rubber soul blog

poulsbo's amazing race

this last saturday night, rubber soul got to play a part in someone's amazing race - the birthday version! we were the stop somewhere in between eating pickled herring at the market, and re-enacting a bunny being chased by dogs to the hare and hound pub. 

there were specific instructions that andrea - the birthday girl - left at our shop for all the different teams...

six teams came rushing in at different times - you could just hear them running up the street

 

and there was quite a frenzy of card making as they sped through their assigned task.

this was definitely the quickest stamping and assembly i've ever seen, and i loved my role as the clue giver for their next task. it was all very exciting. happy birthday andrea, and thanks for including us in your birthday fun!

pinhole!

tomorrow, sunday april 25th, is worldwide pinhole photography day. each year, for 10 of them now, people all over the world celebrate pinhole photography by using their pinhole cameras to capture moments, on the very same day. 

a pinhole camera is a very simple camera with no lens and a single very small aperture. simply explained, it is a light-proof box with a hole in one side. once considered an obsolete technique from the early days of photography, pinhole photography is now a trend in artistic photography. most pinhole cameras are usually handmade, but conventional cameras can also be converted. here's one mid-process that i assembled a couple years ago:

 

 

(yes, i know, it looks like i made this in the 70s.) we now carry an even easier make-it-yourself version in our on-line shop, that can be assembled in as little as 1-2 hours. 

there is something so magical to me about pinhole photographs. as we are drawn more and more into the technological times, there is something very gratifying about the mystery of how each shot will be captured. in my own little handmade version, i truly love not knowing the result instantaneously, and the anticipation while the film is being developed. i also love the dreamy soft-focus that i can capture with a pinhole photo. one person that has had the biggest influence on my appreciation of this creative art form is darren. check out his amazing set of pinhole photographs on flickr. i can't look at this one enough times (seriously.....wow, right?), and here is another beauty of his. you can also go here and here for inspiration from many others.

so tomorrow you'll find me outdoors somewhere, with jasmine dog, my guy, my pinhole camera, a couple of rolls of 35mm film, and a big smile. happy pinhole photography day!

uppercase magazine

attention all creative and curious types:

have you heard about uppercase magazine? 

i stumbled upon it one day, right after the first issue was released, and was immediately taken in by the magic of it all. i knew instantly that this gem out of canada was unique, in every way. after discovering that there were no shops locally that carried it, nor even in the state of washington, i was excited to be promptly approved to be one of their stockists. 

i found the best words to describe uppercase magazine to be their own.....

uppercase is: 

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

 

 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.

 

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

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

 

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

 

issue number 5 has just arrived, 

 

and you can find it in our retail shop, on my nightstand, and in our on-line shop. enjoy!