My brain is still coming to terms with the fact that we did it and it’s already over – Sarah and I showed together at the National Stationery Show last week!  It was a huge mix of excitement, nervousness, wonderful compliments, getting up really early, staying up pretty late, making new friends, and spending time with old ones.  It was honestly though, all a big blur.  I had pulled more than a few late nights and all-nighters in the weeks leading up to NSS (which explains my absence here) and the last month in particular I was literally working non-stop all day long.  From the minute I got into NYC and to the Javitz, it was complete, organized chaos – just to get through the building past all of the crates and booths being set up was like going through a maze!  Our booth proved to be a bit of a tricky situation the first day of set-up, with the walls not lining up perfectly the first night or how we were missing the electricity that we had already paid for.

But by the second day of set up, all of those kinks got worked out and then everything just came together…

I think the finished booth came out even better than we had hoped for; I was worried that maybe we didn’t plan enough or give it that much “specialness” that we both wanted to set it apart from the rest.  Our main concern was that even though it was our first year, we didn’t want it to look like it was our first year.  We also wanted it to feel warm and inviting; a bit homey, like you wanted to come in and sit down and stay awhile – but that you should also be able to focus on the product and not be so overwhelmed with how the booth looked.  When it was all said and done by early Saturday evening, we were pretty pleased with how it turned out.

We met so many wonderful people at the show and were incredibly lucky to have the best booth neighbors around, The Paper Cub/sass&peril and Thimblepress – we all were debuting this year and were also all TSBC alumni (woot, woot!) and became best buds right away.  I also got to meet (or properly meet, outside of Instagram) the owners of some of my favorite letterpress studios including Printerette Press, Moglea, Wild Ink Press, Fat Bunny Press, Paper Lovely, Pistachio Press, and Blackbird Letterpress, just to name a few.  And it was so good to sneak in time to catch up with good friends from Ladyfingers Letterpress, Studio Carta, Albertine Press, Pressbound, and Wishbone Letterpress.  I also met countless bloggers that I’ve followed for years, and between all the letterpress folks, bloggers, designers, and all-around amazing people that I have admired from afar (aka, the internet) and have so much love and respect for – it was totally surreal at times to be standing and talking with these people, because I sincerely look up to so many of them and they all do such great work.  Talk about feeling star-struck, phew!

It was also really exciting to actually be a part of NSS for the first time and not just a visitor, after having walked the show the last two years (and having followed it online for the last 4-5).  I was able to reconnect with some of my existing stores (with people I’ve been lucky to become friends with, not just work with) who happily placed reorders while we chatted and caught up.  And I was also able to receive several new store orders with some amazing places that I am so thrilled to be doing business with (some of which I needed to pinch myself to make sure it was actually happening and not dreaming about!).

At noon on Wednesday during the show, it was like Cinderella at midnight and suddenly – it was all over: and the crazy commotion of taking down product & walls commenced with small cranes and trucks driving down the aisles carting wood pallets and crates to disassembled booths.  Sarah and I managed to stop briefly and sneak in some celebratory chocolate cake (before our hardworking husbands caught us!), and then we parted ways for the trek home.  My husband and I never like to go straight home from any trip, so we stopped in CT for some amazing Indian food and then completely randomly discovered a gorgeous nature preserve (actually while trying to look for a restroom).  We were able to watch a sunset while walking on a beach and it hit me – I did it.  All those long days, all those long all-nighters, the times when I had so many ideas I couldn’t get them all down on paper fast enough, or the times when I sat wanting to cry out of frustration that I had nothing left in my brain to give (but was too tired to cry), and all the years I told myself, “…someday, I’ll be one of the exhibitors at the show…”

I’m really glad that I’ve had a few days after NSS to digest everything, and become “human” again… to actually sleep again, cook meals & eat again, see family and friends who were wondering what the heck I was doing, and finally get back into taking care of myself and be in a normal routine again.  But I’m also really proud that I can look back and know that I gave it my absolute all for my first year at NSS, and I’m pretty proud of what I accomplished.

And now: to work on getting the new studio settled and filling those orders!  My posts might still be spotty for a bit, but I promise to check in when I can!

