Vintage Letterpress

I wish to have my own printing company. I think apart from my love of writing, it also stems from my fascination with all sorts of papers and stamping. Stationery anyone? I recall having a bunch of stationery and keeping them all neat and it has to smell nice also. You do this so you can get to swap with someone else with much better stash and they choose which one of your stock they like and that's how the trade goes. But I never knew then that I would be so intrigued by how stationery companies come up with such lovely prints and designs. That's how I came across letterpress. So that is what they call those vintage printing machines. Trivia regarding old printing, they used to have stacks of letters in capital and in small letters, the capital letters would usually go to the case up top and the small letters would go the the case below. Hence the term, uppercase and lowercase letters :)

But what is Letterpress exactly? For a thorough understanding of what letterpress is and how it evolved to create prints today that has a bit of digital yet show a touch of the classic printing, go here.

Seeing all these vintage letterpress really takes me back. I still dream of owning one. It's classic.

Classic Letterpress

Notice the details in classic letterpress printing. There is a 3D quality to it that always stands out to the modern type. The natural embossed feel of the letters and the vintage touch of typography used. The fact that it's a very meticulous process, patience is key to being a master of creating these prints. It's all but a labor of love. It's incomparable to modern printing. 

Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Tech Obituary: The Rotary Phone

Back when you were the "IN" thing, people would spend hours holding your handset to their ears til they turn red with sore. It was that time of wrong numbers, party-lines, phone pals and no-dial tones. An emergency call that takes a few minutes to make since the dial has to turn back to it's position before you can dial another number, you do this with every number of that phone your trying to reach. Good thing, numbers were short then (6 digits). It was because of you dear old rotary phone, that people back then have sharp memories. Imagine having a mental note of the phone numbers of everyone close to you. We didn't need a notepad for that, all we have to do to remember is just to dial away. I miss your no-nonsense ring tone, your

very long twisty cord, and listening in to an extension phone. The clear phone is your daughter, which by the way is also a grandma now. 

I miss the old times. Too bad today's generation never got to experience you. 

Your memory is now reduced to being a cool smartphone add-on (a phone handset connected to the smartphone, how insulting!) 

Images: 1 | 2

4 Awesomely Cute Party Themes

If you are planning a party, get inspired by these awesome finds I found on the web.

Lots of designs to choose from and you can just play around with the decor with just as few design elements in mind. 

1. Honey Bee Birthday

Key Design: Polka Dot & Stripes (Black,Yellow, White)

2. Turquoise Barbie Party

Key Design: Polka Dot & Stripes (Turquoise, Black, White)

3. Red Wagon Party

Key Design: Polka Dot & Stripes, Chevron (Red, White, Baby Blues)

4. Vintage Party

Key Design: Anything Vintage; Bottles, Pitcher, Plates, Mason Jar Lamps, Typewriter as Guest Log,  Macaroons etc.

Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Tech Obituary: The Manual Typewriter

I miss you manual typewriter. I miss replacing your ribbon. I miss getting my hands all smudgy with the ink. That I have to manually replace the black ribbon with the red (which is such a bother) only so I can play around with the color of my typed letters. You cannot make letters in bold so to compensate, I have to capitalize the letters or put asterisks before and after that word. I miss hearing the sound of you reaching the end of the margin. I miss holding the lever to drag it all the way to the left again to start a new row, and adjusting the knob on the side for the paragraph spacing. I miss the feel of pressing the letters firmly (like I'm mad) so the carbon copy inserted beneath the paper can be easily read. Sometimes when your letters get stuck, all I have to do is pull down the jammed letters back to their original place, one by one. 

I miss pulling the paper out of you and feeling the letters at the back of the paper like it's braille. 

I miss the simple times. I miss you manual typewriter. 

It's a shame, today's generation never got to experience you.      

Image: 1

How to Découpage!

Decoupage! From the French verb découper, meaning 'to cut out'. 

It is decorating a certain object by gluing colored paper cut-outs and even combining other elements such as dried leaf or anything flat that can be glued in and covering them with several coats of varnish right after. This art go all the way back from the 17th or 18th Century, however the art of Decoupage was already known in Asia way before that time. Marie Antoinette and Madame de Pompadour were among those who became practitioners of the art. Mary Delany became one of the remarkable artists during her time even chosen by the Queen Charlotte for her 

wonderfully crafted Decoupage works mostly done by hand and botanically inspired.

So how does one Decoupage?

First, you'll be needing the following:

• White Glue or Mod Podge
• Small Paintbrush
• Sponge Paintbrush
• Scissor
• Old Comics, Magazine Cut-Outs, Vintage Maps, or Cloth Patterns

Instructions: 
• Put a small amount of glue or mod podge on the prepared surface. (Surface should be clean)
• Smooth out the glue out using the sponge paintbrush.
• Before putting your cut-outs to the surface, apply a small amount of glue at the back of it
• Place it onto the surface and smooth it out to avoid any wrinkles or bubbles.
• For style you may opt to arrange your cut-outs in a horizontal direction overlapping one another, or you may just randomly place the cut-outs till all of the surface is covered.
• Apply several coats of glue over the cut-outs, making sure that each coats dry in between.
• For a glossy finish, you may use clear varnish and a final coat of acrylic sealant to make it durable.

Some Samples of Decoupage Work for Inspiration:

My personal challenge would be to do all of these myself! 

Phew, sounds like a lot of work but I will definitely post photos of my own Decoupage here. 

Be posting them soon! 

Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Nickolas Muray: Portrait of an Artist

The Famous Frida Kahlo Photography by Nicholas Muray


Nickolas Muray apart from being a famous photographer, is also famous for his love affair with Frida Kahlo (with the famous unibrow shown on top). She became one of his main subjects for his photography and a lot of those are considered masterpieces now.
I wonder why famous photographers don't get to have wonderful shots of themselves, its so unfair, they have excellent photos of others but never of themselves. ☺
He is considered the "Master of the three-color Carbro Process" which was pretty famous back then but proven over the years to be a health hazard in photography.

The main hazards of carbro and three-color carbro printing result from exposure to the bromide developer and to the sensitizer for the carbon tissue.

Amidol is used as the developer and is a strong skin and respiratory irritant that causes severe skin allergies and bronchial asthma. The compound is also a systemic poison and can be absorbed through skin to cause severe systemic damage.

The sensitizer used is a Potassium Dichromate which is suspected human carcinogen. The Bromide powders are more hazardous by inhalation.

The magenta reducing solution containing methyl alcohol is highly toxic by ingestion and hazardous by skin contact and by inhalation, not to mention being a Fire Hazard.

More info on this check out the book: Overexposure

I bet you'll forget all about the above info once you delve into these amazing photos done through three-color carbro process.

I can't imagine how one won't adore these images. Looking at all the wonderful pieces they left behind from that era, I can gaze at these photographs all day.

Pretty swell pictures huh? I'll bring in more good stuff next time. Have a good weekday ahead!

(Source: Clemusart, Overexposure, Eastmanhouse, Worldsangha, Flickr)