Open Books... another idea for a "green" gift

We've just discovered a magical place in River North that has left me excited and feeling all warm and fuzzy... which often happens when I spend money for a good cause and/or am buying books... Open Books! It's located at 213 W. Institute Place, just one block north of the Chicago Brown Line stop just off of Franklin, and the same block as the original Paper Source. So the next time your paying $10 for a greeting card (no offense paper source, you know I love ya!), just think... hey, wasn't there supposed to be a cool hip store around here somewhere?
Open Books is (in their own words) "a nonprofit social venture that operates an extraordinary bookstore, provides community programs and mobilizes passionate volunteers to promote literacy in Chicago and beyond". The gig is they sell a plethora of used books to help them do it. The books are amazing, in fantastic shape, and are offered in a selection that is seriously competitive to any reputable chain bookstore.
This is the part where I confess that being in a bookstore makes me very happy. There's something about the smell of the pages and the tall shadowy stacks that encourages my already wandering thoughts. Running my hands over the spines of rows and rows of books is like flipping through the channels of all the best television shows. And to be in a used bookstore makes me borderline euphoric, the energy that is tied up to the books that others have read, attached their emotional interest in... well, needless to say if it wasn't for the meter that was ticking outside, I might have stayed there all day!
So definitely check it out. Bring the kids too, the kids section (where we were buying recycled books for the kiddo's for Christmas) has a great vibe, soft tiled floor, bright colors, and pillowed reading areas.
Seriously. It's green, it's non-profit, it's in a great loft space in River North. It doesn't get any better!...
Read more about the good folks at Open Books here in an article that Newcity Lit ran in November.

Tis the Season!

You may know someone getting engaged over the holidays... T'is the season for a whole lot of loving....
So we thought, why not pass along the stationery love? Check out our Spilled Ink Press gift certificates!!

National "YOU ROCK" Day

Tell someone they Rock today.
Copy this graphic and attach it to an email.
That's all you've got to say.

I had a frustrating morning, and my boys at PSPrint.com came through for me. Today, they Rock.

Friday Find... Crocheted Ankle Warmers

For those of us ladies old enough to remember the 80's and aren't quite ready to embrace the "retro" legwarmers just yet (really? The long sweaters over black tights are BACK?)... here is your answer. And all I have to say is, these are smokin' hot.

And not to mention completely functional! I have so many cute shoes that don't quite work in the winter cold of Chicago. I mean, I wouldn't go stomping through the snow in these, but definitely out on the town for sure. That is... when we're not inside slaving away on your invitations...
Here's where they are at: hollanddesigns
Happy Etsying!

Spilled Ink in the Shop at the Cultural Center

If you're in the Loop, and looking for some Christmas cards, be sure to head over to the Shop at the Cultural Center where you can find our Chicago flag themed cards. Remember, this is Chicago, so when it comes to Christmas.... "celebrate early, celebrate often".

Bizarre Bazaar tonight!

All those in the Chicago area looking to get a jump on your holiday shopping... come visit us at the Merchandise Mart on the 11th floor for this year's Bizarre Bazaar!!! Doors open at 5:30 in Suite 1132.

Friday Find... GLITTENS!

The good news is I'm working at Spilled Ink Press headquarters... ALOT. The bad news is I don't have the opportunity to casually window shop as I used to when I was working the 9 to 5 on my hour lunch break (what? Yes... an HOUR!) downtown or the stroll to and from the train directly past cute boutique shops with great window displays in Lincoln Square.

So in an effort to support my desire to shop AND feel like I'm not doing something completely gluttoness... I'd like to post fantastic Etsy store finds. Let's just say for now it will be a Friday thing- also gone from the routine of the 9 to 5 is, well, a routine... so bare with me.

And to kick off the Friday Find... Glittens! If you know me, you know that the minute the air has a tinge of chill, out come my glittens. I. heart. glittens. They are reminiscent of childhood, yet have the practicallity of adulthood convenience to be able to grab your CTA card out of your bag when the bus comes. I found these particular glittens that I love, it appears that Deb from DebzCreations will take your measurements and custom make you whatever you'd like.
Ah. Now that's nice.

