UGH.

The calendars are hot off the press today. They look awful.

shiny even though I requested matte paper.

the color is all weird, even though I specifically asked them to color correct.

Overall, lack luster.

Why? Because my print rep got a better job. Because my newly assigned print rep didn't tell me when the press check was running so I didn't get to see them come off the press. Because no one let me choose the paper, even though I was supposed to be able to. [And this part I'll take full responsibility for: Because we didn't take the photo at high enough resolution and no amount of photoshop genius can change that.]

And what did this do for my opinion of my before-now favoritist print shop? It has plummeted. If you can't offer great customer service to those who work for you (free of charge, mind you) then who CAN you offer great service to?

Ugh. If you see a calendar in a shop near you, I'm sorry.

happy spring ya'll

Sent to family who helped us purchase the super sweet mac we now use for all things awesome. (thanks again ya'll!)

this is not my face

So this photo was taken at the Cha Cha, a pretty sweet basement bar featuring mexican wrestling decor and a backlit back wall constructed of cement and beer bottles, with the sole purpose of fulfilling both February AND March's challenges--text in the booth, and facelessness.  alas, the text we brought with us, so elegantly typeset to look like a smiling face (but reading "this is not my face") doesn't show up in the booth.  

(had the signage worked out, this might have been posted on TIMWAS instead.  oh well.)

Note to self: BIGGER, BOLDER, THICKER type next time.

Gavron Designs first public project

So Joe and I collaborate all the time...I mean, we're married, right? We make dinner together. We clean the house together. I tell him if the art is level while he hangs it. And we made all of our Christmas presents together...but this is the first public assignment we've worked on together.

Look for this hanging at a business near you (assuming you're in Seattle, and assuming that you visit or work in a place that recieves printing from CK Graphics*).

The Assignment:

Create a 18x24" three-month calendar.

The response:

(typography by me. illustration by joe. to be printed on matte
white paper, with a layer of varnish on the petals only.)

The feedback:

It's pretty, but it's too stark, too spare, says the printer. (Yeah, we know, that's how we like it, says Gavron Designs.) Add more color, says the printer. We're trying to showcase the capabilities of our five plate press. (Okay, says we.)

The second response:

(design through a true collaborative process. to be printed on white paper with varnish layer on the calendar portions--letters and numbers)

Got a project for us? We're fun. Email us here.


*CK Graphics, by the way, has an old-skool ice cream vending machine in their lobby on capital hill. That alone makes visiting them worth the parking hassle.

it's the wig...

Okay, so I know that Andrea has new parameters from which to take your photobooth photos, but I'm late on the uptake and today am sharing a strip from November of last year...at Stellar Pizza in Georgetown, Seattle.  Joe and me and one of our bestest friends in the whole world--Adamu (that's his japanese name).  

The best part about Stellar Pizza is not the amazing beer list or the really good pizza, or the old-skool black and white photo booth in the dining room, it's the wigs they have for you to wear in the booth.  And wore them we did.  (Okay, so the guys rocked them...there's only two.)

(There's also a stuffed raven, who often makes it into the shots, but with three full-grown adults in a photobooth, this strip couldn't handle the extra star.)

To see Adam's name in shimmering lcds, watch Baldwin Hills, a reality show on BET.  It's not airing right now, though, cuz Adam's still helping to film it ya'll.  

one a penny two a penny

I've been wanting to make hot cross buns since I bought a bread book and saw them smiling on one of the pages.  Just look how cute they are, all crossed and ready to be eaten.  yum.

According to my book, these fruity rolls are traditionally made on good Friday...but I think they're good any Friday of the year.  Just look at that glisten!