Holiday Weekend Savings Announced

As a thank you for your continued support during this unprecedented year I am offering a weekend of savings to you. There is no code needed to access these savings. They will be applied immediately at check out from 12:01 am to 11:59 pm on the days indicated.

On Saturday the first 20 orders over $10 will get a free swag bag. If your order is shipped the swag bag will ship with your order. Watch Our Instagram Stories for updates on Swag Bags.

All weekend long: Local Indianapolis folx can use code PORCHPICKUP to avoid shipping and pick up orders on the Near East Side of Indianapolis. Porch pick up orders will be emailed with pick up instructions when they are ready which may take 1-2 business days.

BLACK FRIDAY - FREE SHIPPING ALL DAY

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY- 15% OFF ALL DAY PLUS A FREE SWAG BAG FOR THE FIRST 20 ORDERS OF THE DAY

Small Business Saturday swag bags are a canvas silk screened by me and include a Women’s Suffrage sticker, a Ladies to the Front Button, a You Can Do Hard Things button and a coupon good for use in January 2021. Total value of the swag bag is approximately $25! All you have to do is be one of the first 20 orders on Small Business Saturday!

CYBER MONDAY- 20% OFF ALL DAY

Stomping Ground: Future Home of Sunday Afternoon Housewife

The plan for Stomping Ground has been in the works for nearly 6 years. In 2014 I found a space I wanted to rent as a store front and print shop. I had several conversations with the landlord and started to move forward on the lease and for so many reasons, it just fell through. Even thought I drove by that space daily and mourned the loss of possibility, my outlook all changed in late 2014 when I found out I was pregnant. Now I decided, was not the time to open a new store front and print shop with my first baby on the way, so I reeled back on my plans and as things would have it, that decision to wait was the best I could have made.

Picture by Robert Sheer / Indy Star

In 2016 at a Windsor Park Neighborhood Association Meeting, Tom Battista came and pitched the idea of Kan-Kan Cinema (then they were calling it Windsor Park Arts Cinema) to the neighborhood. They had acquired the 100 year old church at the end of my street as well as 4 adjacent houses and planned to open and art house cinema, Amelia’s Bakery and have a few small retail shops. Two days later I met with Tom and committed to one of the retail spaces. My plan, to move my print studio out of my house, and have a small boutique where going to happen and right in my own neighborhood! I was so excited! Oh but how things dragged on and on. First we had to fight over a several month period for the re-zoning as a small group of neighbors opposed us at every turn. And then, unfortunately, the development plan to reuse the church proved to be too costly due to severe foundation deterioration, and so we had to go back to the zoning board and advocate again for allowing them to tear down the church and build a new building. The same group of neighbors fought tooth and nail against the planned development. You can read about that here if you’d like. On December 5, 2018, I wrote this in a Facebook post a year after our first and second win at the Zoning Board:

I can’t believe this was a year ago. We did gain the favor of the zoning board that day, and then we had to do it all again this fall. Now, things are finally moving and shaking. Like today, things are literally shaking my dear 115 year old house, as they are out there drilling holes into the ground prepping for building the theater and restaurant.

It’s been a year of dreaming and of growing, and practicing patience. Stomping Ground, as I currently plan to name my little boutique - will also house my print studio for Sunday Afternoon Housewife, is like a baby in the womb of my mind right now. It’s slowly growing and I can’t do anything to speed it along. It will come when it is ready. It’s going to come out perfect in the end. I have so many amazing ideas for the space. I want to share more of them soon, not today in the winter, but in spring when new things are born and the sky is blue and the trees are green. In the meantime I dream, I manifest, I practice more patience.

No, I don’t know when I will be in yet. Patience. When it’s time, I will share more about Stomping Ground. I know I am not the only one anxious to see this all through.

