New Retailer: Laurel Grove

April 13, 2016April 14, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 1 Comment

One of my main goals for 2016 is to expand the network of stores that sell 622 press goods. I’ve been working hard at this one—emailing my catalog to dozens of stores over the last few months, and sending samples to as many as I can. (Know a local shop that would be a good fit for 622 press? Get in touch!) However, the most recent addition to the 622 family fell right into my metaphorical lap!

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Laurel Grove is an adorable boutique in Sudbury, Mass. that grew out of the owner’s part-time vintage business. She was in a similar situation to mine two years ago: Working full time at a job that she loved, but also pursuing her own business on nights and weekends… plus she had a two year old. Eventually, the stars aligned and with the perfect space, business partner and her husband’s support, Laurel Grove was born!

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The shop carries a mix of vintage and handmade and select new home decor and jewelry. Kim’s goal is really to showcase artisans whose stuff she loves. She says, “I do try to stay mostly local to New England, but every once in a while if someone catches my eye (like you did) and I just love the product I’ll reach out.” The store also offers customization and furniture refinishing.

Kim picked out an awesome collection of cards that includes some of my very favorites, and got the last of a few designs, like our wood type “good luck” card and select colors of “best day ever!” Laurel Grove is also the first to carry my new calligraphy inspired “oh happy day” and “mr and mrs” cards! And, she picked up a great selection of Mother’s and Father’s Day cards, so pop in soon to grab those while they last!

Still Alice

March 24, 2016March 16, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

I mentioned my upcoming Alice in Wonderland styled photo shoot in my last post, but I realized I didn’t give you very many sneak peeks! So this post is where I spill all the beans. big_rose_5R0A4029

The first rose I tackled was actually the giant number above. The planner for the shoot envisioned the bridesmaids with two huge individual white roses instead of a bouquet. They were time consuming and between two of them used up an entire roll of crepe paper, but super fun to make and turned out beautifully! I’m so excited to see them worked into the shoot. (Photo by Adrian Cunningham)

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The bride’s peony and rose bouquet is a little more my style, but I also put quite a few Alice-esque twists on it. Lots of red and white roses—of course—and I also worked in a few “leaves” made from playing cards, with the Queen of Hearts featuring prominently. This photo is just a quick phone snap—can’t wait to see what the professional photographer does with these!

Want to inquire about wedding services or your own everlasting bouquet? Get in touch!

Roses Reign

March 21, 2016March 21, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

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I’ve figured out how to make lots of crepe paper flowers—peonies, poppies, daisies, tulips, crocuses and lots more—but I’ve put off classic roses. They’ve never been one of my favorite flowers because they seem to be a sort of default buy (When in doubt, go with a dozen red roses, right?), they seem almost ordinary in my mind. That was, until, last weekend.

I was recently asked to contribute to an Alice in Wonderland themed styled shoot, so it was time to finally tackle the rose! It took me a few tries, but once I got it, I REALLY got it. And now I’m in love with roses!

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The spiraling center, radiating delicate curled petals… I just love everything about them. Of course my favorites are the unexpected colors though! These yellow beauties are my favorites, but orange is next on the docket, so that may change. You can order yours here! rose_yellow_5R0A4067

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rose_yellow_gradient_1656 Once I had the basics mastered, I started experimenting with mixing petal colors, and even made one very special hand-painted rosebud for the Alice shoot (remember that about a hundred rose photos ago?). rose_dipdyed_1596

When I was finished with my rose production extravaganza, I asked my photographer friend Adi to come over and snap a few pics. He took the shot of the white bouquet at the very top of my post as well as this one below! Check out more of his work on his newly launched website! roses_red_5R0A4052

2016: All Pink Everything

March 5, 2016March 6, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

Officially, Pantone named two colors of the year for 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity (which is a sort of pastel blue), but so far from where I stand it’s been all about lovely shades of blush pink.

First, bride-to-be Krista got in touch. I had designed and printed her save the date coasters last year and they were some of my favorites, so I was thrilled to hear from her! I’ll do a bigger reveal after their wedding day, but here’s a sneak peek of their dusty rose wrap that holds all the invitation elements together.

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Another bride from last year got in touch just after Krista. The future Mrs. O’Brien went for a more formal design for her wedding stationery, which features the same pink filigree pattern, gold family crest and formal script as her save the dates. Her invitations are hot off the press (and drying all over my house) as I type, so I don’t even have a sneak peek for you yet, but stay tuned!

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I’ve also been working on non-letterpress wedding invitations lately. I’ve been thinking about offering less expensive options for a while now, since not every bride can or wants to spend several hundred (or more) dollars on their invitations. And, as smaller celebrations become more popular, the price-per-invite goes up, since the initial supply costs for letterpress work are so high. Although personally I still think it’s totally worth it!

I recently connected with a photographer via The Rising Tide Society that offered to shoot some of my new invites! Nicole over at Simply Charming Pictures did a great job, I can’t wait to share the rest of her work! Watercolor invitations aren’t yet available online, but get in touch if you’re interested!

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As I was finishing up those big wedding projects, a new mom got in touch via Etsy about invitations for her baby girl’s first birthday party. She loved my Watercolor Ombre Fill-in Invitations, but wondered if I could make them in pink and gold instead… to which I said of course! I knew I would love the results, so I made an extra set to list in the shop—find them here!

And finally, I’ve finally started ordering a few new printing plates for my own projects. You may have noticed I didn’t launch as many new cards last year. When I first moved, I was so excited to have so much time for letterpress work that I may have gone a little crazy and printed all the cards I’d had bouncing around my head for years but never had the time to print, and my stock got a little out of hand. Not only do I have limited space to store everything, but it’s difficult to keep track of nearly 200 different designs!

Someday when I have my own shop, I’ll be able to maintain that kind of inventory, but for the time being, I needed to pare things down. I’m finally at a place now where enough designs have sold out so I’m ready to create some new work!

Far and away my favorite of the new fonts I bought a few months back is this beautiful modern calligraphy typeface. It’s perfect for wedding season! My “Mr & Mrs” cards have always been popular, but I’ve been feeling like the design needed an upgrade, so I designed these! Pick up a set here. I also wanted to created a new design that would not only work for weddings (and not even same-sex unions at that), but any joyous occasion—birthdays, adoption, engagement, graduation… you name it, this card works. Available in blush here, but I’m thinking of printing them in lots of colors… feel free to comment with what you’d like to see next!

Save the Date: Abi & Spencer’s Art Nouveau Wedding

February 12, 2016February 10, 2016 ~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 1 Comment

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Just before the holidays, I finished up a save the date card for the boyfriend’s sister. Abi and her fiancé are planning an Art Nouveau themed soirée this fall and wanted their invitation suite to give guests a peek at what’s to come.

Once I saw Abi’s Pinterest board—full of soft candlelight, sparkling chandeliers, swirling illustrations and hues of cobalt and gold, I knew I had to use this amazing shimmery paper I had experimented with a few weeks prior. I love that while it definitely reads gold, the paper is actually more of a champagne hue, free of the brassy or yellow hues that can make gold look cheap.

I created a two-color design inspired by motifs of the era: vaguely nature-inspired, but stylized into pure decoration. The white ink I used to print it plays beautifully off the iridescent paper.

I struggled quite a lot with the typefaces for this project, primarily because I don’t particularly like fonts from this era. I offered several more modern options that fit with with the design motif, but in the end, Abi and Spencer preferred typography that was historically accurate, and I was able to find several typefaces that I liked and worked well together!

I’m so pleased with how the save the dates turned out and can’t wait to get started on their invites, stay tuned!