New cards

Here are some of my new cards which I recently launched at Pulse. A bit of a mixed bag of occasion, patterned, phrase and Valentines (bit out of season I know -  they sell very well all year round to the old romantics out there!) And there's a nod to the Olympics with the top one - we can only hope!

I'll put some of these in my shop this week and try to have a little re-fresh. It's all a little tricky as I'm gradually getting surrounded by boxes - moving day scheduled for the 11th - next Wednesday. So much to do. I have a whole studio to pack up and transport. Not looking forward to that at all. But I am looking forward to my new bigger studio in the garden. It needs work and I won't be able to re-locate to it just yet (I'm going to be working in the house until I get sorted) but all in good time.

All the new card designs are now on my website.

Pulse 2012

A belated post of my stand at Pulse 2012 this year (2 weekends ago).

Against what seemed sometimes like all the odds and after a very tiring few weeks I made it to Pulse with a fully digitally converted range of cards, new prints and new gift wrap.

I had a very positive response to everything, met lots of new people and gained new stockists.  Living and working where I do (in the middle of Yorkshire) trade fairs are a very important way for me to meet new people, see my stockists, get feedback and do a bit of 'networking'. Otherwise it can be a lonely old job sat at my mac and stood at my screen bed! It's always nice to get out and realise what and who else is out there.

Launchpad was looking very good this year and there were some very well-designed stands. It was my 4th Pulse and I've got to know fellow exhibitors over the years and it's nice that we fall into the same trade fair routines of dinner at The Troubadour, taking turns fetching coffees and chatting in-between the passing people. 

I'll be posting a bit more about my new designs, products and changes over the coming week. We have a pending house-move in the next 2 weeks so I have a busy week trying to get myself ahead in preparation.

Hot & Orange

It's been a hot and sticky printing day today. I would have loved to have been out in the sun but the sunshine streaming through into my print room door was good enough instead. I was even printing with a very sunny summery orange to match the weather. (It was for a new card - I'll be posting lots of new things in the coming week or two.) And even the rubbish bin looked colourful today with lovely bright blues, oranges and reds.
It's busy busy in the Alison Hardcastle studio at the moment with all the Pulse preparation and lots of orders and commissions. On top of that I have some major changes in the next couple of weeks - the biggest being my long-deliberated transition from screen printed cards to digital press. If this happens according to plan I'll be launching them at Pulse at Earls Court on the 10th, 11th and 12th of June. Fingers crossed. I'm also hoping that this week will see the delivery of my newest products - a small range of gift wrap (just 2 designs to start with). I'm very excited to see what it looks like and I'll be posting pictures hopefully this week. So another fingers crossed for that one too. Plus there will be a new limited edition print or two at Pulse.
As always the planning and preparation of a trade fair has taken over my life for a few weeks and just when everyone else is enjoying bank holidays and the long-awaited summer sun I seem to be stuck inside working harder than ever. (Although we did manage a bbq at my sisters tonight so there was a bit of relaxing time!)

Cocoa Wonderland & new stockists

Welcome to Cocoa Wonderland - one of my newest stockists. They are a a Sheffield-based shop dedicated to the wonders of all things chocolate and sweet - an 'enchanted chocolate wonderland'! It's a shop packed full of lovely chocolate and other treats. Sounds like heaven to me! Kate and Anne have really welcomed my cards into their shop - even having a new shelf made especially - and done a lovely blog post on the cards.  Have a look at their blog and website - and see if you're tempted by the treats in their online shop.
My other latest stockists include:
The School of Life
Future & Found
Leadbetter & Good
Nookshop
KK Outlet
The Curious Pancake.

Welcome all! Good to have you on board.

Jackie Magpie

I did a little interview with Lizzie from the Jackie Magpie blog which is featured on the blog today. If you  want a little insight into the world of Alison Hardcastle go and have a read.
Answering questions on myself and my work is always a really useful way of re-evaluating things for me.
Thanks Lizzie.

I'm very much flat-out at the moment in preparation for Pulse and the many other things which are all falling within June (commissions, house-moving, out-sourcing printing.......)
My days are filled with:
Designing (the fun bit)
Printing, packing and despatching orders (as always)
Organisational things for Pulse
Communicating with printers
Trying to squeeze more than is actually possible into each day.....

Full steam ahead!

Happy National Stationery Day!

I've only just realised that it's National Stationery Day. That's shameful considering it's a big part of what I do.
So to celebrate here's a few of my most favourite stationery specialists:
Yellow Owl Workshop, Egg Press and and image from my all time favourite one-stop-shop for the best in interesting and unusual stationery (and also one of my favourite websites) - Present and Correct.
Happy Stationery Day!

Home

Houses are on my mind.

We're still house-hunting. -Looking for somewhere which will be our family home to replace the one we've made - a much harder task than I thought it would be. We love our house and it's become home for the three of us but we've sadly outgrown it and need somewhere a bit bigger (a bigger studio is on the wish list). We're finding it very hard to find somewhere to live up to our hopes and dreams and expectations (in budget) and which will be a worthy replacement for the home we've created here. I'm much more emotionally attached to it than I initially thought.

It's all taking up far too much time - physically and mentally. I still hope we find somewhere we can happily call home again and with a studio space where my business will have the room I'm longing for.

It's made me realise again just how important my work-space is to me and I hope I can re-create my little snug studio (albeit a hopefully bigger version) wherever we end up. Disruptions such as this disrupt my thoughts and creativity so I hope it won't go on much longer.

Above are House page markers and Bird house keyring available from Snowhome. Also Ferm house shelves and the house image is adapted from my Happy New Home card.