A few weekend ago I met up with one of my friends for dinner. Nearly the first thing she said to me was, “Can we go camping this summer?” The truth is there is nothing I would like more. I’ve been dreaming of nothing but summer and camping and friends and fires. Here’s some handmade camping themed goodies to get you dreaming as well.
by Jodi Lynn’s Emporium of Doodles
Mary
In the fall, I was able to take a tour of the building at 2051 Rosa Parks, which includes the offices of Curbed Detroit, the future home of Corktown Cinema, and, the main reason I was there, the studio for ESP, a screen printing studio my friend helps run.
While ESP has been mostly working to create prints specifically for clients, they did come out with some of their own original designs this winter that are awesome enough I wanted to give them a second post to feature them here.
All images from ESP.
Trevor
I recently got a chance to visit a friend’s new screen printing shop in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. Much has been written about the building at 2051 Rosa Parks, from its history and the house that lays in the middle of it, to the future of the building, most notably the development of Corktown Cinema.
We got to take a tour of the building, and though development has been slower than planned, there are still lots of great things happening there, including ESP Detroit. The idea for the building was to be sort of an urban mall, complete with creative spaces, retail stores, and restaurants.
Former building sign
One of the available spaces in the building.
ESP Detroit, though a new business in the city, has already done the screen printing for projects like the newly opened, Green Dot Stables, and the huge city bike race, Tour De Troit.
Tour De Troit shirt from ESP Detroit
I also got to take a look at the studio space itself and snapped a few pictures of their workspace.
Thanks again to ESP Detroit for letting me visit!
Trevor
I love the look of the old WPA posters. Yesterday, I found that they have a database of nearly 1000 old posters. I think I spet nearly two hours looking through them all. Here are a few of my favorites.
By Herbert Bayer
By Richard Halls
By Arlington Gregg
Mary
Last week I printed some new tote bags to sell at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair. They feature Darius “Hootie” Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish crying about dolphins as mentioned in the 1994 hit “Only Wanna Be with You.”
Mary
Yesterday was my final day of classes for the quarter. I spent around 20 hours over the last few days making this flash website. The last thing I wanted to do when I turned the project in was more work, but with the holiday next week there’s only so much time to get projects done before the Detroit Urban Craft Fair.
So I printed.
When you’re doing something you love, working can become this relaxing, mind-settling activity. I left open studio feeling really at peace and I realized that I am finally the person I want to be. I may not be exactly where I want to be in life, but I am working towards it and that gives me a sense of fulfillment.
Mary
Last night, we made our first prints in my screen printing class at Spudnik Press. I made these “Bless Our Broken Home” prints. They were inspired by a frame at the beginning of The Parent Trap that shows an embroidery sampler with this phrase. I can’t wait to start printing fabric next week. Soon our shop will have loads of new items!
Mary
Because grad school isn’t keeping me busy enough, I’ve decided to take a screen printing class starting next week. I’m thinking of creating a calendar for my big project. Here’s a roundup of some 2012 calendars that I love.
Letterpress calendar from onceCANOEtwo
Letterpress mini calendar from YeeHaw
Letterpress cross stitch calendar from Pistachio Press
Screen printed psychedelic country calendar from Joshua Norton
This last one isn’t a 2012 calendar, but I couldn’t help myself from adding it. I loved the tradition of having an advent calendar when I was a child.
Amsterdam Advent Calendar from Nouveau Designs
Mary
With Camp Wagakwud coming to a close last week, here are some of the finished projects Mary and I made while at camp.
Trevor
This past weekend was the first official Camp Wagakwud in Paradise, Michigan. We made some crafts, relaxed on the beach, and hung out with bears.
Mary
