Picturia Press - Creating Books authored by you

The New Picturia Press website

2010-10-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that we have now combined our website and blog into one location. From now on, please find us at Picturia Press (www.picturiapress.com)

We'll be shutting down this blog within the next few months, so please change your bookmarks!

400 Miles in Tanzania

2010-10-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

We worked closely with Kaitlin Rogers to design this beautiful book rich in images of the countryside and the people of Tanzania. Well over 1,000 images were taken during this unique 400 mile bike ride to raise funds for orphans. We managed to select the best images (a very difficult task) to create this 200 page fundraising book for The Foundation for Tomorrow.

THE FOUNDATION FOR TOMORROW is a non-profit organization that provides scholarships for African orphans to attend boarding school in their home countries. As well as scholarships, The Foundation For Tomorrow (TFFT) aids and advances our partner schools and orphanages to ensure the highest quality of education is provided. For more information, please visit: www.thefoundationfortomorrow.org

Mugs & Beards - The Artwork of Brian Ajhar

2010-09-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

This was a special edition book we designed specifically for artist Brian Ajhar to be showcased during the 2010 CTN Animation Expo. This is a collection of a handful of the numerous editorial, advertising and children's book projects he has worked on throughout his 30 year career.

These are some really wonderful images and it was a real pleasure to work on this book for Brian. To see more of his work, please visit his site at www.ajhar.com.

Spooky Hollow - Too Cute to Spook

2010-09-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Halloween! This wonderful and fun book was a project we just created for folk artist Carmen Ellis. This is a collection of her most popular and personal favorite works. These characters are lovingly created in clay, oil, mixed media and sketches. Spooky Hollow features a very popular character, "Grimmy" the son of the Grim Reaper, who is really too cute to scare anyone, no matter how hard he tries.

We created this book from scratch, selecting the fonts, colors and layout of the book, breaking up the book by art type. We think it came out spooky enough for Carmen. To find out more about her artwork, please visit spookyhollow.net.

Summer in New England

2010-09-16T09:00:00.001-07:00

This was a small 60 page, 7 x 7 book we created for a friend who visited Boston this summer. Just your typical vacation pictures, but we put all of them together nicely as a present so that our friend will always have this book to remember the fun times.

Tina & Jung - A Wedding Album

2010-09-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

This was yet another wonderful wedding album we recently completed. We worked with one of our favorite wedding photographers, Bryan Mikota of Mikota Photography on this project for his clients, Tina and Jung.

Making Yourself Indispensable

2010-09-10T17:14:00.000-07:00

This book was a tribute to Monica Luedecke, the CEO of Hotze Enterprises, who is celebrating 20 years with the company. We were fortunate that our clients was extremely organized. Prior to beginning the project, she already had letters and images from each of the company employees (all 75!). We created individual pages for each employee, choosing fonts and colors that worked best. This is a surprise gift that will be presented to Monica at a party held in her honor. We wish her continued success in the future.

El Zafiro Living & Preserving Mexico's Coastal Treasures

2010-09-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

This is one of those wonderful projects that we look forward to working on and bringing our client's vision to life. El Zafiro is a land development project in the Mexican Pacific coastal region of Costa Alegre. Our clients had professionally shot images taken by land, sea and air. The images of this region of Mexico were a breathtaking mixture of steep cliffs, dramatic bays and beaches of all sizes. Needless to say, we found ourselves daydreaming about a vacation to this wonderful location...

We combined lush color combinations with the client images and also selected the appropriate fonts throughout the book to set the stage for this professional presentation piece.

Journey Beyond the Ordinary

2010-08-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

Gwen Books operates an established luxury travel management firm offering personal assistant and concierge services.Her unique business “brings the ultimate in lifestyle management to the discerning individual”. She works her magic to manage the details of daily life and special events for individuals who don’t have enough time of their own.

Journey Beyond the Ordinary showcases specially designed trips for the greatest vacation and traveling experience.From “Spicy Morocco” to “Yacht Tours”, Gwen has all the suggestions and fine points to create an amazing, worry-free trip.

This was another enjoyable project for us.Picking up the logo and color scheme from her business, we first created a consistent and compelling layout and then added special graphics and maps for relevant content. And now I have my favorite trip picked out… even if it’s in my dreams!

To view the inside of this book, click here.

In the Wake of Magellan

2010-08-25T04:37:00.000-07:00

I hadn’t even heard of places like Vanatu and Raja Amput before we began this book project, but I was charmed and intrigued by the underwater images of Laura, and I wanted to know and see more.

Traveling to some of the most remote and unique locations, Laura has captured the stunning beauty both above and below the sea. Her photography is a visual treat, and this book is a window to amazing places and people.

As book designers, the bright and multi-colored images were a delightful challenge. We had to create the right balance of tone, size and texture or the pages would feel heavy or almost cluttered. As always, we want the book’s design to present the content with an aesthetic value that not just matches but enhances the content.

Take a look inside this just released book, In the Wake of Magellan. We hope you'll like the design - I know you'll love the pictures.

Luxury Pets

2010-08-23T03:50:00.000-07:00

Pets Deserve the Best! For all those pet owners looking to pamper their four-legged friends - look no further. Luxury Pets is a fabulous collection of products with chic design and purpose, many of which are eco-friendly.

Check out this new product catalog, "The Dream Collection" that we designed that showcases the products in a way that's as stylish (almost) as the products!

Michelle & Anthony's Wedding Album

2010-08-22T03:57:00.000-07:00

Weddings always bring out the best in people. Smiles, laughter, joy, and even tears - emotions that are captured with every wedding picture. And creating a book with those special images is always a pleasure for us.

We just finished a wedding book for newlyweds, Michelle & Anthony. Take a look at this Maryland couple's special day.

FREE SHIPPING! FREE SHIPPING!

2010-08-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite words, and worth repeating. From now until August 31, 2010, Blurb is offering free flat-rate shipping on your Blurb books. Perfect time to order those extra copies you've wanted and keep forgetting to order. And I won't mention that a certain time-of-year is around the corner and books make a perfect gift. Just choose Ground or Economy shipping and type in the SHIPPINGFREE code at checkout. Consider going big. Order ten or more books and save at least 15%. Your volume order savings will automatically appear in your shopping cart at checkout. No need for a code on this one, but remember to input your free shipping code so you get those savings, too. Get the full details on their volume order offer here.

Every Picture Tells A Story

2010-08-11T04:09:00.000-07:00

This is a book that truly does have a story behind every image, as it takes the reader on a rich, visual journey across the globe. A journey that photographer Marcia Joy Martin documented as she experienced the local cultures of Nepal, Thailand, Africa, Bosnia and other unique places.

When I was contacted by Marcia, I knew right away that this project was very personal and very important to her. She had been working on converting the hundreds of images from film to digital, and writing the accompanying text, all over the span of a year. It wasn't easy for her to turn over this significant project to someone else for the next stages of design.

