A real live vacation!

June 6, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

Right now, I’m on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico—without wifi! Thanks to the magic of WordPress, you’re reading what I wrote a week before we left.

We’re headed on a cruise to various islands, which seems a little silly since we live on an island… We’ve booked some “excursions” that promise to be fun and make some great memories, but really the thing I’m most excited about is actually that bit about no wifi! I can’t wait for the chance to unplug and reconnect with my partner—no online poker (him), checking social media stats (me), mindless facebook cruising (both), or any of the other things that allow us to miss out on really being with each other, even when we’re in the same room.

After we return to dry land, several house guests arrive and basically round out the rest of June! So you’ll probably hear less from me in the next few weeks, but I’ve got not one but TWO exciting announcements set for 622 press’s birthday on the 22nd, so make sure to stay tuned!

Postcards Posted

May 15, 2015April 21, 2015 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

A few weeks ago (I’m going to take an aside here and apologize for beginning what seems like 99% of my blog posts this way. Letterpress is a long process and so by the time I finish the project and photograph it, several weeks or a month or two have always gone by, so it feels strange to pretend like I just did whatever it is I’m writing about. My apologies!)

Anyway, a few weeks ago, a student from the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) emailed to ask for some letterpress goodies to include in his senior show. His thesis was on moveable type and letterpress and he wanted to create a hand-out kit with a variety of examples. He mentioned past projects (business cards, wedding invites) were just fine, but almost all of those are created with a custom printing plate, not vintage type. The main thing I use my type for is greeting cards and coasters, but that would mean giving away several hundred dollars worth of merchandise—which is a big deal to a teeny tiny business like mine!

But I did want to help the guy out and I had been tossing around an idea for postcards for a couple weeks, so I decided that would be the project for him!

You all know I repurpose my practice printing paper over and over again, and then cut it up into tiny paper circles/confetti, 2-inch paper squares, gift tags and garlands. While printing this latest collection, I had a lot of what I refer to as “happy accidents”—designs that overlapped in a really interesting way or somehow worked together in a design, even though I hadn’t planned it.

I had been saving these pieces, not wanting to chop them up into little bits, yet they had too much already printed on them to use for practice sheets. So, I trimmed them up to a standard USPS post card size, used vintage lead type to print “Post card” and a dotted divider down the front, plus added my logo to designate where to place a stamp. Voila! The coolest post cards you’ve ever sent.

I sent most of them off to Ohio, but made a few extra sets and they’re now available in the shop. Pick some up now for quick notes, or they’re great to have on hand for summer vacation or when the kids go off to camp!

May Snail Mail

May 2, 2015April 27, 2015 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

I’ve done Card of the Month clubs in the past, and they were always kind of a pain, going to the post office that much. In my new life, it turns out it’s kind of great! I’m at the post office all the time anyway (plus it’s super close to our house), and sending a package every month makes me realize how quickly time is flying by.

One year ago, I was getting ready to tell the owners of my company that I was moving to Bermuda, hoping they would keep me on in some capacity, but not having any idea how that would go. Two years ago, I was on a whirlwind trip to Costa Rica with one of my dearest friends, both of us doing a little soul searching. Three years ago I was finally feeling settled in a new place, in love and happy… the year before that I was in the midst of an ugly, draining divorce. Life is crazy huh?

Anyway, the point of this post was really just to share the fun stuff I sent out in May’s Card Club! I went with a bit of a floral theme because, you know, April showers bring May flowers…. Remember, you can sign up here, or just send me an email.

A Pocket Full of Posies

April 26, 2015April 26, 2015 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 1 Comment

I’ve been working on this project for so long, it almost feels like old news now, but I’m still excited to finally share it with you!

Several weeks ago, a pair California floral shop owners got in touch about business cards. After only a few emails back and forth, I realized they were pretty much my ideal clients—quick and decisive with feedback, open to new ideas, and maybe most importantly, they seemed to truly understand and value the work that goes into letterpress printing. Plus, they were interested in incorporating my new watercolor illustration services into their cards!

We nailed down the design after just a few rounds, and I ordered plates toward the beginning of March, allowing me plenty of time to print before my recent house guests arrived. You know the quote about the best-laid plans? UPS of course “misplaced” my printing plates for 10—TEN!—days in one of their facilities, and then instead of realizing the mistake and attempting to make up for it by rushing the order the rest of the way, it spent the next several days moseying along on a truck. I had planned to have it delivered to my friends who were coming to visit, since that’s usually faster (and always a lot cheaper) than having it shipped to the island, but of course it didn’t arrive before their flight. After several hours of calling 1-800 numbers by both me and my boyfriend, Owosso (the company that makes my plates) finally stepped in and managed to have them rerouted to Bermuda by the end of the week which was lovely… except that I had to pay an additional 40% in duty and “airport fees” (whatever that is).

Lucky for me, from then on it was smooth sailing. I printed the card backs the day after receiving the plates, and let them dry for about two weeks. I was surprised by the amount of ink the all-over pattern used up, but they turned out just fine. The fronts printed even more beautifully—and then the fun began!

I hand-painted a funky flower on each card individually—at one point I had them drying all over the living room floor. As always, the cards were finished by hand-cutting them to size and sorting out the best ones to send to the client! I’m so happy with how they turned out and I can’t wait until they arrive in California to hear what Taryn and Michelle think!

Reprints & Revamps

April 23, 2015April 17, 2015 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 1 Comment

Last week, I sent off an order from my longest standing—and if we’re being honest, one of my favorite!—wholesale client. Driftless Studio has been carrying 622 press goodies consistently since 2009. The owner, Anne, is fabulous to work with—tactile and appreciative of the artsy imperfections of letterpress; decisive and trusting of her intuition when it comes to stocking the shop; and always offering creative ideas to collaborate on pieces she thinks will sell well.

These collaborations have resulted in a few designs that are completely exclusive to her shop as well as small tweaks on existing designs—like our Best Day Ever cards in a bunch of new colors! I printed extras for my etsy shop as well, so get a multi-pack here, or individual cards here, here and here.

Driftless Studio is located right in the heart of downtown, which is dominated by UW-Madison, so anything printed in red or Wisconsin-themed always sells well. With graduation soon approaching, they stocked up! The Wisconsin notecards are also available in my etsy shop.

The best part about having such a long-standing relationship is that Driftless still stocks a number of designs I haven’t had a chance to print recently. With more than 100 unique cards, it’s hard to keep them all in stock at once, so when the shop needed more nice wheels and magnolia thank you cards, I was all too happy to reprint some for the 622 etsy shop as well.