News / morris & essex

Summer 2018 Craft Fair Schedule

Summer 2018 Craft Fair Schedule

I am feeling SO very spring-sunshine-y this week, it's glorious! And that's got me thinking about this coming summer craft fair season... yay! I've cut back on my craft fair commitments now that we've got TWO little running, climbing, wild, mischievous and delightful assistants on our little team. It was always a lot of work to pull off a big craft fair when it was just me, but now that we've got two little kids to look after, it's a HUGE undertaking! Someday the kids will be older and they'll be thrilled to spend the occasional weekend away from us and we'll get back to doing more fairs then, but for now, they're only little once and it's hard to do too many big weekend commitments. So, just a few great events lined up for this summer:

Yarmouth Clam Festival, crafts area: July 20 - 22, Yarmouth, Maine

Ossipee Valley Music Festival: July 26 - 29, Hiram, Maine

Common Ground Country Fair: September 21 - 23, Unity, Maine

Come out and see us - these are all FANTASTIC events filled with amazing handmade goods, and I'm looking forward to each of them!

Also, check out Picnic Craft Fair on August 4th in Portland - we LOVE this one and always participate, but have to miss it this year for a very special wedding in New York. And if you're in Portland, absolutely go check out the Portland Fine Craft Show on August 25th. We'll be out of town for this one too, but it was awesome last year and I'm sure it will be a great showing again this time around!

Common Ground Fair rainbow

Read more
Packaging Design

Packaging Design

Did you know this week was national packaging design day? I know it’s a small detail, but I’ve always been really proud of my product packaging and the design thought I’ve put into it. Simple, minimal and practical (and eco-friendly)! My pattern design style is always pretty elaborate, which means the packaging needs to stay understated - I think it's a nice balance. And nice packaging makes it easier to give them as a gift - wrapping and presentation is always part of the joy of giving and receiving!

Read more
Free Shipping code for email subscribers!

Free Shipping code for email subscribers!

Are you on the Morris & Essex email list? http://eepurl.com/czJaY I'd love to stay in touch by email, and I'm sending out a *FREE SHIPPING* code to my email list subscribers this week, so hop over and get on the list if you aren't there already! http://eepurl.com/czJaY I promise not to bug you too much, I don't send a whole lot of emails and when I do, it's usually good stuff - new product announcements, sneak peaks, sales, and the rare promo codes. Love to have you join us there! 

Read more
ENAMEL MUGS ARE HERE! and you could win one for free!

ENAMEL MUGS ARE HERE! and you could win one for free!

You guys, I am SO EXCITED to announce that the enamel mug design I did this summer is FINALLY here and they are up in the shop! These came all the way from Poland, where they were manufactured by Emalco, a family business and high-quality enamelware maker. They use traditional methods with some modern innovations to create gorgeous, durable enamelware. Designs are fired on to the enamelware with high heat, so they won't scratch off! 

I'm celebrating with a giveaway! Head over to my Facebook page and leave a comment before Thursday, 1/11/18 to be entered to win a free mug! Let me know what you'd like to drink out of this mug and I'll send a spiffy new mug to one lucky winner! Comment on my Facebook page to be entered in the drawing. https://www.facebook.com/Morris.Essex/posts/10157027586214972

Read more
time-lapse drawing

time-lapse drawing

one more time-lapse drawing! these are kind of addictive to make.

time lapse pattern drawing

Read more
madelocalmonth: COLOR

madelocalmonth: COLOR

        

#madelocalmonth day 8: what’s my favorite color? ALL OF THEM! 🌈 but especially purple. 💜 I can’t resist the urge to make everything purple. Or violet, lilac, periwinkle, raspberry, mauve, maroon, lavender, heliotrope, grape, orchid, fuchsia, magenta, eggplant, amethyst, indigo, thistle, plum, every possible hue and shade of purple. Even my kids are dressed in purple, haha! 

Read more
Introducing our brand-new Natural Birch Wood Ornaments!

Introducing our brand-new Natural Birch Wood Ornaments!

Natural Birch Wood Christmas Ornaments

I'm so excited to share these brand-new ornaments! They're just finished this week and I think they came out beautifully! We already have them hanging up in our windows at home. They're made in Maine from natural, unfinished birch plywood, custom engraved with my original designs. The light, unfinished wood looks just right against the dark boughs of the pine tree. You can check them out on my website!

We also have lots of other beautiful goodies to keep in mind for the coming holiday season (gorgeous hand-printed scarves are so perfect for this time of year!), and will be adding more special new products soon... Stay tuned for some more new items on the way in the next few weeks!

Read more
madelocalmonth: TIMELAPSE

madelocalmonth: TIMELAPSE

Flower doodles while the kids are napping.

Doodles while the kids are sleeping

Read more
madelocalmonth: HELLO

madelocalmonth: HELLO

Hello! 👋 Just introducing myself for #madelocalmonth... I’m Eliza and I’m the designer and printmaker behind Morris & Essex. That’s Sadie (7 mos) on my hip, and Hattie (almost 3 years) didn’t want to be in the picture so she’s hiding behind the mirror. These girls are a big inspiration for me... I’m grateful to be juggling creative work and parenting at the same time, even when it’s hard to fit it all in.

My favorite parts of the day are: 
-drinking milky coffee in the shower. 
-quiet craft time with Hattie while Sadie takes a nap. 
-outings with the girls: children’s museum, farmer’s market, zoo, grocery store, or exploring the city. 
-afternoon walks to the park with Hattie in the stroller and Sadie in the carrier. 
-glass of wine and an hour or two of work time after I put the girls to bed and clean up the day’s detritus.