*Two HUGE shout outs to people who really came through for me/us:
Margaret: one of my nearest and dearest and best friends… Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for opening your home to me & my dears during the week of NSS!  You are AMAZING!
Rich: thank you x a ZILLION for all your hard work and dedication to building that amazing booth that we only minimally helped with.  You are the reason why we received so many compliments on our first booth – THANK YOU for caring so much to help us look so good!

** Three big blogging thank you’s:
Nole: thank you for stopping by our booth and blogging about it during the show!  That particular day was the toughest for me, and to see your post really made my day.  Thank you so much!
Jane: thank you for blogging about Letter & Lark after the show!  It was such a lovely write-up.  And, it was amazing to finally meet you!
Hijiri: thank you so much for writing about our booth!  I was so happy when you stopped by, I’ve been wanting to say hello to you in person for what seems like forever.  Your post was so sweet, thank you!

*** To my parents: Thank you for helping me when I needed it most, you are the reason why I have any success!  I know you always say that parents are there to help their kids, but not everyone actually does.  Thank you for always having my back and keeping me focused on my goals and inspiring me to try harder.  You guys are the best parents – no seriously, you are… thank you!

**** Lastly, how can I not give a special shout out to this man:
Jeffrey: most likely, you’ll never read this.  But just in case, thank you from the bottom of my heart to always have my back, to always be there to encourage me, to always tell me to work hard and go farther.  I couldn’t have asked for a better husband to always help me through thick and thin, thank you for all your help over the months and especially with setting up the booth/taking it down and driving back and forth between MA and NY.  You are amazing and I love you.

{images shown either from my Instagram @letterandlark or from my camera}

May 19-22nd, 2013 at the Javitz Center in New York City

Pretty much since I decided to sign on the studio space, everything all happened at once.  In no particular order, here are some wonderful things that have happened since we spoke last: I got a press (a Vandercook SP-15), I moved into my studio space, I’ve been printing & designing like mad for NSS, I’ve been doing lots of custom work.  Not so great things: I got the dreaded norovirus (twice in one week, no less), haven’t slept much, eaten much, exercised, or been able to see family & friends for weeks because of my schedule.  I don’t even want to count the days till NSS, but I know it’s in less than two weeks!  Holy cannoli, where did the time go?!

There’s so much I want to share (the press move, setting up the studio, NSS stuff) so since I have a mountain of work to do, to be continued!  For now, here’s a few snippets of the past few weeks via Instagram (still the best way to see what I’m up to).

Hope you’ve all been well!
– Colleen

{images shown via my Instagram @letterandlark}

Stay tuned, I’m hoping to have an open house sometime this summer to welcome everyone to the new space!

{image shown via my Instagram @letterandlark}

Yes please!  Now to go choose 36… (or maybe I’ll order two sets…)

{images shown belong to Origrami}

{images shown belong to Geninne Zlatkis}

{images shown belong to Julie Song Ink}

My two weeks away with the Turkey Land Cove Foundation were such a gift, personally and professionally.  I knew the experience would be wonderful as well as challenging, especially since I haven’t been away from my husband for more than a week at a time (and realized I’ve never been alone for more than a weekend).  I went with a purpose of designing an ambitious amount of work to prepare for the National Stationery Show – and hoped to be like a designing machine: getting struck by a creative lightning bolt and being able to churn out new product designs, a new wholesale catalog, show give-aways, and the like.  When I arrived, I didn’t even realize how burnt out I was from a week’s worth of bookkeeping, found myself creatively stuck in the mud at the beginning, and still dealing with personal issues at home while I was still there.  I also didn’t realize how much loneliness can affect your ability to do work, and at times I missed conversation and being able to hug my husband (or my cats!) so badly that it hurt.  However, I could feel that I was in a moment of huge personal growth and knew I was there for a reason.

