What's In Store with Maggie Moore

As a Baltimore-based stationery brand, celebrating the city’s quirks is kind of our thing. So this year we launched two new holiday cards starring everyone’s favorite tacky lawn ornament. But how exactly did the plastic pink lawn flamingo end up becoming such a Baltimore thing?

Like another of Baltimore’s unlikely claims to fame—Edgar Allan Poe—the pink plastic lawn flamingo actually hails from my home state of Massachusetts. Yup, Poe was born in Boston. But today we’re talking about the tropical inspiration behind our newest holiday cards: the gloriously kitschy lawn flamingo that’s become a true Baltimore icon.

Back in the post-war ’50s, babies were arriving, (okay boomers), suburbs were exploding, and  new houses lined every street. Enter mass-produced plastic—suddenly, lawn ornaments were the go-to way for homeowners to add a dash of charm to their tidy new yards. And the plastic lawn flamingo took flight! They came in a box, nestled in a pair because you couldn't just have one, with detachable wire legs for instant tropical elegance. The original pair sold for $2.76, a true bargain.

Fast forward to 1972. The plastic flamingos had gone out of fashion until Baltimore's own John Waters introduced a little movie called Pink Flamingos. The movie was really not about the lawn flamingo but featured Towson's own, drag queen Divine who decorated the entrance to her trailer with a flock of lawn flamingos and the connection to Baltimore was cinematic history. 

While Featherstone designed over 650 lawn ornaments, people flocked to the flamingo like no other. In 1987 he even updated the mold to include his autograph on the rump to distinguish a Featherstone design. Fun Fact! In 1996 he was even awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in Art for his design which has stood the test of time. Baltimore isn't the only city obsessed with the plastic lawn flamingo.  Madison, Wisconsin also has a connection with the birds, which started with a UW-Madison prank that involved 1008 flamingos showing up one day covering a hill on campus. At the 30th anniversary of the prank, Madison named the Pink Plastic Lawn Flamingo their official city bird.

To send a little Baltimore kitsch this holiday season check out our Lawn flamingo cards below and of course we have Moore holiday greetings. Have a lawn flamingo story you would like to share?  Let us know in the comments below.  Seriously let us know someone is reading this stuff.  I actually thought my mom was reading them but then I realized she thought our Instagram account was a blog, so apparently Mom is not reading. 

Maggie Moore Art Prints make great gifts year round to remind someone of a favorite place or team, a vacation or their hometown. They make especially great gifts at the holidays. We call them our Type Mashups and they are 8 x 10, ready to put in the frame of your choosing.  When people pick them up at local markets, many don't realize they are hand drawn and people often ask how we create our art prints, so we are here to tell you!

Before the Maggie Moore days, I was big into hand lettering—constantly experimenting with styles, flourishes, and fonts. My Instagram, @beckletters, became my creative playground where I shared everything from lettering challenges to graphic, hand-lettered and water-colored versions of my monthly journals. I’ve always loved the look of collages that mix words and illustrations—and as a lifelong list-maker, that combination just clicked. Before long, an idea kept rattling around in my head. I found myself dreaming up lettering collages inspired by some of my favorite things—baseball, the Red Sox, and all things Eighties.

First I tackled the Red Sox.  I am a Bostonian after all. Every Type Mashup art print starts with my favorite thing, a list.  I'm forever making lists and this is a Deep Dive into everything about the subject. As a life long fan the Red Sox came easy to me and I included, all time favorite players, Boston sayings like Boston Strong and Red Sox Nation, everything about Fenway, the years the team won the World Series and retired players.  Not to mention the Fenway Frank. It wouldn't be a game at Fenway without one. Here is my original list for the Red Sox art print.  I'm that crazy and I still have all my lists and yes, making lists is fun. If the subject of the art print is not as familiar to me as say the Red Sox sometimes we have to enlist the help of another fan or someone who lives or visits the subject of our latest design. Typically a list of twenty to thirty things is a good amount to fill the page. 

