Printing – Francois et Moi

Hand Woodblock Printed Pillows

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 13:45:13 +0000

Beautiful textiles will always be one of those things that can make me swoon, and the giant bin of neatly folded fabrics I’m hoarding in our closet for just the right project to come along is a good affirmation of my mild obsession (or just ask Ken). Recently I’ve been reading up on woodblock fabric printing, and I find the centuries old, hand-carved and hand-printed process so intriguing. West Elm created a short video a few years ago (to launch their block printed blankets) which beautifully depicts the process. Click here to view. I purchased my wood blocks from TATA Indian Wood Stamps, who source their blocks from three incredibly talented Indian artisans at fair trade prices. The beautifully carved blocks make the finished result look alot more difficult than it actually was (Thank goodness for the block carvers!) Printing a small amount of fabric (like pillow covers) at home is actually quite simple. It’s really just a matter of marking where to stamp and then stamping! These were so much fun to make–probably my favorite project I’ve done in a while. I hope you enjoy […]

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Letterpress Love

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:31:12 +0000

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Lunalux’s Stationery Saturday, an event I’ve been wanting to attend for quite some time. Owner, Jenni Undis and her team were so welcoming and knowledgeable. They not only invited me to jump right in, but also kindly offered up a detailed play-by-play of each step involved in pressing my personalized cards. I’m such a fan of people doing what they love, and the Studio’s passion for their art form was immediately apparent through their lovingly detailed explanations and extensive wealth of knowledge. Below is a shot of Jenni explaining how the magic happens. The featured designer this Saturday was the lovely, Alyssa Baguss, a local artist who translated mathematical and scientific principles into three modern notecard designs specifically for Lunalux’s event. Do take note of her gorgeous (vintage?) pleated frock below, will you? The sun-drenched Studio is filled with printed inspiration and storied vintage pieces… Alyssa’s designs began in an illustrator software program. Once they were finalized, raised plastic plates were created of each design. The plastic plates were backed with a magnetized metal plate so they would “stick” to the metal press during printing. Above is the side view of the letter […]

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Stationery Saturday

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 13:49:46 +0000

Hello Friday! This weekend I’m headed over to Lunalux, a letterpress studio in Loring Park, for Stationery Saturday, a personalized letterpress stationery event held on select Saturdays throughout the year. I’ve been wanting to partake in this event since I unwittingly stumbled into their shop one Saturday afternoon over a year ago, and it’s taken until now for my schedule to coincide with one of their events. Better late than never, right? I love the tactile nature of letterpress and have always been intrigued by the printing process, so I’m more than excited to have an inside look into how letterpress is made, and of course, take home some letterpress of my own! Here’s how the event works, any time between 11am and 6pm, for $34 you can stop in to have 10 hot-off-the-press personalized letterpress notecards printed just for you, find insight into the letterpress process, nibble on homemade baked goods, and knock out a little Holiday gifting in their stationery shop. Check out Lunalux’s Facebook page for all the juicy details. There’s no pre-registration required, so if you’re looking for something fun to do on Saturday, you might just want to swing into Lunalux for a glimpse of the action, […]

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