visualchemist

Just finished designing and printing 1,800 Rabbit in the Moon invitation sets for Balboa Park’s Japanese Friendship Garden, in San Diego. These invitations are for the garden’s 10th Annual Festival of the Harvest Moon. Invitations, response cards and envelopes were letterpress printed using black ink. Garden volunteers will be adding a strip of brightly colored washi paper to add the finishing touch.

I had sent Lucy’s old squishy rollers to Ramco Rollers to be recovered. I was pretty excited when they finally arrived all nice and new, but when I performed my first ink test, I was a little panicked when I saw that not only did my plates get inked, but my entire Boxcar base did as well. Upon inspection, I noticed the diameter of the rollers were a lot larger than the trucks. I was preparing for a fairly large print run which was due asap, and I needed these rollers fixed, fast!

A quick call to Ramco convinced me to hop in a car and drag my family over to San Dimas, where we met the owners, Adrian and Jayne. Adrian was kind enough to show us around his shop. He even educated me on the process of creating rubber rollers and how he was going to shave mine down to the proper diameter, which he did while we waited. Adrian was even willing to shave down my blue synthetic rollers for Lieutenant Price. You can see the shavings as his machine meticulously grinded down the excess rubber. Soon after, we headed back to San Diego and I was ready to roll.

I recently helped out an old Quiksilver coworker when she asked if I could print her wedding invitations. I won’t post the invite details just yet, since the event has not yet happened and I don’t want to be responsible for a bunch of crazy people crashing their barn yard soiree. What
I will tell you is that this cute invitation
was designed by the lovely bride herself,
Lori Fujikawa. More photos to come.

Remember that rusty old pearl I got for Valentine’s Day? Well look at “Lucy” now. In case you missed the story of how this gem was unearthed, catch up here.

After 25 years of being buried deep in the garage of a Paradise Hills pack rat, this Golding Pearl No. 11 finally got a new pair of shoes. Once we started the process of getting to her, there was no turning back. And when she finally emerged into the light of day, while others would have frowned and turned away, I saw all the potential that she could become. I had to leave town and after two weeks of being away, my dad and uncle managed to strip all the nasty off of her and give Lucy a new coat. Then I had to leave for Seattle, so sadly, I had to part with her again. In the two months I was gone, my dad had managed to outfit her with a new feed/delivery board (with a secret compartment), a cabinet door, and some new wheels. So not only is she polished and new again, but now Lucy is mobile. She and I have a lot of catching up to do. I love Lucy. (I think my dad does, too.)

I had been shopping around for a solid ream cutter for some time now and had narrowed my options down to several different models readily found on eBay. I was so close to making a bid, when I spotted this awesome Challenge Advance 19″ guillotine paper cutter on Craigslist… That was a few months ago… Between a shiny new modern Paper Cutter 3000 or a 300ish lb. cast iron guillotine cutter, nostalgia won. Since I was back in SoCal for three weeks, I made sure to squeeze in time to finally take him home and introduce him to the rest of the studio. He’s old, heavy and rusty, but that’s all superficial. There’s plenty of cutting life left in this old guy. I guess I have a soft spot for heavy antiquated machinery. Welcome to the family, “Zorro.”

Maeden and Derwin Anda had asked me to design and print their wedding stationery and reception pieces for their late Winter wedding. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I just love “love.” I believe there is someone for everyone and it’s always awesome when two people who were truly meant for each other, finally tie the knot. (Seriously, it never gets old.) This particular day was captured by Ed and Karen, of San Diego Wedding Photography studio Atrero Photography, two really talented photographers who also happen to be good friends of mine. It’s so nice to see months of planning and preparation, with every detail considered, finally happen for such a deserving couple. Congratulations, Maeden and Derwyn! (Photos: Atrero Photography)