Sunday I spent the entire day with Eric. In the morning we went to breakfast with Joe and then left to hang at his place where I promptly feel asleep. When I awoke I looked at his vintage type catalouge and "porched it" until dinner. We went to Indian food, which was bought with some of the poster money I made at the show.
Monday I cleaned. For nine hours. I cleaned the Pistol. I cleaned the apartment. I cleaned the stairs. I cleaned the bathroom. I did the dishes, the windows, and everything I set my eyes on. needless to say byt the end of the day, I was very tired.
Tuesday included more printing. This time a bee calender. Amazingly I finished them completely, from yellow to silver to black. Now they're ready to sell at First Friday. After work I went to Barnes and Noble, picked up some books and came home to read.
Showing posts with label porching it. Show all posts
Showing posts with label porching it. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Movin' and Groovin'
Jen, from Hammerpress, and her boyfriend are moving in together and I thought I'd spread the moving help karma and volunteered my services.
Jen's old apartment is on the third floor of a stair entrance only building. I was wondering how I was going to work off eating at the pizza buffet the night earlier, but that problem was solved for me.
I arrived at noon and a half hour later another pair of Jen's friends joined the work force, followed by another couple an hour or so later. With the seven of us, it took maybe three hours to load everything up in the U-Haul and four cars. Car was brimming with art she'd collected from working at a frame shop, gallery, and of course Hammerpress.
It took maybe an hour to unload everything into her beautiful and expansive new place. Jen is living on the second floor of an old home on the corner of a lovely tree lined street. The kitchen is very large and has built in cabinets. There is a dining room with a rounded wall almost over take by windows, hardwood floors, and a Kansas City must - a porch.
After everything was finished we porched it - eating Papa Murphy's, drinking PBR and talking about Kansas City.
I said my goodbyes a little after 5 and came home to take a nap before preparing for a soiree.
After a nap, some non productive watching of Golden Girls, and going in circles with my redneck comps, I finally got ready for Madeline's (the woman who runs the zine around here) 30th birthday party.
The invite said black tie, so I dressed up in my black pencil skirt, gold tank top (with sequin trim), red shimmery cardigan, and my new fabulous black sequin barrett. Even before I arrived at the party I received many compliments from some wedding guests next door. (Speaking of wedding, it was all vintage themed and they had ribbon dancers, the type that hang from the ceiling, as entertainment)
When we arrived, many people had not followed the invite's orders and were dressed very casually. However, a few people, like Halliday, did dress up and looked great.
We partied late and I ended up staying over and cooking a breakfast of my go-to spicy potatoes. They went over well.
Anyways, it was a great birthday party, and a wonderful Saturday.
Jen's old apartment is on the third floor of a stair entrance only building. I was wondering how I was going to work off eating at the pizza buffet the night earlier, but that problem was solved for me.
I arrived at noon and a half hour later another pair of Jen's friends joined the work force, followed by another couple an hour or so later. With the seven of us, it took maybe three hours to load everything up in the U-Haul and four cars. Car was brimming with art she'd collected from working at a frame shop, gallery, and of course Hammerpress.
It took maybe an hour to unload everything into her beautiful and expansive new place. Jen is living on the second floor of an old home on the corner of a lovely tree lined street. The kitchen is very large and has built in cabinets. There is a dining room with a rounded wall almost over take by windows, hardwood floors, and a Kansas City must - a porch.
After everything was finished we porched it - eating Papa Murphy's, drinking PBR and talking about Kansas City.
I said my goodbyes a little after 5 and came home to take a nap before preparing for a soiree.
After a nap, some non productive watching of Golden Girls, and going in circles with my redneck comps, I finally got ready for Madeline's (the woman who runs the zine around here) 30th birthday party.
The invite said black tie, so I dressed up in my black pencil skirt, gold tank top (with sequin trim), red shimmery cardigan, and my new fabulous black sequin barrett. Even before I arrived at the party I received many compliments from some wedding guests next door. (Speaking of wedding, it was all vintage themed and they had ribbon dancers, the type that hang from the ceiling, as entertainment)
When we arrived, many people had not followed the invite's orders and were dressed very casually. However, a few people, like Halliday, did dress up and looked great.
We partied late and I ended up staying over and cooking a breakfast of my go-to spicy potatoes. They went over well.
Anyways, it was a great birthday party, and a wonderful Saturday.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Finally...
Okay, so I hate going back and writing updates, I need to get in the swing of writing every morning instead of a week after. So instead of writing a whole post for every two days or so, like I've been intending, here is a choppy yet full update from the last week.
Here is a quick recap of the last week:
- Was hired at the Gap after an interview (pwned it) and had Urban Outfitters fall over themselves to get me into an interview (semi pwned it, if only I could capture that hipster spirit).
- Following day had JCrew ask me in for an interview, pwned that one too.
- Possible manager (keyholder) position to be had at Gap.
- Power went out - candles?
