New Thank You Cards

I'm so excited to introduce some new thank you cards to my stationery line. My greeting cards began out of my love for vintage woodblock type, as I would set each letter one at a time and delight in the imperfections of working with such old type. As much as I enjoy that process & aesthetic, my style is much broader. I love vintage floral etchings and simple elegant typography, and have long included these styles in my custom design and print work. I am thrilled to finally bring these styles to my own line of cards. Please visit my Etsy shop for more information and shopping. Cheers!  

New Valentine's Day Cards

Valentine's Day is less than a month away, and I'm excited to introduce two new letterpress cards in my shop. I've started to add my own designs to my collection, in addition to the woodblock type cards. This year, I wanted to include some cards that were fitting to send to friends. Valentine's Day doesn't have to be just for couples - these cards are perfect to send to your best buds to remind them how much you love them! 

Southern Wedding Expo in Ringgold, GA

Today I participated in my first Bridal Fair, The Southern Wedding Expo in Ringgold, Georgia. (Fun fact: Ringgold is where Dolly Parton got married!) Brides, mothers, girlfriends, and a handful of fiancés attended, eager to meet vendors for their big day. I met some great potential clients and enjoyed some yummy sample cupcakes. 

This event reminded how much I love doing wedding invitations and working with brides. If you know anyone getting married & needing invites, please send them my way. I am available for custom design & letterpress printing for all the elements of a wedding invitation suite: save the date cards, invitations, reply cards, menus, programs, thank you cards, return address envelope printing, and more!

I had a custom sign made from my favorite local printer, DPI Color Graphics.
I didn't quite realize how big it was until I picked it up! 

Going through my portfolio in the dining room at home. 

My table & sign, all set up. I used a white linen family heirloom tablecloth that came from
my maternal grandmother's estate, Two Magnolias, in Macon, Georgia. 

New haircut, new pants, new sign, and a dozen roses.. all ready to go! 

The stage was set up for a bridal fashion show to model dresses from a local bridal shop. 

I met lots of other great vendors: caterers, photographers, planners, and more.

My favorite couple! I loved their air-brushed, "Just Engaged" matching tee shirts :)

Hello again..

Hello to my readers - friends & strangers, and sort of to myself as well. I've neglected this blog project for far too long. As a young assistant & junior designer living NYC, this blog served as a dream catcher - a place to store my inspirations and aspirations, and I attended to it diligiently.  Life carries on, and I have been on many great adventures and followed many dreams since then. As I have a tendency to do, I got caught up in the flurry of life, and kept thinking that I would write a post when I could take the time to do it with intention. My life is still an ongoing flurry, but I've realized I'm happiest that way - many projects and plans brewing at once. I'm taking the blog down a notch from the ideal version in my head, or perhaps taking it back to how it was when I began - simply a catch-all for anything and everything I found interesting, without too much thought over themes and consistency, or great writing/photography for that matter. I can't wait to begin sharing again, regularly, about my travels to the south of France & Peru, my six month trek along the Appalachian Trail, letterpress endeavors, new wedding invitations, and the joys of being domestic in a Southern home. 

In somewhat recent news, I got an iPhone this summer (after dropping my previous phone in a waterfall..) and have been delightfully swept up in the Instagram wave. Feel free to follow along there, as I post much more frequently: http://instagram.com/maconyork. 

Here are some favorites from the past month: 

Fresh squeezed orange-mango juice & a new clutch at a market in Cusco, Peru

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu

Aguas Calientes (Hot Springs) after hiking the Inca Trail

Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Atlantic Ocean in Ponte Vedra, FL 

Old school country band at a honky tonk in Nashville, TN

Quiet morning at home, drinking tea & watching grey morning light

New Year's Eve with best friends & flowers in our hair

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Me with my adorable cousins

I am especially thankful for this year's Thanksgiving, spent with family in my parents' home in Chattanooga, TN. Aunts, uncles and cousins drove up from Atlanta and Jacksonville and our house was filled with youthful cheer - four little ones ages 3-10.

For the first time in many years, I was blessed with the time and energy to help my parents thoughtfully prepare for the holiday. We browsed our favorite magazines and websites for recipes (many from Martha Stewart, Fine Cooking, Smitten Kitchen, and of course Garden and Gun). We planned ahead with serving spoons and dishes, and determined appropriate glasses for pre-dinner cocktails. We prepared grocery lists and to-do lists, with the intention of accomplishing as much as possible before the arrival of family, so we could enjoy their company and not stress in the kitchen.

The time we spent together was lovely and I am so grateful for the rich experience of it all. 

Cleaning out the kitchen drawers

Figuring out serving dishes for Thanksgiving

Breakfast time with the kiddos

Trip to the Incline Railroad up Lookout Mountain

Pre-dinner Cocktails

Thanksgiving dinner 

Lavender Bridesmaids Luncheon Letterpress Invitations

Hello dear ones! I am way behind in updating my portfolio, but no time like the present to remedy that. A good friend of mine commissioned me last winter to design and letterpress invitations for a bridesmaids luncheon for her friend. I've started using 100% cotton paper, which makes a really beautiful impression. I love the simplicity of one pretty color with a vintage floral etching - a great solution for a lower budgets. 

Home from the Appalachian Trail

Hello dear ones. I have returned from hiking the Appalachian Trail. For the last six months I have been outside climbing mountains, fording rivers, drinking from streams, eating from one small pot, and sleeping on the ground. 

In Georgia, I watched so intimately as the bare brown of March's late winter delicately blossomed into spring. As the weeks passed, the terrain changed and the weather warmed, and I hiked ever northward into the heat of the summer. In August in Vermont, I noticed a dryness to the leaves, an ashen green with a hint of gold, and then watched as Autumn crept upon the Maine landscape.

Never have I given so wholly and sincerely of myself. I truly lived outside in the elements and wondered at the mystery of life all around. When I reached the magnificent summit of Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, I was overwhelmed with joy - I had achieved my dream.

Upon completing the trail, after brief travels on Martha's Vineyard and Boston, I returned to my family in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I have thoroughly enjoyed being home, relishing in the luxuries of dry cotton and fresh food. Being domestic has a whole new wonder. I love hand washing my mother's antique silver spoons, sweeping the wood floors, pruning the geraniums, and baking cookies from scratch.

Slowly, I am making the transition back to my design and letterpress business. There is an extra sun room in my parents' house that I have been fortunate enough to turn into a design studio - more on that later. For now, I wanted to say hello after six months of adventure and share some photos:

Georgia in March (photo by Luke Costlow)

Overlooking a winter vista in North Carolina, (photo by Luke Costlow)

Pink Lady Slippers - the coming of Spring! (photo by Luke Costlow)

McAfee Knob in Virginia 

Lush green summer trail - Virginia in May

Rhododendrons in bloom, Virginia

I loved the abundance of ferns, Virginia

Sunset on Cold Mountain, Virginia

Shenandoahs, Virginia

Halfway point - Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

My first campfire, Pennsylvania

Campsite overlook, Pennsylvania

Sunset in New Jersey

Rattlesnake in New York

Nap-time tree in New York

Campsite in Connecticut

Morning view of clouds, Connecticut

Overlook in Massachusetts 

Sunset over the river in Massachusetts 

Campsite by a river, Vermont

Late July in Vermont, view from Killington Peak

Franconia Ridge, New Hampshire

Presidential Range, New Hampshire

Presidential Range, New Hampshire 

Crossing the border into Maine

Hitchhiking in Maine

Fording rivers, Maine 

Sunlight through the trees, Maine

Bigelow Mountains, Maine

Autumn creeping into the landscape, Maine

Whitecap Mountain, view of Katahdin, Maine

Beach in Maine

View of Katahdin from Abol Bridge, Maine

Mt. Katadin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail

Flooded with joy