Wine, chips and salsa, ink, stencils, fabric scraps, heat guns, over 50 people you don’t know - either this is Martha Stewart’s bachelor party or an exciting event with Swedish design maven Lotta Jansdotter. Hosted by San Francisco’s Craft Gym this past Saturday, the printmaking party with Lotta Jansdotter was also a book release party for her latest tome from Chronicle Books, titled Lotta Prints (ah, how I love a play on words).
Now living with her husband and son in Brooklyn, Lotta lived in San Francisco for many years and seemed delighted to be back in the “City by the Bay.” With stencils, linoleum blocks, and potatoes stamps featuring designs from her new book, Lotta showed nearly 50 people how to add personality to plain textiles. I’ve never seen so many people crammed into the Craft Gym before, proving just how much Lotta is still loved on the West Coast.
I personally didn’t have a chance to give any of the printing a shot, but just by watching and listening to Lotta’s techniques, I gained valuable knowledge for an upcoming home decorating project. Of course, a few folks from Chronicle Books were on-hand to sell copies of Lotta Prints. The book is a bit different from Lotta’s well-known Simple Sewing. Instead of featuring expansive step-by-step instructions for specific projects and detailed patterns, readers are given the basics of each printing method, a few stencils and encouraged to play around.
As a person who has always been interested in printmaking, this book is a joy! Drawings, scrap prints, finished projects and photographs taken by Lotta herself accompany the book’s instructions, showing the reader that inspiration can come from anywhere. Whether you are looking to achieve something similar to Lotta’s signature style or hoping to develop a style of your own, Lotta Prints is the book for you. I’ll be using my copy as a reference for both printing instructions and stimulating visuals - as they say, “the sky’s the limit.”
If you live near New York City, make sure to check out the East Coast printing party that Lotta is holding at her studio in Brooklyn this Friday. Below are more pictures that I took at the San Francisco event this past Saturday; enjoy!
Lining up for the excitement!
Chic sandals, worn by Lotta Jansdotter herself.
Learning from the master.
Copies of the evening’s inspiration.
A packed house, only an hour into the event.
10/06/2008 at 8:33 am Permalink
So fun! (I’m so jealous!)