february 2010 {tota press}

Although I hope that your 2010 has started on a good note, our heart goes out to the families, children and friends of Haiti with the devastating earthquake that has awakened so much tragedy and challenging moments on this small island. This month's card is a simple motif that is made up of many many many origami cranes. Senbazuru - or one thousand cranes - is a tradition of folding 1,000 origami cranes to grant a wish, such as hoping recovery from illness or injury or wishing for a long life. With those thoughts, our version of senbazuru as this month's design has been handpressed on each and every card to wish for health and longlasting recovery for the people of Haiti.*

The red + blue card are for the colors of the Haitian flag and the 2-toned blue card is to honor the UNICEF blue and their color of hope. All profits from this month's subscriptions will be donated to UNICEF for their efforts in Haiti. This donation from TOTA Press is on behalf of our subscribers as it is from their support that this is possible. So thank you to our subscribers...

And we want to share the message to you that every kind gift counts. For those interested in donating, please go to www.unicefusa.org or other websites that are contributing funds to the cause of Hope for Haiti Now.

*Note to subscribers: Senbazuru is a wish for anything - not just for recovery. These cards can be used to wish a couple continued happiness, a person to land that dream job, someone a good day and much more...on that note, happy writing~


Many much more photos on our Facebook page - February 2010 album »


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january 2010 {tota press}

Inspiration

Happy New Year! Cheers to another start of a new year, where we can restart/reboot ourselves to plan and hope for a year full of goodness. All Japanese families gather together {New Years is the biggest traditional holiday - almost the equivalent of Thanksgiving here in the US} for a meal heavy on symbolism to wish for a joyous, healthy and prosperous year.

Symbolism is a huge part of Japanese history and culture. During my last visit to Japan, I visited Nikko in the Tochigi prefecture, which is the home of Toshogu, a lavishly decorated shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - justified by its beautiful grounds, rich history and presence of significant cultural relics. It rained for my visit, but I still enjoyed an inexplicably peaceful walk through the site and learning so much about it. One of my favorite new discoveries was one relatively small object - a helmet which was part of a Samurai war armour that Tokugawa Ieyasu gifted to his grandson, Tokugawa Iemitsu. The helmet {on display at Taiyu-in in the complex} had a large gold dragonfly on the top center. Dragonflies fly directly forward never deviating from its path; Traditionally known as katsumushi or the "victorious insect", the dragonfly was a favorite symbol of strength among Japanese warriors. This philosophy - to be always forward-moving despite any distractions or barriers - was the message that a grandfather wanted to give to his grandson. Despite this being more for war fighting {which is not something I believe in}, I was fascinated by the symbolic creature prominently adorning the helmet. And at the time of a new year, I wanted to borrow that message for all of us to shed the past and move forward with strength and positive energy. So, 1 of the cards has a red dragonfly as a small accent motif with hopefully a bigger meaning.

The 2nd orange card is meant to be a light-hearted design that was inspired by the fireworks, lights and party garlands {I am a long-time fan of the Fabulous Garlands by Sophie Cuvelier} for a fun new years party. The orange was the color choice to honor 2010, which is the year of the tiger {for the Chinese Zodiac}. May your year be fiesty, grand and exciting like our celebrated animal~

May this year bring you amazing experiences, joy, laughter and happiness in all ways~...cheers!


Many much more photos on our Facebook page - January 2010 album »


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december 2009 {tota press}

Inspiration

Happy Holidays everyone~ It's that time of year where we wonder where time has gone and we are going in all directions to end the year right. 'Tis the season and NYC lights up to embrace the holidays and so this month's cards are delivered with some gold and silver shimmer in a subtle style.

I recently walked through Midtown and perused the holiday windows of Bergdorf Goodman - as they are always my favorite. This year's theme is called "Compendium of Curiosities" which I think is a loose interpretation of the Alice in Wonderland stories - there were windows that featured the red and black of playing cards, the rabbit coming out from underground, strange illogical adventures and more. I have to say that compared to other years, the windows {BG and others} are a little bit more "modest" {in a high-end luxury kid of way} but I think that might be an overall trend for the holidays this year...I still enjoyed seeing the glowing streets all lit up.

