Pistachio Press

Check out these beautiful letterpress invitations by {Pistachio Press}. Pistachio Press was officially launched during the summer of 2007, and informally since 2003 when Rachel Hetzel, a native of upstate New York, drove to Ohio to buy her first letterpress. Since then, she has accumulated several hundreds pounds of type and three more presses. It is her printmaking background that has helped drive her passion for paper and ink. She now prints fine stationary, social invitations, and limited edition prints. Pistachio Press is an environmentally conscious studio, using rubber-based inks and biodegradable citrus-based solvents for cleaning. She prints on 100% tree-free cotton papers or recycled papers that are 30% post-consumer waste.

~ Heavy Metal Letterpress ~

Last month, {Miguel Castro's} beautiful letterpress baby shower invitation design made it on {Oh So Beautiful Paper}, one of my favorite blogs! I am so proud of all the amazing work he has been producing and even more proud to see him published there! I love the added touch of stitching the two pages together at the top. Check out more of his work at {Heavy Metal Letterpress}and be prepared to be very impressed!

While looking around on {Oh So Beautiful Paper}, I came across this wonderful {letterpress book} that I have ordered and can't wait to look through it!

Miguel's Letterpress Journey Begins...

Join Miguel, the proud new owner of a Chandler & Price 12×18 Old Style Press, as he takes off on his letterpress journey. After hauling this beauty 5.5 hours down to San Luis Obispo, spending time refinishing the wheel and adding new wood trays, he is ready to get started! I cannot wait to see the beautiful creations he produces - both from his exceptional design skill and well, of course there is nothing more wonderful than the art of letterpress done right. Check out his {blog} and follow along as he reveals his works of art!

Also, here is a great video of a guy creating some custom coasters.

Letterpress Coasters from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

BirdDog Press

This was a really exciting find for me and I'm sure you will agree. I selected my favorite designs by {BirdDog Press} from their {Flickr} photostream. I particularly like the ones that incorporated more than just the printed designs, the ones with fabric, eyelet and sewn embellishments. My favorite invitation was all put together in a beautiful package. They asked the guests to decorate the piece of fabric provided by a certain date and send it back to the couple. The response card had a dotted circle where the guest would place the response stickers that were included ~ accepting or declining the invitation.

Rubber Design Co. ~ A Flexible Firm

Check out the beautiful portfolio of {Rubber Design Co.}, a flexible firm. I love the execution, the attention to details, and the thought that went into the brands they worked on.

Delphine Press 2010 Letterpress Calendar!

I am so happy to finally have my 2010 {Delphine Press} letterpress calendar! (not to be confused with {Dauphine Press}) Stay tuned and I will share each month's beautifully printed design :)

~ Holiday Cards ~

Here is a selection of some of my favorite holiday cards from all that I have come across lately. As you know, I am obsessed with letterpress...so most of these are letterpress designs, of course! They are from {Oblation Papers}, {Elum Designs}, {Bespoke Letterpress Boutique} and a few others. If you are in the San Luis Obispo area...be sure to check out {Paper Sky} ~ Jessica carries a lot of these cards featured above in her store. I have been telling myself for the past few years that I will start early and design my own Christmas cards, but some how each year flies by and by the time I realize, it is usually to late. I might still try and shoot for at least designing an e-card! Stay tuned...

Mika78

After creating her own stationary for her wedding, Mimi Woo realized she wanted something more than the 8 year career she had as a package designer in New York City. She was able to combine her love for design with one of the most intimate and important events of her life - it changed her. Shortly after her wedding, {Mika78} was born. I promise I wont go on and on about how much I am in love with letterpress...SO MUCH...because I have done so a whole bunch on previous posts. I picked a few of my favorites from her beautiful collection. Not only does she design invitations and stationary, but she also offers custom design services through Bespoke to help completely tailor your design sensibility and wedding style - reflecting the true essence of the couple. Below are just a few examples of her gorgeous work.

Letterpress Belt Buckle

So I have posted cool accessories for us type-nerds out there - like the {KERN ring}...so here's another one! (Thanks for the find Delman!) This great {buckle} is cast in pewter from letterpress type. It snap attaches and is available separate from the belt. This belt is made of recycled double-layered recycled biked tubes. Together these look great!

Wiley Valentine ~ Inspired Paper Delights

Emily and Rachelle grew up inspired by each of their grandmothers' - Mary Wiley and Norma Jean Valentine - artistic and eclectic expressions of life. Their grandmothers inspired them to pursue creative endeavors. After working at the same graphic design firm in California, they both realized that they were going about passionless projects that were too mainstream. They found a common sense of enthusiasm for using their creative aspirations to revamp the paper industry. They left their jobs to found the E & R Design Group, which formed the groundwork for the fashionably classic line of paper products. They called it {Wiley Valentine}. With sustainably being more important now than ever before, they made the commitment to become a 100% sustainable paper company. Today, all of their paper prints are either 100% recycled PSC or 100% cotton, a natural, renewable resource. No trees! In their studio, they reuse all of the 100% recycled fax paper and shred every mock-up and misprint - they reuse all of these in resourceful and colorful packaging material!