- Started illustration project - chose "redneck" as slang term
- Poster for Hearts of Darkness
- Date with guy from Craigslist - hails from a small town in Nebraska, a little too into politics...
- Hot haircut then rockabilly night. Now I look like I'm over 18; plus no more split ends (yey!).
- Going through too much eyeliner phase
- Cut Copy, LCD Soundsystem, Rolling Stones
- Power and Light District - stinks!
- New bar in West Bottoms, ran into Brady, again....
- American Royal time! BBQ weekend is fast approaching.
- Typesetting! (Coming soon). Printing calenders for now.
- Card stuffing - gigantic christmas orders.
- Collaboration with Eric (Coming soon)
- Adam (V.) to be visiting - next week ?!?!
- West Bottoms bike rides and evenings "porching it" with stuffed peppers wrapped in bacon (omg!)
- Lost inch and a half from hips - tuna based diet is working
- Oh, and riding my bike to work, that helps too.
Here is a quick recap of the last week:
- Was hired at the Gap after an interview (pwned it) and had Urban Outfitters fall over themselves to get me into an interview (semi pwned it, if only I could capture that hipster spirit).
- Following day had JCrew ask me in for an interview, pwned that one too.
- Possible manager (keyholder) position to be had at Gap.
- Power went out - candles?
- Started illustration project - chose "redneck" as slang term
- Poster for Hearts of Darkness
- Date with guy from Craigslist - hails from a small town in Nebraska, a little too into politics...
- Hot haircut then rockabilly night. Now I look like I'm over 18; plus no more split ends (yey!).
- Going through too much eyeliner phase
- Cut Copy, LCD Soundsystem, Rolling Stones
- Power and Light District - stinks!
- New bar in West Bottoms, ran into Brady, again....
- American Royal time! BBQ weekend is fast approaching.
- Typesetting! (Coming soon). Printing calenders for now.
- Card stuffing - gigantic christmas orders.
- Collaboration with Eric (Coming soon)
- Adam (V.) to be visiting - next week ?!?!
- West Bottoms bike rides and evenings "porching it" with stuffed peppers wrapped in bacon (omg!)
- Lost inch and a half from hips - tuna based diet is working
- Oh, and riding my bike to work, that helps too.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Majorly needed update - part uno
Okay, so I know that I owe some major blogging. It has been about a week and a half since I updated. I've been kept very busy, and the longer I postponed updating, the more I wanted to keep putting it off, but now I'm sitting in a hotel room with little else to do and I might as well make up for lost time.
Now where was I....
Sunday, July 12th - was a roomie hang out day. Originally I was going to work on my zine and illustration projects but Uriah dropped by and fixed the bike he'd given me. We cleaned the rust off the chain and he reassembled it so that an inaugural ride around the West Bottoms was due.
Joe and Uriah's friend Tyler joined us for a ride to the Kemper Arena, where we got booted by the typical, fat, lazy, security guard in a golf cart. While tempted to ride circles around him, we left in a respectful manner and headed to some of the sketchier, industrial places in the West Bottoms. We crosses two bridges and probably ended up riding ten to fifteen miles through various Bottoms sites before we tired.
Around sundown, we all decided our hunger was enough for cheap Mexican and the guys took me to the infamous Pancho's 24 hour burrito joint. There, we talked about girls and their crafty ways until Uriah's girlfriend Jenny called.
The evening was spent at Jenny's place, porching it and enjoying the night air. When Jenny and I fell asleep, it was time to go home.
Monday, July 13th - Tyler called and he came over for another Bottoms bike ride. Uriah and Joe were out, so it ended up being just the two of us. Tyler works for the airlines and therefore gets free flights out of KCI. We talked about the places we'd been and where we wanted to go until our stomachs rumbled. Somehow it came up that I'd never had K.C. barbecue, and Tyler insisted we rectify that.
There are two places in Kansas City that compete for the Kansas City title of BBQ Ruler - Oklahoma Joe's and Arthur Bryants. Oklahoma Joe's is more kitchy, located in a gas station and very popular with out-of-towners. Arthur Bryant's is more traditional restaurant style, but has been around longer. Tyler took me to Oklahoma Joe's.
I had the pulled pork, medium heat. Not impressed. I've had honest, backyard, grassroots, barbecue, and I imagine it is going to be hard to beat. ***sidenote - Carolina BBQ = vinegar and meat based vs. KC BBQ = sweet and sauce based.***
Tuesday, July 14th - Went to Hammerpress and worked on folding cards as well as the first layer of Brady's new Neko Case poster, for her show on Sunday, July 19th - done in all metallics with an Illustration by Matt. I don't remember what I did that night, but something tells me it included falling asleep early.
Wednesday, July 15th - Worked on the third layer of the Neko Case poster (Brady has done the second the previous night). I also packaged orders and cleaned up the shop.
After work I went to the rehearsal for my show that coming Sunday. Didn't I mention I was going to be in a show? No? Well, last month, Halliday and I went out to see a dance troupe called Two Gun preform. The silly person I am, said; "Hey! I can do that!" and volunteered to guest spot at their next show which happened to be Ex Post Facto.