As I look back on that post now I really can’t believe that was in December 2018! They tore down the church in the fall of 2018 and began working on the theater that winter and finally finished in Spring 2020! And oh my is it beautiful! Take a look:

Photo from Kan-Kan’s Instagram @kankancinema

In the mean time the developers were slowly working on the house that is to become Stomping Ground. The zoning for the house turned retail has hit so many road blocks from the permitting office. It has, at times, ground the project down to a complete halt. And then, in March 2020 on the cusp of Kan-Kan’s grand opening and the arrival of all the needed permits, Covid struck. So the last few months things have been going really slow, then this past week they have really started to get so much work done! Today I walked by and they were prepping the ground for a new sidewalk and had dismantled the old faux brick porch to re-do it with more appropriate wood banisters. They also recently installed new windows including the so lovely large retail-style window on the front of the house. If you’d like to look at some older pictures of the house, this little walking tour is from last year and you can also see a few updates of changes through the inside and out on my Instagram and you can follow Stomping Ground on Instagram, too!

Because there were so many fits and starts and talks of timelines of opening in mid-March 2020, in early 2020 I began to order inventory to stock the shelves of the store, just little bits of it here and there. I am so exited to share some of that when the times comes, but because of the delays I also decided to add a section to my website featuring some of the goods which will be for sale in the store when Stomping Ground opens. The store will also be home to my print shop and office for Sunday Afternoon Housewife and I’m really looking forward to being able to expand my space and improve my print equipment when I get my new space up and running so I can print faster. Right now my small spaces makes my process a bit slower than I would like, but we’ll get there. I also look forward to offering classes, hosting book clubs and yoga classes and doing a little gardening outside the store too. I’ll be selling seeds and plants and other things like books, candles and handmade good from some of my favorite local artists.

Pollinator friendly Seeds will be sold at Stomping Ground

All the titles listed above are in stock and ready to ship now! You can click on the picture or check out all we have to offer online for Stomping Ground on my website under the Stomping Ground Tab!

I’m really looking forward to sharing more in the future as the progress on the store progresses, but I also appreciate all the support I get now through book and tee shirt sales as that is helping to keep the dream of the future store alive! Thank you!

Framing the Neighborhoods of Indianapolis Map

Edited 10/19/2022 to update pricing and details on locations that can provide framing services.

Today I’d like to answer the number one question I get with almost every sale of the Neighborhoods of Indianapolis Map, “How do I frame this Naplab map?” But before I get to details I wanted to share a little about Naplab’s Neighborhoods of Indianapolis map.

Neighborhoods of Indianapolis map mounted on gator board and on display in my home.

In 2015 I became the caretaker of Naplab’s Neighborhoods of Indianapolis map. I like to say I am the producer and distributor of the map because I am the one person that pays to have them printed, rolled, boxed, stored and I am the one person who distributes the maps around Indianapolis (and Carmel!) to different store such as Silver in the City, Homespun, the Indiana Historical Society and several locations of The Great Frame Up, and I ship them across the country from California to New York, and even to countries as far as England and Israel.

You can read more about the history of the Neighborhoods of Indianapolis map in this anniversary story from 2017. I think it’s important to clarify that I did not originally design the map. The map was designed by NapLab’s Matt Hale and Josh Anderson and that sometimes causes confusion because as Sunday Afternoon Housewife I took over the map printing and distribution in late 2015. In 2017 I worked with Josh to update the map for the 2018 and 2021 anniversary edition.

Aside from framing questions people always ask me about the updates to the maps over the years and ask, “Do the neighborhoods really change that much?” and the answer is both yes and no. Since I took over the map production we did a full overhaul on the west side of Indianapolis thanks in large part to assistance from City Councilor Jared Evans. Some neighborhoods have chosen to change their names over the years and you can compare those changes from edition to edition. The 10th Anniversary Edition has sold nearly 2,000 copies and nearly everyone seems happy with the current updates but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be changes in a future edition. Because I print the map 1,000 copies at a time it makes sense to re-evaluate any necessary changes before doing a reprint. I always tell folks to send me an email if they have a documentable change that needs made to the map and we will add it to our research and reviews. Also feel free to comment below on this post with any possible suggestions.

Now, on to the topic of framing. First of all, as a reminder I did not design this map at its massive 46”x48” size. At Nearly 4’ square it’s really easy to think a smaller version would be ideal and yes I get asked for that a lot, but it’s not going to happen any time soon. If you’ve ever taken the time to look at some of the smallest neighborhoods, take Woodruff Place as an example, you will see they are already so small and printing the map at a smaller scale would make them nearly microscopic. So yes, we have made a large map and you bought it and now you want to frame it.

