The big news...

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We're inquisitive: learning from other artists, illustrators, designers, photographers, filmmakers and musicians, whether they're upstarts or icons, famous or shy, verbal or visual.

We're inspired: enchanted by great ideas and strange inventions; by colour and pattern; things fancy and frugal; the charm of vintage in a modern life; the ridiculous and the sublime.

We're adventurous: traveling to destinations both real and imagined, peeking into creative spaces and discovering magnificent people and memorable places.

We're eclectic: curating souvenirs, collecting treasures and celebrating the extraordinary in the everyday.

We're playful: delighting in visual amusements, intelligent distraction, entertaining wordplay and sweet indulgences.

We're UPPERCASE: a magazine for the creative and curious!

This quarterly magazine is 68 pages of glorious print on paper, 8.75" x 11" perfectbound. The Spring issue will be released in early April followed by Summer (July 2009), Fall (October 2009) and Winter (January 2010).

Read all about the project and how you can subscribe, participate and advertise on the Magazine sidebar at right.

Cover illustration courtesy Blanca Gómez, Madrid.
Thank you so much, Blanca! 

Love Letters typographic posters

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I've designed some romantic and optimistic posters for our upcoming show, Love Letters. These prints are available now in the online shop in time for Valentine's Day and upcoming engagements and weddings. The black, light grey and small hit of red would make a sophisticated and graphic addition to a bedroom or living room.

More Marvy

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New things are in store! I received a shipment of LePens plus some new items such as Squishy Scissors (they have soft, flexible handles and are great for fine cutting... these sure would have come in handy when I was cutting hundreds of paper snowflakes!) Marvy has also introduced eraseable highlighters. Such a funny notion, to "de-highlight" something! (available in person in UPPERCASE. If you're not in town, but are interested in purchasing any of these, please email us.)

We've also replenished our supply of Petite Pattern Books and these are available online. (Act quickly if you've had your eye on Simple & Natural – they only sent me two copies of this popular title.)

Agendas by Vikki!

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The amount of effort that went into each of these Agendas by Vikki Wiercinski is unbelievable! Each cover is made from vintage silk scarves wrapped on board and silkscreened. The interior pages are drawn by hand and include fun tipped-in items such as stickers and translucent envelopers.

"They were truly a labour of love. i hope you enjoy using them as much as i enjoyed picking the fabric, drawing the interior spreads, and mucking around with a silkscreen and gold paint.

xoxo,
vikki"

You can see more of her process here. Select calendars are available online ($48), with plenty more in the store. They're a unique work of art that you can carry with you on a daily basis.

Vikki is an Edmonton-based illustrator and designer and she recently launched her website.

Type Tuesday: Calendars at UPPERCASE

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UPPERCASE stocks some nice perpetual calendars for the typographically-inclined: The Futuro Perpetual Calendar ($32) and mmmg's Desk Calendar ($25). Both are now in our online shop. Order it today and you'll be ready for the fast-approaching new year!


For daily planning, there's the Russell & Hazel Smart Date Set ($60) that comes with a linen-covered mini binder, monthly tabs, weekly planner sheets and daily sticky notes. Choose from orange or blue.


There's Coudal Partner's Field Notes Calendar ($12) for those of you who appreciate a no-nonsense aesthetic. Order this one today and I'll include a matching Field Notes pencil.

For those of you who prefer to look at images rather than numbers, then I highly recommend Camilla Engman's 2009 calendar. ($25)

Special to our readers: enter the code "goodbye08" and receive 20% off online orders over $25. Or stop by the store today and mention this offer to receive 20% off in-store purchases (today only).

A new (old) product

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Here's something I've wanted to put together for a long time and finally made it happen yesterday. I call them a "Lettermix" and the package contains an assortment of woodtype letters, numbers and punctuation. They make a great gift for those typographically-inclined. There are just three sets left, available in our physical store. If they happen to be left by the end of the weekend, I'll upload them to the online shop as well.

The label is designed using Hoefler & Frere-Jones' typeface Knockout, which I purchased in its entirety this week. It was a total splurge, but I needed an infusion of typographical energy!

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UPDATE: We are thrilled to be mentioned on H&JF's News, Notes & Observations Typographic Gifts for Designers. I've uploaded the one remaining set to the online shop. (If you are purchasing Christmas gifts, please check the shipping deadlines on the shop's front page.)

Make it a Custom Christmas

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Until December 13, we will be accepting orders for personalized Christmas gifts such as these Custom Name Pocket Mirrors (above), "It's your bag" customized tote bag, and our UPPERCASE initial bags. (Give your gift in a reuseable tote bag instead of wrapping paper.)

You can also select from our initial pocket mirrors as well.

Please order soon to ensure delivery in time for Christmas. Consult the shop homepage for shipping deadlines to your location.

Introducing: Mirrors by UPPERCASE

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These 3-inch pocket mirrors are hand-pressed in UPPERCASE. We have a selection of mirrors made from vintage maps from around the world and mirrors with lovely initials. More designs will be introduced over the next while. At just $7 for the mirror and its black velvet pouch, these are perfect stocking stuffers. You can purchase them in our online shop and in person. (Wholesale inquiries are welcome, too.)

If you'd like to make your own buttons and mirrors, drop in for a Sunday workshop!

Marvy-lous

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Deidre and I have both loved using Marvy-Uchida's "LePen" over the years, but there wasn't anywhere in Calgary where we could get our LePen fix. The solution? Go straight to the source and bring LePen to UPPERCASE! We now have 18 glorious colours plus black of these Japanese-made pens. Their super-fine tips, thin profile and stylish colours make these pens a real pleasure to use. Plus they've got a silly name and 1970s logotype. (And the woman on the boxes looks a lot like Deidre! Coincidence?)

One of a kind!

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Eclectonotes are truly one-of-a-kind: each notebook is collated and assembled by hand using vintage papers and repurposed books. Each has a protective acetate cover with laser-printed graphics. They really come alive when the cover image is chosen and the acetate is overlayed. The interplay between the black line drawings and vintage paper underneath makes each one a truly unique item. I'm particularly fond of this Flora & Fauna cover and its vibrant red cardinals.

I am now working on uploading individual photos of Eclectonotes so that my online customers can make their selections based on the covers if they wish. (Prim & Proper, Arts & Crafts, Read & Write, etc.) You can also throw caution to the wind and select your notebook based on its theme and sample imagery and we'll choose a nice one for you.

Eclectonotes

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Eclecto notebooks

shop.











The perfect travel companion, “Near & Far” contains old maps, geography textbooks and historic images, allowing you to travel in time and space.



Be inspired to compose your next best-seller with “Read & Write”. Vintage papers include dictionary pages, images of great authors, pages of fiction and inspiring images of old.



For recording your creative endeavours, “Arts & Crafts” notebooks inspire your projects with inserted pages fun old-school craft books, needlework magazines, and crazy fashions from the 1970s.









"Flora & Fauna" contains encyclopedia pages, National Geographics, Audubon animals and other representations of animals and plants.



“Facts & Figures” contain old ledger paper, indexes, tabulated figures, how-to and other methodology of yesteryear.



“Peas & Carrots” contains old recipe books, Women’s Day magazines and images of food like Grandma used to make.

Details, below, of the transparent covers, interior lined and vintage papers, and the spine detailing.