Also, just recently, I returned from a trip to Japan - and I am ALWAYS influenced by the beautiful aesthetic in the everyday, the understanding of simplicity, the care that goes into the tiny details and the respect for tradition while embracing innovation. Some highlights included a trip to Nikko where I stayed in a hot spring ryokan, the food {both the taste AND presentation}, visiting some 100+ year letterpress and paper shops, a vintage kimono shop and traditional paper fan store...the list goes on. Some trip photos »

I tried to capture that sense of simple beauty in this month's cards while keeping it festive {it is that time of the year!} with shimmer paper and metallic ink. Cheers to a warm, safe, fun, relaxing holiday season to you...



Many much more photos on our Facebook page - December 2009 album »


We are accepting orders now...sign up by December 23rd to receive TOTA Press's January 2010 card~ Holiday gift subscriptions are welcome!
Go to www.totapress.com and click on "Yes, sign me up".

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packaging with mt tape

Yesterday, my TOTA Press December 2009 cards went out in the mail! The last few days and hours of the month are always spent where my working space is upside down and I am in major packaging mode. One of my favorite packaging "tools" is mt tape - a line of masking tape that comes in beautiful colors, sizes and patterns. I am a big fan of the grid pattern {shown above} as it's versatile but adds a touch of uniqueness. But during my last trip to Japan, I got to see their latest colors and patterns, as well as other brands that have come out with similar products {like Classicky, whose cute numbers tape pictured below I got}...and of course brought them home with me. I find the tapes to be refined + simple and use them to seal envelopes, as well as post little notices to customers on their packages. For the holiday season, I bought a silver and gold duo package and used them for the December packages~



Side note: Did you know that there are blogs out there solely about tape and their uses! Like this one, happy tape...ideas ideas!

{Images courtesy of mt, uguisu shoten and happytape}

tota press {october 2009}

Inspiration

October makes an arrival with a hint of what's to come {winter} soon. But without getting too ahead of ourselves, this month's design is dedicated to the lovely autumn season here on the east coast. Introducing a new paper type {dark exterior with a light interior so you can still easily write on it}, the duo of cards create 2 very different moods.

This month was eventful. I had an amazing trip to the Euskal Herriko/Pais Vasco/Basque Country - both on the Spain and France sides - to celebrate my best friend's wedding. She got married on the coast of Guethary - a small, quaint and charming village between San Sebastian and Biarritz - with a ceremony along the sea and a reception at a local inn/restaurant. Trailing into the amour-filled wedding festivities, I got to travel to La Rioja wine region {having a glass of wine before lunch is fantastic!}, the desert dunes of Bardenas Reales, the film festival of San Sebastian, the countryside of Bidarray and much more. I could not help but notice the leaves changing colors as I strolled through vineyards and countryside. Food is such a significant part of the culture there {and for me personally!} and much of the cuisine and dining experience reflected the seasonal foods of the autumn. Everything was so fresh and I loved + appreciated the embracing of the new season.

Here in NYC, we have hints of fall too. Our days are getting shorter! But I did get to photograph some really amazingly pretty sunsets of the NYC skyline - taken from Queens. The bright orange sun lighting up the clouds and creating a sillouette of the skyscrapers is something we can never get bored of. Fall also means Fashion Week to show Spring/Summer 2010 trends. I can't quite get my mind that far advance, but in terms of trends, I notice SO much plaid motifs. Shirts, sneakers, scarves...and for types - tartan, buffalo, delicate, bold...all of it. So there is a little bit of deconstructed plaid that has made its presence on this month's design.

Also, I wanted to capture a sense of wabi-sabi that can be felt from a visit to the Noguchi Museum in LIC Queens. Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that when defined is probably the beauty of things imperfect, modest and humble. Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, simplicity, modesty, and the suggestion of natural processes. The Noguchi Museum highlights a collection by the artist with pieces of stone, metal, wood, and clay. It is such a peaceful experience to walk through the museum and adjacent garden - and the falling leaves there is a definite mark of the fall too.

