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!

Well, it’s that time of year again – time for the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago. I will be at booth #224 with Laura George and Sarah Hernandez from Paper Tiger Cards. I am looking forward to holding down fort with these two lovely ladies!

Also be sure to visit: Circa Ceramics, Courtney Fischer Jewelry,Reuse First,and Paper Stories.

Let’s hope for no rain this year! Last year was perfect and since we barely survived the great rain of 2008, I am hoping for nothing but perfect weather Renegades from now till forever!

If you missed this, the print is now up in my Etsy Shop.

Happy traveling!

I love maps, vintage travel brochures, plotting points, and day dreaming about these places. Perhaps it’s rooted in the family road trips we took when we were younger. We were allowed to sit in the front seat only if we were to help navigate (or if we were fighting!). Before our smart phones and GPS systems, we had to plot points and plan. Last year, when I drove to San Francisco from Chicago with two friends, we stopped in Nebraska to debate a detour to Southern Utah’s Goblin Valley and if we would have enough time. Being smart phone-less at the time, we had to figure it out the old fashion way with time we had and the miles we would need to drive. It worked out perfectly and felt entirely archaic, yet accomplished. So, here is the first poster in a series of many inspired by the sense of adventure and travel! And yes, it’s the fine state of California.

California poster, 11×15, two color letterpress print printed on a Vandercook 3

Here’s how to go about entering:
1.) Become a fan of Paper Parasol Press on our Facebook page.
2.) Make a comment below confirming that you are a fan with you lovely name and last name or last initial. (if you’re already a fan, just leave your name!)
3.) Twitter about this post -and link your twitter below in the comments. Our twitter is: paperparasolprs
4.) Or, blog about this entry and post link below.

* Please make sure your name is linked to the comment, a twitter account, website, email, or blog, so I can contact you if you win!

*Names will be drawn on Monday, August 23 at 8:00pm central standard time and I will contact you via one of the social networking sites for your mailing address!

And if you are not from California, but would like your state in a letterpress poster, please tell me what state! Next ones up are: Illinois, New York, and Texas!

Oh San Francisco, you’re a beaut!

Some of our goodies at the fair

I had the most wonderful neighbors! Recession Clothing, where I got my hands on this lovely piece. Mmmmm… how hot are their models!? They are from the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon.

To my left was Yokomono Studio from Berkeley, California. She was super sweet and talented and I loved everything.

All in all, a perfect and smoothly run show. It’s always a bit stressful when doing shows solo or in a different city, but this one was one of my favorites!

Besides the plethora of games and images from days past, there are some amazing fonts. Here are some of my favorites:

Reminds me of the font Budmo, but so much better. I love the colors and the wood grain! Who doesn’t want their palm read for a mere 50 cents?

Love the script of the company’s name on this pin ball machine. As always, the classic sans-serif, is clean, modern, and wonderful.

Yum on the kerning of this vintage photobooth. How about that Western-inspired font, EYE LEVEL ?

The Inquest is one of my favorites at the museum. The buffalo really don’t do much except shake their heads, but the entire oddity of it fascinates me. Yes, that is a dead person under them – WEIRD, huh? I LOVE it.

Well, it’s that time of year again – time for the Renegade Craft Fair! I am exhausted, but the fact that I will be on the West Coast is keeping me going. If you are in San Francisco, please swing by the booth! I have to finish with some odds and ends, so I am out! Ciao!

Let’s look a little more at this lovely blog, shall well?
Yes please on the vinyl!

With so much turmoil in the country’s history, Poland has shown strength with visual design – a mix of Modern, metaphors, simplicity, the past, and keeping ahead of the curve. When I came across this vintage Polish stamp collection, it was like unearthing a visual treasure! Here are some of my favorites.

Polish stamp with CCCP space program imagery. Check out that 60’s rocket blasting into orbit

These basketball ones from 1963 are nothing short of amazing. The figure hardly looks like any silhouette of a basketball player, but it has a nice graceful feminine quality to it.

How wonderful is this one with Laika, the first dog the Russians sent into space? Unfortunately, she was sent up there with the known fact she would not return. Despite this, her image has graced Soviet stamps and posters. There is also a monument of her in Moscow.

A small and beautifully designed mid-century stamp. My font love for this little guy is IMMENSE

more classical and Soviet inspired designs.

Folk inspired stamps

1964 Tokyo’s Olympics.

Fun illustrations with the stamps. What about those amazing mushrooms and that cat meowing… maybe crying?

For more Polish stamps, visit my vintage section on Flickr. I am hoping to pay homage to Warsaw’s Wilanów Poster Museum in October. Has anyone ever been there? It looks like a place I could easily spend hours in. I think a trip to Polska is far overdue. I need some old-fashion root-searchin’ and art inspiration.

Cheers and hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

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