Q&A: the girls of UrbanPosture

I met the girls of UrbanPosture at a recent event here in Des Moines. They were super friendly and I love their style, so I thought it would be fun to do a tag team Q&A. Here's a bit from them about what they do.

Leslie:
Where do you live? Ankeny, IA

Tell me a little bit about what you make. Sarah and I focus on creating practical products for everyday use in the home, office and for apparel. All of our merchandise has been designed and printed by hand. Our office line is made from products that are post consumer and the binders are also 100% recyclable as well. The idea behind our motifs that we print is "The Black Forest'. Sarah grew up in Austria and Germany and has a Bavarian background. The Black forest is known for the woodlands, cuckoo clocks, and cake making our line a cohesive mix of different motifs.

How did you decide to start the line? We both have separate businesses that were very similar and because we work well together and were moving in the same direction with ideas we decided we would be better as a team than as two different identities. Sarah and I both have similar taste we love similar motifs and colors and were experimenting with different printing techniques so we decided to have a line of merchandise that was all screen and block printed.

Did you have any teachers who became mentors along the way? Not any vocational teachers but, how odd is this that my younger brother was the one who got me interested in screen printing and also helped me learn the skill? He had been screen printing t-shirts for his business and I wanted to give it a try.

Where do you find your inspiration? Nature, morning light, thrift shopping, vintage items, design blogs and magazines, and Sarah.

Is this your full time work? No, but would love to make it my full time job some day. I am a kitchen and bath designer full time.

Where do you live? My husband, Jacob, and I bought our first house last year. It’s a 1940’s, New England Colonial-style house on the east side of Des Moines. It came with creaky stairs, chipped paint and scratched hardwood floors - all of which I absolutely love!

Tell me a little bit about what you make. Well, we make lots of stuff, but only sell the hand-printed goods. Our main focus is office and home goods, but apparel is definitely a big part too. Leslie and I have found that there are so many things we use everyday and why not give them a touch of our personality by printing on them. Our goal is to make practical things more lovely. The process starts with a sketch, usually on a sticky note or the back of receipt, and ends as a print, with lots of trial and error between. We've experimented printing on all sorts of surfaces including cardboard, paper, wood, fabric and, of course, shirts. It's ridiculous how excited we get when we complete a design and successfully print it for the first time!

What's the best part of your day? Waking up on my day off, being inspired by the morning light, as well as, morning breakfast. I was never a morning person until about a year or two ago and now I love how everything looks at that time of day.

Sarah:
How did you decide to start the line? Leslie and I have always collaborated on our creative endeavors. Although in the past, we have always had our separate lines: Urbanestics and GoodPosture. We’ve known each other for over 3 years now and spend at least 50% of our time together, whether at work or play. It was only a matter of time before we realized that we should combine forces. As the saying goes: 'Two heads are better than one!" ...and that's when UrbanPosture started. Although we have similar taste and ambitions, we still have our strength and weaknesses. It's so nice to be able to rely on Leslie to do the things I'm not good at and visa versa. I think we make a pretty good team!

Did you have any teachers who became mentors along the way? I credit all of my talent and creativity to my mom. (Mom’s count as teachers, don’t they?) She is one of the most resourceful people I know. She used to make me dresses out of sheets and raincoats out of shower curtains. She is absolutely brilliant and has never wasted a minute showing me how it’s done. Even now, she gives me guidance when I get stuck on a project.
Where do you find your inspiration? Well, I think we all surround ourselves with things we love, which in return inspire everyday living. I also love reading blogs and looking through magazines, but traveling is a great source of inspiration as well. Our current line has an obvious woodland theme, which I would trace that back to my childhood.

Is this your full time work? Nope, I’m a full time Kitchen and Bath Designer, as well. We'll see what the future has in store!


What's the best part of your day? I tend to be satisfied with the little things in life, like a glass of chocolate milk in the morning, making dinner for my husband in the evening or getting a laugh out of something that really isn't that funny!

What do you like to do when you're not making things for Urban Posture? Jacob, my husband, is a singer/song writer and I play keys and sing with him when I can. We started recording our first full length in February, so we are in the studio 2-3 times a week, in addition to playing several shows a month. Other than that, I’m constantly working on our little house, whether it’s remodeling or just rearranging.