I'd decided on a 1920's gangster themed act. On the previous Saturday, Halliday and I picked up my costume, Adam had mailed me my black wig and I was all but ready to go. The only thing I needed was music. The Ex Post Facto Show also included fashion designers, 30 plus models, and bands, in otherwords, the rehearsal was a feat of organization. I didn't need to do much, but it was good going and meeting everyone.
Post rehearsal, Ron paid me for my poster. Forty bucks! I know it isn't much, and certainly didn't cover the time I invested, but still, it was my first paid commission as a designer! Fourty bucks meant two for one burgers at the Brick. Halliday joined me and we didn't leave until late.
Thursday July 16th - was an interesting day at Hammerpress. Carla from PNCA showed up to ask for an intern position. Brady had never replied to her email. Taking the initiative, Carla decided to come in anyways. Brady's answer was "yes" and he set her up folding cards. I joined her for awhile before printing the first layer to some business cards on the treadle platen.
The evening was spent searching for better music (found it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdAt4qWvz_8) and practicing my routine in my costume.
Now where was I....
Sunday, July 12th - was a roomie hang out day. Originally I was going to work on my zine and illustration projects but Uriah dropped by and fixed the bike he'd given me. We cleaned the rust off the chain and he reassembled it so that an inaugural ride around the West Bottoms was due.
Joe and Uriah's friend Tyler joined us for a ride to the Kemper Arena, where we got booted by the typical, fat, lazy, security guard in a golf cart. While tempted to ride circles around him, we left in a respectful manner and headed to some of the sketchier, industrial places in the West Bottoms. We crosses two bridges and probably ended up riding ten to fifteen miles through various Bottoms sites before we tired.
Around sundown, we all decided our hunger was enough for cheap Mexican and the guys took me to the infamous Pancho's 24 hour burrito joint. There, we talked about girls and their crafty ways until Uriah's girlfriend Jenny called.
The evening was spent at Jenny's place, porching it and enjoying the night air. When Jenny and I fell asleep, it was time to go home.
Monday, July 13th - Tyler called and he came over for another Bottoms bike ride. Uriah and Joe were out, so it ended up being just the two of us. Tyler works for the airlines and therefore gets free flights out of KCI. We talked about the places we'd been and where we wanted to go until our stomachs rumbled. Somehow it came up that I'd never had K.C. barbecue, and Tyler insisted we rectify that.
There are two places in Kansas City that compete for the Kansas City title of BBQ Ruler - Oklahoma Joe's and Arthur Bryants. Oklahoma Joe's is more kitchy, located in a gas station and very popular with out-of-towners. Arthur Bryant's is more traditional restaurant style, but has been around longer. Tyler took me to Oklahoma Joe's.
I had the pulled pork, medium heat. Not impressed. I've had honest, backyard, grassroots, barbecue, and I imagine it is going to be hard to beat. ***sidenote - Carolina BBQ = vinegar and meat based vs. KC BBQ = sweet and sauce based.***
Tuesday, July 14th - Went to Hammerpress and worked on folding cards as well as the first layer of Brady's new Neko Case poster, for her show on Sunday, July 19th - done in all metallics with an Illustration by Matt. I don't remember what I did that night, but something tells me it included falling asleep early.
Wednesday, July 15th - Worked on the third layer of the Neko Case poster (Brady has done the second the previous night). I also packaged orders and cleaned up the shop.
After work I went to the rehearsal for my show that coming Sunday. Didn't I mention I was going to be in a show? No? Well, last month, Halliday and I went out to see a dance troupe called Two Gun preform. The silly person I am, said; "Hey! I can do that!" and volunteered to guest spot at their next show which happened to be Ex Post Facto.
I'd decided on a 1920's gangster themed act. On the previous Saturday, Halliday and I picked up my costume, Adam had mailed me my black wig and I was all but ready to go. The only thing I needed was music. The Ex Post Facto Show also included fashion designers, 30 plus models, and bands, in otherwords, the rehearsal was a feat of organization. I didn't need to do much, but it was good going and meeting everyone.
Post rehearsal, Ron paid me for my poster. Forty bucks! I know it isn't much, and certainly didn't cover the time I invested, but still, it was my first paid commission as a designer! Fourty bucks meant two for one burgers at the Brick. Halliday joined me and we didn't leave until late.
Thursday July 16th - was an interesting day at Hammerpress. Carla from PNCA showed up to ask for an intern position. Brady had never replied to her email. Taking the initiative, Carla decided to come in anyways. Brady's answer was "yes" and he set her up folding cards. I joined her for awhile before printing the first layer to some business cards on the treadle platen.
The evening was spent searching for better music (found it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdAt4qWvz_8) and practicing my routine in my costume.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Freakin' Fourth
Friday was started by heading out the fireworks alley and doing my thing. I come from a long line of fireworks hagglers (well, my dad.) and I don't no for an answer.