Now when I created this art print, it was Old School.  This was before I treated myself to an iPad and Apple Pencil.  I sketched out everything on the list in pencil and fit it together like a puzzle with the Red Sox front and center. If something didn't look right once I put it down, my eraser got a good workout.  Once it was all laid out and I had checked off everything on my handy dandy list, I went over the pencil sketch in ink, usually with a Micron Pen for the final result.  I remember getting lots of drawing time in, while working on this one when the Red Sox were playing Game 3 of the 2018 World Series vs. the Dodgers, an 18 inning game.  I couldn't possibly go to bed! Below is the final result.  There was no polishing with the Procreate app on the iPad or swapping something around if it didn't look quite right. And if my hand was shaking, well that was part of the beauty. This design was eventually done digitally to create the art print we have today with some added touches.

Once I started experimenting with lettering on the iPad, my process evolved—but I couldn’t quite give up the feel of a real pencil. I’d still begin in my 9 x 12 spiral-bound sketchbook, laying out the design in pencil. Then I’d scan the sketch and import it into my iPad, where I could trace over it digitally, adding “inked” details. Here’s the very first sketch I did for a Maryland Type Mashup art print, ready to be brought to life on the iPad.

After a while I graduated from the pencil and 9 x 12 sketchbook though I do miss real life paper. However I still "sketch" the design in pencil first with the Apple Pencil.  I know, I can't let go of the sketching process.  There's something about it that lets you draw more loosely. It doesn't feel so permanent. Am I the only one who does this? Below is our Washington DC art print as a sketch in the Procreate app.  The nice thing about sketching in this way and as you puzzle the pieces together if something doesn't fit right you can move it around or make it smaller or larger or adjust as necessary.  Once the sketch is complete I turn down the opacity of the sketch and go over it in "ink" in different layers so adjustments can still be made. It is a process, but usually done in front of the teleivision binging Survivor, Great British Baking Show or when the weather is nice, out on my deck with a cocktail listening to a favorite podcast. 

Though I had to leave the sketchbook behind for the ease of creating digitally, I still love the feel of pencil on paper so I bought the Paper Like Screen protector for my iPad the closest I can find to make it feel like you're drawing on paper.

When Maggie Moore started way back in October of 2019, we had Baltimore, Maryland and Ocean City designs which were not only available as art prints but we also printed them on T-Shirts, tumblers and the most adorable onesies. Since then we've decided to stick with paper and include our designs on greeting cards as well. But damn, those onesies were cute. We've added to the collection with the Orioles, Red Sox, Ravens, Patriots and Eagles, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boston, Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Maine, Rhode Island, the Outer Banks, Maryland and Massachusetts food, Washington DC, Virginia, Annapolis, Bawlmer (IYKYK), the Eastern Shore, Delaware Shore, Jersey Shore, University of Maryland, San Francisco, and the decades of the 70's, 80's, and 90's.  Whew, did I get them all?

I have lots of lists started for the next Type Mashup art prints we would like to tackle, but not sure where we will head next. Because there are some days that I'm fried and not sure what to do next, so why not make a list?  I have Long Island, Chicago, the Celtics, Austin, Nashville, Charleston, Connecticut and my hometown of Brookline at the ready. I know very few people would care about Brookline but hey, it would be fun for me. If you have any requests, let us know in the comments below. You can find all of our Maggie Moore art prints in the online shop! And now you know how they are created.

Here we are in November already, fall and the scent of pumpkin spice is in the air, Thanksgiving plans are being made and in case you needed a reminder, Christmas decorations are everywhere in the stores. I just saw a giant, talking Yukon Cornelius at Lowes which was pretty tempting. Have you heard Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" yet? The craziness of holiday shopping is here, whether we're ready for it or not. And if we can make your gift giving a little easier this year, all while you support a small business, it's a win win. Giving a locally inspired gift is like wrapping up a favorite memory — a nod to their hometown pride, beloved team, or happy place. It’s just as fun to give as it is to unwrap (trust us, we’ve seen the smiles!).

If an easy-peasy gift bundle isn't for you and you like to go the extra mile and put in a little Moore creative effort, how about a Maggie Moore art print pairing. We've got tons of fun ideas to make this simple, spark your imagination and inspire the Santa in you.