And the winner is...

Kathy! She has one an amazing Cuisinart Elite Die-Cast 16 cup Food Processor from Williams-Sonoma. In her entry, she said, "Ooh ooh! I would use this to knead and slice and dice and mmmmm, that pizza looks yummy! Man, this thing would come in handy at my house!!"

Okay, for all of you who didn't win (and again, Kathy was chosen by random.org), I'm going to propose a little recipe sharing. I am amazed at how many people also make their own hummus (isn't it so much better than store bought!?!), but get a load of this list of things people said they'd like to make if they won:

organic baby food
gazpacho
salsa, pico de gallo and guacamole
roasted tomato sauce to freeze for winter
potato soup
butternut squash soup
edamame guacamole
edamame hummus (this was very popular- I need to try it!)
pie crust
graham cracker crust
egg roll filling
cookie dough
pizza crust
gluten free pizza crust
hummsto: "I would make pesto, and hummus, and then combine them together to make humsto. And it will be delicious!" (I mean I love them separately so why not combine them, right?)

Okay, so if anyone who mentioned one of those recipes would be up for sharing, please email me (thingswemake at gmail dot com) the recipe (or a link to it) and I can do a little recap with links!

And here's a little personal update for you for anyone who's been wondering how I've been adjusting to my new life in Iowa. Well, this place is RAD. I feel that way for many reasons, but the biggest is that I feel more like myself than I have in a long time simply because the lifestyle is much more my speed. I checked out the bike trails, well one of them, for the first time Sunday and MY HEAVENS! I realize that I have a tendency to get excited about many things, but man oh man, the trail I tried was my version of heaven. It went along the river, out past Gray's Lake, then eventually into a forest. I kid you not. A forest. I was dumbfounded at the beauty, the noisy birds, the sheer abundance of green everywhere and that the trail even went past a horse farm for good measure. Knowing that it's close enough that I could theoretically take a ride before or after work—well, I just cannot tell you how wonderful that feels. I also think it's very amusing that I am so entirely impressed by nature. I mean it's not like I didn't spend a lot of time in Central Park and hiking outside of the city when I could. I did. But this is different. Way different. And it's really good.

And just for fun, here are three images I'm loving lately...they are just a few of the recent things added to my favorite file over at Etsy.

Flatiron from Futurowoman Fotographie

Wild Garden from Yumi Yumi

Inspired Image: Patrick of Antigraphic

Hello, my name is Patrick Edgeley (aka Antigraphic)

You can find me at www.antigraphic.biz and on Etsy

This image comes from Coney Island, New York.

It inspires me because of the hand drawn type and pictures.

I particularly love the colours.

It makes me feel happy because it’s was full of fantastic signs and retro rides, and sad that most of its being cleared for a new amusement park.

The 3 words it conjures up are nostalgic, naïve and playful.


Patrick is a graphic designer by trade but has been screen printing for 3 years and has discovered a passion for print he never knew he had. He hails from Brighton & Hove in the UK and is super talented. Check out some of his work that I picked up from his flickr stream.




Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget, you have until Sunday night to enter to win the fantastic 16 cup Cuisinart from Williams-Sonoma!!

Print of the Month: May (belated)

With moving and starting a new job, I kept putting off finding my May print of the month—but I figured better late than never! A recap of what this means: one of my goals for the year was to buy a print from an independent artist, photographer or illustrator to fill a blank wall in my bedroom. (My bedroom has changed, but I actually have more wall space, so this is working out really well!) Many of them have been floral prints—I have a thing for pink—but I chose this one called "Just around the bend" from Carl of the Bucks County Frames etsy shop , I think, because of the space. And because it makes me feel calm.

Giveaway! Cuisinart 16 Cup Food Processor!