Bridal Show this Sunday in Skokie!

If you missed the bridal show at Navy Pier a few weeks ago, here's another chance to meet a lot of great wedding vendors. Chicago Bride Magazine is putting on another bridal show this Sunday, the 8th of November. Come on by to meet Spilled Ink Press and see samples of our work. It's from 11am to 4pm at the Doubletree North Shore Hotel in Skokie.

Free Reggie the Cat!!!!

Well it looks like we won't be seeing Reggie the cat on our walks to and from Spilled Ink headquarters anymore. Reggie, the "Mayor of Lincoln Square", used to be a regular in the neighborhood, but for some reason he has been the target of a ridiculous leash law and will be stuck inside from now on. You can read all bout Reggie's case here, with a follow up here. Luckily Reggie's owner had a very large fine reduced, but he still can't roam the neighborhood. Walks to the Western Brown Line stop will never be the same.

New Daily Grind Christmas Cards

We just added some new Christmas Cards from the Daily Grind line to our Etsy shop. Our take on holiday cheer might not be so....cheery. But hey, home for the holidays isn't always all presents and egg nog.

This is why we make greeting cards now

...because we think this shit is hilarious.

(Sheridan and Skully love Halloween).
Now give me some candy, bitches.

New Etsy Item....Chicago Skyline Note Cards!

We have a a new addition to our Etsy store.....Chicago Skyline note cards. Each set of twelve cards comes with three different colored designs and is printed on 100% post consumer waste recycled paper.

Navy Pier Bridal Show recap

Thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth at Sunday's bridal show. The Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier are always a great setting to show off our invitation designs, especially on a sunny fall day.

Our next show is the North Shore Style Wedding's Bridal Fashion Show & Expo at the Doubletree North Shore in Skokie on November 8th. Hope to see you there.

Chicago Flag Christmas Cards...New and Improved!

Chicago Flag Christmas cards are back, and better than ever. How can they be both new and improved you say? Well, the three card sets feature a new card for this year, plus a modified version of one of last year's cards.

After Chicagoist was kind enough to mention them last year, they sold like hotcakes...so you might have to move fast to get them this year. Actually, we'll keep printing them as long as people want them.

So why not use a little Chicago-style to keep in touch this holiday season with a set of Chicago flag inspired Christmas cards? Each 12 card set features three different card designs that use traditional holiday images to mimic the iconic Chicago city flag.

One of the bright blue stripes wraps to the card's interior, underlining the text "Chicago Christmas. Celebrate early, celebrate often."

Bridal Show this Sunday at Navy Pier

Attention engaged couples and brides to be....Chicago Bride Magazine is putting on another bridal show this Sunday, the 18th of October, at Navy Pier. Come on by to see Spilled Ink Press and a ton of other great vendors. It's from 11am to 4pm in the Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier.

As an added bonus, the Bears don't play until later that night, so your fiance can come too without having to miss the game!

Naomi Ashley

Spilled Ink Press's favorite singer, the one and only Naomi Ashley, has a great new website. Of course, we just happened to design the logo that is featured prominently on the site, as well as the cover for her awesome CD "Another Year or So".

I highly recommend catching a Naomi Ashley Band show whenever you can. Looks like the next one is October 17th in Evanston.

Here is the cover we came up with for her latest CD...

She's a celebrity? Get outta here.

Thanks to NBC, the Blagojeviches are getting more TV time to embarrass the state of Illinois. Somehow Patti Blagojevich qualifies as a celebrity, and is appearing on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!". Her husband, our former governor, used to jog past Spilled Ink Press headquarters a lot, but we haven't seen him lately. I guess seeing his wife on a reality TV show is going to have to do....if we were actually watching.

Anyway, having the Blagojeviches in the news again reminds me of our Christmas card from last year.....


and the inside.....

The Settling Dust

Ah, it's been a crazy ride these last few weeks. As we mentioned- the pace was intense as we were moving invitation jobs through production and out the door before we left for the East Coast (sounds so glamorous, doesn't it?).

