Cute handmade stationery and cards

New website and new blog

2011-02-07T04:13:00.000-08:00

After months of hard work, I have moved the piktoland blog to my own domain.

Come and visit us at piktolog!

Notebooks and more notebooks

2010-11-26T04:03:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-15T04:14:00.000-07:00

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....

2010-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-28T02:43:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-18T02:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-13T02:43:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-06T01:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

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.

Good morning and good monday

2010-06-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

After a restful weekend I’m ready for another busy week in piktoland. So much to do and organize!

Continuing the production of our current lines, with some minor changes and new new images, creating new products and designs, organizing for the market and contacting a few local shops, to see if they’d like to have our products in display.

With so much to do I’m also organizing my time in a more efficient way, trying different approaches to the working day and see what’s best. I keep reminding myself that we are still at the early stages and everything is still a work in progress, with lots of space for experimentation and improvement.

In the end I love what I do and I’m enjoying every aspect of it - from the creative to the production line, from the organizing to the administrating, it’s all good fun!

Dreaming of summer - new cards design

2010-06-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today I spent most of the afternoon playing with new ideas and designs.

The weather has been strangely autumnal recently in London, and there's still a month till my holiday, so I've created a little summer scene to cheer myself up.

I thought it could be suitable to use on cards and I've printed a few prototypes to test the designs.

They should be available in our shop in a few days.

Hope you like them.

New designs and the market idea

2010-06-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to move at a nice pace here in the piktoland factory (also known as my little workshop ^_^).

I’ve started listing items in our Etsy shop, creating new products and designing new lines.

I’m also getting ready to hit the local markets.
I’ve done the markets before, with another project, and I have mix feelings about it.  You really need to have the right product and find the suitable venue, otherwise it can be just a waste of time and money.

But I also think it’s not just about sales, there’s the promotional factor to consider.
Getting your online shop going and successful just by listing product on Etsy (or Flosky, or any other online shop) doesn’t seem to work. Not for me at least. 

I do get lots of views from twitter, but as most people there are sellers like myself, I doubt that the views will translate into sales.

So, I really need to find another, better way to get my products out there, to spread the word about piktoland.

Having a stall to a craft market is a good way to get feedback about your product and your brand. You can see right away what sells and what not. You can have the best product online, but if people don’t see it and you don’t get any kind of feedback, it’s very easy to get discouraged and thinking that you are doing wrong. By interacting directly with the public you can find what is your target market and what they are looking for.

I’m more and more convinced that’s the step to take at this moment. So it’s just a matter of deciding which is better for my product, stocking up with enough items to nicely fill the stall, dress it to impress and go!

The choice is between Camden Lock, the Old Spitalfield Market and the Greenwich one. As I’ve already done Camden and Spitalfield and know how they work I might start with those and see how it goes.

Ok, enough chatting now, resuming production with a clear goal in mind.

Cheerio!

Welcome to Piktoland

2010-06-09T01:43:00.000-07:00

All is about to start, and we are busy getting everything ready for our launch.

Piktoland is about paper and fun, mostly Tania having fun with paper for the enjoyment of all.

We are going to sell our cards, prints, tags, badges and more, from our Etsy shop.
Also we are thinking of visiting a few markets in London on a regular basis.

Hope to see you there.