Our Studio Opens

June will mark the first anniversary of the opening of our Bed & Breakfast in Montmirail, France www.maisonconti.com One of the main reasons we bought Maison Conti in 2007 was that it had enough space for a really wonderful atelier (French for studio). We have a press room a separate art room and a room for the aquatint box, acid baths and drying rack. It's a very generous space. The entire first year we were here was devoted to putting in bathrooms, redecorating and generally getting the house ready to launch our business. I rarely had the chance to get into my printmaking studio! Then when we opened our doors in June, 2008, a great deal of time was taken up with learning the ropes of our new enterprise. I felt so much frustration to have that beautiful studio and to be unable to spend the time I wanted to in there! During the winter months we had the time and inclination to get our hands inky, crank our great old press and create some work to put into our boutique. Our grand opening will be on June 6th when a group from a local hiking club will swing by the studio and have the opportunity to take a look at what we're doing. We're scurrying around putting paint on walls, organizing cupboards and placing our cards and prints in baskets. In the meantime we are also opening our on-line boutique, which will offer cards and prints for sale at very reasonable prices. We are especially excited about our ability to turn photos into art prints. There's something so warm and wonderful about a cherished image printed on handmade cotton paper. These prints make fabulous wedding presents or birth announcements. In fact any fond memory can be the perfect image for one of these beautiful prints.