Search Results for: kids

How to Help Families Separated at the Border

I spent most of last week and this past weekend feeling physically ill over the news coming out of the U.S.-Mexico border. Nearly 2,000 children separated from their families in April and May 2018. Many of these families are seeking asylum in the United States – which is 100% a legal form of immigration codified in international treaty obligations – but are now being prosecuted for the misdemeanor of entering the country illegally. At the same time, officials are refusing to allow families to cross through valid ports of entry to claim asylum, a violation of international law. There are also reports that the government is separating asylum-seeking families that ARE allowed to present themselves at legal ports of entry so the government can keep the parents in jail-like immigration detention while their asylum cases are adjudicated. Babies. Toddlers in diapers. Hysterical children with no one to comfort them. This is happening to children and families just like mine. To parents just like me. Families seeking asylum, just like my Jewish great grandmother who came to the United States after fleeing war and persecution in Eastern Europe. This goes beyond politics. I cannot sit silently while this is going on, and I hope you will also help in any way that you can – whether that means donating to some of the organizations below, joining a protest in your area, or calling, texting, and writing to your Congressional representatives.

Mr. Rogers

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE

One of the most important things you can do right now is contact your Congressional representatives to express your views. There are three important pieces of Congressional legislation that would prevent family separations at the border and provide assistance to unaccompanied or separated minor children in the United States:

  • S. 3036 – Keep Families Together Act would prevent the Department of Homeland Security from taking children from their parents at the border and require the Department of Homeland Security to provide parents with information on how to locate a child if separated. Check here to see if your Senators support this bill (under the cosponsors section). 
  • R. 5950/S.2937 – the HELP Separated Children Act would protect the safety and well-being of minor children who have been left alone and vulnerable after their parents have been arrested or detained by U.S. immigration authorities. Check here to see if your Senators support the Senate version of this bill (under the cosponsors section), and check here to see if your Representative supports the House version.
  • R. 2043/S. 2468 – the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2018 would provide unaccompanied minor children with access to legal representation when they appear in removal proceedings before an immigration judge. Because three year olds should not have to represent themselves in court. Check here to see if your Senators support the Senate version of this bill (under the cosponsors section), and check here to see if your Representative supports the House version.

Printable Dear Senator / Dear Representative Postcards by Allie Hasson

Download these printable postcards by Allie Hasson here

You can look up the address and phone number for your two senators here. You can look up your house representative using your zip code here. When you click on their name, scroll down and you’ll see an address and a phone number for their Washington, DC office. Contacting their DC staff is totally okay, or you can click through to their individual website to find local contact info. You can download these printable Dear Representative/Dear Senator postcards by Allie Hasson right here.

Fun Fact: residents of the District of Columbia, where I live, have no voting representation in Congress! We have no Senators, and only one non-voting House representative, which means DC residents don’t get to have our views represented on any of these important policy issues. So please, if you live in one of the 50 states, contact your Senators and Representative and make your voice heard – because I can’t!

When contacting your senator or representative, it’s best to keep things short and sweet. Make sure to include the name of the city or town where you live so the staff will know you’re actually a constituent – otherwise they may disregard your call or letter completely! – and a brief statement outlining your concerns and what you want them to do.

If your Congressional representatives do not currently support the legislation above, urge them to co-sponsor each bill by name and number (this helps their staff track constituent support for specific legislation). For example: I’m a constituent of [Town/State] and I’m calling/writing to ask that [Sen Name] support S. 3036, the Keep Families Together Act, to stop the separation of immigrant families at the U.S. border. This practice is immoral and unnecessarily harms innocent children. It must be stopped by Congress immediately. I’d also like you to support S. 2937, the HELP Separated Children Act, and S. 2468, the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2018, to provide assistance for unaccompanied minor children in the United States.

If your Congressional representatives do support the legislation, contact them anyway to say thank you! It’s important that Senators and House representatives hear from their constituents on important policy issues so they know they’re heading in the right direction.

BTW – whether you’re writing a letter or making a phone call, there’s an amazing resource called 5Calls.org that determines your representatives based on your zip code, allows you to select your priority issues or bills, and gives you a specific script for that issue. You can definitely add your own text and opinions, but it’s a great starting point!

And if you get phone anxiety and want to get a message to your representatives out quickly, Resistbot is a texting service that will deliver your message for you. Text the word RESIST to 50409 to get started.