For the ultimate sports fan we have prints repping the Orioles, Ravens, Red Sox, Patriots, and Eagles.  Put the print in a frame and score bonus points,  pairing it with game tickets, a jersey or ball cap, a signed ball or a book about their favorite winning season. Get creative with it and make the gift personal to the fan you're giving it to.

Games are totally having a moment and our Decades prints - featuring the groovy 70's, rad 80's and nostalgic 90's make the perfect gift pairing! Try our Eighties Print with Games Room 80's Pop Music Quiz or our Nineties print with That's So 90's Game for the perfect throwback gift. 

If food is their love language, try our Maryland Food Print in a basket with local Maryland goodies like Utz Crab Chips, Zeke's Coffee, Old Bay, Berger Cookies, Moore Crunch Pretzels, or Otterbein Cookies. Pair our Massachusetts food print with a gift card to Dunkie, or in a basket with Fluff, Cape Cod Chips and Fig Newtons. 

Pair our Baltimore print with something special from a local business like a Hey Hon! candle from South Ann Street Candle Co., a Baltimore Hon' Rat Ornament from Lucky Bat Paper, (I have one on my tree) or a Raven Dishtowel from Fuzzy Mug. Let your imagination run wild! You can browse all of our Maggie Moore art prints, perfect for your own gift bundle, here.

We know the holidays can be super stressful so hopefully we've provided you with some ideas or inspired your inner gift giving elf with some creative ideas of your own.  And if you have a good one, share it with us below.  We would love to hear your gift ideas too and everyone can use some help this time of year.  Happy Shopping!

As I'm writing this, I'm not even sure how we got here.  How in the world is August over and how can we be talking about the end of summer?  It always goes by way too fast for me, though for Sam, her twin boys are back to school and she is beyond ecstatic. And how quick did that fall weather sneak in? Before we know it we're going to be picking pumpkins and stocking up on Halloween candy. Even though we may be behind in the stationery world, we are furiously working on holiday cards.  It's all coming people!

August is always a bit of a slow month in the stationery biz.  It always feels like the calm before the storm of the holiday season.  Yes I'm skipping pumpkin spice season and going right to the holidays!  But have you had a Pumpkin Spice Latté yet?  Too soon? Anyway, it's a great time for Stationery Store Day which was started by Kristina of Calliope Paperie in Massachusetts back in 2022.  She wanted to celebrate our independent stationery stores, encouraging people to visit and shop in what is typically a slower month, and she made it happen!  Not just in the U.S., but around the world. She even collaborates with an artist each year to create cool Stationery Store Day merch, like totes, notebooks, washi tape and stickers.  You can check out her collaboration with Suzy Ultman here. It's been really cool to watch this idea take hold and see stores participating all over in their own way and we have made it a point to visit The Paper Herald in Baltimore each year for stationery shopping in our little corner of the world.  This year was our first year to actually participate in the day.

Ashleigh, the owner of the Paper Herald reached out in July to see if we wanted to take part in Stationery Store Day and maybe do a demonstration or teach something.  With the craziness we had going on in July between summer travel and Faire Summer Market we didn't think we could make it happen.  We wanted to be able to prepare and basically we knew we didn't have the time to get our shit together.  Let's face it.  Ashleigh assured us this was no pressure and if we wanted we could just do a quick and casual pop up.  Well that we figured we could handle and obviously we wanted to be part of this special day.  We are paper people after all. 

When we arrived at the Paper Herald, Ashleigh had set up a display table where Confident Canvas (our new friend) was presenting journaling to a seated group of ten people or so and streaming on Instagram Live.  We realized we needed to think on the fly and figure out what we were going to talk about because this was going to be more than a casual pop up. Before you knew it we were doing our first Instagram Live! And we're here to tell you we survived and actually had fun chitty chatting about how we got started in the stationery world, our inspirational Grandmom, and how we create our designs for cards, prints and stickers on the iPad. We may have even inspired someone to buy an iPad or give drawing in Procreate a try. However we can't possibly go back and watch it for fear we will die of embarrassment.

