Starshaped Press Open House!

This Saturday July 11th from 11-5pm there will be an open house at Starshaped Press on Ravenswood in Chicago. Jen, from Starshaped created these beautiful letterpress posters that are now gracing the storefronts of Chicago.

Poster by Starshaped Press

Paper Parasol Press will be there, along with my art prints under my name.

Also, you will find:
A. Favorite Design
Rar Rar Press
Shimmer Studio

All these ladies are super sweet and I am happy to know them. They are all a product of the printmaking talent coming out of Chicago. It’s an honor being part of such a talented group, considering just last year I was admiring their work and swooning over their products.

flea market adventure

Went out to the good ol’ Kane County Flea Market yesterday. These days I don’t get out of the city that much, so it’s nice to take a long drive out to find some treasures. I especially love old books with typography and illustrations, which there are plenty out there. There’s something just so sharp and smart about the use of both type + illustration. The choice of art + design is so clear and conscious- the marriage is perfect!

My friend Holly scored a beautiful vintage suitcase in an amazing condition. She also found a wonderful little table. I came home with some extra Pyrex treasures, of course, and a few vintage planters that I use as displays for craft fairs. Overall, a very successful flea market day.

s a l e

Paper Parasol Press is going through a slight face lift, which also includes the little etsy shop attached to it. I’d like to clean out some of my inventory to make wave for the new – lots of new products coming in! Including some save the date letterpress prints (which I am very excited about launching!) and such.

Please swing by and see if there is anything you fancy in the Sale section.

*Enjoy your holiday weekend, as I am signing off!

lovely wall decor

I absolutely love posters with strong typefaces and a lovely message attached. Here are few of my favorites lately. Wouldn’t these all look beautiful bunched on a wall together in intricate vintage frames? I can just imagine waking up every morning in my apartment to wall of happiness.

1. Is by Douglas Wilson and you can find it at the Keep Calm Gallery. I love the use of the bold letters on the map. Such a wonderful statement. And, if you know anything about me, I always have to have a future plane itinerary in my email, so it’s quite fitting.

2. Make do and Mend You can find this lovely image at Farouche’s shop. What a beautiful photo shoot all together!

3.I just went ahead and treated myself to YOU ARE ALL I NEED by Christie and Caleb at Roll and Tumble Press out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Because yes, he is all I need – always there to put balance into my world. I am excited to frame it, along with all the other prints I got from the letterpress swap! Phew! Lots of framing is going to happen. Christie and Caleb are also very sweet and I’ve been admiring their work for some time.

4. Live what you Love is another letterpress print you can find at Hijirik Studio’s shop in an array of bold colors. Hijirik also has a lovely blog called Heart Fish chucked full of inspiration.

Happy Thursday and I hope everyone has a wonderful July 4th!

getting my act together

I love web design. I love it especially at night after a Thai Iced Tea kicks in and I am ready to stay up all night. I go through web redesign phases and once one comes along, I need to take full advantage of it. Suddenly, I am tired of my cindytomczyk.com site, but I have not even completely launched Paper Parasol Press. So, without further adieu, I’ve been getting my act together and trying to cut away at the site. I am hoping for a complete launch in September. (that’s possible, right? *gulp*)

Web programmers amaze me. It’s not like design or art. It’s technical and it’s code. Lines and lines of code. I watch Drew code and program all the time and honestly, I could not hack it. Heck, I have a hard enough time updating my “News” section on my wesbite by just copying and pasting code. I guess that is what separates programmers from us designers. Lines of code keep them going. It’s this intricate puzzle of jibberish that somehow pieces together to form something completely different. Gotta give them a pat on the back for staring at lines all day.

Oh, Boy!

I’ve been gearing up my Paper Parasol Press card line the past few weeks, so more on that later this week or next!

In other news, I am very proud to say that one of my good friends has accepted the position for the new voice of Mickey Mouse! I am very proud of him and know he will do an amazing job. It’s hard to believe that I met him ten years ago at college because I was being a slacker in orientation and ended up in the wrong orientation group! As luck would have it, Bret was in the group and we became good friends right away. Bret is passionate and driven and there is no doubt in my mind he will give it his all. Walt, Jimmy and Wayne would be proud! (all the previous voices.) You can read more about Bret’s new adventure here.

Bret also makes a mean Mickey Mouse pancake! We ate a lot of these in college on break from illustration class.

Let’s Go!

I have a travel problem. I do it too much for my own bank account, but it’s the best way I learn and take in things. This print is based off of my love of traveling – a four color letterpress print hand pulled on a vintage Vandercook Universal I on Mr French Paper in Starch White. It’s a nice reminder to treat yourself to a faraway adventure every now and then. Even though I’ve really only traveled to Europe, I am starting to get the urge to visit Thailand. Maybe next year! It’s time to mix things up!

This print is now in the shop. I am really enjoying the heat, now that it is here. Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

summer is here! (finally)

As much as I want to ride my bicycle all day and walk around taking photos, I need to concentrate on getting some new cards in the line. San Francisco Renegade is upon us! I have a new letterpress print, but I need to cut the prints down and number them, so it will be another day or so before I post those.

This weekend was so beautiful in Chicago. We had some friends in town who are driving across the country from Florida to California and back around, so we showed them a little of the city.

Living here, we don’t really do the touristy stuff, so once in a while, it’s nice to just take our time and let the city soak in. Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

Art Giveaway!

Congrats to Pamela, a local Chicagoan who won the art giveaway!

little piece of history

Yesterday afternoon, while browsing an antique shop, I came across a pile of five vintage postcards. Something told me, I would find something good in there and indeed I did!

This is a postcard postmarked Feb 24, 6:30PM, Sarasota, FL. It’s hard to make out the back, it looks as if the ink has expanded a little, but I think it reads:
Best regards from your brother William. Am now cooking for Mr. Ringling on yacht and will be with the circus this season. Am. Wm Cords. Stewards Yacht (can’t make out next word) Sarasota, Fla.

Sarasota, FL will always have a special place in my heart. (awwww). When going to college it was Sarasota vs NYC and tempted by the warm weather, a change in scenery, and Southern folklore, I decided on Sarasota, Florida at the Ringling School of Art + Design. There are no regrets. Sarasota still holds strongly to her circus roots. You can read more about the circus history here. While in college, you could still happen upon old hotels near the beach that used to house the circus performers during the winter. I once walked into one, after noticing the door open (Being a minor in photography one is always on the look out for some adventure and photos) while driving past. I was happy to find the building was an apartment building with friendly tenants who told me the history and let me photograph to my hearts content. I was a sad to discover, the building was to be demolished in the near future. I’d like to hope it’s still there and on my next trip to Florida, I am going to check it out.

This postcard makes me wonder – how did it end up in Chicago? Did his sister keep it safe and sound for years and somehow it make it’s way here? The postcard is addressed: Erie, PA. Well, it’s in good hands now!