A New Logo for a Romantic Knitter

Anne Lecrivain-Cozzoli is a Southern California knitter with her own line of patterns on Ravelry, the fiber arts community site. Anne recently commissioned her first banner ad, but first she needed a logo.  Here's a peek at Moonlight Stitches' banner logo in progress. Anne considers herself a practical romantic. Naturally Jane Austin came to mind.

Meanwhile PCWorld.com continues to assign font reviews. I wear two hats on this job as each assignment includes a type sample to demonstrate the download. First up: Gene Buban's lovely Requiemme Decorum, a font which graphically captures the feel of cathedral windows. Followed by Hungarian designer Koczman Bálint’s stencil font Capture It, with the gritty styling of urban signage. Last, and perfect for the holidays, is Ronna Penner's font Black Jack. Brand your office party with Mad Men style using this homage to advertising brush script. 

Speaking of Mad Men, if you want to dress the part consider a stop at Custard Heart Vintage where stylist Maria Sanchez is building up her inventory for the cocktail crowd. Folk art roses grace the new gift graphics I designed for her.  

PS. I love comments. To make a comment here, click on the Post a Comment link below, but look fort the Submit button—labeled Create Post—at the top of the comments page along with a Preview Post button. 

Studio Update: Conquering my inner chicken…

Over the summer I thought a great deal about opening an Etsy shop of my own. From June to August I veered back and forth from yes to no to yes to maybe. I turned to my friends Maria Sanchez of Custard Heart Vintage, Susan Angebranndt of Green Chair Press, and Nikki Thompson of DeConstructed Artichoke Press, for advice.

These seasoned sellers encouraged me to dive right in, but holey-moley, it turns out I am a total chicken when it comes to virtual retail. I wore the trio out with endless questions about payment, budget, and (O-O-OMG!) optimizing keywords for Google.

I've sold my paper works at crafts fairs with Nikki and Susan. I like meeting the people who collect my work. I get a kick out of how customers react and I love to hear them laugh out loud, but would I find similar experiences online?

I've been reading the Etsy blog along with shop interviews with featured vendors for several months. Turns out Etsy is not a cold place, not by half. There is conversation and even laughter! My inner chicken feels reassured!

The current plan is to open my shop at the end of October with ten products. I'll sell updates of early pieces, plus some new work. There will be paper boxes with chatty accordion booklets inside, fortune-telling devices, a make-your-own-holiday perpetual calendar, gift tags (like the one pictured here), and a surprise or three. Every listing will be either a one-off or part of a small edition. Well, that's the plan so far. Let's see what hatches in late October. 

P.S. I love comments. To make a comment here, click on the Post a Comment link below and look for the Submit button—labeled Create Post—at the top of the comments page along with a Preview Post button.

Studio Update: A Little Here, A Little There…

I finished up a range of projects this week—clearing the docket to start an update of banners throughout okaykate. Do you like the illustration above? How about a similar theme for Kate Writes and Kate Designs? In the meantime…

Maria Sanchez—who you've seen here a lot lately—has a new business card. This was the last stage in an upgrade I did for her vintage clothing online store. Here is the front and back…

I tried my darndest to talk Maria into Moo mini-cards. I suggested they'd make cute hangtags and grab bag enclosures, but Maria felt the size was insubstantial on its own and asked for a tradition card at 2 x 3.5 inches.

I agree with her choice, but golly the Moo minis are cute. Here's five designs using Moo's vertical and horizontal formats…

Next up: a new banner for Mandy Erickson of Mandy Eats the Bay to be posted next week. Here's the story on the original banner. Below is the Summer update. Plums are in season and now so is Mandy's banner…

Just in time to go along with her recent posting of a plomukaka (Scandinavian plum tart) recipe. For plum aficionados, those are Santa Rosas pictured in the banner. It's stone fruit season here in the Bay Area. Yum, I say. Plomukaka is my dessert of choice for this year's Independence picnic. Must bake one, but first I'll finish this post with two more projects.

CraftyAndy publishes his crochet hat patterns in PDF for the web and on paper for local yarn stores. We've been working on a format update since I redesigned his business card. Here's a look at the old and the new front pages…

Andy's designs in Tapestry Crochet remind me of a Kufi—the sturdy Middle Eastern cap. I've bought the yarn for a tri-color Pythagoras in shades of grey, brown, and blue. Here's to learning how to crochet over the summer even as I hand out my own updated business cards. Pictured here is the new front and updated back…

Happy Independence Day to everyone here and happy belated Canada Day to neighbors in the north. I'll think of you all as I eat plum tart under a fireworks sky and celebrate the country my immigrant ancestors came to call home.

PS. I love comments. To make a comment here, click on the Post a Comment link below, but be aware that the Submit button—labeled Create Post—sits at the top of the comments page along with a Preview Post button. Why is that? I don't know. Maybe these pesky buttons like being above it all. Some things just have a mind of their own.