So with a single leaf - 1 dark and 1 bright - among falling squares, I hope that you all enjoy this transitional season...


Many much more photos on our Facebook page - October 2009 album »

We are accepting orders now...sign up by October 15th to receive TOTA Press's November 2009 card~
Go to www.totapress.com and click on "Yes, sign me up".

Please help me *spread the word* and share this posting or website address www.totapress.com with friends, family, colleagues and anyone who you think would appreciate this idea. And! Become a fan on Facebook to get the latest news + updates and to share with your multitude of friends~

tota press for plate by plate 2009

Every year Project by Project {a national volunteer organization of social entrepreneurs that serve Asian American non-profits in need by raising public awareness, volunteerism, and capital} hosts their marquis event - Plate by Plate Annual Tasting Benefit - and this year's will be on Friday, October 2nd, at Metropolitan Pavilion South. The event showcases New York City’s premier restaurants and is attended by food and wine loving guests who look forward to sampling what the city's best has to offer. Project by Project annually partners with a different community-based organization and tailors a year-long campaign to help its fundraising, community outreach, and public awareness efforts - 2009 funds will be going to Asian American For Equality (AAFE).

TOTA Press was invited to participate in the event and will be donating our handmade cards to be included in the VIP gift bags. Project by Project is truly an active and professional organization - and I am so excited and proud to be part of their cause.

To attend this event, Plate by Plate tickets can be purchased here
For more information, please visit their website: www.platebyplate.org/new york


{ Images from Plate by Plate/Project by Project website }

tota press featured on daily candy!!!

Just upon the mailing of our September cards...thank you Daily Candy for the nod and feature: Will Divulge When Pressed - TOTA Press is thrilled!!!

Inspiration for September 2009 card design...

Perhaps because of the pretty mild summer {yes, we had some hot hot days but overall it wasn't so bad}, it's hard to imagine that back-to-school-September is upon us. But alas, as people return to staying more local on the weekends, days get shorter, store windows take down their sundresses and replace them with jackets and long sleeves, summer is ending...and autumn is approaching.

Many things this month brought me to water. I strolled the High Line located at the former site of the elevated railway that ran along the west side of Manhattan. Among the preserved railway pieces and landscaped gardens, there are pockets of space created for sitting and taking a break - and I feel as though this park succeeds in celebrating the urban outdoors of NYC in a new way. One of my favorite moments is an art installation called The River that Flows Both Ways by Spencer Finch - a piece that subtly changes depending on the light that shines through and around it and is inspired by the industrial legacy of the Hudson River.

Any spare time there is, I think about my upcoming trip to the Basque country {both French and Spanish sides} for my dear friend's wedding. Inspired by their love for the ocean, the Basque culture and surfing, it is an intimate beach wedding in Guethary, France followed by a reception at a local inn that overlooks the coastline. Looking at photos + websites to help plan the trip, I look forward to taking in the food, culture, coastline views, wine...did I already say food?...and of course the celebration of this special time.

And recently on a weekday whim, I hopped on the ferry to go to Sandy Hook. The best part is getting to and from there - no car hassle, traffic or anything of the sort. Instead you get beautiful views of the city, while passing under the big 3 bridges in the East River...and even a far glimpse of Coney Island from the water side. The beach was not very crowded but I felt the energy of kids and families trying to soak in the most of the remaining summer long days. With a wave motif, this month's design is an ode to the spirit of water and perhaps not being able to see as much of it as the season changes - see you next year summer~

For more information about TOTA Press, please visit the website or our Facebook page.

thank you springwise!

To a nice surprise, TOTA Press - my handmade letterpress card subscription service - was reviewed by Springwise {an online collective source of promising new business ideas and young ventures around the globe} as seen here. The positive support towards handmade, personal and one-of-a-kind products is super appreciated - and I hope that others feel so as well~

For more information about TOTA Press, please visit the website or our Facebook page.

tota press launch!

I introduce to you a new project launched by Studio TOTA - TOTA Press - a handmade letterpress card-of-the-month subscription~

Every month 2 custom-designed and hand-printed letterpress cards will be mailed to subscribers. Ideas and inspirations for the monthly card design will be updated on the website - so please visit us often. We hope you can enjoy a *pleasant surprise* in the mail every month!

