Paper Fair!

The Paper Fair at Toronto’s First Post Office is just around the corner!  It’s such a treat to be included in the annual show for paper and snail mail enthusiasts.  Expect Toronto’s finest stationery including greeting cards, pins, stickers, art prints, postcards, paper ephemera, handbound books and more!

To see the rollout of vendor announcements, make sure to follow the event on facebook here.

Otherwise, here are the show details:

What: The Paper Fair!

When: Saturday June 16, 2018.  11am – 5pm

Where: Toronto’s First Post Office, 260 Adelaide Street East, Toronto

For more info, please go here.

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Wordless Wednesday 23.05.18

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One of a Kind Show & Sale 2017

It’s that time again – the One of a Kind Show & Sale is less than a month away.  Sprouts Press is excited to be back again this year!  We’ll have loads of journals, notebooks and more, in both new and our most popular colours and designs.

Stop by the show to say Hi!  And if you don’t have tickets yet, here’s a discount code to purchase them online: http://bit.ly/2y5ZNnA

What: One of a Kind Show & Sale
When: November 23 – December 3, 2017
Where: Enercare Centre, Exhibition Grounds, Toronto

For more information please see the show site here.

Stay in the loop!

A new month means a new Newsletter!  Sign up now for the Sprouts Press eNewsletter for bookbinding-related goings on, delivered to your email.

You can expect 1 email per month detailing all the latest with Sprouts Press, bookbinding, creativity and journal-inspiration!

Sound good?  Go here to sign up today!

See You At the One of a Kind Show!

It’s that time of year, when I spend 11 days as a vendor at the One of a Kind Show here in Toronto.

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I’ve got several new designs, old favourites and some brand new things this year!! (Like the Bookbinder’s Toolkits!). Find me at booth E34 this year. Stop by and say Hello, I always like chatting with fellow bibliophiles!

Triumph!

Please join me in welcoming the latest member to the Sprouts Press team – a Triumph Cutter 4700 series!!!  It’s a stack cutter that can handle 2 and 3/8 inches of paper all at once, when serviced and in peak condition!  Woot!!  IMG_3799

To be honest, I’ve dreamed of having one of these machines in my studio for a long time now.  It’s still a little unreal that it’s actually standing behind me as I type this!  It’s an older piece of equipment, worn in and well-used, but trustworthy nonetheless.
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To bring this into reality, here’s a story about it.

We arrived late to pick up the cutter, damn rush hour traffic.  But it was still there, it wasn’t going anywhere.  It took 4 of us to lift it onto a dolly and just as many to navigate through doorways and narrow hallways out into the daylight.  We loaded it into a taxi.  That’s right, a taxi.  Then, once at my home studio, we nearly couldn’t get it through the door.  I almost had an additional studio space in the hallway of our building, ha!  However, we strong-armed it through the door, over top of the banister and into the safety of our living room.  

Next project: getting the Triumph into my upstairs studio.  This required negotiating a turny, narrow staircase, while carrying a too-large 300lb piece of metal equipment.  Attempt #1 failed, it was disappointing.  However, a new day brings new perspective and I figured out how to take it apart, which made things a bit easier.  It was still a heavy load.  Eventually, we managed to finagle it up the staircase without any yelling or tears.  Success!!
IMG_3798Next up, servicing and tune ups, blade sharpening and handle-fixing.  I’ll keep you posted on the status as I journey into stack paper-cutter land!

Save the Date!

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Mark your calendars!  The Toronto Etsy Street Team’s Midsummer Market is just around the corner and we’d love to see you there!!

This year, the show is at the beautiful Campbell House, just steps from Osgoode subway station at Queen & University (so convenient!!)

As always, the first 50 people through the door get a coveted swag bag filled with handmade goodies!! Doors open at 10 and admission is free!
What: Toronto Etsy Street Team 6th Annual Midsummer Market
When: Saturday June 18, 10am – 6pm
Where: Campbell House, 160 Queen Street West, Toronto
To get a sneak peek at vendor’s wares, see the lookbook here.

Routines

After moving house, getting back into a routine is always a bit of a learning curve.  A new space means a new studio setup.  I’m happy to say that I now know NOT to plan for shelving on a wall that is secretly concrete!  Unless, of course, you have a special, fancy concrete drill bit.  Needless to say, I’ve finally settled Sprouts Press into it’s new home and things are getting back to normal.
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That being said, there was some catch up to do with my Etsy shop.  Everything’s in order now, some new items listed and more on the way!  To see these items (some new, some old favourites), go here.

The Studio on a Sunday (on a Monday)

CollageItEvery time I’ve written a ‘Studio Sunday’ blog post, it’s been from this studio (pictured above).  Yes, it’s now totally empty.  Yes, we’ve moved!!

I don’t have any photos of the new space as we’re still amongst many boxes and other moving paraphernalia.  I’m still savouring that new-space joy and taking my time to unpack, putting things in thoughtful places.  But soon enough I’ll share some images of this lovely, sunshine-filled, creative space.

In the meantime, I plan to start up regular blog posts again!  Current and exciting news is coming your way!!

Sprouts Press + Brika

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I’m so happy to announce that you can now find Sprouts Press products on Brika.com!!  Woot!!  I’ve been impressed with this site and it’s well-curated collection of handmade items for a while now.  So naturally, I’m over the moon to be the featured maker this week!!

Part of this feature is an interview, a great Q & A to give you a bit more insight into what I do and why.  Here’s a snippet:

“Carolyn Eady’s first job was at the public library, back when she was starting high school. She loved reading and writing before, but this constant exposure to books and the world of publications was new to her. She was blown away by the diversity of what a book could be, and loved every minute of it”.

To read the full story go here.