Automatic for the People

More special-for-you letterpressness.

Birthday Party Calling Cards for the kiddos

From the Desk of Stationery

Hand Illustrations by the talented Sara Logan Wilson turned personal notecards

And some specs just for funsies.

Off the Hat Rack

The holidays have been busy in my basement studio. Below are a few of the things I've done. I'd love to start doing more personal stationery and custom design work. If you need some, give me a holler!

NOTE: Since taking this picture, I fixed the typo and omitted space. Geesh.

Custom 5 X 7 Print.

Personal stationery

A note of thanks

A triumvirate of gratitude

(Some of these are for sale at fourhatspress.com)

She Came, She Saw

Check out Kyle's write-up from her trip through Sweet Home Alabama.

Anticipation: It Does a Body Good

photo from here

Work, play, shower, sleep, eat. Life tends to get repetitious, even banal. Sprinkle friends and creative projects in the mix. Add a dash of laughter and a smattering of beauty and refreshment. These are sweet spots – reprieve from the toil, toil under the sun.

What a gift it is to eat and drink, merry make and find joy in smallness. But, I still taste the hopelessness of those Ecclesiastes words. I echo with my own fist shaking. I ask the same questions.

I wonder why it is that I need so desperately for something to look forward to beyond my current address. There is always something to want. Always something to strive for in the greener pastures I think I see beyond my horizon.

Thoughts of a new adventure overcame me this morning. I have been travelling down a path of wondering, and to be quite honest, I’ve felt better today than I have in quite some time. And all it took was thinking about something TO COME.

There is something so deep set in our hearts that is nourished by anticipation. The Sunday school answer here is to say that I know it’s because we all hope for heaven, for Jesus’ doubling-back to earth. And, I know it’s true.

But I still kid myself into believing hope sometimes means believing that life will get better when x,y, and z happen. I am soothed by the thought of a quicker fix to my longing.

This advent season, I desperately want for my heart to soak in the truth that what I wait for can be found in the manger.

Bright Spot

images from the Birmingham News. Read full article here.

Brooke Fleming's go-after-it attitude and desire to gather creative people around the (craft) table has lead her to open up this light-filled space on the corner of 55th Place in Woodlawn. It truly is a bright spot (and not simply because it's exterior has been painted with a fresh coat of BRIGHT blue). City Arts Boutique is home to works by local artists (ahem, including fourhatspress). Brooke hopes it will become a hub for creating. Come on out to the grand opening tomorrow night from 5-8!

Turning Corners: How reading food magazines has made me a more ambitious cook

image from here

I feel quite at home in the kitchen, but by no means am I a magnificent cook. Trust me. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. (I’m still reeling over the most recent deli turkey debacle – a result of my complete and utter misinterpretation of this recipe from Apples for Jam. Oh, it was bad. Really, really bad).

So, I’m the first to admit I don’t always have the instincts of a natural-born chef. While I do possess the occasional ability to improvise with what’s in the pantry, more often than not, I’m a fastidious grocery list maker, a recipe follower.

Be it for their voyeuristic quality (as we call them at work: “armchair reads”), or otherwise, I’m a huge fan of cooking magazines. I devour the pages of my monthly Bon Appetit. I turn corners down in hopes that I’ll have the courage and occasion to test my culinary capacities out on willing subjects.

The truth is not revolutionary. I love to feed people. I love to create. I love to make something and watch someone enjoy it. And cooking is one of the most tangible ways I can think to do it.

So, if you’re hungry, come on over. I’d love nothing more than another excuse to be daring in the kitchen.

On my list to try:

Gingerbread Cake

Chocolate Macaroons with Orange Ganache

Honey-Bourbon Toddy (with Apple Bourbon)

Spicy Fruit-Stuffed Pork Loin with Roasted Pears and Onions

Conscience

The previous print was inspired by this poem by Henry David Thoreau entitled "Conscience."

Conscience is instinct bred in the house,

Feeling and Thinking propogate the sin

By an unnatural breeding in and in.

I say, Turn it out doors,

Into the moors.

I love a life whose plot is simple,

and does not thicken with every pimple,

A soul so sound no sickly conscience binds it,

That makes the universe no worse than it finds it.

I love an earnest soul,

Whose might joy and sorrow

Are not drowned in a bowl,

And brought to life tomorrow;

That lives one tragedy,

And not seventy;

A conscience worth keeping;

Laughing not weeping;

A conscience wise and steady,

And forever ready;

Not changing with events,

Dealing in compliements;

A conscience exercised about

Large things, where one may doubt

I love a soul not all of wood,

Predestinated to be good,

But true to the backbone

Unto itself alone,

And false to none;

Born to its own affairs,

Its own joys and own cares;

By whom the work which God begun

Is finished, and not undone;

Taken up where he left off,

Whether to worship or to scoff;

If not good, why then evil,

If not good god, good devil.

Goodness! You hypocrite, come out of that,

Live your life, do your work, then take your hat.

I have no patience towards

Such conscientious cowards.

Give me simple laboring folk,

Who love their work,

Whose virtue is song

To cheer God along.

Just My Type

I've been having quite a bit of fun with the small bit of type I have. Sans serif and bold. It's just so no-nonsense. Just my type. Find these Thoreau prints for sales at fourhatspress.com.

Spread some joy and cheer

Send a warm Christmas wish on the latest card from Four Hats Press!

Fine Print

Yesterday was an amazing day with Kyle of Power and Light Press. Between a workshop at Woodlawn High School and a four-hour open print event at Railroad Park, we caught up about her travels, her art, and her letterpress business back in Portland. Kyle's been on the road since June of this year, and her journey will continue through April of 2012. Her warm spirit and easy smile makes her an easy one to welcome in. It's not difficult to imagine why her experience has been so rosy thus far. Please join me in wishing her continued happy trails by following her adventures here and buying her cute cards here.