What are we excited for in September?  Well Sam is all about her boys being back in school and we're not sure how they are in first grade already.  How did that happen? They have stated fall baseball and I can't wait to catch a game.  I miss the days of my son playing baseball!

We have two events coming up in September so we hope you will join us.  On September 13th we will be popping up with our stationery goodies at Brightside Boutique in Fells Point.  And on September 16th come out and join us for Ladies Night at Ace Hardware in Federal Hill. Never thought I would say I would be attending Ladies Night at a hardware store but if you haven't been to Ace in Fed Hill, it is a cool hardware store so we are excited for that! We would love to meet you at these events.

You can find us in a few Moore stores this month and we love that.  We collaborated with Hartford Prints! on two new Hello from Connecticut cards so check them out if you are in the Constitution State. For Philly and University of Delaware fans, check us out at Rooted in New London Township, PA.

And what were your faves of the month you ask? Your top spot for cards was a tie with our new Connecticut cards making a strong debut! Thanks for following our stationery biz and hope to see you at an event in September!

Charm City has a come a long way since then with 279 unique neighborhoods from Patterson Park to Pimlico, Federal Hill to Fells Point, Locust Point to Little Italy and Moore. Baltimore might take a lot of shit but for those of us who live here, we love and appreciate everything this quirky city has to offer. In the words of Baltimore's own John Waters, "You can look far and wide, but you'll never discover a stranger city with such extreme style.  It's as if every eccentiric in the South decided to move north, ran out of gas in Baltimore, and decided to stay." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

There's so much to do and see in Baltimore.  For the history buffs, there's Fort McHenry where during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner.  It doesn't get Moore American than that. Baltimore has a great art scene with something for everyone starting with MICA where our own grandmother Maggie Moore was a student.  And check out our art museums, the BMA, The Walters Art Museum and the fabulous American Visionary Art Museum.  Don't skip the gift shop!  The beautiful Harbor is a must visit and it's now swimmable. Really, jump right in!  And while you're there check out the National Aquarium. If fish aren't you're thing, give the Maryland Zoo a try.

Baltimore can now boast  a great restaurant scene. But we prefer Baltimore's quirky food culture. Where else but Mount Vernon's Flower Mart can you soak in spring blooms and sip on an iconic Lemon stick? In Baltimore you can make a stop at the local snowball stand for an egg custard with marshmallow topping or even find Old Bay in our ice cream. Check out The Charmery's Old Bay Caramel.  And speaking of Caramels, Baltimore gave birth to our very own caramel creams at Goetze Candy in 1918.  Sweet! I mean Domino Sugar is made here hon'. Let's not forget Natty Bohs, the perfect summer sipper for watching the Orioles at the Yard and did you know that without Baltimore we might not have the six pack?  Yup, it was invented here in Brewer's Hill. Of course you haven't truly experienced the city unless you've cracked crabs, with Old Bay of course, over a table covered in brown paper.

You've seen the benches.  Baltimore is the City that Reads.  We have over 20 independent bookstores, The Ivy Bookshop, Greedy Reads and Snug Books just to name a few.  We all know Edgar Allen Poe. But how about our favorite women writers of Baltimore, Laura Lippman, (Murder Takes a Vacation is on my summer TBR) and Anne Tyler's latest, Three Days in June?

What we love most about Baltimore is its quirky charm.  In what other city's harbor can you find a giant Mr. Trash Wheel eating garbage with giant googly eyes? We cheer on the Orioles and the Ravens but the city's most iconic bird is the plastic pink flamingo lawn ornament.  Thanks again John Waters. Who in Baltimore hasn't sipped cocoa on 34th Street during the holidays and strolled by a Christmas tree made of hub caps? And are you really from Baltimore if you haven't donned a bee hive wig at Hon' Fest?

Whether you live in Baltimore and love it's charm or  you know someone who has moved away and is missing home our Baltimore print includes all these great things about our city and Moore.  And if Snail mail is your thing, send a bit of Baltimore to someone far away. We promise it will bring a smile to their face.