DONATE

There are lots of ways to support the organizations working on these important issues, from donations to volunteering your time in your area. There are a bunch of great organizations listed in this Slate article, but I tried to round up a few that I heard about from multiple sources below, starting with the organizations in Texas:

The Texas Civil Rights Project represents families and their young children separated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the border. They are seeking volunteers who speak Spanish, Mam, Q’eqchi’ or K’iche’ and have paralegal or legal assistant experience to help with intake efforts in McAllen, Brownsville, Laredo, El Paso, and Alpine, Texas. You can also donate to support their efforts here.

RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) works with parents in detention centers in Texas. They have a bond fund to help reunited families and fight their cases from the outside. You can support that bond fund here.

Neta RGV is providing supplies for families waiting to request asylum at legal ports of entry along the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. CBP is claiming they are at capacity and unable to process them, forcing families to stay outside in the South Texas heat for days and weeks. They are seeking donations of supplies such as diapers, wipes, water, and non-perishable food items. Donate and volunteer here.

LUPE (La Union del Pueblo Entero) is a non-profit organization providing pro bono immigration legal services in McAllen, Texas and the Rio Grande Valley area. Consider donating here. 

Human Rights First provides pro bono legal services for asylum seekers around the United States, including in the Houston, Texas area. They’re looking for volunteer lawyers who can represent asylum seekers, and you can consider donating here. 

Here is an Amazon wish list for the Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas. These items go directly to the Sacred Heart Respite Center working with families seeking asylum, including parents seeking to be reunited with their children. You can also send gently used items, including shoes, pants, and shirts to 1721 Beaumont Ave, McAllen, TX 78501 

Arizona: The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project is a nonprofit organization providing free legal and social services to women, men, and unaccompanied children in immigration custody in Arizona. The Florence Project seeks volunteers including pro bono lawyers, interpreters, researchers, medical professionals, and administrative assistants. You can e-mail [email protected] for volunteer opportunities and donate here.

New Mexico: The Santa Fe Dreamer’s Project provides pro bono legal services for New Mexico’s immigrant community, including assistance for unaccompanied minors. They currently represent several fathers detained at the border and transferred to a federal criminal prison in New Mexico. They are seeking volunteer lawyers and volunteers with language skills. You can also donate here. 

Illinois and Wisconsin: The Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI Chicago) seeks volunteers for a variety of activities, from observing the proceedings at immigration court to visiting immigrant detention centers in the area, and helping mentor newly arrived immigrants.

Pennsylvania: Aldea – The People’s Justice Center in Reading, Pennsylvania needs volunteer interpreters (especially Spanish and indigenous language speakers), attorneys, and legal assistants for help at the Berks Family Detention center, which currently houses unaccompanied minors and children separated from their families. Sign up to volunteer here.

Washington State: The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project needs volunteer Spanish, Mam, Q’eqchi’ or K’iche’ translators and interpreters for detained immigrant families, including more than 200 parents separated from their children at the border who have been transferred to this area. NWIRP has offices in Granger, Seattle, Tacoma or Wenatchee. If you speak any of these languages and live in the area, you can volunteer here. 

Keep Families Together / Ladyfingers Letterpress

Keep Families Together Printable Poster by Ladyfingers Letterpress

JOIN A PROTEST

A National Day of Action with marches and rallies across the country will take place on June 30 – join us in DC or find a march in your area right here. The awesome ladies of Ladyfingers Letterpress have kindly offered a free printable poster that you can download right here for all your protesting needs. Thank you ladies!

NSS 2018 Sneak Peek: Wild Ink Press

Ready for another NSS 2018 Sneak Peek?? Great! This one comes to us from Rebekah at Wild Ink Press (booth 1633!), who will be traveling to NYC with her four month-old baby in tow! I can’t decide if I’m more excited for the stationery or to meet little Charlotte. I mean, just look at how adorable she is! Okay okay, back to the paper. This year, Rebekah collaborated with Alcohol Ink artist Heidi Stavinga to create a series of greeting cards and alcohol ink gift wrap sheets. The cards all feature Rebekah’s lovely hand lettering over Heidi’s animal illustrations, while the gift wrap sheets have more minimalist designs. Wild Ink Press is also adding nine new cards to their popular colorful Happy Cards collection, including a little something for the guys!

