join me this sunday for SFCB’s biggest event of the year!!

Here in the bay area, summertime weather has been with us for the last three months or so (which is how it happens everywhere else, but not usually here.) If you’ve lived in SF for any amount of time, you’re probably missing what we San Franciscans refer to as the “June Gloom.” I mean, holy moley! It’s been warm around here.

This year has been anything but typical.

I’ve been whirl-winding all around the place, and I promise I’ll write more about that in a (near) future blog post. Lots of great, fantastic, amazing things have been falling into place with Red Handed Rubber Stamps (as well as a handful of my other artistic endeavors) so there’s a bunch to report from that part of the Red Letter Day-O-Sphere.

And since I mentioned rubber stamps just now, let me tell you this juicy tidbit of info: I’ll be sponsoring a table/creation station (alongside Neenah Paper) at this weekend’s Steamroller event at SFCB! WOWZA!!!

What does that mean? Stop by the “Capricious Correspondence Zone” and seek out everything you might need for your stationery, mail art, and letter writing needs! I’ll have Red Handed Rubber Stamps available for sale at the S.O.S (“Stamp your Own Stationery”) table, complete with a selection of “try before you buy” rubber. Neenah Paper is providing envelopes and paper; the only thing needed is your creativity and enthusiasm!

Other Correspondence Zone participants include Bell’occhio, who will be bringing a treasure trove of inks and calligraphy tools…

…as well as Special Guest Billy Hutchinson, who (as you may know) is a fabulous calligrapher and truly dapper gent.

Perhaps you’d like to shop other book-and-paper vendors? Gutwrench Press and Picky Pockets Press will be there, as well as other faves like Savior Faire Paper and Flax! It’s a day-long block party with plenty of fun and free things to see and do — truly a celebration of book arts, printing, and the community of people who help make it happen.

All that being said: I hope to see you there! 🙂

And a final bit of surprise: I’ll be previewing new rubber stamp designs for Late Summer 2015 — YIPPEE!!!

See you at Steamroller —

–JH

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june 2nd and it’s summertime in the city!

As you can see, it’s been a whirlwind of productivity at the RLD studio! Don’t let the mess frighten you; it looks far more daunting than it actually is. Underneath the above pictured “mountain of mess” is a pile of items-to-be-mailed-out, projects-which-have-been-completed, and things-in-progress. All in all: a great and fantastical situation to be in!

I’m happy to announce that I am in the process of booking up my fall teaching schedule; more on that with next week’s blog post! I have a handful of new classes that I’ll be teaching at SFCB, alongside ever popular book/mail art favorites. Photos and descriptions will be forthcoming (you’re welcome to follow my Instagram and twitter feeds [@redletterzine] to keep track of all the booky/stamp-ish details!)

Love and Postage —

–JH

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big bang theory, book arts edition…

 

I’ve updated the “Classes & Sightings” page of the RLD blog and boy-oh-boy is this a full summer! There are a few spaces left in Tuesday (July 8th) night’s “Book Arts Basics: Longstitch” class, as well as the “Advanced Longstitch: Reworked and Refined” the following week. Whether you’re just starting out on your book arts adventure or a seasoned pro, longstitch binding is an easy to make book structure — perfect for journals and sketchbooks!

The “Non Adhesive Accordion Book” is works well for edition work…

…while “Introduction to Bookbinding”  (above) gives SFCB newcomers an overview of book arts basics. Students learn the ins-and-outs of 4-5 different book structures over the course of the evening.

FYI: SFCB will be closed on Friday, July 4th and open July 5th and 6th. You can click directly on individual class links for registration info.

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

–JH

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it’s still november, but I’ve already got an eye on december…

slow down, relax a little bit…

No I don’t want to be the one to push anyone into anything, but I feel fairly confident that you guys all know about Thanksgiving next week. And then there’s this thing that happens after that…oh yeah – it’s called the holiday rush.

yes, I’m eating a waffle in this photo. yes, it took place in Japan…

Because we’re friends and I’m always cool-hunting for you guys, I’ve got a couple of things to put on your radar – two simple shopping suggestions that will – quite possibly – wrap up all of your holiday gift giving in two trips!

piles and stacks, bits and bobs…

I’m thrilled to be vending this year at Bazaar Bizarre’s “Nightlife”, held at the Academy of Sciences on December 12^th. This juried show features the work of forty local artists and craftsters – including yours truly! (click the link for a full vendor list.) Naturally, I’m putting together a new line of artists’ books, prints, and blank journals – I’d say my table will be filled with 70% of the NEW (maybe more!)

a “penny black” print…

Although this will be my last vending event for 2013, I’m already filling up the calendar for 2014! Crazy, right?! It gets even better: I’m putting together four new classes for the SF Center for the Book (“The Desk Set: Stationery Accessories For Your Letter Writing Lifestyle”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Carving Personal Seals and Stamps” and two different Cross Structure binding classes). I’m also booked for the “Art & Soul Retreat” in Portland (April 2014). As dates are finalized, I’ll be adding them to the “Classes and Sightings” page here at the RLD HQ.

in progress!