But she trusted our expertise and vision to tell her stories, and is delighted with her new book. To see the inside of this book, click here.

My Own Country

2010-08-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

Deborah Paris is a contemporary American landscape painter. “Her moody, tonal paintings reflect an intense, intuitive connection to the natural world and its rhythms.”

In her new book, My Own Country, you’re invited to pause, ponder, and linger on the beautiful light and texture of Deborah’s paintings. Her thoughts and inspirations that influence her art add an interesting dimension and personal insight to the painter. We hope to see more of Deborah’s work in the future.

WOOF!

2010-08-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

If you don't love dogs yourself, you undoubtedly know someone (or many someones) who do adore man's (and women's) best friend. Here's a wonderful book we designed for a tireless dog caretaker and photographer, Michele Tallarigo. This book shows the many sides (and paws) of her "clients", and their endearing personalities shine through these candid shots. I always love working on animal book projects, and we really enjoyed helping Michele put together her first book.

We look forward to seeing future books from Michele with more cute puppies, poochies and maybe some felines? To see the inside of this book, click here.

Hyla Molander | Finding Light

2010-07-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have known Hyla Molander for many years, and she recently contact us to help her put the finishing touches on a book of photography she was creating. Hyla is a wonderful children's photographer and has recently become more well-known as the author of the blog "Drop Dead Life". Hyla has also been selected by Scribd.com to be one of their two authors speaking on the “Non-traditional Forms of Publishing” panel at the Litquake Festival and wanted to have the book available for this event. We wish her great and continued success.

Wish Upon A Wedding

2010-07-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

I recently came across this wonderful organization, Wish Upon A Wedding. They are the world's first nonprofit wedding wish granting organization. And they provide weddings across the US for individuals facing life-threatening illness. They give couples a chance to enjoy a special day, without any thoughts of existing health issues.

They officially launched in January 2010, and currently have over a dozen chapters. Picturia Press has donated their services to create a wedding coffee-table book for one of their couples, through their online auction "Blissful Wishes Ball". Please visit their site and see how you might also help grant a wish.

50th Wedding Anniversary - Ben & Arlene

2010-07-12T05:50:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Ben & Arlene who will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in August! Their family and friends decided to create this beautiful coffee table book for a surprise gift to them. It includes notes and pictures going back 50 years. Both family members and friends sent contributions to the book. It's going to be a wonderful surprise for them when they see their entire married life put into this great 100 page book.

To see the inside of this book, click here.

The Complement Antigen Test for Allergies

2010-07-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have often heard people I know remark on their food allergies and how it impacts their lives. Although I personally have no food allergies, I found this book project to be very informative. The Brendan Bioscience Complement Antigen Test screens for 132 food and food additives common to most people's diets. Once you've had your physician administer the Antigen Test, this book (7 x 7, 62 pages), written by Lori Garrison of C3B Technologies, is designed to educate you about the "problem" foods. It isn't just enough to avoid your allergy foods (like corn, wheat and dairy) because those items may also be "hidden" in other foods you eat. This book is very informative and lists alternatives and hidden places where your "allergy" foods may be appear.

If you find you have symptoms such as headaches stomach aches, eczema, fatigue, or asthma, you may want to consult your physician to be tested for food allergies. To see the inside of this book, click here.

Deska - Model

2010-07-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

It's really easy to create a beautiful book when you have such gorgeous images to use! We created this portfolio for the model, Deska. She wanted a unique way to show off her past modeling projects such as high fashion, editorial, catalog, sportswear, and swimsuits.

We wish her continued success in her career. To see the inside of this book, click here.

Donny & Patti Get Married

2010-06-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

This was a really wonderful wedding album to create for the newlyweds - Donny and Patti. They got married on beautiful Miahaulepu Beach on Kauai, Hawaii. Our job was made easy because of the amazing photography taken by Ken Posney.

We designed this album on Patti's idea of telling a "fairy tale" story. So many of the pages have beautifully scripted pieces of her story, including the happy ending. Congratulations to Patti and Donny.

To view the interior of the book, click here.

Lindsay & Jonathan - 1 Year Together

2010-06-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is a really sweet book we did for a young couple celebrating one year together. This was a collection of images taken over the year they've been dating. Lindsay asked us to put together some of the most memorable events and she plans to surprise Jonathan with the book when it arrives.

What a wonderful gift to give to your loved one!

60 Great Times

2010-06-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

60 Great Times is a book we designed for a client who wanted to create a special gift for his sister on her 60th birthday. The book is a collection of 60 memorable moments in their lives, ranging from their childhood through their adult life.

We hope she enjoys this special gift from her brother. To see the inside of this book we designed, click here.

Natalie & Barry's Wedding

2010-06-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

One of our dear clients, Natalie and Barry, contacted us recently to see if we would design another wedding book for them to give to their parents. We designed their original wedding album book back in March, 2009. This time, Natalie wanted to create a smaller version of the book. Actually, what they wanted is to select most of the portrait wedding shots and some special images that were important to the parents.

This small book was 50 pages compared to the larger wedding album we created, which was 95 pages. We hope her parents will be very happy with their customized wedding album.

Click here to see the inside of this book, and here to see the larger wedding album book.

Joe's Yearbook Redesigned

2010-06-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

This book design project was to celebrate a 60th birthday for a gentleman named Joe. His friends contacted us to "recreate" his high school year book, but with a twist. Each of his friends contributed THEIR high school photos to be put in the book, and then we added their bios, clubs, activities and achievements. This was all done with "tongue-in-cheek" humor and we think he'll be surprised and entertained by it.

We hope the book will be enjoyed by Joe and his friends and that he has a wonderful birthday.

Photography Book Now Contest 2010

2010-06-02T06:25:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe, but it's June already! How did that happen? If you're thinking about entering a book for Photography Book Now (PBN), it's time to get started!

So far, they've received more than 440 submissions from over 23 countries. Picturia Press has worked with three clients this year to help them design books for this event. Check out the latest entries at the PBN bookstore.

The deadline for PBN | 2010 is July 15, so you still have time. Remember, there's a $25,000 grand prize up for grabs, not to mention lots of other prizes and great exposure for your work!

The Honu Collection | Hand Sculpted Jewelry

2010-05-27T04:46:00.000-07:00

When I first talked with the artist Amy Wakingwolf, I knew this would be a great project. Amy is a serious artisan based in Hawaii who works with hand-sculpted glass to create beautiful necklaces and earrings.

This book is a showpiece catalog of her jewelry, specifically, "the honu collection", which features nine different turtle pendants crafted with 14 karat findings and 22 karat gold paired with hand-faceted precious and semi-precious gemstone.

Worth mentioning here is that Amy Wakingwolf is also a conservationist who gives generously to ocean recovery projects. Additionally, throughout the summer, Amy and her associates camp out on the beaches by sea turtle nests, making sure each hatchling makes it to the sea.

