Obsessive Consumption

In this season of extreme consumerism, I thought this would be the perfect time to share this amazing blog. Since 2002, Kate Bingaman-Burt has been documenting her personal consumption... in illustration. French fries, a bus ticket, some scotch tape. I love the quality of her illustrations and of course think they would look amazing printed in letterpress!


Photo: Obsessive Consumption

Touch Me!

It's been a while since I've come across something that's really compelled me to note it in my Creative Thinking category but this definitely caught my attention. Remember those lights that turned on and off by touch? How about this, a FAUCET that does the same! My only question is, what took ya so long?!


Video: Delta Faucet

Portobello West Holiday Market

Just a quick reminder that Modus Paperie & Press will be participating in the Portobello West Holiday Market this weekend. We'll be sharing booth 38 with Lovably mobiles located in the center aisle to the left of the front entrance.

If you've never been to this event before, it's held at the Rocky Mountaineer Train Station located on Cottrell Street just off Terminal Avenue near The Home Depot. It's a really great venue that has loads of natural light, tall ceilings and ample FREE parking.

LOCATION: Rocky Mountaineer Train Station
ADDRESS: 1755 Cottrell Street, Vancouver, BC
DATE: December 12 & 13
TIME: Noon to 6PM (both days)
WEBSITE: click here

Last Stop to Shop

It's hard to believe it's been two years since my first post announcing the Beaumont Studios' holiday craft event, "Last Stop to Shop." This year the event is stronger than ever with a juried selection of vendors including both Beaumont tenants and local artists.

Join us for the opening night festivities with bevys, appies and music. All of the studios will be open (including ours!), making this a perfect opportunity to check out one of the coolest artists' buildings in Vancouver.

Hope to see you there!

WHERE: The Beaumont Studios
ADDRESS: 316 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
DATE: December 18-20
TIME: Friday 7PM - Midnight, Saturday & Sunday 11AM - 7PM

Last Class of 2009

Once again, Modus Paperie & Press will be included in the curriculum for The Beaumont Studio's "School of Thought." Come on out this Thursday, December 10th for one last opportunity to pass your electives.

The final night of classes will include:

WOOD SHOP 101: Tyler Harris will guide you through a entertaining class of woodworking.

LIFE 101: Dennis Currie will inspire your spirit to live life to it's fullest.

ARTS & CRAFTS: Amber Butler will show you how to get creative and think outside the box.

LETTERPRESS PRINTING: Back by popular demand and the Dean's favourite class of the semester, come experience a little taste of what a printer's life was like back in the Industrial Revolution! The 25 minute class will cover a brief history of our letterpress, the process of relief printing, a printing demonstration and a Q&A period. AND...also by popular demand, Modus Paperie & Press will have their latest product line available for purchase during break time!

WHERE: The Beaumont Studios
ADDRESS: 316 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
DATE: Thursday, December 10th
TIME: 8PM - Midnight
COST: $5 per class (you must register for a minimum of 1 class)
CONTACT: Dean Harris

Bizzy Bee

Well, as always, my more than month-long absence is a definite sign of me being a very bizzy little bee. November was filled with a flurry of visualizing, strategizing, debating and compromising all in anticipation of our marathon of holiday shows that began on November 28th. After display planning, all remaining hours were spent at the Modus Paperie & Press studio, printing, printing, printing, and doing fussy little tasks like folding cards and packaging gift tags.

Our very first market, the Portobello West holiday season opener, happened over the last weekend of November. It was heaps of work and an enormous learning experience. Some silly decisions and omission were made – like to use bricks as display props (duh!) and to not bring a chair – but all in all, it was a valuable first-time experience that established a great foundation for our next show.

A week later, our second show – Got Craft? – was indeed, an entirely different experience. The display had been streamlined (bricks returned!) and everything was organized to fit neatly into two large totes. The show itself was spectacular. The lineup for swag bags started at 7:30 am, doors opened at 11:00 and the hall was packed until closing at 5:00. Randomly assigned, Modus Paperie & Press was one of 4 vendors located on the stage and by what I could see from up there (and from patrons' rave reviews), the Got Craft? organizers, Andrea and Robert, did a fantastic job at vendor selection. Congratulations to them both for yet another extraordinarily successful event!

Kool Kidz

Last night's inaugural School of Thought event at The Beaumont was heaps of fun! It was a great turn-out with about 80 of the coolest cool kids showing up to join in the fun.

There were 3 blocks of 4 regular curriculum classes throughout the night including: graffiti stenciling, photography lighting, enlightened finance and old skool letterpress printing. And the fun even continued at recess with a couple quick wine purchasing and sorbet making demos in the breezway.

Kind of like shop and art combined into one, letterpress was definitely popular with the crowd. Only scheduled for 3 blocks, I ended up doing a 4th late-night class by popular demand, squeezing in as many people as we could into the little Modus Paperie & Press studio. I'm a little hoarse today but it was great fun being on the faculty and having the opportunity to introduce so many enthusiastic people to the art of letterpress. If you were there, it was great meeting you – and gold stars all around!