Speaking of SFCB, that reminds me of my second shopping tip for RLD readers: the annual SF Center for the Book Holiday Fair is happening this weekend! A fantastic way to get a jump start on holiday shopping, your well-spent dollars will support local printers, binders, and book artists. November 23rd is the big day; details can be found at the Center’s website.

obligatory “at the PO” photo…

And one last thing: Neenah Paper is having a sale that paper people will be thankful for – 20% off paper and envelopes ordered via their website! I don’t know about you, but I’m going to make sure all of my letters to Santa are written on Eames Weave (Pacific Blue) with envelopes from the Esse family (Pearlized Silver) – rubber stamped with bits of red, naturally!

these folks want to help make your season merry and bright!

I’ll leave you, dear readers, to your shopping lists and creative planning. Don’t forget to give thanks during the upcoming week: for paper, postage, and your fellow correspondents. If you wrap up your shopping early, that’s one more thing to be thankful for!

–JH

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Ex Postal Facto is coming your way in 2014!

via the “head vs. heart” blog…

 

Red Letter readers, I have something unbelievably exciting to share with you! I know its Monday. I understand the weekend’s over (sniff). But this is really really good, so I’ll need your undivided attention.

Ok, good.

Ready, set, go:

EXTRA! EXTRA! read all about it!!!

I am thrilled that you, dear readers, are among the first folks to learn about the Ex Postal Facto Conference – you’re hearing it here FIRST! Taking place February 2014 in San Francisco, Ex Postal Facto promises to be a three day, fun-filled celebration of correspondence art, faux philatelics and all things postal.

comin’ right at’cha!

Venues include the SF Center for the Book, the historic SF Elks Lodge, and the SF Public Library. A major mail art exhibition (and opening reception), vendor expo, and afternoon of lectures are already on the docket for February 14^th – 16^th. Believe it or not, there’s more to come; I’m hard at work with the Ex Postal crew, fine tuning details for the weekend. (saying that we’re sorta like Santa’s elves would not be too far from the mark…)

hey look! it’s my palm pilot! (I NEVER get tired of that joke…)

So what does that mean? It means that I’m really, really, really hoping you’ll be able to join me and the Ex Postal crew here in San Francisco in February! This will be an historic gathering of new school and old school mail artists, artistamp makers and Networkers – in short: a MAJOR mail art congress will be taking place. And it’s really happening.

outgoing, with help from Neenah Papers…

There are many ways to get involved, even if you’re not local to San Francisco. Would you like some “save the date” postcards to send to your mailing list? I’m happy to send you some! Want to submit artwork for the “mail/art/book” show at SF Center for the Book? Take a look here. Are you a blogger or interested in writing about Ex Postal Facto for a print publication? By all means, send me an email (or a postcard, whichever strikes your fancy!)

dreamy…

An event is only as good as the people participating. I am so very fortunate to have an excellent crew, an incredible co-curator for the mail art exhibition and amazing friends who have helped out with venue space. Moving forward, the next part of the process is equally exciting: finding a way to make sure all of my postal pals from near and far (that’s YOU GUYS) can be in attendance!

I’m ready to go to Ex Postal Facto!!!

My fingers are crossed that we’ll all be in the same city next February. (that’s some pretty good news, huh? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!)

In all things postal –

–JH

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consider this an invitation!

join me!

August has turned into quite a month of event planning and organization! It seems like only a week or so ago, I was leisurely drinking iced beverages while matching up postage and postcards (or maybe I just dreamed that part…) These days, I have lists upon lists upon lists of things to do – that certainly happened FAST.

yep — these are for reals…

(I have so many lists, I need separate journals to keep track of them all – imagine!)

As some RLD readers know, I am one of the lead organizers of the San Francisco Zine Fest, which is a yearly event. Now in our 12^th year,  SFZF 2013 is a weekend long celebration of the DIY arts, small press publishing, and culture. Free and open to the public, SFZF consists of a vendor expo, lectures, and workshops.

even though this is a snap from last year, all the same rules still apply…

That’s pretty exciting, right? But wait: it gets EVEN MORE exciting! What are you up to on the evening of August 16^th? Between the hours of 5pm  and 10pm? Nothing? Something? Well, here’s a groovy get-together you won’t want to miss (especially if you’re looking to wrap up loose ends on a project-in-progress).

meanwhile, back at the studio…

San Francisco Center for the Book: Open Print Studio evening for Zine Folks and Friends!