Reflective Ambiguity

2010-05-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

This book was created for our client, Allan Syphers. Mr. Syphers is a seasoned professional architect, and recently began delving into photography. Through discovery, chance or circumstance, Allan began to focus his work on images of reflection. Discovering with growning interest that reflection encompassed several concepts - specular, mathematical and contemplative.

This book is an exploration of reflection and the images were taken in such places as Tuscany, England and the Caribbean.

Healthy Hypnosis

2010-05-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

We recently worked with author, Paul Gustafson to design a cover for his recently released Kindle book, Healthy Hypnosis: The Simple Truth and Practical Use. We will be working again with Paul to design the hardcover version of his book, due for release later this summer.

Healthy Hypnosis offers a unique perspective into the common, everyday application of hypnosis. It takes what once seemed unimaginable and foreign and presents it in a way that just makes sense.

Author, Paul Gustafson guides readers through the A-B-C’s of hypnosis, seperates fact from fiction, and offers fascinating case studies and samples of some of the actual hypnosis sessions he uses with his clients. Healthy Hypnosis: The Simple Truth and Practical Use shines a bright light on this empowering technique, helping to educate readers on the amazing potential offered by this peaceful process.To order the Kindle version of this book, click here.

Costa Rica

2010-05-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

Costa Rica is a beautiful photography book we created for noted wildlife photographer, Jim Stamates. This book is a collection of Jim's favorite images taken during his numerous "In The Rhythm" eco-tours.

Recognized as a prominent wildlife photographer, Jim Stamates has been creating photographic images for more than 35 years. Since 1980, he has focused his talents on the photography and preservation of our natural surroundings.

For Jim, respect for wildlife takes precedence over “getting the shot”. His philosophy is rewarded by a unique intimacy with his subjects. Dedicated to the proper and ethical behavior toward nature, Jim champions his “low impact field techniques” through his In The Rhythm™ lectures and workshops that emphasize the well being of the subject.

For more information about Jim Stamates, you can visit: www.stamates.com. Jim and his wife Kathy regularly lead eco-tours and photography workshops in Costa Rica and other exotic locations. For more information you can visit his website: www.intherhythmtours.com.

To see the inside of this book, click here.

Arrogantly Average

2010-04-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

Arrogantly Average is a collection of poems from our client, Howard Lewis. This is his second book of poetry that we designed for him. The first book of poetry, called "Cold November", we created in November of last year and he is currently working on finishing a third book to complete the set.

We think Mr. Lewis has some truly wonderful poems and we look forward to collaborating with him again when he completes his next book.

Puja & Ankit

2010-04-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

This was a wonderful wedding album we designed for our clients, Puja and Ankit. They had a traditional Indian wedding and wanted a coffee table book that would show all the different events that occurred prior to and including the wedding itself.

The ceremonies were beautiful and we congratulate the happy couple.

Letty & Bas Get Married...Again

2010-04-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

Back in January, we were fortunate to have designed a wedding book for our clients Letty and Bas from South Africa. They really loved their book and recently contacted us to design another version of it in a smaller format so they could give them as gifts to their bridesmaids, groomsmen and family members.

We recreated the larger 12" x 12" book into a 7" x 7" format. Then created a brand new cover for the smaller version. We hope their friends and family will enjoy these memories as much as Letty and Bas.

Extra Ordinary

2010-04-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

While the title of this novel may be "Extra Ordinary", the author of the book is not. This was a wonderfully written first novel by a young, up and coming novelist, Carina Sarda. She is "extraordinary" in that she wrote this book when she was thirteen years old. We were contacted by her father to put this book into print for her. Carina is currently in the middle of writing her second novel and we look forward to hearing more about this rising star.

Art Not Hate in the St. Petersburg Times

2010-03-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

We were contacted the other day by our client, Bob Barancik to let us know that his artwork series, "ART NOT HATE" was covered by the St. Petersburg Times. Bob is showcasing his art at the Florida Holocaust museum and we were fortunate enough to work with him in creating a companion piece 8 x10 book of his art.

Bob writes us "I believe that the show got the coverage because the ANH Blurb book caught the attention of Lennie Bennett at the Times..."

Hannah & Paul's Wedding

2010-03-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

We created this small 7 x 7 book as a surprise gift to our clients Hannah and Paul. We have worked with them over the past year and a half creating FIVE books for them and another one for Hannah's mother. We've wanted to give them something special and could think of nothing more perfect than ANOTHER book! Congratulations to you both on your recent wedding and we hope you enjoy the book.

Leon Farahnik - Leadership & Innovation

2010-03-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

This a a corporate book we were asked to do for PWP Packaging With Perfection's President, Mr. Leon Farahnik. At the end of the month, Mr. Farahnik is retiring and they wanted to present him with this book commemorating his time with the company. The book features corporate events, key milestones, images of employees, heart-felt quotes and stories from clients and staff.

Hannah & Paul | 2009

2010-03-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is the final book in a FIVE-BOOK SERIES that we did for our client. Each one of the books in the series was designed to highlight the couple's yearly adventures, travels and achievements since they started dating.

This final book represents their first year as a married couple. We have enjoyed working with them over the last year and a half helping them to preserve their memories.

We wish them a very happy life together and hope we will continue to create more books for them in the future!

The Answers Are Within You

2010-03-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

This week, we were contacted by Diana Aslanian, a professional life coach. Diana recently finished writing The Answers Are Within You, and contacted us to see if we could transform her writing into a graphically pleasing 7" x 7" book. We worked with Diana's color scheme and selected an interesting font to compliment her style, then created an engaging cover for her book.

We wish Diana success with the sale of her book and continued success in her life coaching practice.

As Seasons Change

2010-02-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

As Seasons Changes is an excerpt of a much larger collection of poetry written by New Jersey trial attorney, Richard Philip Klein. Our client hired us to compile his poetry and create each page with a different design relating to the chapters topics in the book. With over 100 pages, it was a daunting task. We used a lot of interesting color and font treatments to each of the pages. The end result was a very beautiful, engaging and visual journey through his words.

The Keane Brothers

2010-01-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

We were asked by our client to create a book of all the newspaper and press clippings for the Keane Brothers. John and Tom Keane were teen sensations in the late 70's and early 80's. They were the youngest entertainers in history (ages 11 and 12, respectively) to host their own variety television program. The brothers Keane released four albums and were quite the teen idols throughout their career. We put together a "RETRO"spective of all their articles, images and magazine covers for our client, who was going to present the book to the two Keane brothers as a surprise gift.

Bon Voyage!

2010-01-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

This was a really fun travel book done for our clients who frequently take vacations on cruise ships around the world. They finally collected a selection of their favorite images from different trips and tasked us with putting together a cohesive story of their great adventures. We managed to put together a beautiful 100 page book that they gifted to all their friends who have travelled with them throughout the years.