If I had a month off, I would spend it: 
-Baking more pies and cookies 
-Sitting on a park bench with a coffee and a sketchbook 
-Studying art history 
-Napping and reading fiction 
-Wandering around a strange & beautiful new city with a camera in my hand
-Hiking new mountains 
-Learning more new craft techniques

Read more
Lacy Blue and Silver Scarf

Lacy Blue and Silver Scarf

I'm kind of proud and maybe a little bit embarrassed to admit that I've been working on this design for at least two years!! And it's finally done! 

I've always loved intricate, lacy designs and always find myself doodling these kind of starburst patterns, so it's hard to say exactly when this idea started. 

Lacy Inspiration

There was one very slow craft fair a few years ago, where I had lots of time for sketching and dreaming (that's the last time I sign up for a craft fair in May! I think it's just not the right season) and I started sketching up this idea for a scarf or bag pattern. 

Then it took months (or years?) before I had the time to start making the design for real - it's been always on my mind, and often in my sketchbook doodles, but it can be hard to find the time to sit down at the computer and translate sketches into reality. Finally I had a beautiful week of quiet in October, in between the hustle of late-summer craft shows and the start of holiday production rush, a moment of peace with no looming deadlines, when I could sit and start drawing. 

I use a pen tablet for drawing my designs on the computer. I have to wait for those quiet afternoons when the toddler is at her Nana's house for a few hours and I can sit down and plug in my laptop and tablet - otherwise the toddler can't resist grabbing cords and pounding on the keyboard. It was really meditative work, peaceful and satisfying, to sit and and draw out intricate patterns, one piece at a time, then link them together as if joining them by fine threads. It took weeks of work to do them all, sneaking in a few minutes here and there, or waiting til the toddler was asleep in bed to pour a glass of wine and sit down to work quietly. Sometimes it's hard to know when I'm done with a design, I just want to keep tweaking and adjusting it forever... I decided to try and finish it before this season's holiday craft fairs, so I had to rush to finish it up in the last few weeks of November. Once I've finished my designs, I print them out on transparent film which is used to create the stencil on the screen.

I was so excited to finally get it printed onto fabric, I had to take a picture before the ink was even dry! I had worried a bit that the details were too small and it would be difficult to print neatly, but the scale turned out just right - it looks beautifully intricate, but the lines are bold enough to print neatly. I'd gotten the blue fabric a few months earlier and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it, just loved the color and wanted to work with it. Once I saw this design, it seemed like a perfect fit to print it in silver on the blue fabric. I tested out a few other combinations but the blue and silver was totally my favorite, no contest.

Super excited to have this finally complete! Out of my head and onto the fabric... and now it's up in the shop and out into the world!

http://www.morrisessex.com/collections/hand-printed-scarves/products/lacy-blue-and-silver-scarf

Read more
Holiday Craft Fair Schedule!

Holiday Craft Fair Schedule!

Can't lie, I'm actually pretty excited for the bonanza of holiday craft fairs coming up!! I know I always get exhausted and frazzled from all the madness, but I still love it! Happy shoppers, happy crafters, sweet holiday baked goods all day long, general atmosphere of festive cheer. I can't resist it!


Anyway, come say hello, see all the Morris & Essex goods in person (and find lots of other wonderful Maine-made goods) at one of these awesome upcoming events...

Fri-Sun, December 2, 3, 4 - Art on the Hill, East End School, Portland ME. https://www.facebook.com/events/611582425696462/?ti=icl

Sunday, December 11 - Picnic Portland, at the Portland Company complex on Fore Street. https://www.facebook.com/events/672355802927486/?ti=icl

Fri-Sun, December 16, 17, 18 - Fine & Funky Crafts at Fort Andross Mill in Brunswick. https://www.facebook.com/events/1855252624687143/?ti=icl

Saturday, December 16 - Crafts • Cookies • Cheer at Purplebean Bindery, Auburn ME. https://www.facebook.com/events/1795226027418404/?ti=icl

And all month long, my work will be available as part of a special pop-up shop at Full Circle Gallery in Biddeford, ME. https://www.facebook.com/events/171629066635339/?ti=icl

See you there!! 

Read more
New Postcard

New Postcard

Here's a new postcard I made up for the New England Made wholesale show. It was nice to have these in the booth for visitors to grab as they wandered past. It's a big show with lots of wonderful things to see, and it felt good to give people a little something to remember me by. I've also found they're great to set out on my table when I do craft shows - people love to learn more about who made their gift and have something to tell about the business they are buying from. And lately I've started adding a card into each of my mail-order packages too. I'm happy to share these - let me know if you'd like one! If you are a wholesale buyer, let me know when you place an order and I will pop a stack of them into your package. I know some shops and galleries like to share a bit of information about the artists and craftspeople they are representing, and this makes a nice tidbit to include in the bag when someone purchases Morris & Essex goods.

It was a fun project for me to work on - cleaning off my work-table, setting up the photo and trying out different options for the front layout turned out to be a long afternoon's work, but it was a nice time and I loved the result! 

Here's the text from the back side:

MORRIS & ESSEX • hand printed in Maine

Morris & Essex produces colorful and original hand-printed paper and textile goods in a farmhouse studio in Limington, Maine. Our high-quality products are all designed by artist Eliza Jane Curtis, with a passion for color, pattern and function. Each one features colorful handmade patterns, textures and motifs inspired by a love of the natural world, geometric patterns, and vintage designs. Everything is hand-printed here in Maine. We use natural and sustainable materials and processes, and focus on positive, sustainable, business practices and supporting talented local artisans. We love what we do and we hope you will love it too!

www.morrisessex.com | eliza@morrisessex.com

Read more