Krista & Chris’ Hand Drawn Wedding Invites

May 7, 2016April 8, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 2 Comments

For those of you who’ve been following along, the big day is finally here! No, not my big day, but the day I get to reveal Krista and Chris’ wedding invites, because they got married today!

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Since Krista absolutely loved them, I drew heavily from the Save the Dates I designed and printed for them last year. As you’ll recall, I hand-drew all the leaf and laurel elements, then vectorized them so they would print cleanly. I kept the handwriting-inspired typography, and switched out the script typeface from her save the dates for a more formal calligraphy inspired font. I’m absolutely in love with it—especially in white ink on her envelopes! So gorgeous. krista_chris_0749

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We then tied the whole thing up with a wrap in her soft rose accent color. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the custom-mixed slate gray ink I printed the rest of the suite in! krista_chris_1760 krista_chris_0747

I always encourage my brides to order their thank you notes along with their invites. One less thing to think about after the honeymoon—plus I offer a discount when they’re printed at the same time! I love Krista’s thank you notes… they really let the laurel design shine!

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After we were finished with the more formal parts of her wedding stationery, Krista reached out for one last ingenious project: In lieu of a guestbook, she distributed sheets of custom mad libs around the tables for guests to complete. I just love the thought of all her friends and family giggling as they played this classic childrens’ game, and her and her new husband enjoying what I’m sure will contain hilarious jokes and great advice.

Want to work with 622 Press for your wedding day? Get in touch here!

Houston’s History of Printing Museum

March 16, 2016March 6, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 1 Comment

One of my oldest and dearest friends moved to Houston last year, and I finally got down to visit a few weeks ago. We did a bunch of fun stuff, but I though you’d all like to see photos from The Printing Museum! Here’s just a small selection of the photos I took—I highly recommend stopping in for yourself!

I love these miniature presses

A fully restored version of my press!

That’s a Pearl just like Bess in the back of the workshop!

New Year’s Business Resolutions

February 7, 2016February 1, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 2 Comments

Each January, there seems to be a surge in new business card clients, mostly small business owners or freelancers looking to finally get some professional business cards made. It’s one of my favorite influxes—such a fun way to kick start the year—and this year did not disappoint!

I still have a few projects in the works, but I finished the first two sets last week so I thought I’d share!

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Jori beat the rush by getting in touch on New Year’s Eve for her new cards. She wanted a very simple design with just the right typeface, and I loved her attention to the font we used. Most people don’t realize it, but a typeface often sets the mood for the design, so this friendly, modern, clean face works perfectly for her!

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Troy got in touch a few days later after purchasing a card from one of my Wisconsin stockists over the holidays. He had done his research, checking out my work on this very website (Hi, Troy!) and knew exactly what he was looking for. The parameters he provided were really inspiring to me, and I came up with a ton of amazing design options for him. I love the one he picked (above)—they just may be my favorite business cards to date!

I also thought I’d share a few of the other initial designs I created for him. I love them so much, I’d hate to never have them see the light of day, so if you’re interested in updating one with your information, get in touch!

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Bespoke hand-drawn save the date coasters

October 25, 2015October 20, 2015 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 5 Comments

Well you guys, it’s official. These are my new favorite save the date coasters of all time ever.

Bride-to-be Krista came to me with some pretty fabulous inspiration pieces featuring hand-drawn nature-inspired illustrations. She also knew she wanted to avoid a super-swashy wedding script, opting instead for more modern typography.

Taking cues from her guidelines, I went to my sketchbook—always a treat—to sketch up some leafy laurels. After spending a little time vectorizing them, I created a number of options incorporating combinations of hand-drawn fonts. A few rounds of changes later, we had it!

I printed them in a custom blue-grey from her color palette and I’m so pleased with the results!

Interested in a set of custom coasters of your own? Get in touch!

Custom Letterpress Projects: A Timeline

October 17, 2015October 8, 2015 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

Recently, I’ve received several requests for custom projects like business cards and broadsides featuring custom designs or logos with due dates within a few days or a week. Since this is impossible for me (or any other printer without an in-house plate-maker…. and even then!), I thought I’d share a typical timeline for custom letterpress projects to help foster more understanding for the process.

DESIGN: I usually create the first round of design options within a few days of receiving the order, but depending on how specific and descriptive the project parameters are, the time required for design can vary quite a lot. It’s always better to provide too much information rather than too little!

PLATE-MAKING: Once the design is finalized, I create files for the company that makes my printing plates. Letterpress is a physical process, with ink not only being spread across the surface, but the design is actually impressed into the paper, so three-dimensional printing plates are required. The design is etched into magnesium plates (backwards, of course), which are then mounted to a specific height of wood base. Then of course they must be delivered to my little island studio, which usually takes about a week, but can take up to two. I also order any additional supplies during this period.

PRINTING: Most one-color projects can be completed in a day once they’re worked into my printing schedule. If the project has additional colors, I prefer to let the ink cure for at least one week between colors to prevent smudging. If the design is double-sided, I’d rather set aside two weeks between sides.

FINISHING: Many projects end up being trimmed by hand, which takes several hours, or even a couple days, depending on the quantity. I always print more than the number of pieces ordered, so then I spend some time choosing the very best to send to the customer.

SHIPPING: Once the project is packaged and addressed with care, the Bermuda post averages one to two weeks for delivery within the continental U.S. Shipping can be expedited, but two- to three-day shipping starts at $51 for something as small as an envelope!

All told, most completely custom projects will take a minimum of five weeks after the design is finalized and approved. I do love printing custom projects though, so please do get in touch!