Fireworks alley is comprised of a bunch of small shacks turned into firework stores. There are probably ten to twelve all in a line. I parked at one and walked through a few before deciding on my end picks. I found that some stores specialized in family style vs. showy and other specialized in mid-size vs. large or small.
At the first place I went I found what I was looking for. A two foot tall package of kick-ass mortars. Only problem was the price - two hundred dollars, not feasible. The kid working there was trying hard to sell it to me but I knew I could find better so I went down the street.
The next place I went, I found the same firework for a quarter of the price. Not satisfied, I kept looking. The next place I found a bunch of mid-size fireworks on super discount, the sort of thing that was originally twenty is now 7.49.
In the end, I got Excalibur - the mortar shells - at quarter price with sparklers and firecrackers thrown in from one stand then Paint the Sky, some other cake, a tube mortar, ground blossoms, and roman candles from another guy. The tube mortar, ground blossoms, and roman candles were free. With a little bit of standing firm on free stuff and a dash of "this is my first fourth far away from home" a person can get pretty far in the fireworks department. I'll just say, I made my poppa proud.
After loading up on explosives, I went to Hammerpress to continue working on my zine cover. I finished printing the orange layer and the red-brown layer before I left to go find something to do. Oh, Brady gave me a key, that's how I got in.
My original plans with Halliday fell through and it started to look like I wouldn't find anyone to party with. I got kind of bummed as dark came and nothing looked promising. Around ten, Joe called and I met up with him at his boss' house. I had some pie and we stayed for about an hour before leaving for the next destination.
Erica was having a shindig at her house. There were probably around twenty to thirty people chilling at Erica's, just listening to music and setting off small fireworks. I laughed in the face of their sub-standard fireworks. We "porched it" and eventually I decided to pull out two of the "smaller" fireworks I had and show these people what real fire power looked like. My single mortar tube was first and pretty excellent. I will have to remember it for next year. It shot out with excellent report and exploded in to a nice green peony. The next was the smaller of my two cakes, which was alright. It was just like any other mid-range cake, though it made good noise.
Halliday called and said she was going to show at Erica's and I waited for her to arrive, but then left shortly after. I was kind of tired of the party and wanted to find people that could really appreciate big fireworks, the West Bottoms was bound to have some. I left Joe behind since he wasn't finished.
Back home, Zack from downstairs was hanging out setting off bottle rockets with some of his friends. I pulled out my second cake - which ended up being mostly noise, and then got out the big guns. Excalibur was probably worth the two hundred it was originally priced at. The mortars were loud with explosive, wide, colorful blooms. The warehouses on either side of the street amplified the sound to make them worth every penny I paid and far more. Each one was different. I set off eighteen out of twenty four, some two at a time to make for a fabulous show.
While it wasn't the best fourth ever, the night did pan out to go pretty nicely. Funny how what I was looking for was outside my own front door.
Fireworks alley is comprised of a bunch of small shacks turned into firework stores. There are probably ten to twelve all in a line. I parked at one and walked through a few before deciding on my end picks. I found that some stores specialized in family style vs. showy and other specialized in mid-size vs. large or small.
At the first place I went I found what I was looking for. A two foot tall package of kick-ass mortars. Only problem was the price - two hundred dollars, not feasible. The kid working there was trying hard to sell it to me but I knew I could find better so I went down the street.
The next place I went, I found the same firework for a quarter of the price. Not satisfied, I kept looking. The next place I found a bunch of mid-size fireworks on super discount, the sort of thing that was originally twenty is now 7.49.
In the end, I got Excalibur - the mortar shells - at quarter price with sparklers and firecrackers thrown in from one stand then Paint the Sky, some other cake, a tube mortar, ground blossoms, and roman candles from another guy. The tube mortar, ground blossoms, and roman candles were free. With a little bit of standing firm on free stuff and a dash of "this is my first fourth far away from home" a person can get pretty far in the fireworks department. I'll just say, I made my poppa proud.
After loading up on explosives, I went to Hammerpress to continue working on my zine cover. I finished printing the orange layer and the red-brown layer before I left to go find something to do. Oh, Brady gave me a key, that's how I got in.
My original plans with Halliday fell through and it started to look like I wouldn't find anyone to party with. I got kind of bummed as dark came and nothing looked promising. Around ten, Joe called and I met up with him at his boss' house. I had some pie and we stayed for about an hour before leaving for the next destination.
Erica was having a shindig at her house. There were probably around twenty to thirty people chilling at Erica's, just listening to music and setting off small fireworks. I laughed in the face of their sub-standard fireworks. We "porched it" and eventually I decided to pull out two of the "smaller" fireworks I had and show these people what real fire power looked like. My single mortar tube was first and pretty excellent. I will have to remember it for next year. It shot out with excellent report and exploded in to a nice green peony. The next was the smaller of my two cakes, which was alright. It was just like any other mid-range cake, though it made good noise.