I know, that title is hard to believe, but it's true folks! My lovely friends at Williams-Sonoma have generously partnered with me to giveaway this beauty of a food processor—it's a brand new model that I am already coveting, the Cuisinart Elite Die-Cast 16 cup Food Processor. Here's a little about it (you should hear it from the manufacturer to make sure you get all of the glorious details!):

"The machine’s powerful 1,000-watt motor allows for effortless slicing, chopping, shredding, mixing, and kneading. Three separate nesting bowls (16-cup, 13-cup and 41⁄2-cup cap.) can be switched out instantly to reduce downtime while processing different ingredients. Designed to handle liquids more efficiently than ever, a seal-tight gasket between bowls and lid prevents liquids from spilling while the machine is in use, and locking blades stay put while you’re pouring out ingredients. Redesigned adjustable slicing discs provide customizable control over size and thickness when you’re chopping and slicing, and the reversible shredding disc allows you to quickly grate thick or thin shreds of ingredients. Includes three bowls, two discs, two blades, accessory storage case, spatula, how-to DVD and recipes. 1000W. 8 3/4" x 11” x 17 1/2" high. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive."

AMAZING! (Need more details? Check out the video at the bottom of this page.)

**Okay, for your chance to win the prize, please post a comment with a username (as in, not as "anonymous") describing what you would make if you won this. (Like pesto with fresh basil from your garden, perhaps, or hummus, or to knead bread dough) by 11:59 EST Sunday June 7th.

To ensure that I have your info should you win, feel free to send me an email at thingswemake at gmail dot com with your full name, username and mailing address.

And to prove to you that you really, really do need this in your life, here is a recipe that you could very easily make using this new machine.

Thin Crust Pizza Dough

• 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 cup warm water (about 105°F)
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 cup plus 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar and warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, combine the cake flour, all-purpose flour and salt and pulse 3 or 4 times.

Whisk 1 Tbs. of the olive oil into the yeast mixture. With the motor running, slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more. Pulse the machine 10 to 15 times to knead the dough. The dough should clean the insides of the bowl but will be slightly sticky.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Dust your hands with flour and remove the dough from the food processor. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough in half and roll out as directed in the pizza recipe. (Like this one for Heirloom Tomato and Basil Pizza.) Makes two 10-inch thin-crust pizzas.

Yay free things that are also useful!

**Also, starting tomorrow I'm going to be posting weekly recipes from some of my favorite foodies over at ReadyMade so make sure to come join me there!

Instant Heirloom: Valerie Galloway

I adore Valerie Galloway's work, plain and simple. A friend of mine gave me one of her mirrors last year and I somehow entirely forgot to blog about her until today. It's time! She is a photographer and painter living in Tucson, Arizona with her partner and son. She relocated there from NYC, but was born in France and tries to spend much of her summers there.
As you can see, those places give her a rich source of inspiration for her work. She makes original pieces that vary in size, from small mirrors to larger wall hangings, that are toned photographs encased in glass and edged in metal.



I love the romantic nature of the images that she works with and that she's found a way to turn a photograph, all of which would be lovely on their own, into serious works of art.



This one is my favorite, from inside Central Park looking out, which is a perfect place to be on an early June day. Check out Valerie's other shop, Gambettagirl, for some of her original paintings.

Mom's Quilt Update #4

My first weekend on my own in Des Moines was a success! I caught up on sleep (yay!) and started meeting people. I went to Market Day, a craft fair of sorts, Ephemera Stationary Studio and met the delightful (and friendly!) owners, and went to yoga in a community garden last night. You might not be able to tell from what I say here, but I am on the shy side and so I've decided that since I don't know many people here, I need to put myself in social situations when I can to make sure that I don't feel too isolated. (I've been so upbeat about the whole uprooting my life business that I had a bit of a delayed reaction that I am now, in reality, very far away from my friends. Which as you can imagine, is going to take some getting used to.) Plus honestly, by Sunday afternoon, after I'd been sewing and reading the paper for most of the day, I needed to interact with real people. And the yoga under a huge tree in the sprinkling rain was just the ticket.

Back to the sewing. As you can see above I'm making excellent progree on the wall hanging for my mom. Two more rows and the top will be all done! I actually used my machine to sew this because, get this, I now have space to leave it set up on a table. Amazing!

I bought some rhubarb at the farmers market determined to try to cook it for the first time. I kept things simple and made a compote with just the addition of sugar (essentially you make it like apple sauce- simmer it in water with sugar until the water evaporates and the rhubarb is soft).
This is the finished product, which I realize isn't the most beautiful food shot ever, but it's really good. I'm going to eat it with some local vanilla yogurt for breakfast the next few days.