An interesting enevelope arrives in the mail….hmmm. When the envelope is opened and the paper is unfolded & handled, the following phrase is revealed: the future belongs to the few of us willing to get our hands dirty. Unique concept and oh so very true. Get out there & get dirty.
Poster created by Roland Tiangco
As many of you know, stationery is my weakness. Put me in a stationery store for the day and i’m good to go. I love looking through each card, feeling the weight of the paper, running my fingers over the indentation of the letterpress type, and the way each card is individually packaged in clear card jackets. If there is a vast selection of pens and felt markers to test, I’m in heaven. I make sure to tear the first “pen-tester-sheet” off the small notepad. Of course, the top tester sheet on the stack is usually filled with doodles and random scribbles, and I love to have a clean test sheet to try each pen…making sure I give each one a fair try. There is just something about making the first mark on a blank piece of paper. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to receive a few of my new paper packaging materials in the mail yesterday & just had to take a few photos for you to see. I’ll be including these in each order from www.erinmcdermott.com.
I know it’s the holidays in NYC when I see the red and white booths pop up in Union square. In each booth, you’ll find friendly artists, layered in warm clothing, and selling hand-made goods. You can find everything from handmade holiday chocolates, hot ham & cheese crepes, antique prints, screen-printed shirts, bags & wallets made from candy wrappers, salts from around the world, baked goods, handcrafted jewelry and leather, candles, bath oils, cashmere, French linens, and the best hot cider around. I love going to the market each year and filling up with jewelry ideas and inspirations & finding some great holiday gifts. This year I fell in love with the stationery and home-goods from bailey doesn’t bite. I love the whimsical simplicity of each piece (especially the ant stationery, postcard mug, and teaspoon & bag cup and saucer).
What does lobster bisque, a Norwegian Sky, pumpkin pudding, an Arizona Sunset and a drizzly afternoon have in common? They are all the names of colored pencils…and there are 495 other funky and unique names. The 500 colored pencil set is the only set that matches the span and wonder of human creativity. Each pencil has a name, a story, and a gorgeous hue. The coolest thing about this set is that you don’t get them all at once. For 20 months you will receive 25 new pencils in the mail. If you’re stuck in an artistic block, feeling uninspired, or need something just to keep you going, these pencils will awaken that creative spark.
I had so much fun sharing a booth with Cary Oliva the other weekend at the UVA Artisans Bazaar. Cary, from ByCary, uses polariod transfers, paper, watercolors, rare images, and textiles to create gorgeous cards, calandars, marble coasters and other unique treasures.
I love her quote on her etsy page:
“Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art”. – Leonardo Da Vinci
Simply put…I love hand-written letters. I feel like handwriting can tell so much about a person. The calligraphy of Bryn Chernoff from Paperfinger caught my eye. Paperfinger is based out of Brooklyn, New York and Bryn encompasses a playful and unique style in her projects. Check out her work here. Never underestimate the power of a hand-written letter.
I just came across these hand-made maple wood address files, far away mailboxes, and beautifully packaged stationery from Lovely mail order. The colors, design, and packaging just brightened my day.
I’m a big fan of Nikki McClure’s intricate paper cuts. She uses an x-acto knife to cut images from paper and creates images that depicts motherhood, hard labor, patience, and celebration. 
One of my (many) loves is letterpress. I can rarely leave a stationery store without falling in love with a letterpress card, poster, or print. I love the feel of the imprint on thick white paper and imagine an artist picking a specific font and hand-setting each letter onto the paper…letterpress also has a unique, vintage quality. One of my goals this year is to learn how to make my own letterpress stationery. One of my favorite letterpress businesses is Hammerpress. Just look at these fabulous creations! Hammerpress can design anything from CD packaging to a mural on a wall.
We’ve all heard of a gaggle of geese, a pride of lions and a nest of hornets, right? Well, have you heard of a bloat of hippos, a shoal of bass, a muster of peacocks, a parliament of owl, an unkindness of ravens, a business of ferrets, and a convocation of eagles? I was thrilled to come across this t-shirt that lists the collective names of over 100 animals! 
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14616544
If you enjoy descriptive words and spacing – you’ll love this website! I experimented with erinmcdermott.com and wordle came up with this “word cloud.” I think that I might use the image for a business card. What do you think?
click link below to see larger image:
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