Halliday called and said she was going to show at Erica's and I waited for her to arrive, but then left shortly after. I was kind of tired of the party and wanted to find people that could really appreciate big fireworks, the West Bottoms was bound to have some. I left Joe behind since he wasn't finished.
Back home, Zack from downstairs was hanging out setting off bottle rockets with some of his friends. I pulled out my second cake - which ended up being mostly noise, and then got out the big guns. Excalibur was probably worth the two hundred it was originally priced at. The mortars were loud with explosive, wide, colorful blooms. The warehouses on either side of the street amplified the sound to make them worth every penny I paid and far more. Each one was different. I set off eighteen out of twenty four, some two at a time to make for a fabulous show.
While it wasn't the best fourth ever, the night did pan out to go pretty nicely. Funny how what I was looking for was outside my own front door.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The heat smothered me in my bed
I meant to finish my post last night, but I came home and just plain passed out. I think my brain was fried a little from the humidity.
Anyway back to Monday night and then I'll sum up Tuesday.
The Power and Light District is a large outdoor complex that hold a great deal of bars and restaurants. There is a plaza with a fountain that bands play from time to time. If Pacific Place, in Seattle, was outdoors and just the food court section, you'd have the Power and Light District. It is a contrived meeting place that has locals either loving it or hating it. Come to think of it, downtown Disney has a similar vibe, but with out the shops , take that how you will.
P & L takes the place of parking lots and old buildings that were coming into disuse. I've said before that Kansas City is going through a revitalization phase, Power and Light was an attempt to bring people to a downtown that once wasn't used after five and business was finished. It is a modern move and happening across America, not just here, but Joe mentioned that any local color that was there, has been lost.
AMC has headquarters in Kansas City, but until Power and Light, didn't have a theater to match. Now they do. I didn't expect anything unusual when I went, the theater on Main was the only one I'd seen. Stepping inside, I knew something was different. First I was greeted with a two or three story entry, giant chandelier and marble-like floors with famous movie quotes set within. Although it was the seat assignment that said I was someplace different. A symphonic hall would have made more sense for the atmosphere. A full scale bar and restaurant added to the effect. The theater itself was probably the largest I've ever been in, and had a screen to match. Everything was very classy, and except for the screen in front of me, if you'd shown me the room otherwise I would not have guessed it was for movies.
Up was good, I agree with Trillian's review so I'll post it here: "Up was a really wonderful movie. A wonderful little story about an old man attaching balloons to his house and traveling to South America to fulfill his late wife's desire for adventure. There were talking animals and large birds and plenty of heartfelt moments that were not overwrought in the slightest. Highly recommended!" The only thing I'd add, is the dogs flying planes were a little much, then again, how else was the guy supposed to have a fighter squad?
Tuesday, June 2nd
I spend yesterday in a very hot and very muggy Hammerpress putting together rep packages. Lame. Brady apologized, but stressed the importance and money they'll bring when finished. On Thursday he is going to take Wendy and I out for drinks, or at least buy drinks and bring them to us, in exchange for our diligent efforts.
Thunderstorms were on the horizon all day long, and it finally rained around 2, dramatically cooling the air off. Last night was almost cold.
The evening was spent at Halliday and Danielle's. Danielle is part of a potluck group that meets every other Tuesday at rotating houses, it was her turn to host. Alas, this weekend she broke her wrist, so I helped her make sweet potato fries and finish her cake. A large group of people arrived, probably twenty or so. The food was excellent and Halliday's spring rolls were a hit. The sweet potato fries could have used more garlic.
Around ten I bowed out and meant to come home and finish this blog and Joe's poster, but Flora and I bedded down to a short nap that turned into a night's sleep.
Now Flora is meowing outside my door, probably wanting to come shed on me. Tonight, the Pistol hosts the first show of my stay. We'll see how that goes.
Anyway back to Monday night and then I'll sum up Tuesday.
The Power and Light District is a large outdoor complex that hold a great deal of bars and restaurants. There is a plaza with a fountain that bands play from time to time. If Pacific Place, in Seattle, was outdoors and just the food court section, you'd have the Power and Light District. It is a contrived meeting place that has locals either loving it or hating it. Come to think of it, downtown Disney has a similar vibe, but with out the shops , take that how you will.
P & L takes the place of parking lots and old buildings that were coming into disuse. I've said before that Kansas City is going through a revitalization phase, Power and Light was an attempt to bring people to a downtown that once wasn't used after five and business was finished. It is a modern move and happening across America, not just here, but Joe mentioned that any local color that was there, has been lost.
AMC has headquarters in Kansas City, but until Power and Light, didn't have a theater to match. Now they do. I didn't expect anything unusual when I went, the theater on Main was the only one I'd seen. Stepping inside, I knew something was different. First I was greeted with a two or three story entry, giant chandelier and marble-like floors with famous movie quotes set within. Although it was the seat assignment that said I was someplace different. A symphonic hall would have made more sense for the atmosphere. A full scale bar and restaurant added to the effect. The theater itself was probably the largest I've ever been in, and had a screen to match. Everything was very classy, and except for the screen in front of me, if you'd shown me the room otherwise I would not have guessed it was for movies.
