Small Bites: Design Links I Love | National Stationery Show Edition | May 18, 2015

Happy Monday! Like many graphic designers, I am obsessed with paper. I hoard notebooks, buy cards that I’ll never send strictly for the design, agonize for hours over finding the perfect pen to write my grocery list. It’s a designer thing. But, it’s a big designer thing, because stationery is still a whole industry, despite this digital age we’re in. Yesterday, began the National Stationery Show in the Big Apple. My Instagram has been blowing up with some amazing photos of stunning cards, lettering, calligraphy and beautiful paper. I thought I would make this week’s Small Bites a National Stationery Show edition and link to some of the awesome shops and letterpresses out there.

Emily McDowell Studio: She recently made the news for her beautiful empathy cards. When Emily had cancer, she had a lot of friends disappear because they just didn’t know what to say or how to handle her illness. She felt lonely and afraid at a time when she most needed support. So, she designed these empathy cards that really say how much being ill is awful, but with a bit of humor. Read the NPR story here.

Rifle Paper Co: This amazing company hails from Florida and makes beautiful stationery, cards, notepads, iPhone cases and prints. To me, their style looks like what would happen if Kate Spade and Wes Anderson got married, and it’s beautiful.

Hen Pen Paper Co: From Ohio and comprised of a husband and wife team, Hen Pen makes delightful cards and stationery with adorable illustrations and whimsical lettering.

Ladyfingers Letterpress: Definitely my favorite for a few reasons—they’re headquartered here in Colorado Springs, which is awesome. And, they are seriously killer designers and letterpress printers. Their cards are stunning and they recently earned a spot in the printmaking issue of Uppercase Magazine. And, as of last night, they won 6 Louie Awards for their work at the show.

Follow the National Stationery Show this week on Twitter and Instagram with the handle @stationeryshow. The hashtags are #NSS and #NSS15.

The 100 Day Project: Days 26 – 32

The Great Discontent’s 100 Day Project is now over a month in. Created by artist Elle Luna, the goal is to do something creative every day for 100 days that has a specific focus and helps your creative process grow. Projects include photography, video clips, dance, and drawing. I’ve chosen to do 100 days of travel hand lettering. I’m working hard to improve my lettering skills and showcasing my love of travel.

I’m illustrating one place each day, either a place I’ve visited and loved or somewhere that is on my bucket list to visit in the future. This project is more about the process than the end result, and I am definitely seeing my process improve, even in this short amount of time. Plus, it’s helping me develop a good habit of drawing each day—a soothing exercise I desperately need in my chaotic and busy life.

I’m seeing a lot of improvement in my lettering. I may never have the precision of people like Jessica Hische or Sean Wes, but I think I’ve found my own imperfect style. I listened to Shop Talk Radio this week, a podcast about the creative industry and they interviewed extraordinary artist and illustrator Jon Contino. He said to embrace the tools you’re given and to make your own style from it. You may say that you’re not good at drawing, etc, but once you find your style and you work at it, you are good at it for your style. In other words, there’s a place for everyone’s style and level of art. That is really true as you comb the internet and see anything from stick figure to photo realistic illustrations out there.

Listen to Jon Contino’s entire interview, here.

Here are days 26-32. Follow the progress on Instagram under the hashtag “#The100DayProject” and my specific hashtag is “#100DaysofTravelLettering” under my Instagram handle, @noeldolangd.

Day 26: I loved Jerusalem. Visiting there was such an amazing experience. The history and spirituality is overwhelming even if you don’t practice. I did block style letters, but used blue for the Israeli flag.

Day 27: New Orleans is high on my bucket list for places to visit, primarily for the jazz and the food. I’m dying to eat beignets at Cafe du Monde. I went with a hand lettered sign style with Mardi Gras colors

Day 28: Albuquerque
I’m going on a weekend gal pal trip in June to Santa Fe, New Mexico to eat and look at art. However, my friend and I are avid Breaking Bad fans, so we’re going to drive over to Albuquerque and do a self-guided tour of all the film sites. I styled it like the opening credits of Breaking Bad that use the Periodic Table of Elements. In the show, they usually refer to the city as “the ABQ” in reference to the city’s airport code.

Day 29: I did calligraphy for Budapest, an amazing city I’ve only visited once but loved. It was stunningly beautiful and full of ornate architecture

Day 30: Giverny is located about an hour outside of Paris was home to Impressionist painter Claude Monet. It was here he had his elaborate, beautiful gardens that were the subjects of so many of his paintings. I fell madly in love with Giverny and as a serious fan of Impressionist art, it was a dream come true to go into the gardens. It was like being inside his paintings. I remember lots of vibrant flowers, but purple dominated, hence my color choice.

Day 32: After seeing The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, I’ve been dying to go to Iceland. It looks gorgeous.

Day 31: I’ve long had a fascination with Everest and have wanted desperately to visit Nepal to see the mountain and to see the beautiful Buddhist temples. In light of the recent tragedy there, I want to visit more than ever. I made the silhouette of Everest into the name of Nepal in the ice blue color and then hung the prayer flags on either side of the word.