Owen Gildersleeve: warm greetings card

Warm greetings sweater card from Owen Gildersleeve.

I'm officially on vacation now - see you next year!

The Sitting Tree photos

I like the mood of these photos from Etsy Shop: The Sitting Tree

times magazine articles by steven heller

I'm a little late to the news, but I recently came across a few times magazine articles written by steven heller:


graphic content | hand lettering


graphic content | lucious grocery signs

The Anti 9 to 5 guide

I have a stack of books I've been meaning to read. For years, literally. Lately, I've decided to read up on the biz. (I'm also trying to lengthen out my cardio at the gym. Reading helps me to forget how long I've been pedaling on that bike.)

Anyhow, the latest read is the anti 9 to 5 guide. It's been on my Amazon wish list for years. And, honestly, I should've read this a few years back instead. I'm light years beyond thinking out side of the cube. And, I don't really need help in finding a career change or ideas for how to stop procrastinating.

But, there was a valuable section on working for yourself. It got a little into how to price projects with a strong recommendation to read What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants (that one's already on the wish list). If you're already a freelancer like me, I probably wouldn't bother buying or reading this. But it might be worth finding at the library, just so you can photo-copy the references section in the back of the book.

Trio I Silkscreen Print from redux4u

I just bought this Trio I Silkscreen Print from the redux4u etsy shop. I’ve bought a lot of prints over the last few years… and many of them aren’t of very good quality. This silkscreen, however, has absolutely no flaws and it came with a double matte. Looks really nice on the rougher brown paper. Now, I've got to find a frame + a place to hang it.

Erin Beckloff of Inky Winke

Last Friday, Sara Cormier and I met up with Erin Beckloff. I met Erin a few years back on a freelance gig. She's since gotten married, moved a couple times and started doing letterpress printing out of her at-home shop.

Erin’s a super nice girl and very willing to find ways to make our projects (and budgets) work. We're hoping to find some way to work with Erin the future… and in the meantime, I wanted to share some of her work with you guys. Erin sells some of her work in her etsy shop, Inky Winke. And also does some printing for designers/artists.

Thanks!

Thanks for the responses to the poll, it was a good gauge of interest and gave me a boost.

I also watched "Julie and Julia" the other night, talk about a strong reminder to keep up the blog posting!

I'm still not sure how structured or regimented I'll be… but, I do have some plans to keep posting about things I'm interested in. I'll definitely be broadening my horizons :)

Update + Poll

As most of you have probably noticed, I have not been keeping up on my blog posting. There's a couple of reasons for this: 1. I started a long-term, in-house freelance gig, 2. work got busy, and 3. It started feeling like homework to keep this blog moving.

But, I see that there are a lot of people following O&C, lots of hits still coming in, and even a few persuasive emails and comments. So, now I'm thinking about how to breathe a little new life into the blog and putting myself on a posting schedule (ha!)

To begin, I'm starting with a survey about expanding the site's content. I listed a bunch of things I'm interested in and like to read and research on… and I'd like to know what you'd like to read about. And if there are other things you're interested in that aren't on the list, feel free to email me or leave a comment. Thank you, I look forward to seeing the results! Here's the poll:

Anne Benjamin

From Anne Benjamin. She also has a business called Mok Duk where she creates custom letter-pressed invitations & cards.

Victor & Susie

Victor & Susie uses type to create the illustrations in the book. Mostly I just like the secondary header… Victor & Susie: He Came in the Vegetable Box. ha.
found via inspiration central

Jon Klassen: Burst of Beaden

John Klassen's work really appeals to me because he combines storytelling, illustration, and type all together. Plus he has beautiful taste in color and an interest in the outdoors. (btw, he did some concept development for the Coraline movie). Check out Jon Klassen's portfolio site, otherwise known as Burst of Beaden.

Nigel Peake: Maps

Nigel Peake's Maps, found at book by its cover. (I've written about Nigel Peake before.)

David Fullarton: sketchbook

Check out David Fullarton's sketchbook, via his flickr photostream.

Fossil: "One Sunny Day" Catalog

I received this catalog from Fossil in the mail the other day. It has lots of little bits of hand-lettering and watercolor illustrations. (btw, I like their collection of clothes, bags, wallets, belts, etc). Some of the catalog is available on the Fossil website.

Heather Ross: Weekend Sewing

When I was a kid I used to love to draw step-by-step directions as well as little plans of what to pack for vacation. I was reminded of those drawings when I saw these plans from the Weekend Sewing book by Heather Ross over at The Purl Bee…

Emily Glaubinger

Check out Emily Glaubinger's flickr and her blog, drawing is awesome. I found Emily via a post at designworklife.

John Solimine: Spike Press

Check out this interview with John Solimine at LetterCult. I particularly like the part about him as a kid, "He could draw better than most kids, but he also really cared about his penmanship. He was a cursive freak. Every curve had to be perfect." Also be sure to check out John's business, Spike Press.

Carolyn Sewell: sketchbook

Sketchbook designed by Carolyn Sewell, to be given as a thank you gift to members of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington. Found at death by kerning.

Irving Design: Carluccio’s packaging

Carluccio’s packaging by Irving Design. Found at Lovely Package.

She Loves Me

Pages from She Loves Me zine - issue 2 - A to Z issue

Jochen Gerner

Images from Jochen Gerner's portfolio. I originally heard about this artist via post about his book Grande Vitesse at book by it's cover.

Hanna Konola

Work from Hanna Konola. She sometimes incorporates hand lettering into her work, but make sure to look at all of her illustration. found via ohjoy.

John Martz: "Life in the Dead of Winter"

Web site and album design for George's Life in the Dead of Winter. Directed by Wishingline and George, Illustrated by John Martz. If you're interested in the process that lead up to this design, check out the george flickr set. Found via wishingline (which I read has recently closed shop).