website and email down

hey everyone. just wanted to let you know that my website and email are DOWN. down down. nothing to be done. waiting for my host to get their act together. in the meantime, you can catch me on twitter or my facebook page.

thanks!

i'm an expert!! i'm an expert!! how weird...

yes folks, after years of doing stationery design for a living, i'm officially an expert. how official, you ask? oh, THIS official: i'm an "expert" for 17 videos about wedding invitations on howcast! it's pretty weird, watching myself talk to viewers about this subject -- but i'm happy with the way it came out! and i hope others are happy with them too.

Wedding Invitations: How to Make Save the Date Cards on Howcast

one of the videos is embedded here, but you can watch the rest on howcast. collect all 17!

inspired by... toulouse lautrec

this evening i am feeling the emotion behind toulouse lautrec's paintings. love this passionate kiss...

image via daily artist.

inspired by... edward hopper

i'm feeling the hopper today. this one makes me think of summer in NYC. windows open, trying to beat the heat, seeing into someone's life a little bit when peering through. 

what i think of when i think of the hamptons...

yep! finally, a weekend away! dave and i are going to the hamptons this weekend on a much-belated 5th anniversary mini-vaca. damn, do we need it! and i need lots of adult-only relaxation and fun. adios, anna, see ya when we get back!! (oh, and i'll miss you, i promise).

mind you, we're not rich, so it's not like we're doing a summer rental or anything. no no, just a hotel for a couple of days to recharge our batteries. wine, food, ahhhh.. so what do i think of when i think of the hamptons? check it out:

beautiful, relaxed, shingled homes like this one. via the hamptons real estate blog.

wine tasting!! we're staying at the end of long island before the forks, so we're going to be able to visit all our favorite vineyards this time. high on the list is always shinn estate on the north fork and wolffer estate on the south fork. photo courtesy of wolffer estate.

farm stands! we usually stop off at farm stands when going out with our friends for a day... there's nothing like fresh strawberries. mmmm... this year, we'll have to just bring back some goodies for anna jae. photo courtesy of sag harbor days.

not to mention great restaurants, relaxing strolls/drives (once you're past the traffic!), and quiet. ahhh... i'll be sure to take some nic-type photos when i'm there to really explain what i see when i see the hamptons.

change, it is a-happenin'!

hey all. i know, i know, i keep going pretty long between updates. life just has a way of taking over. ah well... i'm still here! and i wanted to let you know what's going on in my little nic world.

first of all, there have been some website changes. so check it out! i have more to come (updating my custom invitations with new work, updating some pics in my ready-to-order section), but it's on its way. complete with a new splash page, new header, new press page, and new ready-to-order info.

nic•notes cards are finally officially available in stores across the country, as well as in my dear•nic etsy shop. so check 'em out! for a store near you, please visit my site.

the nic studio was recently featured four times in the timeout ny weddings guide, local stationery section. one of my sets for PS Brooklyn was also included. i'm in some great company, and i'm honored to start the slideshow. thanks to timeout ny for including me.

NY FINALLY LEGALIZED GAY MARRIAGE!!! i'm so so so SO happy about this. i celebrated with my husband last night, after being glued to the live senate feed for an hour. in celebration, i'm offering my same-sex wedding cards with free shipping for a limited time. there are two cards -- one for male couples and one for female couples. also, as an LGBT friendly vendor, i'm looking forward to an influx of same-sex marriages! i'm pretty damn excited about this. if you're interested, please contact me.

i've been pretty busy since the stationery show, filling out orders, completing a gift book design/illustration for random house, and doing some press. anna jae is back to being my constant companion, and couldn't be happier about being such a bother. =) we're enjoying summer so far, and have a full schedule for the season, but i'm looking to move onto new work.

hope you're all well! drop me a line and let me know what is going on in your little world, and thanks for visiting mine. 

