craft lovely » heavenly experiences

The Printing Office of Edes & Gill

Colleen — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:55:14 +0000

This past Saturday was a real treat for me. I recently joined LGNE and my first outing with the group was to The Printing Office of Edes & Gill, a 18th century working print shop. Edes and Gill were the proprietors of The Boston Gazette and Country Journal, and The Boston Gazette became one of the most influential newspapers in colonial America. The shop’s director and print master, Gary Gregory, was a wealth of printing knowledge (as well as knowing about Boston’s printing history). Edes & Gill has two presses, an antique wooden rolling press for intaglio and an English common press. We were able to observe the printing process and print ourselves on the large English common press – what an experience!

The shop will be fully open in April and is located on the Freedom Trail, in the North End. If you’re in the area, you definitely have to stop in and say hello. Gary has invested so much love, time and money into the shop and it’s a wonderful experience for anyone interested in printing or in the history of Boston.

{for more of my outings & experiences photos, check out my Flickr}

Fancy That

Colleen — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:49:42 +0000

This past weekend I stopped into Fancy That while they were having an open house. Had to share these photos – they have such an amazing space and wonderful china. If you’re in the area, you really should stop in!

{images shown via my iPhone – yes, I did download new Hipstamatic film this weekend and I love it!}

Weekend Tidbits

Colleen — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 03:20:44 +0000

This weekend was a good mix of work and play. I didn’t get as much work accomplished as I would’ve liked, but I certainly enjoyed myself (and isn’t that the point of life anyway?). Started the weekend by visiting a friend in her hometown of Marblehead (the land of Katy Elliot!) and she showed me all the best places in town. It was a perfect New England coastal weather: cloudy and cool. Marblehead is so charming with the world’s most amazing houses and yards, I wish I could’ve stayed the whole weekend… but will be back.

Then we had SoWa on Sunday. The weather was a bit more summery than fallish, but no rain to be had. There were the nicest, friendliest people shopping as well as showing; I swear that each SoWa we do is getting better and better as we wind down to our last two (*which are October 9th & 16th). Also ate the best food during the day from the food trucks, including a chickpea fritter sandwich from Clover that I am still dreaming about. Such a nice weekend.

PS: Yes, I do love Hipstamatic and I’m not ashamed to say it.

One Down, Four to Go

Colleen — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:58:24 +0000

Yesterday my cousin and I finally made it to the beach. Hooray! It was really a perfect beach day (with the exception of a wild and very bold seagull knocking my sandwich literally out of my hands with his beak – ouch!). Felt super relaxed when I got home I stayed up late getting a lot of work done. So, based on my summer to-do’s, I have four more things to go!

Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Colleen — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:33:26 +0000

On the way up to Maine, we made a pit-stop in Portsmouth, NH and I was able to visit Samantha, co-owner of Gus & Ruby Letterpress. I immediately fell in love with everything; it’s a letterpress-aficionado’s dream. Everything was expertly chosen for the shop and Samantha couldn’t be nicer. If you’re in the Portsmouth area, definitely stop by (but don’t blame me if you want to buy the store out)!

{images shown are of Gus & Ruby Letterpress via my iPhone}

Acadia

Colleen — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:35:19 +0000

Trying really hard to switch out of vacation mode and get back to work today. Just can’t shake Acadia from me yet.

{for more of my acadia national park photos, check out my Flickr}

Gone Camping

Colleen — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:00:05 +0000

Just a friendly reminder that I’ll be absent from this space all of next week, returning on Monday, August 15th. Headed north to Acadia for a week of camping, hiking, and relaxing! Yipee!

Hope you have a great week, everyone!

{for more of last year’s Acadia trip photos, check out my Flickr}

Next Week

Colleen — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:41:07 +0000

I cannot tell you how excited I am for next week… we’re going back to camp in Acadia! This time we’re bring my parents, hoping to make some good memories. Funny how this trip always seemed so far away, but all of the sudden it crept up on me.

{for more of last year’s photos to Acadia, check out my Flickr}

Trip to the MFA

Colleen — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:14:43 +0000

Saturday was such a fun day! I had friends call and invite me last minute to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and so I made a change of plans to go with them. I went a little crazy with my iPhone taking photos, but I’m so glad I did! I got such inspiration from color, pattern, and composition and most of all, had a wonderful time with friends.

{all artwork shown is property of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston}

I heart Vermont

Colleen — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:35:52 +0000

We stayed in Vermont for our 5 year anniversary (as a couple, not being married) and 5 years later, we returned. It better not be another 5 years before we go back again! This was our only Christmas gift to each other this past holiday: a quick getaway somewhere in New England during the winter and this place was absolutely perfect. As much as I love B&B’s, I really wanted to go away and be completely alone: alone with my husband and alone in the woods. We both needed major “downtime” and we definitely were able to do just that. We brought all our own food and cooked all our meals, read books and magazines, rested and slept in, watched movies, relaxed and sat around listening to music, and I even worked a little (yes, it’s crazy but I was desperate for no wifi and no distractions to get some work done!). It was heaven on earth and I felt like I was living in White Christmas. It proved to be too cold for us to really venture out (we had plans to try snowshoeing), but I just couldn’t get past the subzero temperatures. Now I can say I really know what -15 F feels like! Thankfully, our cozy little log cabin was warm and comfortable the entire time. I realized it really is possible to completely, truly relax (even a “type A person” like me can, something I didn’t think possible)… although it all goes away when you get back home. It pains me to think it’s over and past already, I really wish we had spent longer up in our home-away-from-home. I’m so thankful though that we had the chance to go.

{for more of my vermont getaway photos, check out my Flickr}