Idalia & LeRoy

2010-01-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

This was a wonderful wedding book we designed for a truly gifted photographer, Bryan Mikota. The wedding was shot at the beautiful Ashland Springs Hotel in Oregon. We wish the couple a life filled with happiness and to Bryan we wish continued success.

Letty & Bas

2010-01-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

Letty & Bas was a 175 page wedding book done for a couple from South Africa. They had an incredible three day event, including a visit to The Airstream Penthouse, located atop the The Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town, the second event being a jazz and cocktail event held at La Brasserie, and finally the wedding and reception held at the beautiful La Petite Ferme. The book was designed to showcase each separate event of the wedding. Congratulations to the happy couple.

The Last Elephants in Thailand

2009-12-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

Asian elephants are considered endangered on the IUCN Red list. At the turn of the 20th Century, there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand. Today, there are less than 5,000.

We were honored to be contacted by Don Tayloe regarding his documentary film, "The Last Elephants in Thailand". Don's film is a sweeping account of the lives of domesticated elephants and what is being done to save them. Their habitat has been drastically reduced and they are rounded up and turned into slaves in logging camps or to perform in the tourism industry. Fortunately, there are people trying to save the animals, but they are under funded and undermined by politics.

This book is a companion piece to the documentary and as a visual biography, we hope that it will encourage people to reach out a helping hand. For more information on Don Tayloe's film, please visit http://haepictures.wordpress.com/

To learn more about how you can help: http://www.fortheloveofanimals.net

To view the book, click here.

Viva Las Vegas!

2009-12-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

This was a very quick, but enjoyable project to do for one of our clients in Las Vegas. Our client had an existing business plan that they wanted to present at an upcoming meeting of investors. They wanted to give the investors something that represented their concept and that would be unique and memorable. So we converted the traditional business plan into a very beautiful presentation book.

Duomo to Como

2009-12-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Duomo to Como is a book we created for a client as a holiday gift. Three couples traveled through Italy and Switzerland on vacation. Each couple took hundreds of images during their vacation. Our client collected all the images and had us put together a book about their adventures. They then ordered three copies of the books and plan to give their friends the books as a surprise during the holidays.

Diego's Story

2009-12-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

This was a cute little book we did for a friend and client of ours who wished to tell her family that she was pregnant with her first child. The story is told from the point of view of her dog, Diego. Our client ordered several books and wrapped them as presents to everyone in her family. At the end of the book, Diego announces that he is going to be a "big brother".

We congratulate our friend and client on her new baby and hope the book is a real hit over the holidays!

Photo Light Forms - Playing With Color

2009-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

We've just completed another book project, titled "Photo Light Forms" by photographer John W. Daly. This book showcases some of John's work shot in Yuba River, the SouthWest and in Italy.

To learn more about John Daly, visit his site. To see more of this book, please click here.

LiveJournal Releases Groundbreaking Compilation, LiveJournal: The First Decade

2009-12-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

Picturia Press congratulates LiveJournal as they announce the release of the book we recently designed for them. It was a beautiful compilation of content from their blog community. We wish them much success!

Book Provides Insight in Social Media's First Decade

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LiveJournal Inc. has announced the release of LiveJournal: The First Decade, a groundbreaking anthology that celebrates ten years of original content drawn from LiveJournal users around the world, featuring photos, comics, stories, memes, editorials, and graphic content.

Randi & Stephen: Our Honeymoon

2009-11-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

This was really a sweet and wonderful book to work on during the holiday - and the cold season. Randi is our client and she contacted us to put together this book as a gift to her husband. They got married in 2007 and recently she collected all of the images from their honeymoon to create a coffee table book as a memento and holiday gift to her new husband.

Randy was highly organized and gave us all 400 of her pictures in order of their honeymoon trip through Maui, Kauai, Napa Valley and San Francisco. It was a perfect book to work on in this chilly weather!

To see more of the book, click here.

The Rat Pack is Runner Up in 2009 Best Blurb Books

2009-11-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

We recently designed a book for Ellen van Deelen called "The Rat Pack - A Humorous Look at Extraordinary Mice. Ellen entered the book into the Blurb Book Contest and won much applause from candidates and voters alike. The book was nominated as a runner up and we are thrilled for Ellen and the recognition she received on her charming photographs. A special thanks to our dear friend Jerry Gotkin, who helped us write the beautiful introduction to that book, as Ellen was from Holland and did not speak fluent English.

Brenda Miller - Gifts of Time

2009-11-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

Gifts of Time, Fifty Years Down Memory Lane was such a treat to create for our client. Brenda is a wonderful mother, a great co-worker, terrific friend and fantastic wife. I can say that because I read over 50 tribute letters to her from her friends and family.

This memory book is to be a surprise gift from her friends for her upcoming 50th birthday.Thankfully, one person, (one very organized person) coordinated the many letters and images that people wanted to contribute to the book, and although there were one or two late contributions and additions to the book, we managed to get it to print in time for the event. Happy Birthday Brenda and many more!

To view images from the book, click here.

Ellen - A Memorial Book

2009-11-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

This was an emotional book to work on for our clients. The family of a woman who had recently passed away from cancer wanted to create a memorial or tribute book about Ellen that they could give to Ellen's daughter so she would always know how much her mother was loved and admired.

This is a collection of letters and images from her family and friends that was put together and then gifted to the Ellen's teenage daughter. It is a wonderful gift that Ellen will have as a reminder of her mom for all her life. We wish them all the best during the holidays and the coming years.

To view some of the images from this book, click here.

A Little Black Book...of sorts

2009-11-04T05:20:00.000-08:00

We just finished up a project for our client who wished to put together a voyeuristic book of her images as a gift to her boyfriend who travels extensively. She had professional images of her taken and asked us to design a tasteful, yet engaging book of her images. These were some of the most beautiful photographs we have worked with and although we are very proud of our work....we won't be showing this work to the public. This is a very personal book, which we do quite often for our clients. We respect their privacy, but still appreciated the opportunity to work on something so personal.

We hope he has enjoys the surprise in in suitcase the next time he takes a trip!!

Lucy & Salvatore - 50 Year Anniversary

2009-11-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

Lucy & Salvatore. What can we say? It's not often anymore we hear of people being married for 50 years, so it definitely deserved a book to celebrate the occasion. Lucy's nephew contacted us to create this book for them, as they wanted to present it to Salvatore in a few weeks, who was going to be celebrating his 75th birthday!

It was a small book, only about 30 pages, but each page is full of memories of their 50th Anniversary and their renewal of vows. We wish them many more happy years together! To view more images from the book, click here.

Melissa & Joseph Got Married...

2009-11-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

We did another wonderful wedding album this week for our clients -Melissa and Joseph. They are such a great couple and Melissa was so easy to work with as a client. She new very clearly what she wanted in a design -a romantic, yet editorial look to her book and picked a 12" x 12" square design. She had approximately 1,000 images which we paired down to create a lovely 100 page book.

