MORE LAME EXCUSES... 09 - October - 2008

Sorry everybody, not only did I leave a blog post published unfinished, but I also never included the photos from Flickr. I am ashamed. However, as I am self-employed, I have to do client work before I get to do my personal projects (like this website). I have finished the Circles! blog post and included the photos. They were actually uploaded, I just had to make them public. I had ordered some Moo cards and they said (it was their fault!...) 'don't change the permissions until your order shipped' etc etc. FYI Moo cards were ok, they were printed a bit dark and the info on them was a bit limited, but they were free with my pro Flickr account so no real complaints.... I'll post again very soon.

STUFF AND THINGS 29 - September - 2008

Work has kept me busy and away from catching up on the stuff I want to post here.

• The new delicious.com introduced some nice features but lost the simplicity of del.icio.us. Oh well, only a matter of time
• Straight from boagworld podcast last week, a selection of design element screenshots. Some nice inspiration Flickr.com/photos/guspim

SUPPLIES! 26 - August - 2008

I received new supplies today from Hong Kong. I could buy my supplies from anywhere in the world but I have found a hidden gem of a company in Hong Kong, Wai Hang.com.hk. The reasons why aren't simply monetary; shipping anything across the world adds to the cost considerably. The reasons I buy from this company are as follows:

1. The number of screen printing-equipment sellers in Ireland has dropped dramatically, making it quite difficult to order equipment if you aren't an actual screenprinting business (which I'm not). Also, these companies tend to be seriously old-school. Email is not an option, ordering online hasn't even been heard of and even getting them to answer their 'phone can be an ordeal. I want to be able to peruse a product catalog, order and pay online.
2. Another reason is time; the company in Hong Kong deal with my price requests and eventual orders with impressive speed. I have received full packages of screen printing supplies faster from China than other supplies from Dublin. They are very attentive to packing and all my order arrives in perfect condition.
3. My third and final reason why I buy from this company, are the products themselves. They sell wooden frame screens, set sizes or any size you want, with multiple grades of mesh. The frames are nice and thick and robust. The squeegees, blades and handles are also of excellent quality, as are their emulsion scoops. I use their emulsion as well and it is much more flexible than other brands of emulsion that I have used. It also cleans off the screen remarkably well, leaving very little 'ghosting' of the older images.

If you want to get into screenprinting, this site (Wai Hang.com.hk) is the place to start for your supplies. I highly recommend them.

NEW WEBSITE 07 - August - 2008

For my shame it has taken me nearly four months to update my website. The reasons being that when I originally created the first version of the Bleed Edge, there were a number of things I was unhappy with, which I had planned on fixing. I then decided to overhaul the whole thing. I then got busy and neglected the site for a couple of months. I then pushed myself to finish the overhaul, the reason being that I have a number of screenprinting-related projects coming up and I wanted to document them here.

NEW STAMP! 03 - April - 2008

I got my new self-inking stamp yesterday for stamping the back of my prints. I was also preparing screens for my next project(s). I had to clean four and then recoat five screens with emulsion, which I'll leave to dry for a day or two. I didn't take any photos of the cleaning and recoating process as there's a lot of liquid involved and liquids and digital equipment don't go well together. I will try get some photos of the drying screens before development.

IRISH BLOGS 31 - March - 2008

As a web designer working in Ireland, I like to keep up to date with the Irish internet scene, through visiting blogs by Irish people in the industry or close to it. One thing that strikes me about nearly every Irish blog, is the amount of Google ads placed throughout their pages. I find it hard to seperate actual posts from ads because the ads are usually so close to the topic of the post (which makes Google ads a great ads service). I have no problem with anyone trying to make extra cash through Google Ads, but if they're trying to communicate their message, the ads are definitely getting in the way, and I wonder if the return from the ads is worth their message getting partially or totally lost.