Map on display at The Great Frame Up on Delaware Street

If you’d like to get it professionally framed I personally suggest any of The Great Frame Up locations. You can take a pre-purchased map to their store and they can frame it for you for $430 (this is the price as of 10/19/2022 and is subject to change) or you can purchase maps from them in the store and have it framed with their discounted package for $450 (again, this is the price as of 10/19/2022 and is subject to change). For this package, The Great Frame Up on Delaware Street in Downtown Indianapolis uses an approximately 1” black metal frame and framing grade acrylic (instead of glass) to cover the map. To care for the acrylic you use a microfiber cloth or acrylic cleaner instead of paper towel and Windex which will scratch the acrylic.

The alternative option to the metal frame and acrylic cover is to have your map mounted on something called gator board or Mount Core which is a 1/4”- 1/2” very rigid board that keeps the map stiff but does not protect the paper from scratches. Please note that this can no longer be done at The Great Frame Up. I have been told that Repro Graphix and Northside Glass and Frame are both places which can provide this service but I have not used them personally or seen their work or know their price. It is up to you to call and ask if they provide this service. This is the process I chose for my map but it was done at a place that not longer provides the service (pictured above near the stair case and yellow couch). This mounting process has worked well for me as I was not sure our 100+ year old plaster walls would even be able to bear the weight of a framed map and I generally like the way the map looks when mounted. Some people choose to cut the white edge off and have it mounted that way which also looks very cool. The only real issues I have had in the 3 years since I had my map mounted is that I bumped an edge when moving the map from my pop up shop to my house and bent it a smidge and that dust likes to gather along the top edge of the gator board and it isn’t super easy to remove, but I have found a dry microfiber cloth works well enough for dusting the mounted map.

A DIY Frame made by a friend’s husband.

Other options for framing including getting DIY and making a frame yourself which my friend Robyn’s husband did. As you can see the frame doesn’t have glass or acrylic covering the map, but this is a cost effective option if you are handy with a table saw and a staple gun.

A customer shared this photo with me of a wood magnet frame which she made herself.

The last option that I want to mention I have not tried myself or seen in person but have had several people share with me. Amazon sells a poster hanging kit and you can purchase the size of wooden bars needed to hang the map or you can use a magnet and wood frame to hang the map. You can find instructions for how to make a magnet wood frame on YouTube. This works relatively well and can be accomplished for around $40 or less, but of course this method does not keep the map from getting torn, bent or otherwise damaged. It’s great however if you can hang it this way and get it up and don’t plan to move it around often.

These are just a few of the options for DIY framing and if you visit my Instagram and scroll through you will see a wide variety of DIY frames, hanging methods and even a Neighborhoods of Indianapolis coffee table!

Do tell me in the comments below if you have a Neighborhoods of Indianapolis map and how you have it displayed in your home. If you would like to purchase a map you can order the Neighborhoods of Indianapolis map on my website.

Virtual Crafty Supermarket This Weekend

This Friday and Saturday take some time out of your holiday weekend to support handmade businesses and check out the first ever Virtual Crafty Supermarket! Join the Facebook event we are hosting here Friday and here Saturday and watch over 30 crafters go live for 20 minutes segments sharing new products, sneak peeks into their studios and support these handmade vendors by liking their pages, following them on Instagram and most importantly buying their handmade goods!

If you’re shopping during the time of the Virtual Market I have created a special free shipping code to know that you found me just from the market. Use the virtual market code and get a bonus prize with your order! How do you get the code? I’ll go live from 1:20-1:40 pm on Saturday. At 1:18pm you’ll see a post appear in the event here and you’ll find a set of pictures for Sunday Afternoon Housewife. Take a look at the items for sale by collection including my Ohio collection and my Kentucky collection and keep scrolling to the last picture for the free shipping code with bonus prize!

I think one of the coolest things about the Virtual Crafty Supermarket is that folks from all over the country are going to get to experience this uniquely Cincinnati event. I am so thankful and honored to be a Crafty Supermarket vendor since 2012 and while the Virtual market certainly isn’t what I had hoped for this spring I am thankful for the opportunity. The big catch is they only made all our hard work worth if if you do a little shopping! Pretend you are at the market and open your wallets wide! Artists and handmade vendors have been especially hard by the Covid19 crisis and this is a really great opportunity to help!

