Anthology

card catalog (!)

Whew!  What a week it has been!  Very intense and somewhat stressful, but in the end, wonderfully giddily great.

I've been dealing with end of year paperwork (ugh) and technical computer issues (ugh) but over all of that was the knowledge that Memorial Library was cleaning out its card catalog room.  I spent a lot of time hounding people at the library - I'm sure they were happy to see the last of me.  I had this anxious feeling that might be natural considering that I am a child of librarian AND a WWII Japan survivor who is incapable of throwing anything away in case it might be useful as something might be in times of post-war scarcity.  The thought that all those years of typewritten cards would just be tossed in the recycle bin created a high level of anxiety that did not mix well with a malfunctioning credit card system.  In the end, several boxes of library catalog cards have made their way to the shop.  We will have them available during our studio garage sale, and I have plans for an assortment of artsy projects, as well as book-related scrap paper packs.  I think they will be great collage elements.

Most of all, as someone who has always wanted a library card catalog, walking into Memorial Library and seeing a room full of my version of the holy grail, all marked "SWAP" added a tantilizing component to the week.  Various people agreed with me about the necessity of such a piece of furniture in my life; others shared their own wishes and rumors about long lines and widespread advertising.

For those of you who are not familiar with SWAP, it is the place where all the university surplus goes to die.. and then be reborn.  They are open to the public only on Fridays and one Saturday a month.  And despite the fact that my sister was due to leave on her weekend vacation, I made her wake up early to accompany me to the outskirts of Verona.  I didn't even know if there would be card catalogs there, since I had seen many at Memorial Library just a few days before and had been informed that they were only going to SWAP as room was available.  (I had visions of going to SWAP every Friday for a month, which I might do anyway since there were many other cool things, and potential for some pieces for my studio at home - I passed up a great bank of lockers which Sachi persuaded me would not work in the store... but when I got home I regretted that I hadn't thought of them for my house - unfortunately someone was loading them into their van as we were loading the card catalogs).  There was, indeed, a line of people waiting for the 8 am opening and I imagined some running and shoving would be involved.  Thankfully, as soon as the doors opened, the bulk of the rush was for computer parts, and I spotted the card catalog files two aisles over - four down on the floor.  I stood by one while Sachi went and got someone to help us; while standing there, someone else put a claim on another, but my vision of an all-out retail brawl never came to fruition.  As I stood there, the more that I thought, the more that I decided this was also probably my one chance to get such a thing... and maybe I needed one for myself as well as one for the shop. 

Long ago, I visited a friend in Minnesota and confessed my wish for a library card catalog file and her schoolteacher husband expressed regret that two weeks prior they had redone the school library and put the files in the dumpster.  So close!  Not that I would have had anywhere to store it, and moving it would have been quite a complication (those things are HEAVY!).  AND now I don't even have to regret missing that opportunity.

So, yes, I bought two.  In addition to the four on the floor, I saw more up high on a shelf, and knew there were still some to come over from the library.  So I didn't feel too piggy.

I managed to fit it in the shop pretty easily, and have been consumed with putting all the little things into the drawers.  I cannot believe how much it holds!  Yesterday I had time to make labels, another fun aspect of this project.  I could have spent triple the time trying to find labels that fit the contents, but in the end went mostly with patterened paper.  I printed out the labels on clear address mailing labels, so the pattern of the paper shows through.

Meanwhile, at home... well, let's just say it is a good thing that I had already started my studio/living room rearranging and organizing.  It sure is a big piece of furniture.  I have very little "real" furniture so it is even more obtrusive.  But totally worth it considering how much stuff it fits.   I'm trying to practice what I preach in terms of studio organization and not get too carried away with distractions - just focus on the basic level sorting; the fine stuff and the tangential projects can be done later.  Right now, contents of old drawers are strewn on the floor awaiting placement in new drawers.  I think this is going to be a great addition to the studio space and will really help a lot with the organizing process.  Aside from the fact that I got what I always wanted, I'm giddy because it is actually working better than I even imagined it could.  Still, it will be a while before the dinner party invitations go out. 

oh, p.s. $120 each.

bicycle window

Can I just say how pleased I am with my window?  I'm installing it tonight and having lots of fun.  And also feeling rewarded as people walking by on this cold rainy night pause to look in the window and exclaim over the products.  Sachi and I have been gathering bicycle-themed items for this window for over a month - I'm not exactly sure what started it.  Perhaps Jes' great new bicycle t-shirt combined with the "keep calm and ride on" print.  In any event, we've collected an assortment of prints and clothing with bicycles printed on it.

I just had a lengthy conversation today about merchandising windows and leaving white space, and seem to have broken all the rules that I was instituting just a few hours ago.  This is the first time I've hung so many prints in the window and I like the collage effect.  Plus, it's not exactly color-coordinated in my usual style, but I think it all works.

