Today we're getting to know Jessie, the newest member of our team. She's a fulfillment assistant here, and she's fun to have around. Jessie makes sure orders are packaged correctly. She also really loves Japan, and you can definitely see a Japanese influence in her artwork.
(image: Jessie in a garden)
What is your favorite Smudge Ink product/design?
How do you choose!? I am a big fan of E.B. Goodale’s animal drawings, and I also have a soft spot for the Two Bikes Anniversary Card, since it was the first anniversary card I ever saw where I thought ‘I’d like to receive that someday!’ (haha)
Describe your ideal Saturday.
A day spent in a cozy café, drawing, writing, and chatting with loved ones. If the café has or is near a garden, even better.
(image: Birds and Blossoms Pattern by Jessie)
How long have you been designing cards?
I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember, and have always made cards to give to friends and family, but I think I only starting seriously designing cards after I went to Japan in college, and fell in love with the variety of stationery there.
(image: For a Rainy Day Card with Seal by Jessie)
What is your favorite place in Boston?
The Esplanade in the spring. It can get crowded, but I love the cherry trees and being near the water.
Where does your love of art come from?
I tend to think visually, and I’m better at expressing myself through images than through words, so an inclination towards art came naturally. I experience the world through art.
(Turnaround by Jessie)
Thanks, Jessie! If you'd like to check out out more of Jessie's artwork, you can visit her online portfolio.
We are pretty excited that Halloween is only a week away! We've been talking about some of our favorite costumes for a few weeks now. Our descriptions weren't doing our costumes justice, so we dug through photo albums and here's what we found:
Erin as a wizard with her sister the alien
Lily as a cowgirl
Haley as Belle with her sister
Ally as a fierce tiger
April as (bookish) Belle with her dog
Jessie as Sailor Moon
We hope your costumes are ready to go (or close to it!) and that you're looking forward to a wonderful night of Halloween fun next week!
Did you know that all Smudge Ink products are made in the USA? It's true! We are super proud of our commitment to American made goods.
We are based in Charlestown (a neighborhood of Boston) in Massachusetts, and all of our letterpress stationery is printed in-house on our Heidelberg printing presses. Our flat-printed products are produced by local Massachusetts offset and digital print shops.
We package all of our products in our Charlestown studio and ship them to retailers and website customers across the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom. We occasionally ship orders even farther across the globe!
Our central working studio allows us to have a real hands-on relationship with our products from design to shipment. Each member of our team is intimately familiar with the product that goes out the door. We all work together with our central goal in mind: help people connect, celebrate, and have fun!
Today we're spending a little time looking at things that make us happy. The world's been feeling pretty overwhelming lately. We really need some smiles this week. You probably do, too.
Today we're getting to know Russian Hill Bookstore in San Francisco! You could spend days inside this place finding one treasure after another. They've got so many beautiful books! And an a truly excellent selection of stationery and journals. If you're in the area you must go visit!!
A huge thanks to Jessica for taking the time to answer a few questions about this amazing bookstore. Now, without further ado, here's the inside scoop:
When did Russian Hill Bookstore open? What was the inspiration or motivation behind the opening of a brick and mortar store? Is there a story behind the name?
Russian Hill Bookstore actually began as Sunset Bookstore 43 years ago. On September 13th, 1974, Sunset Bookstore was opened on Irving Street and 23rd Avenue as a general used bookstore serving the Sunset District in San Francisco west of 19th Avenue. In 1993, as part of a plan to expand the Neighborhood Used Bookstore model, Russian Hill Bookstore was opened at 2234 Polk Street in partnership with Sunset Bookstore. The two stores were consolidated as one business under the sole proprietorship of Carol Spencer upon Russian Hill Bookstore's opening in 1993. The bookshops operated in their two neighborhoods concurrently until mid-2000, when Sunset Bookstore was closed and its inventory of used books and merchandise, as well as fixtures and staff, were merged with that of Russian Hill Bookstore, which continues to serve the Russian Hill / Polk Street neighborhood as the last remaining bookstore, new or used, in the area.
Benjamin Bellouin and Jessica Tsang, owners of Russian Hill Bookstore
Russian Hill Bookstore has very recently been through a state of change. Carol Spencer, the founder and sole proprietor since the bookstore's inception in 1974, retired on June 30th, 2017. Ms. Spencer has sold the business to two dedicated and long-tenured employees with nearly 20 years of experience working at Russian Hill Bookstore between them, Benjamin Bellouin and Jessica Tsang. As staff we had always felt at home in the bookstore, so the decision to continue the shop in order to preserve its history and legacy was easy.
Russian Hill Bookstore mid-move in July of 2017
Concurrently, Russian Hill Bookstore has relocated to a new and larger space, located one block south on Polk Street from its former location. In addition, in July of 2017 Russian Hill Bookstore was recognized as a San Francisco Legacy Business.
What do you love about your shop’s neighborhood?
The thing we love most about the Russian Hill neighborhood is the overwhelming support and love for our shop that has always been there, but that was brought to the surface in a palpable demonstration of support during our relocation this past June. Over 50 volunteers reserved time to help us move the entire shop one block in seven days, using two hand-trucks and a broken pot dolly.
What’s your favorite Smudge Ink product?
We adore your cards! Over the years Smudge's designs have always been strong sellers for our shop. The current customer favorite is the What's Up? gopher card, though I am head-over-heels for the Caroling Penguins holiday card.
What song or album is playing in your shop right now?
Blossom Dearie's infamous “I'm Hip.”
Is there a fun new stationery or gift trend that you particularly enjoy or that customers are responding well to?
My current favorite would have to be the increased availability of images championing strength, love, and equality! We are seeing diversity in skin tone and body shape appearing naturally in a number of our card artist's lines. This trend is making a strong presence in children's books as well, and we are proud to carry a variety of titles that embody these messages of acceptance and bravery.
For my fellow printmakers out there, I cannot recommend the children's book If You Want to See a Whale, written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Erin E. Stead, highly enough. The gentle cadence of the story paired with the rich textures of the illustrations prove a delight for readers of any age.
Do you have a fun fact about Russian Hill Bookstore that most people wouldn’t know?
Believe it or not, we stock over 560 different companies and independent artists in our shop - most of which are card makers!
Look at all of those gorgeous books and cards and gifts!
What’s the most memorable thing that has happened in your store?
Years ago the shop hosted a wedding for a beautiful couple who met between the bookshelves of our store. This incredible couple still visits – with their children!
(image: Jessie in a garden)
(image: Birds and Blossoms Pattern by Jessie)
(image: For a Rainy Day Card with Seal by Jessie) 
(Turnaround by Jessie)
When did Russian Hill Bookstore open? What was the inspiration or motivation behind the opening of a brick and mortar store? Is there a story behind the name? 