Oslo Press

{Oslo Press} specializes in unique wedding invitations that combine the use of rich wood veneer and elegant paper. Each invitation is made of wood veneer and laser engraved with an original design, while the coordinating elements to each set are created using paper and the centuries-old method of letterpress. This unique combination of materials, methods, and contemporary design provides a unique invitation set - full of texture, character, and originality. These will surely leave a lasting impression with your guests :)

Smock - Letterpress on Bamboo Paper

Going back to my love of letterpress, here is another great find! {Smock} is based in Syracuse, New York. Their print shop is made up of 20 antique presses, 50 tons of equipment, and 17 employees. They are self-proclaimed faithful lovers of historic craft with letterpress ink in their veins. They are actually the first and only print shop in the United States to offer printing on luxury bamboo paper. They were able to develop this paper with the help of a historic European paper mill, doing so because they wanted a truly sustainable paper that was also beautiful! Why bamboo? Bamboo is said to be a true wonder plant. In addition to not requiring pesticides or fertilizer to grow, bamboo reaches its mature height in 3 to 5 years, whereas most softwood trees take 10-20 years. Bamboo generates up to 35% more oxygen than hardwood trees, and absorbs four times as much carbon as hardwood. Bamboo can detoxify wastewater (due to its high nitrogen consumption) and improves soil quality. Not enough to convince you yet? Bamboo also has natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties too. Convinced? I know I am! More of their work can be seen on their site and purchased on their {Etsy} shop.

HAMMERPRESS Wedding Invitations

I came accross these gorgeous wedding invitations on {100 Layer Cake} and loved them! They are designed by {HAMMERPRESS}. What started out as simply a love of letterpress and making CD and LP packaging for his buddies with his motorless platen press, turned into a business today with several presses (with motors) and a full team who work on projects such as beautiful and unusual wedding initiations, custom artwork for national restaurant chains, CD packaging, corporate identity work, posters and art prints. On top of all this, they are growing their line of letterpress stationary products.

Office of the Tooth Fairy

I was completely blown away by the work of {Rubber Design}. To be honest, I probably would have posted about 99% of what they have showcased on their site, but decided to start with just one of my faves. I will most likely be showing some more later, but for now you should just go to their site and take a look for yourself. This beautiful piece was designed for the {Office of the Tooth Fairy} - a amazingly designed kit to use when children loose their teeth! SO CUTE! You can count on the fact that if I know you and you have a child at tooth-losing age - you will be getting one of these from me soon. Seriously.

Bespoke Press

So, really I didn't just print this for the beautiful green color I love so much. The gorgeous geometric teamed with the simple typography made for a fresh, fun, and still formal wedding invitation. This all went together in a metallic matching green envelope with natural cream color lining with a geometric design. Check out more great work on {Bespoke Press} Did I mention I love letterpress?

Studio On Fire

Check out these awesome and unique wedding invitations! Not only are they excellently designed with beautiful clean typography and graphics, but so creative to incorporate sewing and a perforated detachable RSVP card! That's not all - this whole invitation folds up into a self-mailer! This was co-designed by the bride and groom themselves, then Gocco printed and then stitched together. This piece, along with a lot of beautiful letterpress designs can be found on {Studio On Fire} - and on fire they are!

Live What You Love

I just wanted to start tonight off with some inspiration. I am a firm believer in the message being presented by these letterpress posters - LIVE WHAT YOU LOVE - by {Hijirik Design Studio}.

Stitch. Rip. Repeat.

I found these letterpressed recipe box sets on the Etsy shop of {Beth Snyder}. Her and her husband are a self-proclaimed "mad-crafting-duo out of Mid-Missouri". In the images above, you can see her process from sketches that went to making the letterpress place, to printing, and finally the finished product. Her work is fun and really has a sense of playful character that I love!

After finding a link in her profile that took me to her {blog} - I was happy to have found several more awesome ideas and creations!

Aside from letterpress, or in combination with, she also creates linoleum block prints as backgrounds or as the designs themselves - which I find very creative and have an appreciation for, being that we had to work with linoleum block carvings in high school and I remember it being rather difficult. For a project that combined the two printing methods, she created and sold many calendars for 2009. A friend of hers actually displayed it in quite a creative way - I will definitely be copying that idea. I often wonder what can be done with the beautiful letterpress calendars that are designed. They are so beautiful - but they are so small that they need some sort of way to be displayed better to get the attention they deserve!

I thought his was a super cool idea in lieu of a typical wedding guest book! She screen printed fabrics and then cut that out into squares which the quest would sign or write a message. She then turned this into a quilt! Awesome and unique :)

Last but not least! Here is a cool idea for a way to store special books or albums - in her case this was a cover made by her mother for her wedding book :) This would also make a nice portfolio or even laptop case (if made with proper reinforcing materials).

My Letterpress Obsession Explained...

Basically, my love for wedding related design or stationary in general, stems from my passion for beautiful printed pieces that are letterpressed. Nothing can compare to the handmade, as well as the unique quality that comes with choosing letterpress. It is an art form that has an emphasis on craft, tradition, and authenticity. Through this method, you are able to add a special personal touch to any special occasion. Designs are created and then translated into a piece of film, like a photonegative, which through the rest of the process is turned into a hard plate. Water-soluble, rubber-based inks are used for the printing colors. It is surprising that just a teaspoon of ink can be enough to print several thousand cards. Ink is usually mixed by hand and some even use an old fashion scale to weigh paint proportions. NUTS! The plate is mounted, ink is applied to the rollers, and the rollers begin to move over the plate, laying down the ink. Paper is fed into the press, comes in contact with the plate (similar to a shell clamping shut), and the piece is printed! It is hard to find a press these days, (there are many letterpress printers out there, but i mean one of your own...) but hopefully since this process is becoming more and more popular, that will change. I hope to soon be able to own a small tabletop 5x7 press like the red one pictured above. {Hello Lucky}, with location in both San Francisco and London, is a great resource to be able to create your own designs and have them printed. They start the process with an Illustrator file if you are interested.