NSS recap - my first show!

it came. it went. it's over, and i'm here with my feet up. it was my first stationery show, and this is my story...

as you probably already know, the lead-up to the show for me was pretty rough. my dad passed away march 25, after an intense but short illness, and i did all my show prep after his funeral. and i mean ALL. all paper goods, all booth designs, all purchases for booth styling, everything. which pretty much guaranteed a stressful show setup. any time something went wrong, i lost it a little bit... my husband wasn't too thrilled with that! but in the end, it all came together.

the main plan for the booth was to make it comfy and homey. my work relates back to real life, and i wanted the booth to be personal as well, instead of feeling like a store display. we made walls out of masonite with a wood frame, got bookshelves and a table/chairs from ikea, curtains, and i made a custom pendant lamp with fabric i designed and had printed with fabric on demand.

 dave putting together the bookshelves.

 bookshelf up, and the wire hung for the lampshade.

the masonite walls weren't the best -- the masonite warped a bit, and we had quite a bit of trouble putting them up (a big shout-out to my friend where for helping with the walls on friday). next year we're going to do something different, but with all the window dressing, it worked out.

the final booth, all put together. the logos and booth numbers were vinyl decals. the shelves held my notecards and my invitation binders, and the walls had 3 frames each with my new invitation sets in them.

 we lost a little bit of wall space in the end, so we had to eliminate the frames from the walls that held my prints. i put two of them on my desk instead, with all of my promo materials and the recipe card giveaway.

 bike for two set.

 winter woods set.

 graffiti union set.

 destination wedding set.

 rainy day wedding set.

 closeup of my pendant lamp. couldn't have made it without the help of my friends danielle and aileen -- it took a whole afternoon!

moving onto the show itself... it went really well! the notecards were surprisingly popular -- and i only say surprisingly because they are a new venture for me and i didn't know how they would fare. but it seemed as though buyers and visitors alike truly related to the cards, which is exactly what i hoped for.

 i got seriously lucky with my aisle -- as a first timer, i didn't know who would be with me, and having a good row is helpful. well, was i a happy girl. in our little section, we had fugu fugu press, banquet atelier and workshop, and just eleanor. not only did we get along really well, but we also truly enjoyed each other's work. what a great feeling to be appreciated and helped by your fellow stationers, rather than to dislike, disapprove, or feel in competition with them.

there were so many great exhibitors nearby as well. mr. boddington's studio, a forever favorite of mine, were just down our aisle...

 loved their booth!

 get a load of this bike! made out of foamcore i think. insane!

claudia of fig. 2 design studio also premiered at this show, around the corner from me. her booth was yummy.

rachael of pistachio press did a great job with her booth, helped a great deal by her husband jake.

paisley tree press, right across the aisle from pistachio, had the best wine tags. i want one. (i almost stole one, no joke).

amber at flywheel press had a fun chalkboard-themed booth, also manned by her husband rich. amber also organized the recipe card promo with legion paper, which i will blog about this weekend.

lisa of sapling press has awesome notecards, and was the genius behind last year's sensation, the stationery/stationary totes. awe-some!

katie of kelp designs had her always-eco-friendly display, with the most awesome wood signs. loved the twitter/recycle/tradeshow bootcamp icons (katie headed up the tradeshow bootcamp, a HUGE help for us first-timers).

 and then it was all over! tear down was amazingly fast, but loading up the car sucked because of all the rain. still, it was a great show, and i'm already planning my changes for next year. thank you to my husband for all the support and for building the booth; my mom for watching our daughter so much while i was working trying to finish everything, and for helping in the booth; my mother-in-law for coming in to hang out with anna while i was being all professional; and to loren and carrie for keeping me company and manning the booth with me on sunday (extra-special thanks to loren for also helping in the design of the booth itself).

and of course, a huge thanks to all my fellow stationers, my lovely booth visitors, my buyers, and the press. you made it a great show for me, and i hope that i can see you all again next year.