week thirty-six 2025
Last week was a blur. Personally I love a holiday weekend. Professionally, not a fan of holiday weeks, at all. The workload doesn't change for me, just the amount of time to complete it. Plus mom (my order fulfillment and retail helper) had a mini-vacation so I couldn't really work in the print shop during retail hours. But I made it and managed to get most everything I needed done. 
The biggest to do of the week - put out fall goods and planners. Which should read, rearrange half of the store to fit in a new Halloween/Fall section and a front-and-center larger planner area. This usually takes me a day and a half to two full days but I didn't have that much time. I did it all day Wednesday so the shop would be cute and clean for our Letter Writing Meet Up Thursday. We added quite a few East End Press goods this year after selling out of some last year. I only have a couple of the banners on display but am considering displaying one of each. They are amazing! We have mushrooms, squashes, haunted houses, Autumn leaves, celestial, Man in the Moon and Samhain. They're all beautiful handmade paper and silkscreen printed and magical. We also stocked up on some Fall washi tape. We have more stickers on order that should arrive next week. If you're feeling ready for fall, come check it out!
And of course, we stocked up on Halloween stationery! Flat note sets and a couple journals all from Parcel. I picked up Parcel after last summer's Stationery Fest in Brooklyn. I love everything they make. We also got in their storybook initial cards, they are stunning. 
I did some design work for our pals The Scent Queen Candle Co. Earlier this year, I designed eight labels for their mercantile line. I'm working on another seven labels for their fall and winter release. I spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect Victorian Style images for each label. It's been much harder than the original set. I had hoped to get through all seven, instead I got three proofs sent off. I'm not a fan of looming deadlines, I'll be trying my hardest to get the first round complete this week. Wish me luck!
Random, randomness...
•Friday night Tom and I joined our friends Jaime and Adam for dinner at Union Pizzaria in Evanston. It was beautiful outside - we got to enjoy the patio, tasty wine and savory pizza. It was perfect and much needed after the hustle of the week. Afterward, Jaime and I went to the Ani DiFranco show at Cahn Auditorium. It was so much fun! If you're not familiar with Ani, she is an epic musician who casts a spell over the entire audience when she performs. She's soulful and energetic and has a huge, empathetic heart. At 5'2" she is a music giant. She's crazy prolific and so ambitious, she created her own record label so she wouldn't be beholden to mainstream record companies. Her label has released albums from dozens of talented artists, including Righteous Babe Records alumni Andrew Bird and Utah Phillips. She's a powerhouse. If you get a chance, go see her. You'll be thankful you did.
•Saturday Vintage Fest popped up in Albany Park. Mr. Favorite and I met fellow Albany Park friends, Manny and Myriam at the fest. We shopped the fest then stopped by Restoried Bookshop. It was our first time in and it made me so happy to have such a gem in our neighborhood. Justin "focuses on books by Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders- alongside other authors of color." I spent a long time perusing, reading book jackets, chatting with Justin, deciding on one book then replacing with another. It was lovely. In the end I walked away with two books: Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang and Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez, a local author. I chose the first based on a book lover's review. I get really excited when book stores offer customer's the chance to review books. I read many of them and have based quite a few purchases from these reviews. Next time you're in Albany Park check out Restoried Bookshop! Then walk south on Kedzie and come see us.
That covers week 36! I hope you all can take a moment and cozy up with a good book this week too.
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