Local zinesters and paper people are invited to spend the evening at the SFCB bindery putting finishing touches on all of those last minute SF Zine Fest projects! Jennie Hinchcliff/Red Letter Day will be on hand to assist with tasks such as trimming, sewing, stapling – and maybe show a demo on rounding corners! No reservations are necessary, all are welcome. Bring projects in progress or stop by to get inspired. (“Socializing” counts as “work”!)

Where: SF Center for the Book, 375 Rhode Island (btwn 16^th & 17^th, in Potrero Hill)

Time: 5:00pm – 10:00pm

Also: Open Print Studio for letterpress is going on the same evening. SFCB’s bindery space is to the left of the gallery; once you’re past the reception area, look left and head through the doorway.

I’ll be doing a bit more showing-and-telling in future posts about the new tidbits I’ll have on the table for SFZF. But for now, I hope to see everyone on August 16th – with stories to tell and glue sticks in hand!

–JH

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coming soon to a classroom near you!

if your books were having a party, this is what it’d look like…

I’ve had a full plate lately: putting together a handful of fun classes, working on a new artist book (more info in the extremely near future!)  and getting accepted into the upcoming publication “500 Handmade Books: Volume 2” by Lark Books. I had a hunch that 2013 would be a whirlwind of activity, but nothing quite like this!

this is only the beginning…

At the SF Center for the Book this weekend, I taught my “Creative Carousel Books” class. Carousel books (also known as “star books”) are one of my favorite book structures to teach – all the excitement of pop ups, with the “wow!” factor of a tunnel book. And lucky me! I’ll be teaching this class at two different venues in the next couple of months: The Ink Pad in NYC (beginning of June) and the Focus on Book Arts Conference in Oregon (end of June). For more info, be sure to take a look at the RLD “Classes and Sightings” page.

plotting, planning, designing (student megan)…

Yesterday’s students at SFCB were wonderful: enthusiastic, eager to experiment and try out new ideas. First step of our books? Creating the blank pages, a.k.a the textblock. From there we moved forward into designing page layouts and positioning each visual element.

selecting the best order of photos (student linda)…

a recurring theme in my life (RLD’s project)…

look at all those textures! (student joyce)…

And once that was achieved, we stitched everything together!

a tidy work station, ready to go!

Covers came together easily, with ribbon ties and a choice of decorative paper. After that, we were in the homestretch of the project: attach the textblock to covers, apply endsheets and put the whole thing under weight.

make no mistake: those are window weights…

Everyone’s project came together beautifully and it’s always interesting to see how each person’s project is a direct reflection of their personality. That’s one of the amazing things about artists’ books: no two will ever look the same. The character of the person making the book speaks through the work, no matter what.

completed books, top to bottom: megan, RLD, linda, joyce

Each time I teach a workshop, students show me something new, in addition to the things I show to them. I’ve learned about low-tech tools, DIY techniques and troubleshooting from a variety of students met in various classrooms in various cities. I believe that this is the true strength of learning: empowering your peers through knowledge, inspiring by showing. Each lesson learned accumulates over time, to create a fuller, richer way of creating.

–JH

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all you want for…2013!!!

a little pile of outgoing mail for 2013!

We can safely say that we have made it through to the other side, you and I. The holiday season that was 2012 has passed, leaving a trail of pine needles and cookie sprinkles in its wake. Looking forward to the whole of 2013 spread out before me, I can tell you that the year is going to be top notch: a bevy of beautiful USPS stamps coming out, teaching gigs galore, and a spiffy new batch of RLD projects on the horizon.

a lot of handwriting going on there…

I had promised RLD readers a series of three All You Want For Christmas write ups. I’ve saved the best for last — even though it’s a bit after Christmas I think you’ll find a few items of “want!” listed below…

Look at it this way: now you don’t have to operate under the pretense of shopping for someone else – it’s all about YOU, baby!

fun for all ages? indeed!

