Young Isabel with her Father Edgar //

You know how some men reach middle age and get into golf or fast cars? Something widespread and normal? Not Edgar, my charming and old school caballero dad.   He got into music DVDs. 

I'll start at the beginning. My dad bought stereo systems like people buy milk at the grocery store. He was always in search of the best, new, super-duper-premium stereo that could breathe life into his collection of music DVDs. No artist is safe from my dad. Shania Twain, Pink Floyd, Andrea Bocelli, and even Jason Mraz. At any given point in the day*, one can hear the bellows of some musician, dressed to the nines, blasting in the newest stereo in my parent's living room. 

I've grown up with these "concerts" all my life. My love of music, all kinds, comes from long hours of watching Coldplay, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lopez in our living room.  If you haven't noticed, my father is all equal opportunity when it comes to music. He grew up in Bolivia and when he came to the USA to study medicine in the 70s, he was exposed to a variety of genres and he promptly fell in love with all of them. To this day, he is still discovering new artists...even if they did debut some 30 years ago. Like yesterday for example; my dear father calls me and I can just hear the palpable excitement in his voice. 

"Isabel! Hi! I bought a new music DVD!"

"You did? Who are you listening to now?" I ask. 

"Have you heard of Led Zeppelin???"

These are the kind of conversations I live for. Happy Father's Day, Edgar. Besos!

*(Much to my mother's dismay) 

Sheli //

  My dad "Tag", short for Manuel Alfonso Tagliarini, is quite a hoot!  He has always done things to connect with us as kids over the years.  One of my first memories includes him fully participating in a Halloween party that I hosted in elementary school.  He dressed up as my mom in one of her outfits, hair accessories and all.  He helped me put on skits and games for my friends.  He was a total hit!  On more than one occasion he would insert current slang into his vocabulary to be "cool" in the eyes of myself and my brothers.  I can remember being shocked when he started using the phrase "that's sweet" in everyday conversation and the day mom and I came home from a trip to the mall to see him icing his toe after breaking it practicing the MC Hammer in our living room while we were gone.  There was never a dull moment in our house!

He finds so much joy in his kids.  It is not rare for him to divulge all of our academic or athletic achievements to any willing server while we are out to dinner.  I've been embarrassed many times as the stories go on and on, but in my heart of hearts I think it is sweet that he is so proud of us!  

What I love most about my dad is the way he loves each of us so selflessly.  

This is a picture of him doing what he what he does so well, saying "YES" to anything that makes one of his kids or grandkids happy...whether it is going out to breakfast at my favorite greasy spoons, going down a water slide with one of the grandkids, taking mom on a date for no special reason, or going for "another" walk on the beach to keep the little ones entertained, he's always up for it!  My dad is a special man through and through, I am truly blessed!

Happy Father's Day!

Hey there! 

Today is the day! I'm super happy to share what 9th Letter Press will be doing on the ninth of the coming months! Ready? I designed a print that felt perfect for summer and I want you all to have it as background for your smart phone. 

So here's a fun fact about me: I don't like receiving flowers. Don't get me wrong, I think they're beautiful and they can really add fun color to any room in a house. But I've never in my whole life bought myself flowers because I can't seem to keep them alive. And then it's just a mess to clean up. I was once given a cactus who I named "Wesley". I thought perhaps if I named the thing, I would be better about taking care of it. Nope. I managed to kill a cactus.  

So, in the spirit of trying to incorporate something floral in my completely un-floral life, I thought I would blend bright, summer fun colors into a summer and flowery motif. I hope you enjoy it! The next three letters will be next month on a completely different print. :)

P.S. I'm no tech superstar but I simply downloaded the image and sent the image to my email. From my iPhone, I went to my email, saved the image to my camera roll and then went to settings where I could set the saved image as my wallpaper. Should be easy! Please email me (isabel@9thletterpress.com) if you have any questions. 

Happy Sunday! 

Hello, all.

   We at 9th Letter Press got to talking and thought of something fun. If you bear with me for a second, you'll get to see how this includes you (yes, you)! I'll try really hard to keep myself from sounding overly gushy. After returning from The National Stationery Show, we've received so much love and support from every corner of the U.S. of A that I started to feel at a loss as to how to thank you all. (To be fair, I did think of sending everyone a thank you card but even for a paper lover like myself that seemed overwhelming). That's when our fabulous new hire, Lauren Berlin, came up with a sweet way to give back love every month, starting on the 9th.  So on the 9th of every month we are doing something fun just for you. To say thank you for all the sweet words, love and unending support of the 9th Letter Press team. 

Seemingly unrelated side note: 

   When I was a little girl, I doodled all the time. My brother shared this love of mine and would often draw super heroes, comic book characters and cars. Naturally, I wanted to be different and original so I drew female versions of all his caricatures (including cars). Since then, I've been a repeat offender of doodling on an all the time basis. Class notes were riddled with sketches, as were my textbooks (remember when wrapping them up in kraft and contact paper was cool?), folders and so on. No blank square inch of paper was safe from me. It only seemed natural, after years and years of a profound love of doodling, sketching and lettering, that I'd somehow find a seat in a classroom to study Graphic Design. 

Now for the tie in:

   Once a month, I will share my doodles, things I find inspiring, that have come from where I've found inspiration, pretty places I've visited, prints I'm working on, etc. These doodles will come straight out of my sketchbook and can be used as background images for the iPhone or Android. Use whichever and how many you like. I'll be kick starting our "On the 9th..." free downloads with fun prints and monograms — starting with three letters. Next month I'll do another three and so forth. If your letter hasn't appeared yet, don't despair. I'll also be including a print without a particular letter so no one is left out (I really hate it when people are left out!). 

See you Sunday, "On the 9th"!! 

Here are a few Sneak Peaks! 

The National Stationery was six days ago and I am still having a hard time figuring out how it came and went. Remember the anticipation of your approaching birthday? The day comes and goes with all the fanfare birthdays deserve, but then you're hit with the inevitable, "it's over? it's really over?"

This is how I feel about NSS. So much planning, penny saving, and energy went into the prep time of NSS that I can't believe the culmination of what we were waiting for is really, truly over. 

All that being said, the 9th Letter Press team couldn't have asked for a better debut at the show. Being the right brain of this op, I really came to appreciate Sheli's knack for planning every little detail and her deep appreciation for budgeting. 

 (A word about planning and budgeting: not my forte). 

More then ever, I am so grateful for how well we work together in filling what the other lacks. I love coming up with the big, wide picture and designing the look of the booth, the color scheme and the feel of our brand, but it's Sheli who can translate what's in my head into something concrete and real. 

If you were at the show, here is a big thank you for your visit and for all the warmth and excitement we felt from everyone who stepped into our booth. Sheli, Jessica, Teresa and I loved meeting all of you!

Our trip back to Winter Park, Florida turned out to be much longer than expected (we were not the only ones with this story!) and while at the airport, I had my sketchbook out, drawing tons of new cards (thank you Westerchester airport for the endless supply of yummy gummy snacks + Snyder's spicy buffalo pretzels) so be on the lookout for some fun new greeting cards coming soon. 

Oh, and before I forget, while at NSS we were so stinkin' thrilled to find that 9th Letter Press will be available in stores from one end of the continental United States of America to the other. We are also heading to Australia, England, Canada, and Korea! I'm particularly excited because the new coloring cards from our Hopscotch Paper line were picked up by a variety of shops! These flat notes are perfect for the little ones running around in your life. It's never too early to teach paper etiquette!

Thanks for reading! 

 -Isabel