Press: Works on Paper

Last night, my family and I attended the grand opening of Press: Works on Paper, a boutique devoted entirely to the love of paper in all its artforms. Our good friends Paulina Nassar (of Coco the mannequin fame) and her husband Nick Sarno (I like to refer to them as the Nassarnos) are the proprietors of this unique shoppe located in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District.


In their own words, 'Press: Works on Paper loves paper. Books, with an emphasis on works published by small presses, vintage books and out of print and hard to find fashion and photography titles. Notebooks, pencils and pens, vintage office supplies, typewriters, bookbinding supplies, unique papers and pieces by artists working primarily with paper: woodblock, letterpress and collage artists. Our focus is design, beauty, use and uselessness. We can’t hope to save an art form that is quickly becoming irrelevant. Rather, we hope to celebrate its irrelevance and the creative freedom it brings.'


Check out the cool installation of rolled papers above the stained glass window.


Mid-century office supplies including a green Smith-Corona typewriter.






Lovely artisan papers and vintage greeting cards.



Retro bookbinding supplies and instructional manuals.



Rare and out of print books.



Classic foods like meatballs and chocolate-covered twinkies were served. (Yes, this is what summer in San Francisco looks like!)



Poor Nick was stuck behind the counter all night ringing up sales, which were carefully wrapped in brown paper packages tied up with string.


My mom and dad bought a cardboard camera!


Oh, yeah, and c'est moi.


Press: Works on Paper is located at 3492 22nd Street / San Francisco, CA 94110 / 415.913.7156 / info@pressworksonpaper.com.

In Bloom

Today's post is a tribute to all things pink and floral. Since this needs little explanation, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. :)

These were taken over the weekend in my parents' garden.



This painting hangs in my bedroom. I found it in the neighbor's garbage several years ago!


Paper flowers!



Vintage millinery.





Ceramic.




A pink rosary and new necklace I made today, thrown in for good measure. :)



Have a lovely day!

Spring Greetings

Although the official start of spring was a couple of weeks ago, we're finally getting some warm, sunshiney weather in the bay area, so I wanted to usher in the season properly. Here are some greeting cards I recently created using die cut flowers, butterflies and bees from K & Company. I added some pop dots for a bit of dimension, and rubber stamped images of 18th century women (my favourite era!) for good measure. Happy printemps, everyone! :)

Vintage Valentines

Valentine's Day is probably my favorite holiday visually speaking. I've always been drawn to the romantic images in shades of pink and red. Several months ago, my dear friend Tomas sent me some lovely vintage cards he found at an Atlanta flea market, which you see here.



Taking a cue from our Victorian valentine masters, I created a few of my own cards this year (below) that I'll be sending to friends and family. I simply painted large white hearts on cardstock for the background, then attached scrap images and punched ledger hearts, topped off with seam binding and rubber stamps. For more delicious card-making ideas with detailed materials and instructions, please visit my good friend Sharon's blog, The Teacup Incident. (Sharon also created my lovely banner!) How do you like to honour your sweethearts?