They’re here! They’re here! 2020 calendars have arrived. Truth be told, I didn’t think it would happen this year. ***WARNING Real Life Talk Ahead*** If you prefer the picture perfect Instagram facade of my business, don’t read on.

When I was suppose to be finalizing my design and getting my 2020 calendar files ready for print, I was juggling a lot physically and mentally. The following aren’t excuses for missing deadlines but rather reasons (thanks Tom for giving me that perspective).

In Spring I was prepping for my shop opening which had many more hurdles than anticipated. More significantly, my dad went into hospice. It wasn’t a surprise yet still felt like a punch in the gut and left me breathless. He told me last September he was ill after my relentless prodding and poking about his health. Anyway, my May was filled with trying to get everything set up in the shop and running smoothly so when the time came I could be with my dad. Holiday cards were put on hold and so was the 2020 calendar. Thankfully I work in an industry where people genuinely care about one another, while I felt pressure to complete new holiday and our calendar by end of May, I quickly realized people are very kind and understanding.

June came, I opened the shop with lots of help from my mom and soul mate Tom and rockstar friend Jaime and I got to spend time with my dad. Not gonna get into all the emotions but trust me if you ever get the call to come say goodbye, drop everything and do so.

It’s important to know there is an actual person behind this business. Someone who has to juggle deadlines and family and life and even death. So. Back to the 2020 calendar. It may look like a simple calendar but trust me, it’s a BFD this year and for me, symbolizes my resilience. And now you know why it’s September and I just mentioned our calendar is available. 

Now for the fun details!
Our calendar has all my must-haves; at a glance look for three months ahead, space to write notes, phases of the moon, numbers I can quickly see and recognize holidays fast. I've included phases of the moon, astrological signs and birthstones for each month because I kinda love all that stuff. Plus, it's being sold with a super cute vintage-looking document clip. The clip says OK, a gentle reminder that no matter what happens today or tomorrow, it's gonna be OK.

Refills are sold without the clip. Use it with your favorite clipboard or document clip to hang on the wall. I have a heavy duty magnetic clip that holds one of mine on my file cabinet. They make a perfect hostess gifts, teacher gifts, office gifts, secret santa or gift for any orgaziation lover. You can purchase them here. 

We're having a HUGE sale in our last call section. All cards are $1.00 for this week only! That's not a typo...$1. Our cards are usually $4.50-$5 each. We're getting ready to release newbies & need to make space. Help a girl out! Grab some sweet letterpress cards for $1. 

There's lots of cuties available! All items are while supplies last, we won't be reprinting. Shop early, shop often. What are you waiting for?  Go get yourself some vintage a. favorite design goodies!

We love long distance warm fuzzies! Since 2004 it’s been our mission to encourage long distance warm fuzzies through snail mail. We believe in the magic of snail mail and that a long distance warm fuzzy can change someone’s day or maybe even their life.

Join us Thursday, July 25 for our first letter writing meet up. Mail a card, write a note, type a letter, send a postcard, whatever you choose, come sit with neighbors, write and share warm fuzzies. After all, what you give, you get. 

Thursday, July 25, 2019
5 pm to 7 pm-ish
BYOB

a. favorite design
4432 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

We’ll have postage stamps, pens and typewriters on hand for you to use. Purchase cards, stationery, vintage postcards or letterhead.

Stay for a minute or two hours. We want to share our space & the magic of snail mail with YOU.

Hooray for finished construction, a successful move and Grand Opening!
Please join us Thursday, July 11th for our Grand Opening!

a. favorite design
4432 N Kedzie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625

Thursday, July 11th, 2019
3pm • Ribbon cutting with the Alderman and Chamber
3pm - 6pm • print demos, refreshments and a FREE letterpress card pack for the first 33 customers!

Shop! Print! Sip! Enjoy!

It's been a long time coming! We're excited to share our space with you. All are welcome.

Looking back a lot has happened to get us here. Starting with the launch of our Kickstarter in late July of 2018, which I'm embarrassed and disappointed to say there are a couple outstanding rewards. The hiccups keep coming but I swear all rewards will be delivered soon. Really.

I've learned a lot about construction, permits, moving and navigating an ill parent this last year. A lot. Perhaps my biggest lesson has been learning imperfection is not a problem to overcome or solve but part of being human and a designer. I plan to write more detailed posts about my experiences but for now, here's the overview.

Summer of 2018 was spent gathering estimates for equipment moving, electricians, general contractors, preparing for the holiday season, packing our space and launching our Kickstarter. I have never marketed so much in my life but it paid off. Thankfully, we were fully funded a day before the deadline.

Fall of 2018 was all hustle all the time. We moved our shop into our new location in September. While we had thought construction would be completed by then, it turns out it was barely started. In typical Chicago fashion there were multiple delays with permits. We made it through the holiday wholesale rush and still had our sites on opening our retail space in November, despite not being able to unpack since construction crews would need to work in the space. November came quick and the building was still without construction permits. Sigh... The week of Thanksgiving the permits were approved, finally! Much to my dismay the construction crews that were set to do the work had moved on to other projects. Which makes complete sense for them and their businesses but was extremely discouraging for our business and sanity. The waiting game continued. Meanwhile we were still working out of boxes, unable to make plates because we didn't have a sink or hot water and had to overcome the Chicago cold. We had space heaters everywhere. Heating three people and a 1600 share foot space with four space heaters isn't a viable solution, trust me. Not to mention, trying to print in Chicago when it's below 55° indoors, is nearly impossible. The ink isn't warm enough to distribute and after running the press for a while to try to heat it up the paper just adheres to the plate and the rollers reeking havoc on the plate, paper and press. It's messy, frustrating and a complete waste of time and resources.

ANYWAY. We were assured we'd have heat in December. December came and went. As did January and February and half of March. Finally in mid March we got heat, just when it started getting warmer outside. Our contractor finished installing lights at the end of May, in the nick of time for our V.I.P. party June 1st. We also got air conditioning on May 31st. Nearly a full day before we needed it. That's progress!

We made it through the long cold winter and construction. If we could just get the presses to run smoothly for more than a week, we'd be really set. Our space has just a couple small projects left but for the most part is complete and is looking warm and inviting. I'm excited to share it with our community! More soon.