We wish them the very best in the coming year and hope they treasure their book for years to come!

The Rat Pack

2009-10-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun, fun project! While we enjoy all the books we help our clients create, this one had us laughing and smiling throughout the design process. The Rat Pack, A Humorous Look at Extraordinary Mice is a collection of images by photographer Ellen van Deelen from Holland.

Ellen has lovingly captured her pet rats holding a variety of props, such as stuffed animals and musical instruments. These darling creates with their soulful eyes and adorable poses will be sure to charm and entertain you.

To view more of this book, please click here.

B turned one.... in two books

2009-10-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Last year, Picturia Press created a blog book for our client to celebrate the birth of her first child - Beatrice. We were contacted again this year to create another book for her blog about Beatrice's first year. The book actually ended up being TWO books! We were really happy to work with our client again and to see how much her little one has grown in one year!

To view more of the book, click here.

A 20 Year Retrospective

2009-09-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Picturia Press recently designed "A Retrospective of Fine Art Oil Paintings" for a Bay Area artist, Iona Ezaki. The book is a collection of Landscapes, Animals, Still Life and Portraits done by Iona over the last 20 years.

Iona Ezaki was recently named 2009 Cupertino's Distinguished Artist of the Year. Iona has won numerous awards in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Los Gatos Art Association and The Cupertino Fine Arts League. She was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Landscape painting at the Cupertino Fall Fest in 2008 for her painting, "Napa Dreams". For more information about Iona and her artwork, visit: http://www.ionaspaintings.com.

To view more of this book, click here.

Best Blurb Book Contest

2009-09-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Think your book has what it takes to win $3,000? The Best Blurb® Books Contest is now accepting submissions! Let Picturia Press help you design the winning entry.

Enter your book by October 22 in one of three categories: family, pets, or travel, for a chance at one of three $3,000 grand prizes or one of three $1,000 runner-up prizes.

On October 23, voting is open to the public – tell your friends, family, neighbors, and Twitter followers to get out the vote. One judge in each category will select a winner and a runner-up from among the best Blurb books as voted on by the community.

So let's get started on your next book.

Live Journal - A 10 Year Anthology

2009-08-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

Live Journal is a well-known online blogging community that has been around since 1999. Recently, Picturia Press was hired to work with the team at Live Journal in compiling a selection of the best journal entries from their virtual online community.

The book was to be 10 year anthology for LiveJournal. It was very challenging to create a 118-page book; assuring that each writer and blog entry had it's own personality, while still complimenting the entire look and feel of the book. We hope the anthology will be a big success for LiveJournal and we congratulate them on their 10 year anniversary.

To view more of the book, click here.

Matt & Julie Gets Married

2009-08-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

We were happy to work with an prior client on creating a wedding book for her son, Matt, who recently got married. Our last project with this client was her Blurb best-selling cookbook.

Last year, her son got married in their home with just family and a few friends present. Although they didn't have a large wedding, they still wanted to have a keepsake of their special day. As a gift to the newlyweds, our client had all the photographs collected and asked us to create the wedding book as a surprise gift to her son and daughter-in-law.

Needless to say, they were completely surprised and delighted, and we were honored and pleased to be part of this special event. Congratulations again to Matt and Julie! To view more of this book, click here.

And Then There Was Four : A Book Series

2009-07-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

This was an absolutely amazing project to work on for one of our clients based in London. She is getting married in August and wanted to create a book - one book - to give her fiance as a wedding present. They met four years ago, like to travel and are known for taking a lot of pictures. She had OVER 1000 images for us to review and use for this project. This project originally started out as one book with 100 pages, but by the time we finished the project, we had four books. But, undeniably - four...beautiful books.

We even ended up being invited to the wedding! Unfortunately, we can't make it, but we are confident that there will definitely be a at least one picture taken of him receiving the books, and of course, we hope to work with them again on creating a WEDDING book after they get back from their honeymoon. We want to wish the very best to Hannah and Paul, a wonderful couple and a wonderful client.

The Nude Matured

2009-07-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

We just finished a wonderful book for a Dr. Judith Monteferrante, a fine art photographer based in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Judith is a retired cardiologist with a special interest in female heart and cardiac imaging. This book, THE NUDE MATURED, explores the hidden beauty of aging and the soft sophistication of the beautiful older woman, accepting and often celebrating her desirability in this image–driven age of unachievable perfection.

The images were beautiful and mostly consisted of black and white photography. We were honored to work with Judith and her images during the creation of this book. We wish her continued success in her career.

Design My Book Cover Please...

2009-06-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

At Picturia Press, we offer our clients a range of services depending upon their needs. While some clients hire us to design and layout their book for them, other clients simply require a book cover designed. We also provide what we call "enhancement consultations". This service is offered to clients who have designed their own books, yet feel they need some design help improving the look and feel. This includes creating unique layouts, photo retouching and color correction, typography, color selection and consistency. Please contact us for more information about these services.

Last week, we had a client in Australia contact us who was creating a book for his father's 60th birthday. He had created most of the book himself and done a great job, but wanted our opinion and assistance on designing the book to make it look more polished.

We were happy to work with him on making the layout more cohesive and consistent, including incorporating new page layouts, color selection and typography. Additionally, we designed the dust jacket for his book. Too bad we can't be in Australia when his father opens his present.

Blurb Now Offers 12 x 12 Square Book

2009-06-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

As a preferred vendor at Blurb, we are thrilled to learn about their newest product offering, the 12" x 12" Square Book. This will be a wonderful addition to their current line up of book sizes.

A Little Help Goes A Long Way

2009-05-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

A client contacted us the other day because she was working on creating a great book chronicling the life of her friend who was turning 30 years old in a few weeks. Although she wanted to design the book herself, she asked us to consult with her on design and layout and the concepts of "telling the story" of her friend's life. We were very happy to assist her in creating a wonderful gift.

While we consulting with our client, we also provided our image correction services to work on red-eye elimination and color correction of some old photographs. We also designed the dust jacket for her new book, seen here.

Marjorie on my Mind

2009-05-26T10:37:00.001-07:00

There's nothing more rewarding than working with and recovering old photographs for a client. We were asked to do this project as a commemorative piece on our client's wife who recently passed away.

We received many scans, emails, and discs full of wonderful old images to work with on creating this book. We spent a great deal of time photo editing and photo retouching the images to bring them up to print quality.

Never assume a photo can't be used in your book because it is old, damaged and/or deteriorating. A good designer will know how to edit and recover those images to use in your book. Below is an example of one such image that we recovered and used in this book.

To view more of the book, please click here.

Images and Echoes - A Traveler's Tale

2009-05-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

We just finished up publishing a photographer's book of images that he captured during his travels around the world. Primarily in Latin America, the UK and the Phillipines.

