's a printing champion and has been such a great help in the studio.

So the studio is officially closed now until 6 July. We'll be checking emails a few times a week and supplying quotes. Please understand that it may take a couple of days for us to get back to you though!

I'd like to say a HUGE thankyou to all the beautiful clients that we've had in the past couple of months. You've all be so wonderful to work with, and very understanding when it's come to me needing a couple of extra days to print than normal.

Also, stay tuned - we've got a lot of exciting new developments planned for when we reopen the studio and I can't wait to share them with you!!

Presses in position

After a hot afternoon yesterday, the two presses are finally in their final positions ready to work. It took 5 people, one engine hoist, hired chains and a pallet jack to get them there. My anxiety levels were at an all-time high as we had each press dangle 1.5 feet in the air. When lifting Collie, we had four people standing on the engine hoist to counter-balance the lift, but still managed to (slowly) drop it on the ground, sending the skids through the wooden wall behind it.

All ended well though. No people or presses were harmed.

Here's a basic floor layout of the studio so far. The left side of the studio near the sink is still taken up with our housemate's storage for a few more weeks, but eventually that's where the platemaker and other units will go.

The new positions are great - lots of lighting and space around each press.

After thinking about the best name to give the new press, I've decided on "Plan B", since that's what I've been calling it anyway. And it was bought just for that - a plan B in case something goes wrong with Collie. At least that's how I like to justify this purchase...

It's great having another press here that's so similar to Collie. All rollers and chases are interchangable because they're the same size, so that makes parts easier. Plan B does have some lovely little features though, including the shots below: original 'lids' on some of the oil holes to prevent dust and debris getting in the holes, an original counter, and a foot treadle complete with the Chandler & Price logo as the grip. I'm not too impressed with the condition of the rollers though, so I'll be recovering them this year. In the meantime, I've still got great rollers on Collie.

Painting the office, Part 2

One of the most exciting things about buying your first home is that you can paint the walls whatever colour you want. What's even better than that, is being able to paint your own studio office walls.

We're keeping the house interior white, but I was keen on a colour for the office. It's a great space as it is -- away from noise, and a door straight into the studio -- but it needed some sprucing up so that I'd feel more at home in it. After all, I'll be spending a lot of my time in there on the computer and guillotining paper. I chose this soft green as it's one of my favourite colours (was even our wedding colour), and it's so calming.

Here are the before photos, followed by some after-the-first-coat photos.

Moving Collie

A couple of days before Christmas, Collie arrived at the new studio on the same truck that brought over the new C&P (yet to be named). They took great care with him, so I was happy, however one of the guys almost crushed the other guy behind the press when he released the brake on the pallet jack. My heart went through my mouth. He was okay though, but if I'd had the flywheel turned to a slightly different position, he would've crushed his ribs.

It took them quite a bit of fiddling to get Collie into the studio. Now that both presses have arrived, I need to hire lifting equipment to get them off their pallets and into their final positions. We've got a bit to clear out before that can happen, but hopefully in the next few days.

I'm just glad that I don't have to move any more presses!

My little press dog, Taylor, is currently on holidays taking care of her beautiful puppies, and in the meantime we're living with two golden retriever boys. Above is Basil, who sniffed Collie all over on arrival.

And for any of you who are interested, here's just one of Taylor's cute little pups:

Painting the office

Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year brings you all that you wish for and work towards. I know it's going to be a huge year for myself with the arrival of our baby in (hopefully) May, and an inspiring new year for Poppy.

I don't do new year's resolutions, but if I did, I'd promise to blog more and post more photos. That is on the big list of things to do in the new year though. For now, let me update you on what we've been up to.

The Collie's Paragon press arrived safely from our old house, so now both of the platens are in the new studio, albeit still on pallets waiting to be placed in their final positions. Having just moved house, and still in the process of unpacking endless boxes, the studio itself is full of bikes, boxes, tins, a Harley, and some random bits and pieces.

The new studio has a sink, separate toilet, office, and ample shelving. The office currently contains my desk, bookshelf, chair and guillotine. I got a blast of inspiration this morning and bought some sample pots of colour. Now that I've decided which to go for, tomorrow morning I'll start painting the office. I'm stupidly excited about this for two reasons: 1, it's my first private office, and 2, it's all mine so I can paint it whatever colour I want! Having been a renter for the past 10 years, this is quite a thrill :)

So this first week of 2009 is dedicated to cleaning out the new studio and office so that I can get all of the equipment into place and start the year fresh. Feels good!