NSS 2018 Sneak Peek: Wild Ink Press

NSS 2018 Sneak Peek: Wild Ink Press

Oh, and check this out: a BIG Kitchen Write-in Calendar! I’m personally just so excited for this. We love using a large format calendar to keep track of appointments and events, and this is perfect! I’ll let Rebekah explain the inspiration and details:

The kitchen is the heart of the home and the place where everything comes together. I searched to find an attractive solution to keep all of our families happenings in one place (where the kids could see them too!) and this calendar was the answer: 18 x 25.5 inches, two months at a time, with plenty of space for menu planning, grocery lists, birthdays, chore charts, love notes, you name it. It’s letterpress printed on heavy Kraft or black (for that chalkboard feel) stock, and comes ready to hang with our handcrafted wooden hanger.

You can see more from Wild Ink Press right here, and if you’ll be at the show be sure to visit them in booth 1633!

Behind the Stationery: Darling + Pearl

Our next guest on Behind the Stationery is bartender-turned-stationer, Lauren Reed from Darling + Pearl Lettepress. Her stationery business focuses primarily on custom wedding invitation suites and Lauren’s here to share about how she works with her clients in innovative ways, encouraging couples to share non-designer work as inspiration. Welcome, Lauren! —Megan Soh

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

From Lauren: Hi! My name is Lauren Reed: bartender, turned designer + letterpress printer and the founder of Darling + Pearl Letterpress. I started designing stationery in 2009 during my engagement to now-hubby, Greg. Terribly cliché story, I know. After bartending throughout (and after) college, I was itching to find something to be wildly passionate about, so I put together a small collection of invitation designs to jump into the industry.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

Photo by Quarter Moon Co.

I knew I had a ton to learn, and a niche to find so as I settled in and started to get comfortable, I decided I wanted to understand the process and equipment involved in everything, but specifically letterpress printing. In 2010, I bought my first small press, followed by my 1905 Golding Pearl (part of my namesake). And in 2014 I bought my workhorse 10×15 C&P, along with some other additions to my cast iron “family”. I’m a natural born problem solver — dead on ISTP (if you’re familiar with Myers–Briggs Personality Types) — so really this entire learning, printing, business-owning process has brought me a greater understanding of myself and some of my greatest strengths (and weaknesses, naturally).

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

I currently work out of 2 different studio spaces (one for press and one for design and finishing) in the Central New Jersey area. At this point in my life, with two small kids (Declan 6, and Finna 3), a “typical” workday for me doesn’t really exist. It’s more like a typical week with flexible details.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

Mondays and Tuesdays are generally spent in my home studio designing, sketching, communicating, emailing, and ordering supplies to prepare for the following week’s presswork. Wednesdays and Thursdays are usually dedicated to the print studio. And Friday is flexible, even to the point of sometimes being able to keep my daughter Finna at home to hang (and help me style some stationery to photograph!). Since my work is all varying levels of custom, my work schedule is more of an ebb and flow and very much dependent on the communication of my clients at any given time. I find that it’s easier to batch projects so I’m moving them through the same part of the process at the same time.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

At this point in my career, I’m focused on custom/semi-custom (mostly wedding) letterpress and mixed media stationery.

I absolutely adore the process of piecing together a custom invitation suite and the supporting stationery — save the dates all the way through event day items and signage. For me, it’s very similar to completing a puzzle, or even successfully loading the dishwasher (haha, seriously though!). The elements are: the couple, their history, their vision, their colors, the venue and the *feel* of the event, as well as *my* aesthetic and design sense, which is also really important for me to hold on to. I love the challenge of balancing all of these items and at the same time creating a final design that both my clients and myself are head over heels in love with. It’s so corny, but I tell my clients that working with me for custom stationery, they really get a piece of my heart in the process. And I think realizing that has made all the difference in understanding that this is where I need to be for now.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

Since I handle the vast majority of production in house, it’s really a great opportunity for me to fulfill some different creative avenues without the typical risk (and the cost) of outsourcing to other production houses. It also enables me to stay creative with mixing and matching my processes in new and exciting ways.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

To get started, my clients fill out a contact questionnaire so I can send over some pricing and package options. Once the invoicing details are in place, I’ll setup a communication board (through Trello) where they can upload inspiration images, view proofs, their timeline, and have access to wording questionnaires, address templates, and they can sign off for final approvals- etc. What’s really great about this setup is the lack of emails, and the detailed (and easy to find) record of communication. There’s no searching though inboxes or mis-filing a final approval.