Picturia Press combined the photographer's images with wonderful quotes and sayings that would compliment the look and feel of the book without distracting the viewer from the photography.

To view more of the book, please click here.

No up-front expense, no budget required....

2009-04-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

Sound interesting? Whether it's for a school, a sports team or a club....Blurb.com has new special running right now and is offering a great service to help get your book designed with no up-front expense or budget.

Here's what you'll get:

8"x 10" 40 page book (additional pages is negotiable)
one soft copy proof book (to review before final order)
8 hours of design time (includes internal pages and cover)

Offer good through June 30
Minimum of 30 book purchasers lined up
Price of each book: $29.95 softcover, $41.95 hardcover

Please contact Picturia Press for more information.

Natalie: A Special Celebration

2009-04-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have a very close friend of mine who recently celebrated her birthday. As I gift to her, I made a little "celebration" book reminding her of why she is so special to so many people, friends and family alike. These kinds of gifts are the best, because they come from the heart and it's a gift that people will keep forever.

We used lots of fun colors and images and typography to make this little book fun and memorable. Everyone who attended the event loved it - especially everyone who "appeared" in the book.

If you are trying to imagine something special to give to someone for an upcoming event, consider creating and gifting a Memory Book.

To see inside the book, click here.

Picturia Press in Blurb Nation

2009-03-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Picturia Press was honored today by being selected as the first ever BlurbNation "Featured Member".

"Suzzanne of Picturia Press has done a phenomenal job developing her book design business for books for a wide range of clients who regularly return with repeat business. Also, a special shout out and thank you for Suzzanne's support of BlurbNation, which included flying cross country to co-host a BlurbNation meetup and submitting a detailed article on initial client discussions."

Picturia Press has worked with several "print on demand" companies, but has found Blurb to be exceptional in its' customer service, support, quality, options and pricing. We feel very fortunate to work with them and I am personally very appreciative of their continued support of our work.

Natalie & Barry: A Wedding Album

2009-03-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Wedding albums can be the most rewarding projects to work on for book designers. Getting started is always the hardest part, simply because the bride has hundreds of images and sometimes over a thousand. It can be difficult and time consuming to choose which pictures to use in the book. Simply going through those images can be an overwhelming process for the couple. This is where a designer can be helpful. We ask the client to select the absolute "must haves" for the album first and then we will review the rest of the images to complete the book.

In this process, there's a lot of trust that needs to be established between the client and the designer. This isn't just a photo book or coffee table album - this is something that will last a lifetime and become a precious keepsake. As a designer, we want to have as much invested in the outcome of the final book as the client.

To view the book, click here.

Art Not Hate: Creative Responses to Conflict

2009-03-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

We just finished working with Bob Barancik on his latest book of artwork: Art Not Hate, Creative Responses to Conflict. This book features a powerful selection of Bob's mixed media paintings.

We've worked with Bob Barancik on a number of projects and hope to continue to work with him on creating more of his books in the future. For more information regarding the Art Not Hate project, please visit: http://www.artnothate.com

GotkinArts Website

2009-03-04T15:54:00.001-08:00

Picturia Press has worked with Jerry Gotkin over the last year to design and create five books showcasing the artwork of Marjorie and Jerry Gotkin. Orchids: An Intimate Portrait of Beauty, Marjorie's Table, Still Life/Florals, The Tall Ships and The Gardens of Hospice by the Sea.

After designing these wonderful books, Jerry asked if we could create a website for him, which we created and just launched today and you can visit here: www.gotkinarts.com. As always, we were very happy to work with Jerry again on this project and to help showcase his beautiful art in both print and on the web.

Photography Now 2009 Book Competition

2009-03-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

While Picturia Press is busy designing new books, we thought we'd share an update from Blurb.com about their 2009 Photography Book Competition. From their website:

Photography.Book.Now 2009 is here, and the call for entries is on! We're accepting submissions for the second annual competition now, and we want to see your best work. Darius Himes returns as lead judge, along with a panel of world-renowned editors, publishers, curators, and photographers.

Photography.Book.Now is a celebration of the most creative, most innovative, and finest photography books – and the people behind them. This is your chance for international recognition and a shot at a $25,000 Grand Prize.

Photographers wanting our assistance in creating a compelling and award-winning design can contact us directly at info@picturiapress.com

Artesano Iron Works

2009-02-16T05:02:00.000-08:00

I know, it's been quite some time since we last posted, but that's only because we've been so busy designing books. In fact, we've got another three books coming out very shortly!

Recently we completed this fabulous book on Artesano Iron Works. The gallery is located in Philadelphia and this book is a collection of images taken during an open-house event at the gallery.

The photography, taken by our client, an award-winning photographer, Gerard Tomko, features some contemporary pieces of the artist, Ricardo Cabrera installed at the Artesano Gallery. This was a soft cover 7 x 7 book with images of the artwork, the gallery, the lighting, flower arrangements and the delicious catering for the event. What a great idea! Everyone involved in the event can now use this book for promotional purposes.

Click here to view the book.

Gerard Tomko Wedding Photography

2009-01-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

We just finished a project working with our new client, Gerard Tomko. Mr. Tomko is an award-winning wedding photographer based out of Philadelphia. He's been in this profession for over 28 years and that definitely shows in his wonderful images. It was a great piece to create for him so that he can showcase his work during the Wedding & Portrait Photographers Convention in February.

Gerard Tomko is also a survivor, he battled and beat cancer this last year and is now back to work and creating wonderful images. We personally wish him well, much success and continued good health!

To visit his site for more information on his images or to schedule your upcoming nuptials....http://www.gerardtomko.com

Do I need an ISBN Number and a Bar Code for my book?

2009-01-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

We have a lot of customers inquiring about if they need an ISBN number and Bar Code for their books. While we posted about this topic before, I think it’s important enough to reprint the original posting here:

Do I need an ISBN Number and/or a Bar Code? The answer to that depends upon your needs. Let’s start with the ISBN Number. You are not legally required to have an ISBN number. It simply depends upon if and how you are going to sell your book. So, if you are selling your book through workshops, direct mail or through the Internet, you most likely will NOT need an ISBN number or Bar Code.

If you plan to sell your books through retail chains, specialty stores or catalogs, (Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.) you will most likely be required by the reseller to obtain an ISBN number for your book for inventory and general ordering purposes.

Here's Why: An ISBN number identifies a book title or edition from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition, meaning that it can never be reused. This also means that if you sell both a hard copy and a soft cover of your book, you must have two unique ISBN numbers.

The ISBN itself is a 10-digit number that is divided into four parts separated by hyphens. The first part of the ISBN is a group or country identifier. The second part is a publisher identifier. The third part is a title identifier. The last digit is a check digit used to validate the ISBN. In other words, the ISBN is a code that identifies your book around the world. You can apply for an ISBN number by contacting Bowker, who is the U.S. broker for ISBN numbers.