Up was good, I agree with Trillian's review so I'll post it here: "Up was a really wonderful movie. A wonderful little story about an old man attaching balloons to his house and traveling to South America to fulfill his late wife's desire for adventure. There were talking animals and large birds and plenty of heartfelt moments that were not overwrought in the slightest. Highly recommended!" The only thing I'd add, is the dogs flying planes were a little much, then again, how else was the guy supposed to have a fighter squad?
Tuesday, June 2nd
I spend yesterday in a very hot and very muggy Hammerpress putting together rep packages. Lame. Brady apologized, but stressed the importance and money they'll bring when finished. On Thursday he is going to take Wendy and I out for drinks, or at least buy drinks and bring them to us, in exchange for our diligent efforts.
Thunderstorms were on the horizon all day long, and it finally rained around 2, dramatically cooling the air off. Last night was almost cold.
The evening was spent at Halliday and Danielle's. Danielle is part of a potluck group that meets every other Tuesday at rotating houses, it was her turn to host. Alas, this weekend she broke her wrist, so I helped her make sweet potato fries and finish her cake. A large group of people arrived, probably twenty or so. The food was excellent and Halliday's spring rolls were a hit. The sweet potato fries could have used more garlic.
Around ten I bowed out and meant to come home and finish this blog and Joe's poster, but Flora and I bedded down to a short nap that turned into a night's sleep.
Now Flora is meowing outside my door, probably wanting to come shed on me. Tonight, the Pistol hosts the first show of my stay. We'll see how that goes.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Catching up - Part 3
Finally, I have time to write about the good stuff.
Hammerpress
is the dream I thought it would be.
Hammerpress consists of five people. Brady Vest is the founder/boss and does most of the printing. He and Matt are the only full time employees. Matt works on a lot of the computer designs with Jen, who is increasing her hours to help the work load. Wendy is a older lady who does all the shop keeping and organization that is needed for their store. Finally Bobby is another printer who comes in a works on Fridays and Saturdays. I haven't met him since he was off this Friday.
The shop is going through a change. The bread and butter of Hammerpress is wedding invitations. A custom designed, handset wedding invite costs around 3500 dollars. The pricing is new as well. From what people have been saying, not many people understand what it is that Brady does, well people looking for wedding invitations that is. Brady said what he does is more like painting than printing. When people ask for one of his creations they are asking for a piece of fine art and apparently that doesn't sit well with most. Along with the new higher price, there is a waver customers sign off on saying they are okay with signing off on a drawing, since by the time Brady has a proof it is too late for major changes.
The newer option is a computer designed invite which is then printed using a metal plate ordered from Michigan. Most of the design elements used in the computer designs are from existing type that has been scanned in, thus still retaining an element of the hand-done. Though, this too takes time. Jen estimated a custom invite take four to five days to finish. Since invites is not all Hammerpress does, they are attempting to streamline the process by creating twelve layouts customers can choose from, then customize with their names and wedding colors. Those will be out in June.
Hammerpress does a great deal of design work for businesses too. Anything from posters and menus to cd covers and business cards. Some is handset, some is computer made, it all depends on the price bracket. Brady does almost all of the handset design work and almost no design work on the computer.
Posters are to Hammerpress somewhat as stocks are to a persons paycheck. They don't make much at the time of printing but payoff over a longer period. Brady mentioned that there are four or so to be done in the time span that I'll be here and that I'll get to work on those when they come up.
Stationary is the last part of Hammerpress and a large part of their business. I'll get into more of that as I describe what I do around the shop.
Wednesday, May 27th
Upon arrival I was taken on a tour of the shop. The front room is a store where prints, cards, and some things that Brady thinks to be interesting reside. Brady is a self proclaimed pack rat and so the decor is a little garage sale chic. Although anyone who knows my taste should know that is not a bad thing. The office is to the left of the door and that is where all design work takes place.
The back half of the shop is where all the printing happens. Hammerpress has nine presses, three of which are Ruths (Vandercook Universal I). It also has a jaw dropping amount of type. Brady has accumulated so much type he has to store some of it in his backroom because he doesn't have room in the studio. I think I might have drooled when I was looking through their drawers. For those of you who looked at Abra's type catalogue, you know that page where all the circus and western fonts were? Yeah, that's Brady's type cabinet. He even has a few alphabets of wooden fonts that must be a good five or six inches in length. There are just about as many crazy ornaments and vintage image blocks as there is type. Brady gets his type from a variety of locations, auctions, eBay, Craigslist, and some of it is new from the foundry in San Francisco. His type is his pride and joy and rightfully so.
Brady returned from a large stationary trade show in New York a day or two before I arrived. Through shows like that and representatives is how he sells his product to other stores. Once, through the New York show, Urban Outfitters hired him for a job of printing 25,000 alphabet cards.
