Dog + Letterpress

I'm so excited to announce two of my favorite things brought together this month! My art print collab with Natalia of Design Lab Creative Studio is now up on my etsy just in time for the holidays. A portion of the sales will benefit The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. Nat also has the print up on her online store, buying from either place will benefit the same cause. We're all about sharing the love :)

In more dog+letterpress news, the current issue of Bark Magazine features a great article about my two favorite topics of convo. I was lucky enough to be brought into the mix as my shop was the backdrop for the photos in the article (how cool is that?). Nat and I were serendipitously brought together as she and her husband Bill took the photos and designed the article. This small creative world keeps getting smaller. Max even makes a cameo (that's him in the center on the right page)!

More info of the process can be read on her blog post here.

This is a really special tribute to our four-legged-friends, I'm so proud to be a part of the print and the article. Thanks for your support! xo

To Japan with Love

I donated a few special edition prints that I published here at Olive-Route to bluemoon letterpress in Japan. They are putting together an exhibit called Letterpress of Pray to help raise awareness and funds to aid tsunami and earthquake relief efforts.

The exhibit site is up, I know it's mostly in Japanese! But please take a moment to check out my artists as well as the other exhibitors in the show. Thank you Nat, Jane & Hillary for the inspiration!

On Press: Animal art prints

Hot off the presses...These are some process pics of some art collaborations I have coming up!

This 3-piece set of animal prints were illustrated by good friend Hillary Huffard who has been part of the Olive-Route team for the past couple of years. I'm producing these prints to help promote her as the amazing artist that she is :) Hillary will be watercoloring each print by hand and we're hoping to show and sell them locally soon. Details to come!

OllyDog

Our friends at 35 Summers took this photo of the OllyDog booth a couple of weeks ago when they attended the Outdoor Retailer's trade show in Utah. They designed packaging for a new running leash where Max and I made a little cameo :) Here we are in life-size form! You'll see us soon at your local pet retailer and REI stores. Coolio.

From Max's Perspective...

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. April has been a very busy month and I've been tied up with printing, design work, wedding season, shop happenings, etc...

I've been meaning to share some fun photos that my friends Nat & Bill took from my cake party a few weeks ago. They are the awesome husband+wife team behind Photo lab Pet Photography and they do beautiful work. So naturally, a lot of their shots of the cake party were of Max! I thought it would be nice to share the event from his perspective. And why not? He's a huge part of Olive-Route--he meets and greets clients, guards the shop, gives good cuddles, and just an overall awesome companion :)


My friend Anna nicknamed him Mr. Mustache and it stuck! We now call him that along with the official title "Director of HR for Olive-Route Press."

Open Studio: Playdate with Hannah and Seymour

Today, the original crew was back together: Me, Max, Hannah & Seymour. Hannah Berman is the lady behind Pie Bird Press, a little card company that is 100% a reflection of her--sweet, cute, fun, and truly one-of-a-kind. Hannah was my very first shopmate, we've gone through business ups and downs together, raised puppies at the shop together and shared countless stories about boys, friends, family and pop culture gossip all while listening to Justin Timberlake's first album :)

Open Studio: Anna and Blue

I had a fun playdate with my friend Anna Ji and her pup Blue for open studio the other day. I met her through a previous client who thought it would be a good idea for us to meet and network. Anna and I have a lot in common-both graphic designers who have gone through formal training with old-school mentors. Hers being in calligraphy and mine with letterpress.

The Regulars

I had a great open studio today with my friend Anna and her pup Blue! I will post about it soon so make sure to check back in. In the meantime, I thought I'd post about my neighbor Michele and his pup Lisa who are regular visitors at my shop and stopped by this afternoon.




















Michele is a retired Chez Panisse chef who now spends his days playing golf, fishing, and walking his beloved bichon Mona Lisa. She and Max are good pals and when the two are running around the shop, I get to visit with my friend and listen to lots of stories of just about anything from pizza to butterfly migration. Whether or not the stories are truth or fiction doesn't really matter, it's the company that counts :)

Here are all three dogs today (including Blue the corgie). So cute!


















Anyone who has been to my shop to hang out has probably met Michele once or twice and got the chance to listen to him tell animated stories with his lovely Italian accent and delightful smile. So today's story was about how he "baptized" the name of a local pizza restaurant owned by his friend Charlie called Pizzaiolo. And because of this, he's gotten some free delicious meals and wine from his fellow chef-mate :)

Here he is in mid-storytelling...


















And when I'm lucky, I get to receive a loaf of freshly made bread from the chef himself! It's all about sharing the love of food around here--life of a printer (near the Gourmet Ghetto) definitely has it's perks...

Random fun with Anjel: Where in the World is Maxie San Mateo?

Having fun with Max's cards :) I gave Anjel a bunch to take with her during her travels...

Here he is at Red Rock!
























For more pics of Maxie's whereabouts, visit their flickr here.

Look Ma, I'm Famous!

Also yesterday, I found another surprise. I was at my local Paper-Source buying paper when I encountered this display! This is just not any yorkie, it's MY yorkie--MAX! My friend Hannah of PieBird Press designed this a while ago and used Max's picture as her inspiration.

























Here's the original picture, it's amazing how well she captured Max's likeness. He just got a haircut right before this photo was taken and usually wears his hair longer. For more cuteness, you can see more here :)

Design + Print: Doggies in Frame

I've had requests in the past of clients wanting their beloved pets to be included on their invites. Me being a dog-lover myself, I totally understand this. As a designer, integrating these cuddly animals can get a little tricky.

But I love how these ended up, their "cameo" was subtle and sweet :)