Now for the Universal Product Code (UPC), also known as the Bar Code. This is a computerized product identification system. Your ISBN Number is NOT the same thing as your Bar Code. Most retail chains require both a ISBN Number and Bar Code. However, the ISBN Number can be translated into bar code format. When you purchase your ISBN number through Bowker, you can also purchase the Bar Code, or you can find a list of UPC Code (or Bar Code) suppliers here.

ISBN Numbers and UPC Codes and their costs.

Bowker is the U.S. broker of ISBN numbers. This is the place to go to get your number. Usually, Bowker sells numbers in blocks of 10, for approximately $250, or a cost of $25 per book. This price also includes the UPC Code (Bar Code) which you will also need. If you don't wish to purchase ISBN Numbers in blocks of 10, you can purchase a single ISBN. However, it's not as easy and it is not as cost effective. You have to call Bowker directly at 877-310-7333 and request a faxed application for $125.00. I haven't yet been able to find the form downloadable from their site. Additionally, this cost of $125.00 is for the ISBN number only and you have to purchase the bar codes separately for a cost of $25.00.

You don't have to purchase the bar code from Bowker though, there are other options available. If you want to do it yourself, there is a whole list of ISBN software available online for generating your own codes, or you can try companies such as Bar Code Graphics that will create the bar code image for you for about $10.

On a final note, you may also want to consider registering your book with Bowker's directory "Books in Print". This is their master list of all books available. Oddly enough, when you buy your ISBN number from Bowker, you aren't automatically registered into their master list.

Cheryl Brown Website

2009-01-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

Picturia Press has collaborated with Cheryl Brown in the past and was thrilled when she asked us to help her create and launch her new website. Cheryl is a wonderful Art Director who has worked with clients such as LL Bean and Eddie Bauer.

For more information about Cheryl, or her company CBROWNCREATE, you can visit her website here.

Will You Marry Me? Creating A Proposal Book

2009-01-10T05:27:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe how quickly time is passing and now Valentine's Day is only a month away. This is the perfect time to start planning that special way to proposed to your sweetheart. Proposal books are a unique and romantic way to tell the story of your love through pictures and words and something you can both treasure for years to come.

This year, Blurb is having a promotion that will give you a $75 credit (wow!) for sharing your engagement story with them. The contest runs through February 14 and they will announce the winner on February 16th. For more information, you can read Love Bound on the Blurb Blog.

Picturia Press will be happy to work with you to design something very special that will "pop the question" in an unforgettable way.

Happy New Year

2008-12-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

We're sending out all our best wishes to our clients, supporters and friends for a safe and happy new year. Picturia Press will be closed for the holiday, but back at work and designing new books the second week of January.

A big thanks also to Blogger Buster, they recently reviewed the Picturia Press blog in their "50 More Fabulous Blogs" posting. We we're thrilled to be included.

P.S. Watch for us during the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco, we'll be Blurbing!

MacWorld & Blurb

2008-12-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

Picturia Press has been asked to speak at a Blurb event during MacWorld Conference & Expo - San Francisco in January, 2009. It's a wonderful opportunity to share our experiences designing and working with the great people at Blurb over last 18 months. We're looking forward to being there and meeting everyone.

New Marketing Trends

2008-12-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

We recently read an article in Business Week on "The Next Big Thing In Selling Design". The article discusses how companies are now looking into the new "hot" trend of coffee-table books for marketing.

Designing and creating eye-catching print publications aimed at attracting new clients and for general business development purposes is an appealing method to reach out to their target markets in a unique way.

A Father's Holiday Gift

2008-12-09T16:20:00.001-08:00

Picturia Press just finished publishing a very sweet and inspiring new book. We were contacted recently by a father who wanted to give his daughter a very special gift for the holidays. His goal was to create a book that would chronicle his daughter's life from when she was born through to her current life now as a teacher.

He has some really wonderful pictures of her through all stages of her life. In fact, he had to go through roughly 8,000 pictures to select the ones he wanted for the book! We had a great time working with him to create this lovely gift. We are looking forward to hearing back from him after the holidays to see how much she enjoyed the book. So stay tuned for an update on this project.

Lewis Leeper Attorneys at Law

2008-12-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

Picturia Press has worked with Lewis|Leeper, a legal firm based in Boston for over a year on several projects, including a book. Recently, we were contacted by the firm and asked to help them update their website.

We were pleased we could offer our services and give them a brand new website. If you would like to find out more about Lewis|Leeper, or to see their website, please click here.

Cold November

2008-11-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

Cold November, what an appropriate title for a book!

This was a very fun and exciting project we were asked to work on and we were so pleased to be part of helping create this book of poetry for our client.

Cold November is a collection of approximately 75 poems. Our job was to design a book working with color, fonts, typography and engaging background treatments and make the poems come alive on the page and give them mood and meaning. Hopefully we've accomplished this, we feel it's a beautiful book that should make the best seller's list!

Click here to view the book

Another Best Seller!

2008-11-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

Picturia Press is very happy to announce that yet another wonderful book designed by us has become a best seller! The book, A Journey of the Heart, was created for a fund raising event. This wonderful private diary and journey of a man recovering from a heart attack (see post of 09/05/08) was a great joy for us to create for Mr. Frank Ostaseski, of the Metta Institute. We wish him all the best, and we're pleased that the book is helping raise funds for their wonderful cause.

This is in fact the second book now designed by Picturia Press that has become a best seller. We recently published a cookbook called Friends, Food and Fiction, which was designed for a ladies book club in Des Moines, Iowa (see post of 09/14/08).

Orchids An Intimate Portrait of Beauty

2008-11-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

Orchids An Intimate Portrait of Beauty was a wonderful book for us to work on this month. This extremely beautiful book features the drawing, photography and paintings of Jerry Gotkin.

Some of the orchids in this book are captured in isolation and some in their natural environment. All of the images featured in this book, have been reproduced in Limited Editions by the artist.

Rather than create a catalogue of the orchids, Mr. Gotkin preferred to create a "stand alone" piece that would be in and of itself an artistic work, yet still compliment the original creations.

With over 120 pages of compelling images, this 13 x 10 book is stunning on it's own and we were excited to work with Jerry Gotkin again, making this the fifth book we have created for this Florida based artist.

To view the book, click here.

Marjorie's Table - by Jerry Gotkin

2008-10-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Marjorie's Table: Material and Instruments of Art as Art is the fourth book done with noted artist Jerry Gotkin. As usual, we were very fortunate to work with some beautiful images and we also had the benefit of being familiar with the artist's previous work.

This was a unique book to create in that it examines the work table, palette and the instruments that an artist uses to create. The materials - brushes, paints, canvases, vases, flowers and all they other items a painter would use - all displayed and seen as their own expression of art.

