Notebooks and more notebooks

It's that time of the year when everyone is busy either buying or selling or, possibly, both.

I have been busy too, stocking up the shop, mostly with notebooks and bookmarks.

Oh! And we are offering free shipping worldwide on all items for the Black Friday weekend, up to Cyber Monday, take advantage of it!

Swatches from Spoonflower

I ordered fabric test swatches of my new designs from Spoonflower.
I couldn't wait to receive them! And luckily I didn't have to wait that long.

I also ordered a sample kit of their fabrics, to see which would work best for what I want to make, and a very useful colour guide, printed on fabric.

I'm happy with the results, but I'm still playing with prototypes.

I have to admit it, I prefer designing that producing. I always find time to design new patterns, characters and creating prototypes. But the actual production tend to lack behind.

Oh well. Here's a little selection of swatches.

New fabric designs - sneak peak

Here’s a little sneak peak of what I have been working on.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I have been busy creating designs and patterns for a new line of pouches and pencil cases.

I have made a few tests on paper, fabric and an interesting rubbery cotton, that would be perfect for wash bags and make up pouches, and can’t wait to start the production!

In the meantime here you go...

Hope you like them!

Long time....

I know, it's been a long time since my last post! But I have been incredibly busy creating new designs and developing new products.

Not just an excuse, I promise.

I have been given a lovely sewing machine for my birthday and I’m starting working on a new line of pouches and pencil cases, with old and new designs.

They will be available in our shop very very soon!

In the meantime here's the ghosts that have invaded a our cards and tags, just in time for Halloween.

They are cute and very friendly, so don’t be scared to grab a few to play with.

Or maybe to use to invite your friends to your fabulous party!

gift tags

gift tags

note cards

note cards

Stationery tuesday - Stickers

Stickers are fun!

And they can be used in so many projects: as embellishment in scrapbooking and card making, to seal envelopes, to add a colourful touch and decorate journals and notebooks...so many possibility and so many stickers out there!

Here’s a little selection of some that attracted my attention for originality, cuteness and fun factor.

How do you use stickers?

nutandbee


KisforCalligraphy


petitepaperie


BackToCollege



emilyanndesigns


DabbleBabble

I love the rain

Well yes, otherwise I wouldn’t never have moved to London from sunny Rome. Or sunny Gold Coast (Australia).
Or the other sunny places where I’ve lived.

But no, I’ve decided to settle in London, very much aware of the weather and enjoying it like no many other people around.

This August has been particularly wet. Autumn seems to have started earlier than usual...well early than last year for example...I’ve lived here so long that I’m rambling about the weather!



Anyway, to celebrate my fondness for the rain I’ve been working on a series of designs inspired by rain and water in general.

The designs are actually based on a series of little paintings I’ve done a few months ago and I’m now developing those elements into digital form.

I will be using the new designs to decorate notebooks and cards for the autumn collection, that will be available in the shop from next week.



Have a great weekend!

Stationery Tuesday - Letterpress cards

Stationery tuesday is back!

For this week feature I’ve chosen letterpress cards.

Letterpress is an old and fascinating technique, and it’s great that is still used today by so many talented craft people to create lovely, elegant and quirky stationery.

It wasn’t easy to choose between the many beautiful cards I have found, but I’ve selected the ones that seem to take a modern approach to an old technique.

I love the simple elegance that letterpress allows, no matter the subject.

I hope you enjoy the selection.


inkandiron


letterpress


sweetharvey


TumbleweedPress


finedaypress



greengrasspress

Back in Piktoland

The holiday break lasted a bit longer than I planned, but I’m finally back in business.

I have taken this post-holiday period to research new material and find new suppliers and be properly ready for the new season.
It’s going to be busy, it’s going to be fun!

At the moment I’m working on a new line of notebooks and organizers, and I’m thinking to add a few calendars as well.
I’m also having fun with new cute designs to add to our existing family.

I’ve tried some of the designs on gift tags and I’m rather please with the result.



They will be available in our shop very soon!

Holiday & crochet

Piktoland, studio and shop, will be closed for next two week, it’s time for a holiday.

Big Bear, the Piktos and myself will be flying somewhere blue and sunny, to relax and recharge

It’s going to be strange, because I’m not used to take that much off work, and usually I take a bit of work with me.

But this year I’ve decided to take a proper break from everything. Of course I’m going to take a notebook and some pens and markers, for general doodling, but mostly I’m just going to relax and enjoy a bit of “sweet doing nothing”. And some crochet.

I haven’t done any crocheting in ages! And all my previous experiences with crochet involved getting passionate about a project, usually something wearable, making it and then put everything away and forget about crochet. I’ve never been interested in the technique in itself.

This time is different, I want to experiment with the technique, have fun with the process and enjoy its relaxing properties. Also it’s good to do something completely different, cut away from the usual,play a bit, to stimulate the creative process in new ways.

We’ll be back at the beginning of August with new exciting projects and products.

See you then!

Stationery Tuesday - Handamde stamps

It has been such a busy week!
And between one thing and another it’s Stationery Tuesday again.

This week I’ve decided to feature handmade stamps.

I have recently become fascinated by stamping and during my searches I have found so many interesting, quirky and fun handmade ones.

I might try experiment with the technique at some point and create my own, more for my personal amusement than for commercial use, and in the meantime here’s a few of my personal favourites.


ahueofduckeggblue



lilimandrill


twocheeseplease


IndependentAtelier


winemakerssister



lovesprouts


sugarskull7


brownpigeon

Stationery Tuesday - Spiral bound notebooks

Here at Piktoland stationery is our passion and a bit of an obsession.

So, to celebrate this passion I’ve decided to start a weekly post, featuring our favourite stationery finds.

First choice for the series is an old time favourite of mine, spiral bound notebooks from a selection of original designers and artists.

Enjoy!


11m2



Macey Mack


Urban Bird Girl



Irana




Sparrowtracks


Squirrellicious

Meet Jerry

Jerry is our little mascot here at Piktoland.

You might already know him as he’s featured in our avatar and many cards, usually along his little, energy efficient spaceship.

He's a lovely character, a bit shy, but loves to travel around the galaxy, to explore and make new friends.

Jerry is not his real name, of course, but we find impossible to pronounce that one! I don't think there's a sound in any human language to express it, so he has chosen Jerry, for some reason.

His main hobbies are dancing, flying, and playing Zumpa, a curious piktoland game involving a stick a ring and a huge balloon, usually played in a pool.

Travel journals

Travel is such and important part of our lives.

It doesn’t matter if we travel to work, around the globe or across the galaxies, we all have a lot to say about our journey, experiences, dreams, visions, ideas.

With this in mind, and considering my obsession for notebooks and journals, I have decided to introduce them in our collection.

For the first one I’ve used the Space Travel design, an appropriate subject I think.

I’m currently working on more designs to add to the collection, and they will be all available in our Etsy shop.

Mini note card collection

Here's our complete collection of mini note card.

I'm very fond of the square shape and the size (3"x3") is perfect for a little note without having to sacrifice the design.

Most are printed with an original piktoland designs, but we do create some stamped ones, if we find a subject that catches our attention.

They all come with handmade envelopes in different colours, to match the design and they are sold in our Etsy shop in sets of 3.