Anyway, Wednesday was spend folding cards and preparing orders that came out of the show. Wendy helped me and showed me the ins and outs of packaging. She also offered up some ideas about where I should go around town.
***!* for anyone who wants Hammerpress ephemera, you should contact me. Make-readies and old merchandise are all at my disposal. There is a whole backroom full of stuff that Brady intends on just throwing out if anyone isn't interested in it. Old wedding invites are up for grabs too. I know that sounds funny, but they are some of the coolest stuff there. *!***
That night I intended to make dinner for my roommates, but I fell asleep and the gas went out until June 1st. So no cooking for me.
Thursday, May 28th
This day I spent printing. I printed 300 plus wedding invitations for a friend of Brady and about the same for some cd packaging. I've already learned a few things:
- most of Hammerpress' work is on cardstock. It's cheap and takes printing well. Some design work is on different types of paper, but a fair amount is on simple cheap cardstock.
- designing at an angle on the press bed is not as hard as it looks, just time consuming. One also needs a wooden corner to build off of, but I think something like that could easily be made for PNCA.
- every press has a character of it's own, no matter where you go.
In the evening Joe and I went over to Halliday and her roommate Danielle's where Halliday made a delicious stirfry for us. We had some wine and sat around enjoying the evening until Joe and I left for a succession of houses where I met a bunch of people.
The night capped off at this house where we "porched it". Somehow it felt like a flashback to a 1920's speakeasy- if I could flashback to the 1920's. That feeling probably had to do with the girls who lived there. They were flappers a bit in look and much in spirit.
I learned about the zine culture of Kansas City, which is very little. I was invited to submit to two coming out this month and I think I will. I need to work on mine, I'm not sure what the topic will be on. Oh - in all of this I went to a place called the Arts INKubator Press and will be taking part in their co-op for the summer. That's where I'll be screen printing.
Friday, May 29th
More rep packaging today. A great deal of rep packaging actually. Jen was helping me put things together and said that this is a once a year occurrence that means big business. Eventually Hammerpress intends to do all of their sales to stores through representatives.
About mid morning bus loads of people came through Crossroads from a convention happening at the Art Institute Kansas City (AIKC), so I didn't get much done but sales were great. I stayed late and hung out talking for a bit. Jen and I are going to go thrift storing on Monday, which will be great since for once in my life I didn't pack enough.
The Led Zeppelin themed party consisted of a bunch of people with one thespian hostess dressed up in a velvet jump suit and some music videos playing in the background. Around ten we went to Davey's Bar to see some bands. The show was rocking, at least the first two bands that played, by the time the third was on, it was one am and I was getting tired, so the last two didn't strike my fancy in the same way.
After, we grabbed some Mexican food and then I was dropped off to go to sleep.
now here I am. There is a cat name Flora demanding my attention and shedding great piles of hair, all over my bed, in revenge for not getting it. I need to go get ready. Later I am having a grand tour from Halliday and I think I'm going to go stare at some trains.
My first week was fantastic. Hammerpress is inspiring, laid back, and welcoming. The Pistol is a ready made social network that I am welcome and included in. My weeks here are already getting booked with a potluck, fashion show, first Friday, and a trip to St. Louis on the horizon. Good things are happening.
p.s. one of my oldest friends (dating back to elementary school) lives and hour and a half away. Going to go see him sometime too.
Hammerpress
is the dream I thought it would be.
Hammerpress consists of five people. Brady Vest is the founder/boss and does most of the printing. He and Matt are the only full time employees. Matt works on a lot of the computer designs with Jen, who is increasing her hours to help the work load. Wendy is a older lady who does all the shop keeping and organization that is needed for their store. Finally Bobby is another printer who comes in a works on Fridays and Saturdays. I haven't met him since he was off this Friday.
The shop is going through a change. The bread and butter of Hammerpress is wedding invitations. A custom designed, handset wedding invite costs around 3500 dollars. The pricing is new as well. From what people have been saying, not many people understand what it is that Brady does, well people looking for wedding invitations that is. Brady said what he does is more like painting than printing. When people ask for one of his creations they are asking for a piece of fine art and apparently that doesn't sit well with most. Along with the new higher price, there is a waver customers sign off on saying they are okay with signing off on a drawing, since by the time Brady has a proof it is too late for major changes.
The newer option is a computer designed invite which is then printed using a metal plate ordered from Michigan. Most of the design elements used in the computer designs are from existing type that has been scanned in, thus still retaining an element of the hand-done. Though, this too takes time. Jen estimated a custom invite take four to five days to finish. Since invites is not all Hammerpress does, they are attempting to streamline the process by creating twelve layouts customers can choose from, then customize with their names and wedding colors. Those will be out in June.
Hammerpress does a great deal of design work for businesses too. Anything from posters and menus to cd covers and business cards. Some is handset, some is computer made, it all depends on the price bracket. Brady does almost all of the handset design work and almost no design work on the computer.
