Do we even care that it's not Wednesday? No, no we don't. Let's go on a NYC artist studio tour then, shall we?

Today I'm taking you into the studio of Dawn Lucas-Carlson, owner and designer of handmade letterpress cards for HyC Creative. Dawn is one of the lucky New Yorkers to actually have a room dedicated to making her craft. It also doubles as a hang-out area for 'wine night' (oooh, invite me!) and it's the same room where her husband proposed to her. So sweet!

She says, "My 9' by 9' room holds my desk and computer where I design a lot of the new plates for cards, design my websites, and do a lot of freelance photo retouching. It sits about 14" from my Kelsey platen press that I create my letterpress cards and invitations on."

This is one of her cards that she makes in her urban studio space, available for $4 in her Etsy shop:

And here's a cool picture of her workspace, her presses and her cards hanging up to dry, it reminds me of an old-fashioned printing press factory:

Dawn says she's works best in 'controlled chaos' but it seems very zen to me with all the images strung together creating an alternative art installation (temporarily anyway, until the cards are ready to ship).

Here she is working hard loading up the press, see? Old-fashioned hand-made, each one a unique work of art. And I love the 'snake' of clothespins creeping up behind her in the left corner:

Here are her finished pieces, with all the clothespins in use:

Dawn has many lovely items available in her Etsy shop like this holiday card for $4. Since each piece is made with her hands, she can do customization as well to make you a unique, one-of-a-kind work of art.

Thanks for sharing your lovely space and your craft with us Dawn!

Stephanie Maslow-Blackman
Metalicious