During our ~Offline Summer~ we did lots of hiking, over 1,500 miles. Being outside with Adam, pretty much just walking all day, every day for months: that was exactly what I needed. Wow, wow, I love thru-hiking. More on the summer’s adventures in the future, but for the moment we’re back in Seattle… hanging out at the studio, catching up with friends, eating lots of vegetables. It’s been terrifically rainy, besides today.
Today I’m printing an 8-page catalog of about fifty different riso presses, printshops, community spaces, zine libraries, and events to know about in the Pacific Northwest. (Only 2,000 words, yet in the editing pass I went down from three “delightfuls” to only one. Don’t worry, still plenty of exclamation marks!) Here it is with the first sides drying. I missed the riso while we were in the mountains.
Making mockups and book dummies for some other new things for Short Run. Typically for a batch of making work, we put up little cards out of scrap offcuts onto a pinboard, and move them around, and then make blank or marked up, to-scale books or printed objects. Here’s the pinboard this week.
Feeling motivated to use up paper we have on hand, and print with all the ink colors. Another Long Calendar, and going even LONGER this time: printing up 2024, 2025, and 2026 all at once. I’m working on a Pacific Crest Trail flower journal, which seems like it will be some selection of the 800+ flower pictures I took this summer, collaged and edited, plus some writing, maybe some drawings. It’s one of those where I have to find out by making it. Adam is working on a publication called Lichens of the Pacific Crest.
Short Run is coming up November 4th — lots of awesome people on the exhibitor list including so many small press friends. I’m extra excited because Elizabeth Case, who I collaborated with on Biome I nurture/melt and Climate Emergency Reading Recs, is coming to hang out and table with us! (Read their newsletter here!) We’ll be bringing lots of copies of the climate reading recs zines to the festival, if you’d like to, please come talk to us about books there.
DOING: Enjoyed this Peloton ten-minute focus flow on wrists yoga class, and this ten-minute chair yoga. We’re going to spend time in Mexico and South America this winter so I’ve been practicing with Falou—much more engaging than Duolingo so far. It’s so interesting to see what I remember from high school and what feels new. Started a fresh bullet journal, same go-to notebook: MD Paper grid.
BUYING: Didn’t buy much besides food, water filter cartridges, and three pairs of La Sportiva Bushido shoes this summer, since we were hiking and carrying everything with us… so I caught up for shopping for the year all in one go in September. Switched to Apple AirPods Pro and they’re great, good noise cancellation and light enough that I can barely feel them in my ears. (A huge deal for a sensitive person!) Excited to lay around reading and swim in the ARQ set — the Zan bottoms and Guilia top — a dream fabric, 3d-ish knit with lots of body and a stiff-ish hand. And I am thrilled by this puffy quilted Hello Kitty ipad/laptop case, bringing me back to my childhood days of saving up to buy Sanrio and pens and notebooks. Love it.
READING: Chatterbox Press’s The Home-Artist's Guide to Building a Project just came in the mail and we had a break in the rain, so I sat outside the Burke museum and read it all in one go while basking in the sun. Highly recommend. Eagerly awaiting Late Night Copies’ Own the Means of Production and Share It and Gentle Laundry. And very exciting news: Amy (who I collaborated with on All Well sewing patterns and How to Sew Clothes) started a new press called Imaginary Lake! So much good small press! The best publishing in the world is small press right now I think.
COOKING: From Rice Table, we made Everyday Doenjang Stew with our friends Alex and Zack this week, and Alex made three types of kimchi so basically I am in my non-religious version of food heaven that centers around soups and pickles. (Also, Alex is teaching their Zine Hug Riso Animation class virtually on Sunday Oct 1, if you want to make a video/drawing into a risograph printed animation. Its so cool!) Many evenings of roasted vegetables, a small six-pie pizza night last Sunday, and a lot of salad variations with arugula.
Want to send back some recs? Hit reply! This week I’m looking for recommendations for… savory herbal teas, without caffeine, that come in a bag. (Nothing with licorice or chamomile or chocolate.) Favorite Peloton classes that just need a yoga mat? Heist/spy movies or shows without too much violence? Weird ambient albums to listen to while packing and collating? Recs for kids 7-10 who are getting into journaling?
—Amelia
(Adam says hi too!)
Goodbye from this mint tea & strip of washi tape that makes me very happy. I’m aiming to write to you next week, see you then!