Another important revelation of the past couple years is in regards to inspiration images.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

I always felt a massive struggle to try to create something unique when my clients were putting other designer’s work in front of me. So at the end of 2015, I started asking for 4-5 non-stationery images (and I love floral inspiration!). I found that I had a great connection with their organic inspiration and it really helps me create something that fits them and their event. This is really where I started to develop my unique and recognizable “voice.” After I have their wording and inspiration, I put together the first proof. We then communicate any adjustments to work towards a final approval. Once everything is perfect, they sign off, settle the balance, and then I get to work (on the physical, churn-it-out side).

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

Assembly days are always my favorite. It’s the first time I get to see all the elements together in the same physical space and get to experience my entire vision really come to life. And most times it’s the culmination of weeks or months of work and collaboration.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

My favorite add-on-details to include are venue sketches and curated vintage postage. There are so many different postage options out there and it really allows us to tell their guests about some of the details of their lives, or even just deepen or accent the color palette that we’re using for their stationery. Plus, it always makes for a beautiful envelope, full of character. Adding a sketch to the package also helps distinguish the event in a new an unexpected way from what people have grown accustomed to.

Behind the Stationery: Darling & Pearl

Photos courtesy of Darling + Pearl Letterpress except where noted.

Want to be featured in the Behind the Stationery column? Reach out to Megan at megan [at] ohsobeautifulpaper [dot] com for more details.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

Today we’re headed to Philadelphia to chat with Amy Voloshin of Printfresh about her stationery business story! As a textile designer, Amy has taken a unique path to developing a stationery line. She’s here to share the integral role that fabric, textures, and patterns play in her designs. Amy is also a huge supporter of her community in Philly and shares about the various ways she teams up with local organizations to give back. — Megan Soh

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

From Amy: I studied textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design and focused on print and knitting. My first job out of school was working for URBN designing prints and garments for the Urban Outfitters and Free People lines. It was back in 2003 when technology was still limited in the industry and the work was very hands on — we used gouache to mock up colorways, and made repeats with pencil and a photocopier. It was an incredibly creative environment and the experience opened the door to an art director position for a textile design studio in New York. I loved the work but missed Philadelphia, and I decided pretty quickly to move back and use what I had learned to start my own studio.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

I rented a small warehouse space and began developing a print collection to sell to fashion designers. At the time I was screen printing many of our designs by hand and going on sales appointments myself! Our company grew tremendously over the next 10 years, and I was able to pull together an amazing team of talented designers and passionate saleswomen. Print design is so focused on behind-the-scenes work, and as our business became more established I started dreaming about what creative avenues I wanted to explore next. I’ve always loved stationery, but find that so many of the designs out there are too preppy for my personal bohemian aesthetic. After a lot of thought, I decided to apply my love and expertise in textiles and pattern to the world of paper. I signed up for the 2017 National Stationery Show and started working with a few of our textile designers to develop the very first Printfresh stationery collection. We got such amazing feedback at the show, I knew I’d made the right choice.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

Our studio is based in the Kensington area of Philadelphia. My husband and I are obsessed with old warehouses and found a beautiful carpet factory built in the late 1800s. We decided to renovate and relocate our studio here, and we finally moved in last fall. I love that our building was was used for textiles in the past. It still has many of the gears and industrial equipment from working with carpet rolls, and we’ve done our best to preserve some of it and show the history of the space. The Kensington neighborhood faces a lot of social and economic challenges, and our hope is that by restoring this warehouse and creating a community of small business owners and creatives we can help spur economic development and revitalization here.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

We’re invested in the Philadelphia community (I live less than a mile from our studio) and when starting the stationery line I knew I wanted to find a way to leverage the brand to give back. For the past two years we’ve partnered with Philly Paper Jam to donate a full year’s supply of paper to two local schools. We’ve also started giving 5% of our online sales to organizations that provide creative programming to children in Philadelphia’s public schools. Each quarter we feature a select group of amazing local organizations on our social media and blog, and it’s been great learning about and connecting with men and women who are really making a difference in Philadelphia.

