The Indigo Journal

Posted on October 16, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 9/365

I’ve been working on hand dying papers with indigo over the last few weeks, both in my own studio and at Paperhouse Studio here in Toronto.

After a bit of trial and error I’ve been able to turn the papers into things like this lovely journal aptly titled: ‘Indigo Journal No.1’. I think it’s my favourite book in my shop right now. It’s a handy sized journal, it’s thick with pages so I won’t use it up that quickly and I love the white-indigo blue-brown colour scheme. Also, the texture of the washi paper covers is delightful!

There are more projects in the works for these papers, so keep your eyes peeled!

A New Adventure

Posted on September 3, 2014 by sproutspress

If you’ve been following my blog posts lately, you will already know that there has been some exciting news for Sprouts Press! Well, there’s more. That’s right, Sprouts Press has started a new adventure; we’ve joined the ranks of many other talented artists and artisans selling their work in the popular Toronto shop: Arts Market on College! Yay!! I couldn’t be happier with this decision and look forward to seeing what the future brings.

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, but wasn’t able to until recently. If I’m going to be honest I must admit that doubt made an appearance once (or twice, maybe) when a little voice in my head asked ‘what on earth are you doing!?!’. But I got over that, put the first coat of paint on my space, measured out where my shelving would go (shelves that my dad made a long time ago, before I was born, that I re-finished) and really felt a sense of accomplishment. When it was all done and everything was in place and displayed just as I wanted, it was a truly great feeling!

If you’re in the area, stop by and check it out at 846 College Street, Toronto. There is probably something for everyone at the Arts Market; stationery, home decor, vintage, flora/plants, clothing, jewellery, you name it!

Even though all my pieces are there and up for sale, this is a soft opening. Stay tuned for the dates of the ‘official’ opening, coming soon.

ps. I tried something new and made a short video about setting up my space! I will upload it to social media and provide a link.

Some exciting news!

Posted on August 19, 2014 by sproutspress

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Remember a while ago when I said I had some fun and exciting projects in the works, but that I couldn’t share them just yet? Well, now I can!

So, here’s my first exciting news; I’ve been featured in this awesome (and gorgeous) just-published book! Titled “Little Book of Book Making”, by Charlotte Rivers. It’s packed with ideas and inspiration, full-page artist features, and a tutorials section at the back. And it showcases book artists from around the world, some really great bookbinding, I highly recommend checking it out! (Not that I’m biased or anything!)

Stay tuned for more exciting news to come . . . . very soon, I promise!

Thoughts while Taming the Mint

Posted on July 2, 2014 by sproutspress

It’s officially summer and I’m working on new products and designs and a few special, secret projects. You may remember in my last post I mentioned some secretive, mystery projects and that I couldn’t spill the beans about just yet . . . well, I still cannot spill the beans! Sorry! (Happy belated Canada Day!)

Anyways, while getting out in the garden to tame the mint a bit and stake my tomatoes, I find myself thinking about what is next. This seems to be a good starting point for me, to get away from the studio and reminisce about my latest projects through the lens of intention rather than final product. It’s always interesting to go through the process of creating something, but it’s also interesting to step back and look at what happened after the fact. I like the idea of trying an idea a second or even third time to see what I’ll end up with and how different it’ll be from the first final product. I guess I’m really just stating the obvious, as this is usually intrinsic to creativity, but I think it’s worthy of mentioning anyways.

Here are some of my garden-induced thoughts: I’m working out some new re-designs for hardcover books, that incorporate a bit of leather and some fancy paper by yours truly. But I’m also contemplating my full leather journals and realizing that they’ve all been limp bindings/softcovers, no hardcover leather journals.

So, I put together a little collection of some of my favourite leather bindings, which I realize now really focus on the stitching along the spine. Some of the bindings are longstitch/linkstitch, some are variations of this and some are totally made up by myself. While it’s enjoyable and satisfying, it’s also a learning curve, and I do love a good challenge.