Posters are to Hammerpress somewhat as stocks are to a persons paycheck. They don't make much at the time of printing but payoff over a longer period. Brady mentioned that there are four or so to be done in the time span that I'll be here and that I'll get to work on those when they come up.
Stationary is the last part of Hammerpress and a large part of their business. I'll get into more of that as I describe what I do around the shop.
Wednesday, May 27th
Upon arrival I was taken on a tour of the shop. The front room is a store where prints, cards, and some things that Brady thinks to be interesting reside. Brady is a self proclaimed pack rat and so the decor is a little garage sale chic. Although anyone who knows my taste should know that is not a bad thing. The office is to the left of the door and that is where all design work takes place.
The back half of the shop is where all the printing happens. Hammerpress has nine presses, three of which are Ruths (Vandercook Universal I). It also has a jaw dropping amount of type. Brady has accumulated so much type he has to store some of it in his backroom because he doesn't have room in the studio. I think I might have drooled when I was looking through their drawers. For those of you who looked at Abra's type catalogue, you know that page where all the circus and western fonts were? Yeah, that's Brady's type cabinet. He even has a few alphabets of wooden fonts that must be a good five or six inches in length. There are just about as many crazy ornaments and vintage image blocks as there is type. Brady gets his type from a variety of locations, auctions, eBay, Craigslist, and some of it is new from the foundry in San Francisco. His type is his pride and joy and rightfully so.
Brady returned from a large stationary trade show in New York a day or two before I arrived. Through shows like that and representatives is how he sells his product to other stores. Once, through the New York show, Urban Outfitters hired him for a job of printing 25,000 alphabet cards.
Anyway, Wednesday was spend folding cards and preparing orders that came out of the show. Wendy helped me and showed me the ins and outs of packaging. She also offered up some ideas about where I should go around town.
***!* for anyone who wants Hammerpress ephemera, you should contact me. Make-readies and old merchandise are all at my disposal. There is a whole backroom full of stuff that Brady intends on just throwing out if anyone isn't interested in it. Old wedding invites are up for grabs too. I know that sounds funny, but they are some of the coolest stuff there. *!***
That night I intended to make dinner for my roommates, but I fell asleep and the gas went out until June 1st. So no cooking for me.
Thursday, May 28th
This day I spent printing. I printed 300 plus wedding invitations for a friend of Brady and about the same for some cd packaging. I've already learned a few things:
- most of Hammerpress' work is on cardstock. It's cheap and takes printing well. Some design work is on different types of paper, but a fair amount is on simple cheap cardstock.
- designing at an angle on the press bed is not as hard as it looks, just time consuming. One also needs a wooden corner to build off of, but I think something like that could easily be made for PNCA.
- every press has a character of it's own, no matter where you go.
In the evening Joe and I went over to Halliday and her roommate Danielle's where Halliday made a delicious stirfry for us. We had some wine and sat around enjoying the evening until Joe and I left for a succession of houses where I met a bunch of people.
The night capped off at this house where we "porched it". Somehow it felt like a flashback to a 1920's speakeasy- if I could flashback to the 1920's. That feeling probably had to do with the girls who lived there. They were flappers a bit in look and much in spirit.
I learned about the zine culture of Kansas City, which is very little. I was invited to submit to two coming out this month and I think I will. I need to work on mine, I'm not sure what the topic will be on. Oh - in all of this I went to a place called the Arts INKubator Press and will be taking part in their co-op for the summer. That's where I'll be screen printing.
Friday, May 29th
More rep packaging today. A great deal of rep packaging actually. Jen was helping me put things together and said that this is a once a year occurrence that means big business. Eventually Hammerpress intends to do all of their sales to stores through representatives.
About mid morning bus loads of people came through Crossroads from a convention happening at the Art Institute Kansas City (AIKC), so I didn't get much done but sales were great. I stayed late and hung out talking for a bit. Jen and I are going to go thrift storing on Monday, which will be great since for once in my life I didn't pack enough.
The Led Zeppelin themed party consisted of a bunch of people with one thespian hostess dressed up in a velvet jump suit and some music videos playing in the background. Around ten we went to Davey's Bar to see some bands. The show was rocking, at least the first two bands that played, by the time the third was on, it was one am and I was getting tired, so the last two didn't strike my fancy in the same way.
After, we grabbed some Mexican food and then I was dropped off to go to sleep.
now here I am. There is a cat name Flora demanding my attention and shedding great piles of hair, all over my bed, in revenge for not getting it. I need to go get ready. Later I am having a grand tour from Halliday and I think I'm going to go stare at some trains.
My first week was fantastic. Hammerpress is inspiring, laid back, and welcoming. The Pistol is a ready made social network that I am welcome and included in. My weeks here are already getting booked with a potluck, fashion show, first Friday, and a trip to St. Louis on the horizon. Good things are happening.
p.s. one of my oldest friends (dating back to elementary school) lives and hour and a half away. Going to go see him sometime too.
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