Lately, I’ve approached my work like the way I approach my runs.  When it gets tough and you think you can’t keep going, you dig deep and you keep on running.  When work piles up and I think I can’t get it all done, I dig deep and put in long days and long hours and get it done.  I’ve assumed this is basically the only way to work.  However, I realized something important when I was there – that’s not always the right thing to do.  When you push yourself again and again, for months and months, to the point where you’re pretty depleted, it’s going to be difficult to get something worthwhile out of your head.  I arrived the first night in shock that there was this gorgeous home all to myself, and felt guilty for accepting it.  It took me two hours just to sit down in a chair.  Once I did, I got straight to work even though both my husband and the director of the program told me to take the first night to settle in.  But I felt guilty that I wasn’t “working” and I certainly wasn’t there to vacation – I was there to work!  But by the 2nd or 3rd day, I had a bit of a meltdown and after talking to my husband on the phone, he pointed out that I really needed to take a step back.  I was second guessing the work that I had already accomplished and wondering if any of my ideas where “good enough,” and he stopped me and made a really good point… When else are you going to have the opportunity to focus on being creative?  Just drawing, exploring, and seeing what comes of it?  Yes, you have to get a ton of work accomplished, but why not stop worrying and just focus on the quality of work instead of quantity?

The next day, I went out for a bike ride to a local market to pick up a few things.  I apparently went past the building I was looking for and way too far into town.  I felt like a tourist, silly in my helmet and awkward on a bicycle when I haven’t ridden one in almost 10 years, then had to walk back up to the top of a hill that I had just been flying down.  But I composed myself, went back to where I started, and realized the market I was looking for was closed for the winter season.  Ha!  The entire biking excursion seemed pointless… but it wasn’t.  Instead, I then decided to head out towards the ocean and when I got there, I was rewarded with a gorgeous sun low in the sky and the entire beach all to myself to enjoy.  When else do you get an entire Martha’s Vineyard beach all to yourself?  And why the heck I am telling this story?  Because I learned something about how I need to approach my work from now on.  By giving myself the chance to mess up and make a mistake, or to be able to step away from my work and enjoy a life experience – it actually allowed me to do more work.  It helped to clear the creative road block and the self doubt that I started my retreat with, and I was then more productive.  Yes, you always have to dig deep when things get tough, but sometimes that’s not always the only approach – sometimes you have to stop and take a step back and remember you’re not a designing machine, you’re a person and you have to take care of yourself first in order to do good work.

That night and for the rest of my time there, I accomplished so much work.  It was like the creative lightning bolt finally struck.  My husband was right, and by not worrying so much about getting everything done, I was still able to get a lot of good work done.  When I needed feedback on my progress, I called or Skyped with good friends.  When I was too distracted, I shut off my cell phone.  I took the time to rest and do yoga everyday, but I also worked for hours and hours at a time and accomplished so much there than I would have at home.  When the end of my two weeks had finally happened, I had created a wonderful working rhythm and routine.  My biggest regret was not asking for three weeks away instead of two, but life happens and you can’t stay away for that long.  I feel so blessed to be given that experience, it was amazing and life changing, empowering, and encouraging.  To be alone with myself – completely alone for two weeks (I’m still in shock by it) and know what I’m made of and accomplish a lot makes me really happy and really proud.  I’ve had a tough time coming back down to reality this week, but I’ll find that flow again.  I’ve got a lot of work to accomplish in the next few months for NSS, and I’m really excited to see where all of my original ideas from my grant stay with the Turkey Land Cove Foundation go.

For any information about applying for the TLCF grant, please visit their website.  It was an incredible experience and I definitely encourage it if you can go!

{images shown are either from my Instagram or my camera}

I’m currently typing on a ferry see-sawing it’s way through the Atlantic to Martha’s Vineyard – there’s the beginnings of a blizzard right now.  I caught one of the last ferries out (phew!) and the water is PRETTY darn choppy.  Why in the world go out in this?  Because I’m finally on my way to spend two weeks alone to work my you-know-what-off, designing and planning for this year’s NSS (Booth no. 2168 , sharing with Parrott Design Studio!).  Nothing is going to stop me from using every day being productive, not even a blizzard!

I’ve never been alone for this long before, and also haven’t been away from my husband for this long either… it’s a little bit scary, but at the same I’m tremendously excited.  Work has also been very busy lately with “businessy” things: quotes, bookkeeping, studio planning, project management; so the opportunity to take a mental break from everything and truly focus 100% on doing creative work is the biggest gift I could be given right now.

I’m guessing I’ll continue to be fairly quiet in here, but you never know – I might just post some photos or an update.  I promise I’ll have lots to share in the weeks to come!
~ Colleen

{image shown is of the Lovers Coupons gift set}