Paper Parasol Press Blog » vandercook #3

Hot off the Press for 2011!

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 04:07:47 +0000

Over the next few weeks I am going to be packing my Etsy with lots of new cards. Here is just the start! All are hand pulled on my Vandercook #3.

Arcade Houses Congratulations Card

Lion and Shield Happy Birthday Card

Bicycle Lady Happy Birthday Card

Modern Thank You

My Mac keeps telling me, “scratch discs almost full,” and to any other Mac user – why can’t I invest in a new one? Is it because:
a. it’s so much money
b. I am going to miss this ol’ one?
c. desktop or laptop? I’ve always been a desktop gal, but a laptop has been pulling on my heat strings.
I think it’s more of the money thing. Yikes. Better start saving my nickles and dimes and dollars.

Back to scoring cards as it thunderstorms outside. More new cards coming soon!

Illinois Print Giveaway!

admin — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 19:18:33 +0000

* I ended up losing my comments from before, so I’ve decided to extend the drawing to Monday November 15th. Sorry for the inconvenience, as I tend to ham things once in while. I can avoid these things by drinking coffee and not working so late! I’ve gone back in my emails and added the comments I had lost, so you’re still in the game!

It’s high time for another giveaway. I can’t leave my Illinois folk hanging, since California had a giveaway a few months ago! So here’s the deal:
specs:
• 3 color letterpress print, hand pulled by me on a vintage Vandercook #3
• 11″ x 14″ in size – ready to frame
• Paper made by renewable energy right here in the heartland – Mr French Paper. Paper is a 140lb speckle tone

1. List your favorite thing about our dear state, whether it be the town you live, your favorite place in Chicago, restaurant, art museum, how much you love winter… you get the point!
2. Please make sure your first name, twitter, blog, flickr, etc is listed somewhere in your comment so that I can contact you I draw the name.
3. If you happen to not live in Illinois, please write what you love about where you do live.

A name will be drawn on Monday November 15th at 9pm Central Standard Time. I will then contact the winner via social networking site of some sort for your address.

Also, be sure to visit us here:
Twitter
Facebook Page

What’s my favorite thing about where I live:
Well, I would say my back porch. It’s sort of my little haven, where I can drink a beer, line dry clothes (they smell better for some reason line dried!), but my favorite thing to do is watch the planes flying into O’Hare International Airport. The path for arriving planes follows one of the main streets in the city and on a clear night you can see a line flying in right over the apartment. We often like to sit back there and wonder where the planes are coming from. We also have a wonderful bike path that runs along the rivers for miles that I love to go on. We call this a “secret path” even though plenty of people can be found playing soccer, grilling, and biking along its route. It’s the simple things really!

Ready, set… go!

Vicki + Will

admin — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:29:27 +0000

When Vicki and Will came to my studio I fell in love with their wedding invitation vision. They are getting married in October at the Morton Arboretum and wanted an organic, illustrative design. After giving them a few options and many font options, (mostly me trying to place the perfect font with the illustration) they went with this design.

© Paper Parasol Press, Two color letterpress print on 140lb paper made from renewable energy, printed on a Vandercook #3

The entire process from start to end was wonderful. Yes, they were my clients, but I felt like it was more of a team effort – as if we were in a design meeting bouncing ideas back and forth. Both Vicki and Will were truly curious in the entire letterpress process. (I even let them pull a sheet or two through Ellie Mae, my Vandercook!) In fact, they paired the invitation with the envelope and designed the entire stacked right side. It’s always nice when a couple comes in together and share the entire wedding planning. Even at the last minute, we pulled a color change on the first color. It was supposed to be a slightly transparent orange, but we decided to go with a more gold tone which allowed the chocolate brown to pop more and show off the details in the leaves and wood grain on the tree. Whereas the orange would have competed and been a little more polarizing.That’s what’s great about custom work – things tend to flow more organically. Thanks, Vicki and Will for the opportunity to let Paper Parasol Press design your invitation and thanks for being a super cute and fun couple to work with! The lucky couple are jetting off to Australia after their wedding and I wish them the best on their new endeavors.

A little Illinois

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:28:39 +0000

I think wherever a person is from he or she carries a love/hate relationship with the place. In my case, I tend to carry it with me everywhere. When I am away, I start to miss Chicago, but while I am here I long for so many other places. I’m just a restless soul and I think most of us are. Maybe this is why I’ve gotten so many request to do a few states from one person. West Virginia and Florida? Texas and California please! Indiana and what about South Carolina? It a mobile, ever moving world, why stay put? Why not belong to one or two places? Heck, give me three places to call home!

Illinois, Meet Me in the Middle / 11 x 14 three color letterpress print on 140lb paper printed on a Vandercook #3

This guy is now in the shop and I will have them at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend in Wicker Park in Chicago. Hope to see you there!

A Movin’ and a Shakin’

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:12:10 +0000

Well, looks like Olga, my 12×18 Chandler and Price has a new friend – a Vandercook #3 from the 1950s inspected by a H.L. Keller and made right here in Chicago, Illinois! She seems very Americana too me – so, her name is Ellie Mae. Yes, I now have a hometown-er in the studio! Moving was a ran smoothly for the most part. The hardest was getting the 800lb press on these two piano dollies and rolling the press down the ramp into the truck. Once we got to my studio the challenge was rolling her up the ramp to the dock – phew. My heart was holding its place both times! Luckily, I have some pretty wonderful men in my life who helped – My dad, Drew, and my Dziadz (my grandfather). Yes, my amazing grandfather helped! Once we got back to the apartment, Drew and I needed a nap. I knew my Dziadz would be right back at work at his house in the burbs. I called him today to check up on him and it was no surprise that he did outdoor chores after the big move! As he put it, “Every day is a good day!” Which proves, that if you stay busy and young at heart, life is so much more rewarding!

Here are some photos of the move:

left from right: The press in her downtown location in the West Loop, putting the press on the dolly, the carriage all taped up and ready to go, moving down the ramp.

The new press, at home in the studio on Ravenswood, Avenue, Chicago, Illinois