I’ll see you live on Saturday!

Why supporting small business matters for quality and what you pay for when you don't

Welcome! A dear friend suggested I begin blogging again for my business (some of you long time fans may recall when I used to blog for Sunday Afternoon Housewife years ago) and I while I know she is right, I was struggling with where to begin or what to write about. Then, not when I was working, but when I was folding laundry, it struck me and I knew where to start this new blog.

If you aren’t familiar with my business yet, I wanted to give you some back story first. Sunday Afternoon Housewife is a woman-owned design and screen printing company located in Indianapolis, Indiana. All of the designs I sell are created by myself or in collaboration with other artists. Most of the artists I collaborate with are other women, but I have worked with a variety of people over the years. All my shirts are printed by hand here in Indianapolis. I do the majority of the printing myself, and I also work with one other high-quality print shop. I started this business myself in 2009 and I am self-taught when it comes to both design and screen printing.

One of the challenges I face as small printing operation is keeping shirts in stock and ready to ship. New designs require screens to be made and tested and I am very vigorous about my quality control. I have a seconds sale each year and I have lots of people tell me they don’t even see what’s wrong with the shirt or don’t notice a mistake which seems so obvious to me, but I do my best to make sure my shirts are of the best quality in both fabric and in printing. The reason I mention that I must keep all shirts stocked is because I am not the type of company that prints one off shirts or shirts on demand. Everything is designed with the intention to sell a large quantity of the shirts.

The majority of my shirts are printed on Bella and Canvas brand tees. These are the gold standard for new tee shirts these days. These are the shirts you want to wear, not the cheap kind of fundraiser shirt you turn into a rag or give away before it even wears out. These quality shirts are printed mostly with water based inks or other inks that have a soft hand feel. “Soft hand feel” is lingo for inks that aren’t stiff and scratchy though the inside of the shirt. The inks move freely, fold easily and do not crack or peel. Over a very extended period of time the inks will begin to fade, but they do not crack or flake of off the shirt. And that fact is exactly what inspired me to write today.

I know you probably have seen advertisements for tee shirts on social media. I won’t name any specific company names, but most are not locally owned small businesses who give you a direct line to the person printing the shirt, and I can promise they do not care about quality. When you get spammed by shirt advertisements, the images you see online might look bold, bright or beautiful, but it often does not last. The first thing you find if you order a cheap tee shirt from a faceless company is that the shirt may not feel soft or fit well or even fit terribly. Also, sizing may not be consistent. Even if your shirt fits and you decide to wear it, you might notice the ink feels stiff. After the first wash you might notice cracks. After a few months the ink may start coming off the tee and THIS was my AHA moment to share with you!

So, for Christmas I caved and ordered my husband a shirt off of Facebook from a company that honestly looked too good to be true. The design was great and I knew he would love the message. I tried to do some digging and from what I could tell the quality of the shirt would be good so I hope the printing would be also. Well, you be the judge:

For the record this is NOT ONE OF MY SHIRTS. This is a shirt ordered from a nameless company off the internet in a moment of weakness.

I am hope you can see what I am talking about. The shirt pictured above was purchased from an internet company in December and so it has only been worn for 3 1/2 months. The ink is so cracked and peeling off that in a few more months it will be in the rag pile. Now, let me show you a few of my shirts:

Of the three shirts above, the 46201 tee and Indiana State Parks tee are well over two years old. The writing center tee is even older. You’ll notice no cracking, no peeling, and hardly any fading. I don’t do anything special for washing my shirts. Everything goes in the washer and dryer. Sunday Afternoon Housewife shirts also don’t shrink, the ink feels soft and take years to fade.

As a favor, if you ever see a shirt online, especially in a pop up advertisement, that you’d like to buy, feel free to email me a screen shot or send me the link. I’ll tell you right away if you can expect good or bad quality on that purchase!

I am very curious if you have ever had the experiences I described above with a cheaply purchased (or sometimes not even cheap- as the shirt I purchased for my husband cost more than any of my tee shirts!) or online purchased tee shirts? Please share your experience, good or bad in the comments.