August 2009 cards were just sent out. We are accepting new orders for next month's card! Sign up to receive TOTA Press's September card~
Go to www.totapress.com and click on "Yes, sign me up".

Please help me *spread the word* and share this posting or website address www.totapress.com with friends, family, colleagues and anyone who you think would appreciate this idea. And! Become a fan on Facebook to get the latest news + updates and to share with your multitude of friends~

And I'd also love to hear feedback from you, so please share your thoughts!

Thanks in advance for checking it out~ & enjoy the cards...

financial crisis tour

Recession, crisis, cutbacks...these are words that have been affecting us for a while now. Despite the fact that it impacts us greatly, we've become a little numb to these words and forget to think about what it all really means. My friend, Andrew, who used to be a VP at Deutsche Bank {located at 60 Wall St} lives and works on Wall Street. He is taking his experience as a Wall Street trader, teacher and New Yorker and has formed the Financial Crisis Tour for his company, The Wall Street Experience. Combining Wall Street's history with exciting first-hand accounts of the Financial Crisis, he reveals the inside scoop on what has happened - through a variety of walking tours of the neighborhood.
Studio TOTA worked on promotional materials, such as the flyer card above, that is advertising his tours at several spots across the NYC area, including 5 NYC Tourism Bureau locations. Competing with all of the other rack cards located in these kind of locations, we wanted to create a design with bold graphics and eye-catching colors - and of course lots of information for prospective tour-goers.
The Financial Crisis Tour has received lots of impressive press attention, including Fox News, BBC, Dow Jones Financial News and more. So whether you are a New Yorker or not, check out the details and enjoy Andrew's tours! {Hint: Today's Friday...might be a great weekend activity~}

rosenberg housing group {website}

Please welcome the new website for Rosenberg Housing Group that just launched this week. Rosenberg Housing Group Inc. is involved in the successful development, operation and management of many affordable housing communities that result in thriving, sustainable environments for all of its residents. The organization is led by Robert C. Rosenberg, who has crossed all paths of real estate + development as a former NYC Housing Commissioner, policy maker, lawyer and professor at Hunter College.
Studio TOTA designed a website that is rich in information - sourced from RHG's vast experience in the affordable housing realm - and that promotes the use of current web design/development capabilities to enhance a site visitor's experience while learning about RHG, their services, their experience, and information about affordable housing. Above is the Home page that has entry points to all of the major sections of the site, as well as features a video that shows RHG's work within the Chester Housing Authority in Chester, PA. The video embodies the human spirit of RHG and communicates the impact that this organization has had and can potentially offer to housing communities. Below are some screenshots of the Experience section of the website that shows project profiles and case studies related to their work.
I felt as though I captured a rare opportunity to learn so much about affordable housing and development {as someone who is not directly connected to this service} from a true veteran. Studio TOTA hopes to make RHG and those professionally involved with affordable housing proud. For a full view, check out the RHG website here~

seven virtues goods

Studio TOTA has been collaborating with PDX coffeeshop Seven Virtues since its creation and has had the fun opportunity to create their logo, branding, printed materials, etc. etc. T-shirts were designed for the staff and mugs were made for the shop...and due to popular requests, Seven Virtues is now selling these items as merchandise. How exciting! All of the items, including t-shirt {above}, thermos and mug {below} have the trademark logo and their 7 virtues {compassion, kindness, gratitude, honesty, humility, forgiveness and patience}, printed on it. E-shop is launching soon but in the mean time, you can find out more details via their blogsite~