Finally, we arrived at The National Stationery Show in New York City!
The show was good- smaller, as expected (I'm shaking my fist at the economy right now...). We were actually very pleased to see the snarky meter was amped up a touch. Blame it on the economy, maybe, but it opens the door for us to return to the show next year and not scare all the little sweet store owners away with our biting sarcastic cards. Here were our favorites: Old Tom Foolery, Nuk-u-lur, and Mean Cards (it's good karma to give shout outs to the worthy competition).

And it was very exciting of course to see our invitation displayed at the show as a LOUIE finalist.

So back we went to the hotel to get cleaned up for the LOUIE awards dinner. It is fun to dress up every once in a while! When we got to Capitale (an old Bank building, with it's coffered ceiling lovliness- turned swanky party venue), we made a bee line to see our invitation displayed again... no, first we got drinks, THEN we went and took cheesy pictures next to our invitation again- and of the building, like the architect dorks that we are.

(see how pale we are from working so hard and never seeing daylight?!)

So after grazing on the fancy appetizers ("Top Chef" quality, as I described it) and earning back our ticket price in drinks, it was time to begin. The presenters read the teleprompter in expected awkwardness (I was imagining someone sitting at their cubicle writing the "witty banter" thinking, Oh yeah, this will get laughs baby...). And they zipped through the awards with the fantastic phrase, "...and the LOUIE goes to..." clapping, gasping, a bright spot light shined on a table, a humble designer stands up and squints into the light.... it was all very magical.
ESPECIALLY when the time came for our category, and after that famous phrase, they actually said, SPILLED INK PRESS! Wow. We stood, we squinted, and they clapped. It was a blur (it might have been the dirty martini's, granted). It was fairly early in the presentation that we were announced, so the relaxation set in early and we were able to enjoy the night comfortably. It was exciting when the big award at the end of the presentations was announced, "Card of the Year" and it went to our fellow table mates with Compendium, Inc. Apparently table 15 was the place to be.

After the award ceremony, we had our picture taken for... gosh, I'm not sure what. I was on the phone with my parents in Ohio screaming that we won (to my Mother's praise, "Oh my lands!"... that's Sue-speak for "awesome"). And then we hit the dance floor. No, we didn't. We hit the tables next to the dance floor and ate the equally as fancy desserts and watched the rest dance. This is us having our cake, and eating it too.
It turned into a regular wedding celebration at that point- which seemed oddly appropriate. There was a few guys dancing that shouldn't have been, a few that knew what they were doing, a cheesy DJ, the usual.
It was anything but usual that night, and let me tell you, it was amazing.

We won a LOUIE!

Wow, what a night....we won a LOUIE award! One of our custom wedding invitations received the honor of being named the best personalized invitation selling for $5 and under. What a great award to win considering how the poor economy means tighter wedding budgets.

Stay tuned for a detailed review of the awards dinner and our stop at the National Stationery Show. But for now, we just wanted to update our loyal readers with the big news!

planes, trains, and automobiles

After a long week of sleepless nights finishing off a bunch of invitation jobs, updating ongoing designs, and a little architectural work for old time's sake, Spilled Ink Press is enjoying a relaxing night on the first leg of our three city tour this week. It is always nice to enjoy the quiet setting of rural Ohio for a day or two, but even more so today. We needed a break. This trip is going to be pretty hectic too, so it's good to start off slow. Toledo, New York, DC...and we'll be using just about every mode of transportation you can think of to get around.

Of course we love seeing the family, and meeting baby Lily in DC in a few days will be cool, but the highlight and reason for the trip is the middle stop...New York, the National Stationery Show, and of course...the LOUIE Awards! We're thrilled to be finalists for our first LOUIE. Check back later this week and we'll fill you in on the awards dinner, the show, and hopefully tell you about our big win!

The Gradation Effect

Ever since Obama's marketing team has stormed the internet, I've noticed internet graphics that are trying to look young, fresh, hip (whatever you want to call it- if I keep going I'm going to sound lame and old) taking their graphics to that same aesthetic.

