When I first joined Etsy in 2007, I spent a fair amount of time in the ‘etc’ portion of the forums. A few people made an impression on me as being cool, funny and accessible. Heather Jeany was one of them- plus, she goccoed SUPER rad record and mix tape cards- the hallmark of cool if you ask me! Heather was good enough to respond to some questions I sent her, so read about Heather & then send sweet missives to your friends on her ultra cool stationary!

Beth:I first noticed your work on etsy…maybe 4 years ago? You were doing super clean beautiful Gocco printed notecards of records (my personal fave) Have you switched printing techniques with the demise of the Gocco? Will there ever be another printer like the Gocco for you or have you figured out a way to hack yours?

Heather: I joined in July of 2005- it’s almost my 6 year etsyversary! So far i am still using my beloved Print Gocco, I have multiple screens made of all my mainstay designs, and I have a good supply of ink, so while I won’t be making any new designs this way I’ll keep printing my current designs for as long as the screens hold up and I still have ink. Unfortunately there’s nothing else out there quite as amazing as the Gocco, I’ve read all about the different ways to hack the Gocco to keep using it, but getting all Frankenstein on it never really appealed to me, they’re just not solutions that are anywhere near as good as the original process so for me it just makes more sense to transition into screenprinting my designs the traditional way. I’ve been screenprinting t-shirts and onesies for a few years now with a very low-tech set up and it’s been working beautifully. My plan over the next 6 months or so is to make silkscreens of all my popular designs (records, mixtapes, bikes, etc.) and start printing them that way. I’m kind of excited about it actually, I’ll be able to print many at once and for the folded cards I’ll be able to print my logo on the back (something i was always too lazy to do with the Gocco), so i think it’s going to work out just fine.

B:You use to be a textile designer right? Is etsy your full time gig now?

H: Yes! I have my BFA in Textile Design and I worked as a textile designer for 9 years. Making stuff is pretty much my full time gig now, well more accurately it’s one of my 4 “jobs” First off (and what everything else gets worked around) is being a mom, then I have my etsy work (I also do a lot of shows), then I’ve also been doing some freelance textile design work (which is all the fun of drawing pretty patterns with none of the office drama), and lastly my husband and I own a coffee shop here in Providence (White Electric, holla!) so I work some shifts there so that I don’t go completely insane in my making/mommy hermit-prone bubble.

B: Where did you go to school- did you learn your craft there?

H: I graduated from the fabulous University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Like I said, I was a Textile Design major, but I took as many printmaking classes as I could. It was actually in my senior year that I was introduced to Print Gocco by the professor of a book binding class I was taking. I was blown away and head over heels in love from the moment I saw it. I think I bought mine the next week. At that time (long, long ago) they were inexpensive and readily available, the glory days.

B:What’s the most valuable lesson or thing you’ve realized working for yourself?

H: Oh, so many things. There are so many ups and downs and probably the most important thing is keeping things in perspective. When I had a full time office job I dreamed non-stop about how rad it would be to do my own work full time. And it IS rad, but once you start relying on totally unpredictable things like etsy sales and craft show sales it really puts a new spin on things. I miss the time when the money I earned on etsy was my “extra” money, it was so exciting! Now I rely on making and selling things to pay my mortgage (which is also exciting!) but the added stress can really be difficult to manage. So keeping things in perspective is very important for me. Sometime i have to just remind myself that I AM paying the mortgage and people are buying things that I MADE! because they LIKE THEM! And THAT is rad. Who needs financial stability? I’m livin’ the dream!

B:Are you doing any craft shows or fairs this summer?

H: I sure am, mostly local shows as I’m scaling back a bit on my craft show schedule (2010 was a killer!!):
(This weekend!) Twist, Northampton, MA
June 4: Providence Art Festival, Providence, RI
June 19: Summer Bazaar Bizarre, Somerville, MA
July 16: Art Beat, Somerville, MA
August 21: Rock & Roll Yardsale, Somerville, MA

B: What’s your favorite record of all time?

H: Are you really asking this? Of ALL time? ok, I can do this. I’m not going to overthink it. The Breeders, Title TK (ed note: This makes my old roommate Ryan *very* happy!- beth) There were certainly other records that were more musically significant in my life, but Title TK is something that I listen to ALL the time and never get sick of. What can i say? I love Kim Deal.

Recently, I found myself beaten by a machine.

With great excitement, I purchased a Yudu screenprinting system after reading some reviews that touted it as the savior for those of us who are running out of our no longer manufactured Gocco supplies. Like the Gocco, it is a self contained screenprinting device and it has the added bonuses of being bigger, geared towards printing on fabric, and it’s screens are reusable.

I thought I’d have no problem transitioning from Gocco to Yudu but I was very disappointed.

Before I started printing, I watched a few tutorial videos, perused the Yudu user forums and read the manual. I completed every step slowly and thoughtfully but ended up with imperfections in my three separate attempts.

I spent two whole workdays trying to conquer the Yudu and ended up with unsatisfactory results. I printed 20 “foxy like a crafter” tote bags and most needed touching up by hand and in the end, probably only 6 of them are good enough to sell.

I returned the machine to Michael’s fairly certain I’d never want to look at the monster again.

If you are interested in a more specific description of my frustrations, here is a rundown of the failures of the machine and quite possibly it’s operator.

The application of emulsion is probably the trickiest part of the process. The screen needs to be wet (but not too wet and not too dry) and then the emulsion is applied in a sheet like a giant green sticker that needs to be smoothed out. My emulsion didn’t stick perfectly in all three of my attempts. It was drippy once and un-stuck to the screen once and generally irregular in my last try.

The waiting between steps was expected but annoying and always took longer than the manual suggested.

The machine is exceptionally clunky. It’s very large and feels slightly cheap. For example, the little door flap that holds the screen in the drying rack never stays shut and the top frame part did not hold the screen in very securely. The screen fell out onto the floor once and I spent the next half hour plucking bunny fur out of the ink…. nice.

Once I finally got to start printing on my halfway-decently burned screen, I ran into problems getting an even application of ink. I tried to apply an even pressure across the squeegee but I always ended up with un-inked spots which forced me to have to squeegee again (thus losing line crispness).

All of the aforementioned grumbles were not insurmountable and I thought that I could get over them with some practice. Then, I realized that my screen needed to be washed between every 7-10 printings because the ink started to dry. Seriously, no. Washing the screen between printings is such a sad waste of ink and time (especially considering the screen needs to be dried after washing too). Yudu ink also only comes in tiny bottles that are prohibitively pricy.

The worst part for me was when I finally had started pulling acceptable prints, I noticed a pink haze had begun to show up around my images. The ink I was using was red and I speculated the screen was wearing down with use and letting a little ink through the blocked parts. I’m still not really 100% sure what caused the haze though.

I stopped for the day feeling bedraggled and went to clean the ink off the screen hoping to pull a better batch tomorrow with the same screen. Sadly, while I cleaned the screen, one or two tiny details of the emulsion lifted off rendering it un-reusable. Reusability was one of the main draws to me for trying the Yudu! My experience was altogether maddening.

I think the Yudu is a great idea but ended up being not such a great product. It has huge potential but didn’t make the cut in my book. I wouldn’t recommend it and especially not if you want it for making more than a handful of prints at a time. I hope that Provo Craft comes out with a sleeker, simpler, more dependable second version of the Yudu because I’d be happy to try again.

Hello Craft!

I just wanted to introduce myself as a new contributor to the Hello Craft blog. I’m Elise Towle Snow and some of you may recognize me as Argyle Whale or as the rotund brown bunny wearing a blue scarf who serves as my mascot.

I live in Salem, Massachusetts and enjoy the company of my husband, two house bunnies and a grumpy hedgehog. I spend most days balancing a part time job at a small artisan bakery and brewing new ideas for my Argyle Whale shop. For the past year, I have enjoyed drawing simple, often animal-related images that incorporate my love for absurd humor and a healthy dose of  anthropomorphism. Then I pump out flurries of limited-edition prints using my Print Gocco.

The Gocco will always have my heart but one of my favorite parts of creating is trying new tools and techniques. I have overflows of enthusiasm for experimenting with all types of media and I hope to share a pinch of my fervor here with you. I usually just write on my own blog but now I’ll be bringing over a couple of my prouder posts and some new tidbits just for Hello Craft readers.

My maiden voyage into these waters is with a review of my experience using a new printing product known as the Yudu. My opinions are a little prickly (what can I say, I spend all day with a hedgehog!) but I promise to make plenty of future posts that are full of positivity!

Thanks for reading. It’s nice to meet you!