south of france wedding {invitations}

My dear friends, who live in France, are getting married in September! And I had the fortunate opportunity to design and hand-print the wedding invitation. They are getting married in the town of Guéthary in the Basque Country {a neighbor of Biarritz} - with a beach ceremony and a reception dinner at a local restaurant that overlooks the ocean. To celebrate the beautiful ocean of their wedding location, as well as his {and hers in progress} love for surfing, I created a motif of an ocean wave in a style that is hopefully reminiscent of the Japanese woodblock print process {Ukiyo-e}.
Otherwise, the design was kept very simple with the couple's wishes of wanting the invitation to look like "an old hand written letter." The invites are not hand-written but I did personally letterpress each invitation and matching RSVP postcard. It was such a nice feeling to run each 220 lb sheet into the Vandercook press, as it placed its impression in the thick paper. Here are some work-in-progress photos from the letterpress studio. {top to bottom: 1. soy ink mixture to create dark navy blue color; 2. custom plate of invitation design; 3. on the Vandercook press}
The final result is hopefully sophisticated {just like the happy couple}. More photos of the invitations that were sent out to guests who will be coming from the US, France, and Japan. {top to bottom: 1. invite package with a matching dark navy liner; 2. envelope, invitation, and RSVP postcard; 3. detail of invitation; 4. RSVP postcard - guests are given a blank postcard to write a personal message to the happy couple; 5. other side of RSVP with French postal stamps designed like pieces of chocolate; 6. sheet of French postal stamps that are designed to look like a chocolate bar - how cute~}
It was such a fun experience and I cherish the feeling that I had a small part in making their wedding come together. Now, on to more fun things like planning the trip in September!

fotolog backgrounds

Studio TOTA had a really fun time designing backgrounds for photo blogging social network site, Fotolog. Before, users were only able to choose a HEX value for a custom background color - but this week, the ability to add graphics to customize member pages has been launched. Targeting all kinds of users - teens, photographers, music lovers, hipsters - a BUNCH of designs in bright and muted colors + minimalist and graphic crazy themes have been created {some samples above}. Graphic patterns were created with various transparency levels so that users could customize the overall page color to their liking. For example, if a user chooses the *cloud* pattern, if their custom color is blue or pink or yellow, that color would show through and the cloud pattern would be overlaid on top. Fotolog strongly believes in their users' ability to express their own self, so this has become just one more element to enrich the Fotolog experience. Some sample member pages below~

townhouse green group

Please welcome an informational microsite for The New York City Townhouse Green Group, a one-stop solution to renovating or building a high performance townhouse. After designing the logo, Studio TOTA designed and developed a microsite {basically, one-page mini website} to highlight introductory information of TGG's services. This group is a collective of amazing design and construction professionals who have joined forces to provide comprehensive high-performance, sustainable, green design/build services. Visitors are encouraged to jump to the individual company websites that make up the collective to learn more about them.

Microsites are a good way to launch your business and get web presence without investing too much time and money into creating a full fledged website project. Robust websites are not a bad thing {at all!}, but when your business is just starting or you are increasing traffic to your own site - such as TGG that is comprised of 3 established businesses that formed this group to offer a packaged solution/service - a microsite is something that may make sense for you and your company.

aaf nyc {private preview}

Last night was the Private Preview event for the Affordable Art Fair NYC! As mentioned before and before, Studio TOTA has worked on all design materials related to the Fair - and so this event was a nice reward for the months of work and collaboration that has been taking place. And it was my opportunity to see all of the on-site design materials {including booklet + signage photographed here} in person and come all together at the venue. There was a good turnout of people and as I walked around, there is some great work to see for sure. Perhaps because of the economy, the price range of the work was relatively 'affordable'...and with the galleries from all over the world present, there was a fantastic range of mediums and styles. Thank you to friends and colleagues who came by to support me and the event~ I really really do appreciate it. The fair continues until Sunday at 7W New York so I hope you get a chance to check it out. Visitor information available here.

montesbuild {business cards}

I finally took some photos of these business cards Studio TOTA designed for MontesBuild - a company that specializes in green design/build services. We created a splash page to start off their online presence, but business cards for meetings with clients, architects and other partners became necessary. Given creative freedom, we produced cards that use a few interesting printing processes. The front of the card has a varnish letterpress {no color} of the company logo, which adds some texture to the card. The back side is offset printing with the individual's name in bright yellow and the contact + company information in white against dark dark gray. The cards are thick to represent the solidity of MontesBuild's work in the construction industry. And because of the thickness, a unique element added was to get the sides {the thickness of the card} painted in the same yellow as the cardholder's name. {Detail photo on the bottom} I think it's a minimalist but bold accent that leaves a bit of a memorable impression. Thoughts?