As a fan of the Olathe Poste, I find their gummed and perforated papers are easy to work with. Don’t have an easy way to make those pinhole perforations for your artistamps? A pack of 25 dry gummed and pre-perfed sheets may be exactly what you need! A bonus? You can run these sheets through a standard, inkjet printer.

which do I love more — cake? or postage?…

What do we always need, as postal-ish people who send A LOT of mail? Postage stamps, that’s what! One of the best gifts I received for Christmas this year was a charming array of postage old and new, (uncancelled!) which could be used for future mailings. For those folks in the audience who didn’t know: “vintage” postage can ABSOLUTELY be used to send letters and postcards through the mail; just be sure to affix the correct amount before dropping in the blue box. You can find uncancelled, face-value postage of your own right here. (and remember: the price of post is going up January 27th…)

swoon…

I ordered both Going Postal and Meta Mail Art Zine #1: A DIY Guide to TangleStamps a little while ago (like, a year or so) from Su Mwamba at Tangle Crafts; these two goodies still remain in my top 10 favorite postal-related zines. Going Postal chronicles the mail art received and displayed for a show of the same name, while Meta Mail Art Zine #1 outlines Su’s process and tips for creating artistamps. Both zines feature color pages and come mailed inside a hand decorated envelope – a great gift for getting people “into” mail art! You can place your order at Su’s TangleCraft etsy shop.

a glimpse inside mail art zine “Node Pajomo”…

(some of my other favorite postal zines include: Node Pajomo (above), Gianni Simone’s Kairan, and the hard-to-get Arte Postale by Vittore Baroni.)

That being said, there are a couple other things you could treat yourself to: a copy of Good Mail Day (if you don’t already have one), a membership to the Letter Writer’s Alliance (a gift for a friend perhaps?), or you could sign yourself up for the February 2^nd “Mail Art 101” class I’ll be teaching at the SF Center for the Book!

what’s not to love about this freshly minted stack of mail?

Bringing you more mail art in the new year, with a stack of envelopes to boot! —

–JH

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kringle and correspondence go hand-in-hand!

Holiday Soirée invite…

 

The Correspondence Co-op’s Holiday Soirée will take place on Friday, December 14^th from 6:30pm – 8:30pm at the SF Center for the Book!

High-jinks for the evening include a “Save the USPS” postcard-writing campaign (postage provided!) and raffle prizes of a postal persuasion.

Of course I would love to see some RLD readers mixed in among the correspondence crowd…

 

Holiday Soirée invite, details

 

This event is free and open to the public; curious letter writers and postally obsessed persons are encouraged to stop by!

Here’s the pertinent info:

Who’s throwing this shindig? : the San Francisco Correspondence Co-op and SF Center for the Book

Where’s it gonna be? : the SF Center for the Book, 300 De Haro Street at 16^th Street (in SF)

And when is it? : Friday, December 14^th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Still have questions? : email Jennie at  redletterdayzine@gmail.com

Hope to see you on Friday!

–JH

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I see elves…and they’re everywhere!

a little bit of Christmas cheer?

Kringle, kringle, kringle, my fabulous correspondents!

Have you managed to send your holiday cards and end-of-the-year wishes?

this might be the answer to the PO's problems!

Fear not! There’s still time. “But when?” you may wonder.

I can help you with that: December 15th!

won't you join us? T'would be delightful...

 

San Francisco’s Correspondence Co-op will be hosting a holiday open house at the SF Center for the Book. Highlights will include:

• –a display of mail art by Correspondence Co-op members
• –letterpressed broadsides by poet Cody Gates, designed by Happenstance Type-O-Rama
• –a mail art “make-and-take” station, with supplies for creating your own marvelous postcards
• –raffle of the evening: a Smith Corona “Classic 12” script (cursive) typewriter! (details below to enter raffle)
• –holiday issue of the monthly Co-op artistamp

an "average" night, at a Co-op meetings...

Here are the details; come on out and help us celebrate this festive time of year!

When: Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Time: 6pm – 8pm

Where: San Francisco Center for the Book, 300 De Haro Street at 16th (in SF); SFCB’s Third Thursdays Open Houses are fun drop-in events for the community, and all are welcome. This is a free event; plenty of street parking is available.

Questions? send an email to Jennie at redletterdayzine@gmail.com

And how about that raffle? Y’know: the one for the typewriter? It’s this baby right here:

wouldn't this typer look GREAT sitting on your desk?

Specifics: 

Correspondence Co-op member Anna is bringing a lovely, nearly mint condition cursive script typewriter to SF from Seattle for our holiday raffle — the perfect Christmas gift for you or someone you know! Here are the “rules”:

• –you must be present or have someone collect the typewriter at the time of the raffle (Dec. 15th, 2011 during the open house).
• –tickets are $5 apiece and must be paid in advance via PayPal to alincoln at care2 (dot) com. Anna will not be accepting cash at the event!
• –Raffle remains open until 3pm on December 15th; the drawing will happen that same day, between 6-8pm at the SF Center for the Book.
• –50% of proceeds go to the Hachiko Coalition (helping animals in the Fukashima nuclear zone).

Hope to see you on Thursday night, with glue stick and rubber stamps in hand!

–JH

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