This event will be held every Thursday for the next 7 weeks. Next week all the classes will be different so if it's letterpress you're interested in, it'll likely be included again in the November 5th curriculum. Stay tuned for more details!

Get a Grip

Check out these little beauties from Mayfair Lane. Clips that grip to surfaces where magnets don't: stainless steel, whiteboard, glass, mirror. And there's a patchwork of lively designs to choose from.


Photo: Mayfair Lane

School of Thought

The Beaumont Studios presents School of Thought, a night of practical and fun classes with over 20 teachers and 30 subjects. The event will be held for 8 consecutive Thursdays beginning this Thursday October 22nd.

Each week there will be at least five classes to choose from. All classes will be 30 min long. You can drop in and out of class throughout the night, or skip class all together to hang out in "homeroom" (AKA: the bar). After the last class, "show-and-tell" will begin at 11PM.

This is a great way to meet new people and learn a new thing or two.

Subjects for Thursday, October 22nd include:

• Financial Warrior (Mac Daddy)
• Photography Lighting (Wayne Webb)
• Letterpress Printing at Modus Paperie & Press (Manna Wescott)
• Stenciling Graffiti (Charmaine and Steve)
• Culinary Arts (Sean Burrows)

The premier night is filling up quickly so please confirm your attendance asap!

WHERE: The Beaumont Studios
ADDRESS: 316 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
DATE: 8 Thursdays beginning October 22nd
TIME: 8PM - Midnight
COST: $5 per class (you must register for a minimum of 1 class)
RSVP: Jude Kusnierz

Portobello West

Once again, Modus Paperie & Press is pleased to announce our participation in another local show. Portobello West Fashion + Art Market is one of the most prolific art markets in Vancouver. Inspired by the famous artisan markets of Europe, Portobello West brings together Vancouver’s talented artists and designers in an eclectic and often surprising mix. Come down and meet the designers, hear their stories and take home truly original pieces.

Since the November 28/29 show will be our first event of the year, we'll be celebrating the launch of our 2009 holiday line with a free gift with purchase for the first 50 customers! But don't worry, if you're not quite ready to face Christmas until December, we'll also be there on December 12/13, and if you quote the secret password "sunday morning" we'll have a free gift with purchase for you too. (Sorry, only while quantities last.)

LOCATION: Rocky Mountaineer Station
ADDRESS: 1755 Cottrell Street, Vancouver, BC
DATE: November 28/29 & December 12/13
TIME: Noon to 6PM
WEBSITE: click here

Video: Portobello West

Now That's Dedication!

Chronicle Books is by far my favourite publisher and this is just one of the many reasons why I subscribe to their newsletter. They had my full attention with the subject line, Explore the world of Pictorial Webster's, but it didn't take long before I was completely captivated by this video. What a fabulous little short. Bravo to John Carrera for his dedication and to Chronicle Books for championing the fruits of his labour.


Video: John Carrera

We're live!

In effort to honour our 2009 marketing plan, we're happy to flip the switch on the new Modus Paperie & Press website! Please take a browse to check out our latest letterpress work and discover the full complement of services we offer.

Got Craft?

With a record number of vendor applications this year, Modus Paperie & Press is pleased to announce our participation in the 2009 Got Craft? Holiday Show! One of the trendiest craft shows in town, Got Craft? features over 55 local and handmade vendors ranging from clothing to jewelry to ceramics and wall art.

LOCATION: Royal Canadian Legion
2205 Commercial Drive (@ E.6th Ave), Vancouver
DATE: Sunday, December 6th, 2009
TIME: 11:00am to 5:00pm
WEBSITE: click here or on the logo below

Arrive early and if you're one of the first 30 people through the door you'll receive a FREE, handmade swag bag stuffed full of goodies from all the vendors!

The Drift: Art on Main Street

Modus Paperie & Press and The Beaumont Studios will be participating in the annual Drift event held October 3 & 4, 2009. The Drift: Art of Main Street is an art walk & open studio tour similar to the East Side Culture Crawl. Over 100 artists, 35 artists’ working studios & 80 Main Street shops, cafés & galleries team up to host this free 2-day art party! The Drift is a self-guided art tour. Visit their website to download a PDF guide & map or pick up a hard copy on Main Street from one of the many participating small shops and cafés.

The Modus studio will be open after 1:00 on Saturday afternoon only. We look forward to seeing you there!

A Logo for Modus

After a quick mini-vacay to the Oregon Coast, it was back to business at Modus Paperie & Press. The entire month of August was spent on Modus branding and product development. Not surprisingly, after spending literally years on landing a name, the process of developing a logo was a walk in the park. Something clean and modern to reflect the Modus philosophy. A celebration of simplicity. A logo that possesses the one quality that all logos strive for: timelessness.

We sure like it – and we hope you do too.

Embrace the Lemon

In this time of adversity, I thought it would be appropriate to reignite my blog with this specific entry. Just as many others have, I stumbled upon the Embrace the Lemon movement on a recent trip to Seattle. The artful simplicity of the poster compelled me to investigate further and a quick visit to the website revealed its simple purpose: to spread the word of optimism. I love that creative thinking is a byproduct of difficult times.

Posters for the "Embrace the Lemon" campaign in Seattle.