Edition Announcement #339 - Lisa Congdon

Day 256: Vintage Airline Tags by Lisa Congdon

Day 114: Dice by Lisa Congdon
8"x10" ($20) | 11"x14" ($50) | 16"x20" ($200)

Day 256: Vintage Airline Tags by Lisa Congdon
8"x10" ($20) | 11"x14" ($50) | 16"x20" ($200)

Bracing Monday greetings, art lovers! NYC is frigid and gusty today, which makes me ever so grateful for the warmth of 20x200 HQ, not to mention the taxi that got me here very early this morning. Early though I was (by my standards, at least!) I walked into an office full of energetic elves busily preparing scads of our framed prints for shipping, many of which were festively wrapped and adorned with our cute-as-a-button letterpress gift cards. With new editions set to debut every day this week, we've got plenty to keep us busy aside from wrapping and writing cards. I anticipate a week of early mornings and late nights, but I can't say that I mind it; with every waking hour filled with art and artists as I work alongside people who I think the world of—well, it's an embarrassment of riches.

Speaking of people I think the world of, today's edition-maker Lisa Congdon is one of them. The dinner I shared with her and the also-adored Kate Bingaman-Burt a bit more than month ago had me walking on air for weeks. Our conversation ranged far and wide, but so much of it came back to this: 20x200 has created all kinds of opportunities for both of them, and exposure aside, the fact that they can rely on substantive, predictable income from their editions' earnings provides the kind of stability that's too-often unheard of for artists. Words cannot explain how thrilling it was to hear this from them, and to hear it was, and remains, incredibly energizing.

It also must be said that neither of these badass women have much trouble creating opportunities on their own. In fact today's photographs—Day 114: Dice and Day 256: Vintage Airline Tags—come from Lisa's incredible A Collection A Day, 2010 project, an undertaking which has created myriad opportunities for Ms. Congdon. An instant internet sensation, her daily depictions of her astoundingly eclectic array of collections have garnered enormous attention and interest, landing her on the radar of a certain icon of craft, inspiring an entire Tumblr blog devoted to Things Organized Neatly, and also resulting in a forthcoming book project from Uppercase.

What a great privilege it is for us to be the purveyor of these prints! Sara and I have been plotting and planning for these editions since the project made its debut almost one year ago, our biggest obstacle being how to choose. Fortunately, we got to choose lots—these are the first pair of prints from the series, but will certainly not be the last. All the picking and choosing and editing has also given us ample opportunity to contemplate and discuss what exactly it is that makes the series so captivating, and let me tell you: we've got lots of theories. Youngna Park has done some awfully articulate theorizing of her own, so I suggest that to tide you over. With the day getting short and my to-do list being long, expounding upon those theories will have to wait for our next release from Lisa, which shouldn't be too far from now. As for us, we'll be back much sooner than that. Look for Sara tomorrow, when she'll be introducing a divine new edition by framed favorite Michelle Hinebrook.

More prints by Lisa Congdon: