put on your smock

in case you haven't noticed :), i have lots of favourite letterpress companies. another new fave of mine is smock paper whose parent company is boxcar press one of the largest letterpress studios in the usa. smock promotes sustainability and prints on a luxury bamboo paper. not only is smock eco-friendly but their designs are fabulous too. i especially like their beautifully-patterned, hand-lined envelopes. smock's designer is amy graham stigler who also co-founded stationery company snow & graham. pictured here are greeting cards with gorgeous hand-lined envelopes, social stationery suites, wedding invitation suites, and party invites.

images: smock paper

i like blue

blue is one of my favourite colours. i like a bunch of different shades of blue. i really like typography too. in typography class i remember feeling a bit odd that i was loving studying the parts of a letter so much. you know, the serifs, ascenders, descenders, stems, bars, bowls, etc...

i also like blue pool road which is a minimalist + eco chic stationery/design studio. they also love typography, color and especially being green. pictured above are some samples of their amazing work. i love the simple, effective designs and of course their use of type and colours.

images: blue pool road

tag me!

oooh, i found these little gems from the flourish collection from seattle, washington. these pretty round tags have a perfectly scalloped edge. each one is letterpress printed with a dainty flower pattern and tied with a silk ribbon. for more details or to purchase a package of four tags, check out their site. what girl wouldn't love to receive one of these tags on a gift?

images: the flourish collection

dre-e-e-e-eam, dream dream dream...

the national stationery show in nyc. sigh. one day i'll get there! but until then i'll live vicariously and enviously through those who are lucky enough to set foot in this huge exhibition for the stationery industry. from may 17 - 20, there will be 1000 companies represented...a papergoods-lover's DREAM.

the canadian design blog poppytalk (a fave of my sis lyndsay's) has posted an excellent listing of some of the hottest exhibitors for this year's show. i've selected some of my letterpress faves as pictured above (embellished ink, smock paper (four images), sycamore street press, hello lucky, paper stories letterpress, chewing the cud, albertine press). look out for these new collections and designers!

images: poppytalk, smock paper

campfires

this promotional piece is HOT. i discovered this on both design sponge and on graphic designer/blogger kathleen's blog twig & thistle.

this self-promo piece was designed by swink inc. and letterpress printed by studio on fire. swink calls it "let's tell better stories" and it's a direct mail piece to get people thinking about how they market themselves and how they tell their own companies' stories. how awesome would it be to receive this in the mail, set up your own letterpress printed campfire on your desk and sit around it dishing out your stories?? the concept, design and details are genius!

images: studio on fire and swink

p.s. i love print so it's also no wonder that i love this quote: "Print is why we all got in this business in the first place. It's the love of the tactile, committing your brand to ink and paper. It's ideas you can touch."-- swink inc. in madison, wisconsin

p.p.s. sorry about the large scrolling factor in this post. i just couldn't help but post all the great images of this piece. :)

moms

i've always appreciated and loved my mom for the hard work she and my dad have done and continue to do in raising myself and my two younger sisters. but since becoming a mom 16.5 months ago, i've appreciated her even more. there are so many of those precious little things that a mom does and feels that can't truly be realized until you become a mom yourself. and the concern for your child's well-being never ends whether they are 16 days old, 16 weeks old, 16 months old, 16 years old or 61 years old...

thank you to my mom, my grandmas, my aunts, my mom-in-law, my friends, who are all great mothers and whose love and care shape the next generations. happy belated mother's day! and special happy soon-to-be-moms wishes to my middle sis who's first baby is due next month and my sis-in-law who will be meeting her adopted baby girl in vietnam next month. yay!

pictured above are three letterpress cards i received for mother's day on sunday! :) the green heart and brown squirrels card was given to me by my husband and was designed by lark press. the brown monkey with red heart balloons from my son were designed by egg press and the blue birds pattern card is from my youngest sis and designed by enormous champion.

the scent of letterpress

i haven't been this excited about receiving a package since i was the lucky winner of the sweetbeets monthly samples giveaway in march (thanks lisa!)...i took my own advice and went and purchased two grab bags of egg press cards from their online sample sale a few weeks ago. since shipping to canada is pricey, i had them sent to a shipping depot in point roberts, washington which is a short drive from vancouver. this morning my 16-month-old accompanied his mommy down to pick up her letterpress cards and a couple ppb bags. i was like a kid on christmas morning opening up my box from egg press to see which cards they had sent me. i lucked out with some of my faves without them even knowing. :) also i was thrilled to get the little treat that they threw in -- a little matchbook notepad with a little round tag. so cute. thanks egg press!

on another note, i wanted to ask all you other letterpress fanatics out there...is it just me or does letterpress printed stuff have a distinct scent? the cards i received today just smell like letterpress to me. it's the same smell i've sensed when i've picked up freshly printed card or invitation orders from letterpress studio black stone press. the smell just makes me happy. :) if you've had the same experience please post a comment. or if you think i'm just crazy you're welcome to post a comment too.

pictured above are the contents of my grab bags and little treat! ah, the scent of letterpress.

p.s. you must watch this film produced by egg press to commemorate their 10th anniversary! i love love it. http://www.eggpress.com/movie.html