That aesthetic... GRADATION. It's what makes things not look 2-D. It's a 2-dimensional way of saying... ok, I know this is supposed to look like it's popping off the page, so this is how I'm pretending like it is.
I was pondering where it started to take sail. I think perhaps Microsoft might have started it. At the very least, they've been using that blue color, ya- this one for a while now. If your on a PC, look at the bar at the bottom of your monitor, it's blue and it's- oh yes, gradient. I'm on Windows XP, which is practically a dinosaur in computer terms and there it is. (I fear even saying this- where's some wood? Geez, don't jinx me for pointing out how old my computer is...)


So they may have started it- maybe not. Actually, it's probably a web design tool that started to take hold in some toolbar in some program I don't understand...). And they may have been the first to show us we like that blue. But boy, the mac world made it cool.

It started subtle, with the song highlight bar on our ipods. It was different, and it became a subliminal part of why we felt cool for having one. You didn't realize it, but it was.
Shiny. Clean. We like this.

And now... start noticing, it's everywhere... the gradation effect.
And yes... even Obama jumped on that train- to successful results, of course. His marketing team are gradation whores you could say, it's EVERYWHERE on his site.

And we love that glaring gradient button... click me, move your mouse over me, that's right. Do it. CLICK ME!!!! Oh my god, I just gave $20 to Obama... what? I mean, I would have probably, (and I did, actually) but hmmm... was it the button, or was it the message? Oh my.
So if you want to make a glaring, gradient, fancy button... here it is. Step by step.
Happy button making!

Happy Earth Day!

Some of you may have noticed we've recently added an extra page on our website titled, "our green story". It dawned on us that we've always been a "green" company, we just never took the time to let people know! So happy Earth Day everyone! Maybe you're out there appreciating the sunshine (at least in Chicago it's a gorgeous day), perhaps planning your home garden, changing your bulbs, recycling your newspapers... Here's our green story, in a nutshell.

Happy Easter everyone!

Ah, someday we'll get around to doing the "skully and sher" line of cards... until then, enjoy the holiday and seasonal pics as they come.

Happy Easter everyone!

Reggie the Cat

Amanda and I have made the walk between Spilled Ink Press headquarters and the Western Brown line stop about a million times, and it's always nice to see our buddy Reggie on the way. Reggie is a big orange cat that hangs out around Lincoln Square. We were calling him Charlie for a long time until I thought to look at his tag. Yeah he's got a tag and lives in the area, but he gets a lot of freedom to roam and interact with his neighbors. He'll usually walk with you for awhile if you stop to pet him, unless he is lounging comfortably. Actually, he usually walks us to the corner of his block, but no further. And he always chatters at you. Today we saw him hanging out in a big pot like it was a throne or something, right outside of Cafe Selmarie.

We're hitting the airwaves!

I guess the saying, "time is money" couldn't be proven more true than the rate that the radio industry works!

We went downtown this morning to record our radio ad with WLIT (previously supposed to be on WNUA, but with the help of our fantastic Clear Channel sales rep, Jeff, we determined WLIT was a better fit). And by the time we got home on the trusty brown line, our ad was mixed, edited, voodoo magic'ed and sitting in our inbox!

The whole experience was very exciting and just a bit nerve racking. We got there and Jeff whisked us away into a sound booth. There sitting across from us was Dave Hilton, a radio personality on WLIT who had a voice that flowed out of his mouth like maple syrupy goodness. He read the script out loud with suggestions as how to pace it and emphasize it and it made me fully appreciate why he does what he does and I do what I do. It's just a 30 second commercial, but his time and attention to making sure it sounded good put me just a little more at ease and you could definitely tell that after about the third time reading through it. He played it back to us and as Tony said, if my voice really did sound like that (after doing above-mentioned voodoo), he wouldn't ever have any troubles hearing me- I'm a soft talker if you didn't know that already. My lungs push words out about as far as my nose. I guess with all that equipment and mixing, even soft-talkers like me can sound normal! So after trying it a few times, we all determined it was good to go and we were off.

It will start running on Monday, April 13th and run for about 6 weeks. Wow, we've come a long way from harassing all of our friends to vote for us to having a real live radio ad. This is probably small potatoes to most businesses, but to Tony and I (and the unwavering Sheridan-the-cat), it's kind of a big deal. Thanks again everyone for helping make this happen!!

So without further ado... here it is.... probably not Dave Hilton quality syrupy goodness, but we're pretty happy with it!