modern wedding

My friend's wedding {whose wedding invitations I did} came and went - it was a beautiful modern ceremony and wedding at the Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA. Photographed here is the stunning venue, the matching programs I designed, dark rich floral arrangements, the amazing interior, and more. What a nice {and stylish} way to start a new chapter in their life~

subway ads! {aaf nyc 2009}

Another update on Studio TOTA work {previous post re: print materials} for The Affordable Art Fair NYC 2009! One of the items I find really exciting about the whole campaign is the subway ad that I design and then get to see in my local NYC subway stations. Above are some snapshots of the ad up in various stations. Although magazine and website ads are also public/out-in-the-open forms of advertisement...for me, there is a just a different REALLY-out-in-the-open exposed feeling* about subways ads. When you're twiddling your thumbs and waiting for the subway, if there is a nice ad, you definitely check it out {well, at least I do}. So I hope that these ads may catch your eye and make you want to go to the Fair~

*Last year, I had a big takeout coffee cup image on the poster and in 1 station, someone cut out the coffee cup with an x-acto knife perfectly outlined! I always wondered what that person did with the image...perhaps s/he has a coffee-fetish?...perhaps s/he put it on their ceiling above the bed as the first thing to see in the morning?...minds will wander. Wondering if anything quirky like that will happen this year...

schmap photo

Fun little tidbit - a photo I took during my last visit to Paris of the Pompidou Center has been used in online travel guide, Schmap {direct link to this page}. As a free guide of many cities around the world, this site is quite informative of travel destinations in terms of history, sights, top picks, reviews, maps, and links. They even enable for you to download the guide to your machine, as well as having their guides iPhone-optimized. So check it out for your next travel rendezvous~
Have a great weekend all!

The Affordable Art Fair NYC {invites +ads}

The Affordable Art Fair NYC 2009 is one month away {May 7th - 10th!} and Studio TOTA has been busy creating the materials for the show. This year's design concept is prominently featuring the Empire State Building {right across from the Fair's venue} and the theme is "Build your own art empire - banish blank walls" {get it?}. Off the press and getting into people's hands now are the invitations and passes for the Fair. And I thought I would share with you how they look...

- The top photo is of a complimentary pass {front & back} to be handed out by galleries and press to their clients. This design with a pink circle motif radiating from the tip top of the Empire State Building is an ode to the Art Deco era {when the building was built} and the primary design concept.
- The photo below that is of an invitation to the Private Preview event happening on the night before the Fair opens. These invites are intended for VIP {ooh la la~} and so to make them a bit special, we printed them on shimmering metallic paper. The design is a pattern inspired by the facade of the Empire State Building and hopes to have a modern + sophisticated look.
- The below photo is of an ad running in May's issue of Elle Decor. There are print ads also in upcoming issues of Art News, Met Home, Time Out NY, NY Times, AM New York...and online ads in New York Magazine...as well as subway posters in various stations {going up next week} so be on the lookout~
...And hope you like this year's designs!

PS. I have a few complimentary passes {that means free admission~} for the Fair that I'd like to give away so if you are in NYC and want to check it out, please email me with subject "AAF comp pass" and include your mailing address...first come first serve.

wedding invitations {metallic lines}

My friend is getting married in April - and Studio TOTA is happily involved in designing all of the wedding materials. The venue for this black-tie celebration is at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA - a metal sculpture of a building designed by renowned architect, Frank Gehry. With such a dynamic location, it easily served as a source of inspiration. Utilizing metallic paper that has a glittering sheen, we designed a modern motif of intertwining lines that hopes to create a serene but formal feel to the invitation set. Above is the front and back side of the actual invitation - and below are detail shots as well as the complimenting response card. The programs, menus, etc. all have a matching feel to create a consistent look for the whole day's events. It's been such a pleasure collaborating with the bride and groom in doing all of this. Congratulations to the happy couple~