Studio Update: Dolling Up an Etsy Storefront…

Custard Heart Vintage was top of mind this week. Maria has selected E from the matryoshka line up. Time to replace both the rubberstamps she was using to add a personal touch to her client mailings and get on with designing her other pieces including a new banner for her shop site.

While Maria headed for City Stamp & Sign with an order, I drew up comps for an Etsy banner. I love Etsy. The site is an affordable way for crafty folk to maintain their own online storefront even as the back shop provides a supportive community for small business. Plus it's a wonderful place to shop for gifts and supplies.

I started with a screen grab to use as a base in Photoshop. I wanted to see exactly how the banner would behave with the other elements on the page. Here is how Custard Heart Vintage's storefront looked…

Every Etsy storefront has three distinct areas where a seller's personality can come through: the banner, the little graphic that anchors the profile links and the product images. The overall look of the page is governed by a static grid. While that grid provides an ordered structure from shop to shop on the site, Maria's page risked blending in with of other sellers in her category. 

I tried several different approaches using the new doll and updated type treatments. Below are five. The first three feature Goudy Old Style— a serif face with an elegant, rounded hand. The last last three use Copperplate for a more traditional feel. The middle version is made with Footlight MT—a novelty face with a very silly Cap E.

Any one of these would make a worthy banner. Maria choose the second to last version, but wanted Footlight to replace the Copperplate. No problem. With a little fitting we were set to post her updated storefont…

Whew…happy to see the old banner gone. Now Custard Heart has a branded look and Ms. Sanchez holds the copyright. I'd say that calls for a party, but hey, there are still business cards and ads to do, so back to work for me. My client surprised me with a photo yesterday…

There's work ahead, but Maria hit the pause button to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for her new look. Oh, my. I'm going to be very sad when the Custard Heart project is over.

P.S. I love comments. To make a comment here, click on the Post a Comment link below, but be aware that the Submit button—labeled Create Post—sits at the top of the comments page along with a Preview Post button. Why is that? I don't know…but no amount of begging has moved that button any closer.

P.P.S. Go ahead call me a shameless shill, but Custard Heart's Summer Sale is still on. I am so scoring a schoolboy cardigan as the summer fog settles in.

Studio Update: Embellishing, Coloring, Mailing

Summer is officially here. Client files are flying over the net even as packages of knitting merit badges are posted overseas. Heady stuff with many stops for coffee along the way. Lucky me to be located in the epicenter of great coffee bars, with names like…um…Coffee Bar!

Last week, Maria Sanchez of Custard Heart Vintage settled on a final look for her custom business mark. A flower-studded scarf and zippy dots were in the final mix. The mark is destined for a rubberstamp used in CHV packaging, a full-color business card, and an Etsy web banner.

Each of these situations carries its own demands, but the rubber stamp required immediate attention as Maria had orders waiting to mail. Unfortunately the new embellishments become more and more cluttered as the design is reduced to stamp size. I sent the client a pdf showing a simple solution. 

For the fun of it I included a second pdf showing how the a single-color stamp could be enhanced using marking pens, since Maria likes her packaging tags to have a handmade touch. A little tag on a colorful ribbon with a heartfelt message goes a long way towards letting customers know she's thinking of them.

Next step was to settle on a primary 4-color treatment so we could move on to the banner design. I sent over a pdf with 5 variations. I'm curious, which one would you choose? 

I am partial to D, but if you chose E you'd be right in line with Ms. Sanchez. A pdf of banner designs went out to Maria yesterday. More about her choice in the next update. 

The rest of this week was spent polishing a new story in the Eiderdown series and posting kindhearted knitter merit badges to 13 new nominees including a toy designer in Spain, a community organizer in Wales, and a soft-hearted knitting coach in Australia. The USA was well represented with knitting teachers for the homeless, ESL heroes for new immigrants, and a fabulous college student who brightens up hospital stays with knitted hats and toys. I'll post links (as soon as the packages reach their recipients) for the wonderful programs these kindhearted folk are a part of. It's been fantastic to watch the badge-holder list grow and to know that Miss Eiderdown is making new friends everywhere.

Psss-s-st! I have 23 badges left. If you know a kindhearted knitter in your community nominate them here.

P.S. I love comments. To make a comment here, click on the Post a Comment link below, but be aware that the Submit button—labeled Create Post—sits at the top of the comments page along with a Preview Post button. Why is that? I don't know…but no amount of begging has moved that button any closer.

P.P.S. I love vintage clothes. If you love vintage clothes I recommend checking out Custard Heart Vintage's Summer Sale. A bombshell of a silk wiggle dress for under $30? Total buy. Perfect for the cocktail hour.