Studio On Fire :: Letterpress

As soon as I heard that Studio on Fire was hosting a workshop I jumped on the opportunity! Good thing I did too because the it was sold out in a mere 2 hours. I cannot thank Ben, Salina, Eric, David (and two other workers) enough for allowing a group from AIGA MN to tour the studio, pick your brain and give the press a try.

I've known about this studio for a few years and they are constantly being featured on blogs all around the US, so I just thought they would have some huge luxury space. However, their space is pretty small in comparison to their reputation and gives it a feels that a lot of heart and sweat went into make it what it is today. They are very proud of what they do and absolutely love letterpress. Ben used to work a 40 hour work week at a firm and went home and did 40 more hours a week on his hobby, letterpress. He soon figured out that he could create a business out of this and Studio on Fire has been going strong for 10 years. (man, I hope that happens to me someday!)


Letterpress machines are pretty much ancient. It took a great deal of muscle to get one page, I could never imagine doing a thousand sheets without going to the gym to train first.


I cannot wait to letterpress something... so if you're looking to get something designed and printed this way let me know!

Studio on Fire Website, Blog
More photos on Flickr

Up North

This year the 4th of July celebration was eventful to say the least. Over 70 family members traveled from California, Texas, Arizona, Illinois and Wisconsin to join in the family reunion. It was great to meet my dad's cousins who had not been up to the lake in 20 years and to hear stories of my grandparents and how life was back in the day.

This 8 day celebration was a bit exhausting but well worth all the time family put into making this a successful week. Each day, starting at 4 pm, everyone would gather at someone's cabin to eat and drink the night away. We caught up on what everyone had been doing for the last few years and what their kids were up to now. My cousins and I (the newer generation) learn how our great grandparents met and saw a slide show of the last family reunion when my dad was my age.




I absolutely love our place on Eagle's Nest. The water is always calm and only occasionally will you see a boat pulling a waterskiier or tuber. It's the perfect get away to forget all your troubles at home and enjoy nature. (did I also mention that there is not cell or internet service so you don't really have a choice but to sit back and relax?) I can't wait to go back up a few times before school starts up again.

Andrew & Abby Szott Foundation : Please Donate

I am reminded everyday of the impact CaringBridge has on the families writing the journal entries and to their followers reading the entries. I first learned about CaringBridge the hard way back in 2004 when a high school classmate was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. CaringBridge made it easy to get updates on Abby and write in her guestbook to remind her that people were thinking and praying for her. Abby is now an angel and watches over her parents as they created and continue to grow the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation. Please read their story that was 'born out of tremendous love and great loss.'
The Szott foundation gives families the 'gift of time'. This allows parents to stay home with their sick child. The Szott Foundation has been fortunate to grant the Gift of Time to 10 loving families and have given away over $130,000! Read here to learn more about the recipients.

Abby's mom Kathryn recently sent out a note asking for donations:
HELP! Is it on the way?
Good afternoon family and friends,

I hope you are enjoying this lovely summer Sunday afternoon. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Jon, one of Abby's dear friends today, and I was reminded once again of how important relationships are. I treasure the ones I have with the young people in my life, and who were in Abby's. I'm not always very good at keeping connected with them. I continue to vow that I will do better.

Moving on to a more difficult topic for me to discuss, I am going to plead for your help. As unemployment continues to rise, so does the immense need of families depending on charitable organizations such as the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation. It is a time that we must lean heavily on those who are able to give. As I mentioned last time I wrote, we are having to suspend giving a Gift of Time for the third quarter of 2009, and that breaks my heart. This is an appeal to all of you out there who care deeply about the Szott Foundation's mission to provide the Gift of Time that allows one parent to stay home from work full-time to take care of the physical, emotional, and medical needs of a child with life-threatening cancer. I am aware that many of you will not be able to support the Szott Foundation by attending one, two, or all three of our fundraisers that are scheduled for the end of July and beginning of August, but perhaps you can contribute by making a generous donation.

Please reflect upon my request. I ask you to imagine if it was your child fighting for life, and you were having to make a choice between work and being able to stay home with you child. Please, please help. Donating on-line is fast and easy. All you need to do is click on the "Donate Now" button.

With many blessings and sincerest gratitude.

Kathryn Szott, President of the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation

Here's Abby's CaringBridge site. It has received over 230,000 page views
Visit the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation to learn more


Please help this foundation! Any amount you can give would be amazing.
Also if you're in the Eagan area check out Sand Volleyball and Bowling Fundraiser, Homerun for Time fundraiser, and Tournament for Time fundraiser.

New Themes for CaringBridge

It's been an month since I've started interning at CaringBridge and they have definitely kept me busy! Today 7 of my personal page themes were deployed and can be used with anyone with a CaringBridge site.


You can check out more of their themes here: http://www.caringbridge.org/stylegallery

Remember when I decorated my desk? Well I've been pinning up my designs (all 25 of them) and it definitely gives the space a lot of color!