My typical work day is very scheduled. I’m pretty busy between my entrepreneurial ventures and being a working mom. I’m a nut about Google calendars — everything is scheduled. I usually get up pretty early (around 5:45AM every day) to start working on something I really want to do, whether it’s a creative project or a walk around the neighborhood. That’s my power hour and I really try to do the thing I most want to do then. I spend time with my kids when they wake up and get them ready for school, and then I’m off to the office. During the work day most of my time is dedicated to meetings with my teams. I help direct all things visual – upcoming marketing materials, product development, progress on new collections, and ideas for upcoming selling events.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

Our current collection focuses on journaling and desk, and I think that our point of view (combining a love for fabric, subtle patterns, soothing color and purposeful design) is what really makes us unique. While we’ve developed some purely paper products, the majority of our collection features fashion-inspired touches like fabric covers, woven wraps, ribbon bookmarks, and traditional textile processes like silkscreen and hand-marbling. One of our most popular product categories are our velvet journals, featuring plush velvet accented with metallic foil text and patterns. Another of our most popular styles are the noteblocks – they’re the absolute best desk accessory. Natural cork bases give these notepads a touch of something tactile, while the gold foiled edges evoke a modern shine.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

While the products and inspiration changes, my process for creating each new collection is usually pretty consistent. Like most people these days I start with a new Pinterest board. I gather inspiration for color, silhouette and pattern and start identifying what kind of products and finishes are most inspiring me. I try not to spend too much time there, since another big part of the concepting process includes seeking inspiration in-person. I try to go to museums, art exhibits and flea markets to find more primary sources for my work. It helps the designs feel more pure and less derivative, and plus it’s more fun!

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

Once I have a few general concepts I start creating really loose sketches illustrating different types of silhouettes. Finding time to sketch in the office can be hard during a busy day, so I tend to do my most creative work away from the studio. I started drawing the latest collection after Thanksgiving dinner! You never know when creativity is going to strike, so I always love to have a sketchbook on hand.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

After I’ve finished sketching I start making decisions on materials, choosing fabrics, embellishments and trims. Then when I’ve developed a clearer vision I work with a team member to start creating the artwork and rendering the silhouettes in Photoshop. We render all of our designs in fairly high detail – I’m a very visual person, and I find it helpful to see exactly what the designs would look like in real life. It’s also incredibly important on the production end of things, since we work with artisans and craftspeople in India rather than manufacturing in-house. We need to be very specific about almost every aspect of each design, and we prepare incredibly detailed instructions (including everything from overall dimensions to paper weight to Pantone colors) that we call tech packs. If something is even just a little bit off in the tech pack, the finished product will suffer for it!

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

Once we receive our first prototypes we review the product, decide on any style changes, and work with our vendors to develop a 2nd prototype. At that point we have to make the tough decision about which products make the cut and are good enough to be shown at the big industry trade shows like NYNOW, the Atlanta Gift Show, and NSS.

Starting a new line is never easy, and it definitely comes with challenges. I’ve found that creating and cultivating a cohesive brand is the most difficult and also most rewarding part. I don’t have a lot of experience in branding, especially since my textile design studio focuses more on relevant designs and great business-to-business relationships (a much different market than that of the direct to consumer). But since this brand is my aesthetic, I’ve learned that I just need to trust my gut instincts. If something doesn’t sit right with me about the colors, pattern, silhouette or wording then it’s probably off brand. I try to make sure I’m making decisions on an emotional level and always staying true to my intuition.

Behind the Stationery: Printfresh

All photos courtesy of Printfresh.

Want to be featured in the Behind the Stationery column? Reach out to Megan at megan [at] ohsobeautifulpaper [dot] com for more details.

Ten Awesome Mother’s Day Cards

Mother’s Day is just a few weeks away – which means it’s time to pick out a card for all the wonderful moms in your life! I definitely have a new appreciation for Mother’s Day now that I’m a mom. What’s that saying? Motherhood is the best and hardest job? So much yes. I love being a mom, but being a mom also makes me want to send little notes of appreciation and encouragement to every mom I know! Here are ten awesome Mother’s Day cards to help share the love!

Ten Awesome Mother's Day Cards

1. A trip to Target without the kids sounds like heaven! Send fun Mother’s Day wishes with this Pinwheel Printshop card.

2. Why yes, E. Frances Paper, it SHOULD be mom day every day!

3. Loving this marbled Mother’s Day card from Antiquaria – the gold foil text is a lovely extra touch!

4. Such a sweet and sentimental Mother’s Day card from Our Heiday

5. Words that every single mom loves to hear from Worthwhile Paper

6. A sweet floral illustration and simple hand lettered message from Dahlia Press

7. Couldn’t resist this sweet mama and baby llama card from Ghost Academy! 

8. The perfect card from Heart Swell for those of you lucky enough to have a super close relationship with your mom

9. It wouldn’t be Mother’s Day without flowers! Loving this illustrated floral card from Lana’s Shop

10. Pretty pink text and sweet floral illustrations from The Whistling Fox

 

p.s. More Mother’s Day cards here, here, and here!