Jerry comments, "What I tried to do, in preparing the images and formulation, was a painful exercise. I saw that it was lacking a point of view and cohesiveness but I was at a loss to either recognize or articulate it. When I presented it to Suzzanne, she hit the target as soon as I sent her my ideas. It was a clarion bell. This book would not work if we were merely going to display the images as individual pieces. This had to be a conceptual book organized to convey a central theme. She knew what I wanted to do; I did not. I cannot express the clarity that came with her direction."

We're thrilled to bring to life another book of artistic work by Gotkin Arts Studio. We look forward to working on their next project with them. Click here to view the book.

Leaf Peeping and Hiking Memory Book

2008-10-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

When we did this book, I wasn't aware of what "Leaf Peeping" was and how extremely popular it is in New England. Apparently the leaves are only visible for a limited number of weeks and annually draws huge visitors to view and photograph the breathtaking fall foliage.

Hiking is the perfect way to experience the change of the seasons. These images were shot during a hiking trip on the Appalachian Trails in and around Rangeley Lake, Maine.

Such a fun book to create. Just under 50 pages and a 7 x 7 book, this is a wonderful way to take your vacation photos and turn them into a priceless memory book. These photos would probably have resided on a computer and sat for years waiting for something to happen. But now it is a treasured memory book that everyone on the trip will be receiving as a gift.

Click here to view the book.

Picturia Press Holiday Discounts

2008-10-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

While Picturia Press continues to create new books (three more in the works right now....) we wanted to take a moment to let all our new and existing customers that we are excited to be offering a 10% discount on all book orders placed on or before December 1, 2008. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please reference the code: BB1201OLB.

Lots of books to create for the holiday season. Avoid the holiday rush and get started on your book project now. Picturia Press wishes you all the best during the upcoming holiday season.

Click here to view the book.

Still Life/Florals of Marjorie Gotkin

2008-09-18T14:23:00.001-07:00

Today, we just finished our third book with noted artist, Jerry Gotkin. This was an exciting project for us to work again with Jerry on creating a showcase of his wife Marjorie Gotkin's "Still Life/Florals" watercolor and gouache. It is always a pleasure to work with Mr. Gotkin, and these were some incredibly beautiful images to design and layout. We recently published his Tall Ship Series and the Hospice by the Sea Gardens books.

Both Marjorie and Jerry Gotkin have been successful and well-known painters and artists for many years and some of Marjorie's works are in the Smithsonian Institution American Art Museum/Portrait Gallery Libraries. So it was an honor to help create this book for them.

Click here to view the book.

Friends, Food and Fiction

2008-09-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

This is quite a unique book and although it took a very long time; it was a wonderful project to work on. Picturia Press was contacted by a book group in Des Moines, Iowa that had been meeting once a month for over 20 years! During that time they had read and reviewed over books and wanted to share their book list with friends and family. But also during that time, this book group, called the Decem Doctae, or "ten learned women", have been meeting at each other's houses to review the books and to share a delicious lunch prepared by their host for the meeting. So in addition to sharing their recommended reading list, they wanted to share some of their recipes they've collected over the years. Additionally, one of the ladies from their group is a photographer, so naturally, our clients also wanted to include images of their beautiful city.

It took some time and management to collect all the different images, bios, book lists and recipes from 14 different women belonging to the group over the period of 20 years and then editing the book so it was cohesive and consistent. Let's just put it this way... everyone writes a recipe differently.

The end result is a book we love and are sure the client will love also. Click here to view the book.

Cuatro | Four Continents and Four Years

2008-09-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

What a week it has been...and it's only Tuesday! We were thrilled to complete this new photography book, "Cuatro: Four Continents and Four Years", by photographer Angel Herrero de Frutos from Sitges, Spain.

The difficult task for this project was choosing which photos to use from a selection of Angel's work; all his images were so visually stunning. It was difficult at best to only pick a few of them. This is a photography book about his journey through four different continents in as many years. Places like Spain, China, France and Inda. We were very happy to work with Angel Herrero on this piece and wish him continued success in showcasing such fine work.

Click here to view the book.

Slurping Big Book Part 2

2008-09-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today, we finally finished part 2 of a set of 2 books on a mothers blog journaling her daughter's first year. Whew, it was a big one. The second book coming in at 425 pages. Again, very grateful to Blurb for their "slurping abilities - which allowed us to pull down all the entries including the images. If we weren't able to grab all the text and images that way, my client's child would be graduating college before we finished this book!

My client is not only creating a book to save and share with her child when she gets older, but is gifting the book to all the relatives and friends that they have all over the world. It's going to be a very special gift to all of them.

Click here to view the book

A Journey of the Heart

2008-09-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

This was a wonderful book to work on, simply because it serves such a higher purpose. I was contacted by my client on behalf of the Metta Institute to create a book reflecting the journal writings of Mr. Frank Ostaseski. The founder of the Metta Institute, a teacher and a wonderful man who recently had several heart attacks and is now on the road to recovery. They plan to use the book as a gift to donors who attend the Journey of the Heart benefit for the Metta Institute in late September.

Although there was very little imagery, we worked with the text and used typography to call-out important or emotional points in Frank's journal and used color for more impact in delivering the overall message. This was a very quick turn around in order to make the deadline for the client, but it was a real pleasure to work with them and hope we can create more books for them in the near future. We wish them great success in their fundraising efforts.

Click here to see the book.

More Books on the Horizon

2008-09-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

I am very happy to say that things have been quite exciting around Picturia Press lately and we are growing daily. It's been quite difficult to get to the blog and post any updates when we have been so busy. But, we want to keep you updated on our work.

Currently Picturia Press is designing and finishing up seven (7 )new books! Here's just a sampling of images from some of the books that are getting ready to go to print soon.

The first one going to press hopefully by next week, is a lovely cookbook we've been working on for a Des Moines Ladies Book Group. While crazy and challenging to work with 14 ladies on one project....we are finally getting it done, and it will be a beautiful book when it's completed. In fact, I am ordering a copy of this book for myself, since the recipes are so delicious! Look for it to be published soon.

We are also finishing up and putting the final touches on a beautiful photography book for a wonderful artist, Angel Herrero de Frutos, from Barcelona. (http://www.pinopic.com). His work is stunning and elegant and we were really pleased and honored to be working on this portfolio for him. You should see a sampling of this book within the next week or two!

Still more to come out next week will be a beautiful book we have been working on for the people at the Metta Institute (http://www.mettainstitute.org) for a fund raising event. Beautiful people doing such great work in the hospice care field. It's an honor to help them create something to further build awareness of this cause.

And of course, it is our privilege to be working with Jerry Gotkin again in producing another photography portfolio of his wife's work of florals. This will be our third book for Jerry and we always enjoy the beautiful art work and the friendship that has grown out of working together so much. This book should be out within the next three weeks.

So as you can see, it's been quite hectic at Pictura Press, but all of the projects we have are so great to work on and we are happy to play a part in each and every one of these wonderful books!