I was debating a little.  Sachi and I have been discussing how the protests are evolving - we've been coming up with some new buttons and even as there are days when there are fewer people on the square, we are continuing to sell buttons and we continue to feel as we did when we installed our first protest window (February 15th... seems so long ago!).  We still feel very strongly that Walker's actions will hurt our business and we also feel strongly that we want to support the people who are protesting at the Capitol.  But it is also important to keep one's window fresh and changing. 

So my debate was how to keep the protest aspect and also go ahead with my bicycle window plans.  But then a few days ago, it suddenly occurred to me that the two themes work pretty well together.  I was reminded of my first protest window when I put in a bicycle t-shirt with words like, "there's room for all of us on this ride."  Something like that. Sachi came up with a new slogan so she'll make that sign tomorrow and add it to the mix.

In the end, the protest theme is kind of mixed in with the bicycle theme.  We have two new prints from Milwaukee artists - "WI RISE UP" and "Union Made" but I think they go well in the mix, particularly with the print of many people on bicycles: "I move, You move, We Are Movement."

Sachi found some reproductions of vintage bicycle prints, and I'm quite fond of the Billy Ocean print. 

And then there are the variety of screen prints: bicycles on skirts and onesies, neckties and t-shirts, not to mention the "sexy sexy bicycle" shirt and the ever popular "Let's Rub Tires" bicycle notecard made in Milwaukee. 

And pretty soon the weather will actually be pleasant enough for me to dust off my bicycle.  I admire those hardly souls who have been bicycling all winter long; I'm strictly a fair-weather cycler.

window Tuesday

Well, here's how it started out - the window that Sachi installed earlier in the month to show off the assortment of vintage inspiration.  After about three weeks, it's time to change it to something else.

Step two is to clear the window, vacuum out the dead bugs, change any lightbulbs.  I'll spare you a picture of that stage.

Step three is to try and narrow my focus just a little bit.  I had a very long list of possible elements for this window - paper packs, notecards, prints, jewelry, wrapping paper...  We are into tourist season now so we are getting a lot of people who are seeing us for the first time, or who were last in about a year ago.  I try to make the window tempting, to give some sample of what the store is like inside, as well as to feature favorites or best-sellers.  It's a lot to ask of this little space.

I spent much of Saturday cutting triangles to make garlands.  Although I was tempted to just sew all the triangles together, that would have meant scheduling a night at the sewing machine.  Instead I simply punched holes and threaded them onto ribbon.  All of these papers are available at Anthology by the sheet. We were trying to find a way to show off the great transparencies that we got from the California show.  They would be nice as overlays on notecards or wrapped around a glass votive holder but we collaborated with our upstairs neighbor to hit upon the garland idea.  She made some for a French-themed shower that she was throwing and I loved the way they looked so much that I wanted to make some here as examples.  The transparencies look especially nice in the window - I like the way they let the light through.  I continue to have trouble taking pictures of our windows.  The angle from the outside means that there's quite a reflection, and of course, from the inside, everything is backlit.  And I did get a little carried away taking pictures of the garlands, but I quite enjoy them.

After much deliberation, the overall theme of the window is... I don't know... coral/aqua summer colors? celebration? new arrivals?  I had various bird and Paris themes in mind but those were going to be a little more on the pastel side - themes that got set aside for the moment when we received the French cards and some new lovely prints.  So it is a bit of a mix and there isn't much white space, but people might as well know right up front what they are in for. 

I know that it does limit the depth of the window, but I do love using our clothesline just up against the glass to show off various goodies - this time it is prints from Portland and Minneapolis, notecards, various scrapbook supplies including paper and notions.

And here's the window from the side and inside.  I decided to hang the Nikki prints along the edge because they read really well from a distance.  Because of the reflection and the small size of many of our products, it can be hard for passerby to "read" the window.  I enjoyed unfurling some pieces of our washi paper to hang along the side wall.  And it was fun to incorporate the portable writing desk that was made by our great grandfather.  There's a note inside: 

 
My mom used it for ages for notecards and such; it was only after she gave it to us to bring to the shop that I noticed the note.  I love its foretelling.

a new window

Well it was a busy Saturday in the morning, with Farmer's market, relatives visiting and much more.  Things got quieter in the afternoon and for some strange reason I was feeling energetic so I started installing a new window.  I was going to change them on Tuesday.  We got a new shipment of the silk ribbons, which I love a lot, so I wanted to put those in the window.  In all, I was trying for a more pretty/elegant look than the usual playful/colorful look.  We're featuring all sorts of lovelies: Dainty Daisies hand dyed slips and flowery headbands, vintage and reproduction millinery flowers, German paper scraps, journals, notecards, charms and pendants for jewelry-making including from Vintaj and Persimmons.  So much fun!