Surprise!

Well, a couple of you on facebook already know, but the great news is that I’m 15 weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, I’ve had the most exhausting morning sickness, which is now in its 10th week – hence the lack of blog updates and photos of work I’ve been doing. Luckily though, the sickness is starting to taper off, and I’ve been able to work a little more. This has also been the reason for the ‘fully booked’ status on my website. I’ve needed to cut down the amount of weddings I’ve been working on so I don’t compromise the clients that have already booked in.

I’m still working everyday, just not as quickly as usual. I find that I need to lie down for a while after working at the press for an hour or so. I really didn’t think that printing would be such as exhausting process when pregnant, but I guess my disturbed sleep patterns are also contributing to that. I’m sporting a definite baby belly now as well, so I need to stand at the press side-on a little, which isn’t very comfortable! From 5 weeks onwards, I’ve been printing with gloves and a respirator on, because of all the fumes in the studio. I could switch from turps to Crisco oil, but I’d still have to wear the respirator for the ink fumes. Ink can be quite stinky on a platen press, as the ink disk is exposed and you stand very close to it while printing. I’ve done a lot of reading on how offset printing ink fumes can cause fetal defects, so I’m very careful.

The cute news is that Taylor, my little press dog, is also pregnant, so she’ll be having her puppies in 2 weeks. She loves sleeping in the kennel next to the press while I’m printing, but I’m sure all the fumes aren’t doing her much good either. We have ventilation in there, but not a lot (trying to keep dust out).

So that’s Exciting News #1.

Exciting News #2 is that we’re moving studios! Actually, my husband and I have bought a new house not far from here, and it comes with a workshop/studio space. Originally, it would’ve been a large double garage, but it’s been converted into a workshop with excellent lighting, ventilation, a sink, toilet room and office. So the entire Poppy operation will be moving into that space. The office is a good size and is insultated, carpeted, and has an intercom to the house, tv antenna, security system, and broadband outlet. There’s more than enough space in the studio for all of my equipment, and heaps of shelving for all the ink pots. It’s an absolute dream come true for me, and I’m really going to enjoy working in there.

Exciting News #3 (I’ve been busy...) is that I have a truck of new equipment arriving next week. Actually, it was supposed to be arriving at the new studio tomorrow, but the transport company messed up. It works out to be able 1.5 tonnes of equipment, including the new press that I bought MONTHS ago. I’ll be posting photos of it’s arrival when it does come. I’m really going to love setting it all up in the new studio. I love starting a new space from scratch. But of course, I’ll also be moving house in 2 weeks, so I’ll be unpacking everywhere.

So now you’re up-to-date with my news. You can see why I haven’t been on the blog a lot lately, which I really do apologise for. I have really missed it. I’ve been working with some truly lovely clients in the past couple of months, and they’ve been really understanding when it’s taken me a little longer to respond to emails, etc.

Once the new studio is set up, I’ll be holding a Studio Warming Party, most probably in January. I’ve had a lot of people ask to see my current studio, and while it’s been suitable enough to work in, it’s not a space that I was proud to share. Baby is due 21 May, and I’ll be doing as much printing as possible during this time, but I’ll definitely be at reduced capacity. I’m looking forward to using this time to re-evaluate our processes and making them more streamlined for next year.

Collie is here!

It's arrived! My Collie's Paragon (aka Collie) got here safetly early this afternoon. Not without a drama though:

• Couldn't back the 4 tonne truck up the driveway straight to the garage door, as it would crack the concrete. Driver had to park it on the road and wheel the press up the driveway with the pallet jack.
• Couldn't wheel the press up the driveway with just one man (and I'm no help) because the driveway has just the slightest incline where it meets the road.
• Called our Best Man for help. He came over as soon as he could and he and I pushed the press while the driver pulled it up the incline. From there it was smooth sailing.

I didn't get many photos of it all because I was trying to help.

Here's the before and after of our garage, which we're still cleaning out to convert to the new studio space:

Ken had labelled all of the pieces with their number and "LOUISE CANBERRA" which I thought was funny, because he didn't know my last name.

10" x 15" chases:
And here's Taylor checking out the press motor: