Blog Archives

Our Very Own Iron Handpress

by Sara McNally | May 9th, 2013

A few weeks ago, we took a road trip to the great white north (Vancouver) and brought home a new member of the Constellation family! Meet Wendy, our Washington-style Reliance iron handpress. She’s from the early 1900′s and in beautiful condition. (And possibly the coolest thing that’s ever been listed on Craigslist!) Her bed size is 16″ x 21″ and we are so excited about printing posters in house! We’re working on Wendy’s inaugural broadside, and will be sure to share it with you soon. Here are some photos of the big move: Continue reading  ☞

Life Just Snowballs Along

by Sara McNally | January 8th, 2013

Sara here, catching up after a long long loooong end of 2012. I love the hustle and bustle of the holidays and finishing up the year, but being that busy always takes its toll. Brad and I had a wonderful Christmas, but spent most of our vacation time being quite sick. But we’re finally getting back to normal and are back in the office working, planning and getting 2013 in gear! But before we do that, here’s a bit of a December wrap up!

We participated in the local AIGA & AAF Seattle’s Jingle & Mingle Holiday Party as a vendor in their Design Gift Market. It was fun to meet folks and greet shoppers at a new event! (Photo courtesy of the event’s Flickr page.)

We participated in our first winter Crafty Wonderland show in Portland. It was a great turnout, and an amazing show to shop! We did a good chunk of our holiday purchases at the show, as well as at Portland Bazaar (we left Cherish in the booth and ran off to visit!), and Wanderlust (my new favorite store in Portland).

We launched the Cosmic Sans project website, and it went viral! We’ve found it all over the place. Here are some of the most exciting places we’ve seen it shared: Quipsologies, The Smithsonian Blog, The Maddow Blog, Design Taxi, and i09. Continue reading  ☞

WA State Sites & Sights

by Sara McNally | November 9th, 2012

A few weeks ago, Brad’s mom & dad came to visit us in Seattle. I was sick as a dog with bronchitis (which I had for over a month, yuck!), but it was still a fun time! I love having out of town friends & family visit us – it gives us the opportunity to explore our beautiful state anew! We took a day trip across Puget Sound to see the sights/sites on Whidbey Island, and drove back across Deception Pass on the way home. It was a drive Brad and I had never taken before, and it blew our minds. I don’t think i’ll ever get over how beautiful fall in Washington is. It’s just…beyond. We recently got a new camera (yay!), so we’ve been documenting a lot more of life. Click “continue reading” for more photos! Continue reading  ☞

Constellation Collections: Miniatures

by Sara McNally | October 8th, 2012

Slowly but surely over the last year, we’ve been collecting miniatures. It wasn’t our intention to collect miniatures, but every time we see one, we kind of can’t resist. This old Pepsi crate is the perfect curio cabinet for our army of smalls! And now that there’s a designated place in the studio for them, there’s an excuse to pick up more when we see them! I don’t know what it is… they just make me giggle! Continue reading  ☞

Newbies Around the Shop

by Sara McNally | October 3rd, 2012

We’ve added some new “friends” to the shop recently, and are excited to show them off!

Jules of Stern & Faye recently sold the print farm and held an estate sale to share the pieces that wouldn’t fit in her new studio with the letterpress community. While it was really sad to be visiting the farm for the last time, we were also really excited to buy a full cabinet of beautiful type and a slant-top work surface (among other goodies). You really can’t beat a letterpress estate sale!

We’re been busy reorganizing the shop and babying our new type, but we’re working on a full catalog of print samples to show you – check back in for updates! Continue reading  ☞

Our 3rd Anniversary Printing Press

by Sara McNally | October 1st, 2012

Last month, Brad and I took a weekend trip to the Olympic Peninsula for our 3rd Anniversary. We had an amazing, restful adventure. In our opinion, that’s the best kind – a little bit of both! We rode the ferry, stayed in a castle, did a cider tasting, made sun prints, ate lots of delicious food, walked on the beach, and did some shopping. Continue reading  ☞

Our CreativeMornings Talk

by Sara McNally | August 13th, 2012

CreativeMornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series for “creative types.” Each event is free, includes a 20 minute talk & 20 minutes of Q&A, and brings together creative folks to share their work and experiences. CreativeMornings was started in New York City in 2009 by Tina Roth Eisenberg (SwissMiss), to create an “accessible, inspiring morning event for people to meet.” We’re big fans of CreativeMornings – we love attending the Seattle events, and enjoy impromptu CreativeMornings in the office, listening to the wealth of content available from all over the world!

July’s Seattle CreativeMornings was hosted at Maker’s Space, a rad new coworking space in downtown Seattle, and featured a talk by us! (Crazy, right!?) These photos of the event are by the lovely and talented Jenny Linquist.

Continue reading  ☞

We’re in the Seattle Times!

by Sara McNally | April 30th, 2012

We were so excited to zip down to our local bookstore and pick up Sunday’s paper – because look, it’s us! (Well, it’s our logo, Josephine the printing machine, and Sara…sweeping.) The Seattle Times has been in touch with us and our studio mates since before the big move, and it’s great to see the story finally come out.

If you missed the ink and newsprint version, you can read the article online here. There are also several more photos and an audio clip here. Continue reading  ☞

In Honor…

by Sara McNally | February 15th, 2012

Today, Brad’s grandfather passed away.

Hank was a collector, a lover of old things. He and his wife spent a lot of time together at garage sales and estate sales, finding treasures. Hank was really good at Wii Bowling. (This past Thanksgiving, we had so much fun playing with him – and he beat us almost every time.) Hank is man who leaves behind a legacy – kids, grandkids, and a sweet great-granddaughter that will miss him dearly.

When Hank and his wife moved out of their family home last year, they shared some of their treasures with their kids and grandkids. The stately eagle that hangs in our studio was once hung in their kitchen for many years. Continue reading  ☞

Constellation & Beth

by Sara McNally | February 8th, 2012

In an exciting turn of events, my parents and sister moved from Florida to Washington State a little over a month ago. They’ve been coming to help out in the studio about once a week since they arrived, and it’s been so much fun to share our space and our life with them. This past week, my sister spent the night with Brad and I, and came in to work with me the next day. Jenny was in the studio taking product photos that day as well, and captured some pretty wonderful “Beth moments.” Continue reading  ☞

Snow Week!

by Sara McNally | January 23rd, 2012

Last week we had the rare pleasure/challenge of a LOT of snow. Seattle rarely gets much snow (the first year we lived here, it didn’t snow at all), so when it does, it’s exciting. It’s also dangerous, as we have lots of hills and very few snow plows. But those two elements (fun + danger) equal a stay at home snow week! We worked from home as much as possible – although most things I do aren’t really portable, so there was lots of time to enjoy reading, knitting, cat snuggling and snowy walks. Continue reading  ☞

Grand Opening!

by Sara McNally | December 1st, 2011

Today I’m excited to bring you photos and info about the Grand Opening we had a few weeks ago! Our amazing intern Jenny took all of the photos and wrote the following post. Enjoy!

Jenny the intern here. A few weeks ago the ’57 Biscayne residents opened their doors to the public for the first time. It was quite the party, with lots of wine, cheese, friends, and Carmelita (our landlady and fellow studio-mate’s dog).


Logistics

by Sara McNally | September 26th, 2011

Well friends, it’s the last week of September, and our last week at 619 Western. It’s going to be a crazy one, so there will be some “radio silence” on the blog. Here’s what we’ve got going on:

We spent our Sunday scrubbing and preparing the floors of the new studio. Monday & Tuesday evenings will be stain & clear coat.

Continue reading  ☞

Welcome, Jenny!

by Sara McNally | September 21st, 2011

Our fabulous new intern, Jenny Linquist, started with us this past week. And let me tell you, I am excited to have her!

You may remember her as the artist of “The Artist & The Engineer.” She and her husband Mike were possibly our favorite clients ever. They were excited and interested in the process, trusted our expertise, and let us imagine and play and experiment. We were really happy with the results, and they were too. It was so lovely to work with them, and we were super honored to attend their wedding. Speaking of their wedding… please do yourself a favor and take a gander at their wedding photos. Too sweet for words.

Jenny will be keeping up a blog of her internship, which you should definitely follow. She’s a talented photographer, a super creative human being, and i’m excited to see what we create together!

Here’s to all of us.

by Sara McNally | September 2nd, 2011

Bear with me for a moment, It’s going to get sentimental up in here.

In January of 2008, Brad and I came to Seattle for the first time with our friends Ron & Jesse. We were all really good friends, hanging out in Sarasota and working on design projects together. I can’t recall what initially inspired to spend our winter break in the Northwest – but I’m so glad we did! We walked up and down the city, took a lot of pictures, and didn’t want to leave. We only spent 2 days in Seattle (before heading down to Portland and other parts of Oregon), but those 2 days were enough. We fell in love. Continue reading  ☞

New Studio Inspiration

by Sara McNally | August 29th, 2011

With all the 619 hullabaloo, we’ve been excited to put it behind us and start planning for the new studio. We’ve found the space (details coming soon, I promise!), and we’ll be moving sometime before October 1st (as soon as the new space is ready). We’ve got a plan brewing for the new studio that takes into account the style of the building, the additional space (Yes, it’s going to be bigger!), and our aesthetic desires. We love our current studio and had so much fun designing the space, painting, decorating, etc. – but we’re even more excited to take what we learned on that “project” and improve upon it. Here’s some of the photos we’ve been gathering on Pinterest for inspiration.

DIY Built-in Shelving from The Brick House, Metal Truss Work Table from West Elm, Architect’s Boom Sconce from Restoration Hardware

Continue reading  ☞

Home Inspiration

by Sara McNally | August 26th, 2011

We’re moving soon from our 1 bedroom apartment (in a noisy downtown neighborhood) to a 2 bedroom duplex (in a cute, quiet residential neighborhood).  We’re excited to start making our new place a home! Our new place is painted all white, with neutral colored carpet and white cabinets. We’re really digging the shades of gray lately, and are planning to keep things clean, classic and neutral with pops of color that we can change with the seasons. (We’re not actually in the market to buy new furniture right now, but a girl can dream! And some of the small touches (shower curtain, kitchen towels, etc.) can make a big difference!) Here’s some of the home inspiration we’ve been collecting on Pinterest lately.

Tea towels from Olive Manna, Duvet from Dwell Studio, Hand Towel from West Elm

Continue reading  ☞

Coming Soon!

by Sara McNally | August 17th, 2011

We are excited to announce that we’ll have a table in the letterpress marketplace for the 2011 Seattle Wayzgoose! We’ll be in good company with 20+ vendors, offering their best letterpress goodies for perusal and purchase.

Wayzgoose is a tradition in the printing world that goes back to the days of working by candlelight. Each year on or around St. Bartholomew’s Day (the 24th of August), a wayzgoose would be given by the master printer to mark the end of summer and the start of the darker winter season of working by candlelight.

Continue reading  ☞

619 Western

by Sara McNally | July 20th, 2011

Constellation & Co. moved into the 619 Western Artist’s building in January of 2011 – 101 years after the building was built in Pioneer Square.

619 was built in 1910 during an economic boom after the Alaskan gold rush. The building was used as a multipurpose warehouse and was the site of light manufacturing. Fishing nets, coffee beans and tavern punch cards are a few of the products that have been stored & made on the premises. In the late 1970′s, the first artists moved their studios into the building. Currently, more than 100 artists have studios in all six stories of this historic building. For more information on 619′s history, please visit the official 619 site.


The first Thursday of every month, the 619 Building is open for the Pioneer Square Art Walk which brings crowds of art lovers to the neighborhood. The 619 building has long been considered the epicenter of this monthly event, with the largest concentration of artists’ studios and gallery spaces in one building.

Continue reading  ☞

Our Urban Craft Uprising Booth!

by Sara McNally | July 12th, 2011

This weekend we were a vendor at the Urban Craft Uprising! We attended our first summer show right after we moved to Seattle two years ago, and we loved it! At the time, Brad and I shared a daydream/goal of selling at the show, and we were so excited and pleased to see that come true this weekend!

We’ve done small shows in the past, but this one is the best, and we wanted to rise to the occasion! We built a display shelf from scratch. It was a fun project, but it taught us that we definitely prefer working with paper than with wood! Nonetheless, we really like how it turned out, and it was so fun to see all of our new designs displayed.

Continue reading  ☞

At Long Last…

by Sara McNally | May 9th, 2011

It occurred to me while preparing for this month’s art walk that we’ve neglected to show photos of our shop all put together. Just like the process of refurbishing our press, the studio needed a lot of love when we moved in at the beginning of the year. We scrubbed and painted before we moved the press in, and have spent the last couple of months collecting, decorating, and organizing (when we’re not printing, of course). It took us some time to figure out where everything should go, but I think we’re finally happy with the results. So at long last, here are some progress photos, and that glorious “taaaa daaaa” moment.

Continue reading  ☞

Our Shop!

by Sara McNally | January 28th, 2011

We are very excited to announce that we’ve found a space, bought a press, and set up our own letterpress shop! It was a major new year’s resolution for us, and we’re so excited that it’s come to fruition. We’ve spent January scrubbing, painting, renting equipment, and taking daily trips to Home Depot for wire brushes, steel wool, and WD40. Here are a few before & after shots of our new baby, Josephine the Printing Machine! We’re still doing the finishing touches on the shop, but we have a big open house planned for the first Thursday in March. We’ll send out a formal invite once the details are in place. Put it on your calendar, we’d love to see you there!

Continue reading  ☞

We’re at Nancy!

by Sara McNally | December 13th, 2010

We’re happy to announce that there’s a new place for our Seattle friends to shop for Constellation & Co. products! Come by and see our new calendars, holiday cards, coaster ornaments, and more at Nancy, a great local shop for handmade goods and art pieces. Nancy is located in Belltown on 2nd Avenue between Virginia & Stewart (next to the Moore theatre).

We’re a Great Find!

by Sara McNally | September 3rd, 2010

We are excited and pleased to have our cards featured at Lucca Great Finds! Lucca is located in the historic Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. It features a ceiling full of chandeliers, an enchanting garden, a great selection of vintage inspired home goods, and a wonderful room full of cards, ribbon, wrapping paper, etc. Lucca is one of our most favorite Seattle shops – there’s always something new to discover. And now, you can discover us! Come by and check it out – and tell them we sent you!

Continue reading  ☞

Our Constellation Wedding

by Sara McNally | June 27th, 2010

Brad and I were married one year ago, on September 6, 2009. We loved planning our wedding together- which may be why we love being a part of other people’s weddings! It’s such a special time of excitement and anticipation – we can’t help but enjoy it!

Our wedding took place in Sarasota, Florida at the historic Powel Crosley Estate. Our photos were taken by the fabulous duo of Mandy & Me, our flowers were artfully arranged by Sarasota Enchanted Flowers, and our lovely and scrumptious cupcakes were by the Wired Whisk Bakehouse.

Here are a few of our favorite wedding details.

My dress by Casablanca Bridal, and the wooden dowel cupcake toppers – hand painted by myself in a fit of crazed creativity a few nights before the wedding.

Continue reading  ☞