You only turn 40 once and I finally could give Sam one of our Fuck Yeah Times 40 birthday cards!  Yup, we have a card for that. She turned the big 4-0 on the 1st of the month (how can that be?) and we celebrated the the Maryland way, with a family crab feast. And it wouldn't be a celebration in our family without cake!

We made a trip to the Maryland Zoo with Alex and Brooks to celebrate their sixth birthday. It may have been a little sweaty but it was worth it and the boys loved the elephants that put on quite a show for us and a playful otter friend.  Of course the giant tree slide was a bit hit too.  

It was a super busy month over here for us as we gear up for Faire Summer Market - our favorite virtual wholesale event that rolls around every July. It's a chance to connect with independent retail shops all over the country, and we've been hard at work putting the finishing touches on a fresh batch of designs just in time for the big drop and scheduling what seems like a kajillion emails in the hopes of attracting some new shops.

This year feels extra special -  it's my first summer running Maggie Moore as a full time boss, and for once, I'm not scrambling at the last second to come up with new designs (cue the confetti!) I've actually been ahead of schedule on design and even had the time to design a fun mailer to show off our new goodies with a New England Summah theme. Here's a peek.

We love local and of course we will not disappoint our faithful Maryland fans (Maryland themed notepads anyone?), but we're going all in this summer with a big line up of cards and stickers that celebrate Boston, Cape Cod and Rhode Island.  Fingers crossed they help us expand our reach to the north.  

In July besides Faire Summer Market we're looking forward to kicking back and getting in some summer relaxation time with trips to Cape Cod, Upstate New York, Ocean City and Lewes. It's going to be a busy month! 

And what was your favorite card of month you ask?  We happen to think it's the perfect choice for Maryland summer.  I Love You Over the Bay Bridge and Back and we love all of you for your continued support of this small biz! Until next time and have a happy 4th!

It was June 1st and there I was mindlessly checking out Instagram as I tend to do, when a post by Governor Wes Moore serving up orange crushes in his Orioles finest came up and stopped my scroll. He tends to have that effect on me.  Can he just be our President now? The caption read, "Happy Orange Crush Day to Maryland and Maryland only."  Take that Delaware!  I did a double take and watched again. Let's face it, I can watch Governor Moore bartending on repeat. This wasn't fake news.  Maryland had an official state cocktail, the orange crush!  Well it was about time! 

It just so happened that we had just finished two new designs for Orange Crush stickers to celebrate our favorite drink of summer.  Every once in a while we manage to be trending, even if it's completely by accident.  I said to Sam, "We need to release those stickers now!"  

The Orange Crush came on the scene way back in 1995 (yes, that was 30 years ago) in Ocean City or as we like to say, Downy Oshun.  The bartenders at Harborside Bar and Grill came up with this citrusy concoction of vodka, fresh squeezed orange juice (must be fresh squeezed), triple sec and a splash of lemon lime soda.  It was served over crushed ice, because as we all know, the ice does matter. To get it just right, check out their recipe. The refreshing summer cocktail was a hit and before they knew it bartenders were working their biceps at the juicer at bars all along the shore and beyond.  Yes it even became a local favorite in Delaware, where they claim it was perfected at the Starboard, and in 2024 Delaware named the Orange Crush their official state cocktail. The nerve! A rivalry was born. 

Maryland lawmakers couldn't sit idly by and watch Delaware try to stake claim to Maryland's orange crush cocktail. Delegate Wayne A Hartman brought forth a bill to make the orange crush the official state cocktail in Maryland where it belongs, stating, “We’ve all heard that Virginia is for lovers, but Maryland is where you had your first crush.”  It passed unanimously. At least that's one thing both sides can agree on.

With warmer weather finally here, the orange crush is just the drink that says summer!  Especially if you're enjoying one by the water, and with a bushel of crabs, even better. Our personal favorite is a grapefruit crush. Which variation are you crushing on and where's your favorite spot to drink crushes? We love the roof top at Watershed or by the water at Nick's Fish House or of course anywhere Downy Oshun! If you want to show your support for our new state cocktail, check out our new orange crush stickers!