Our NSS Booth

I've been meaning to photos from our National Stationery Show debut a while back! Some of you have seen the booth already via my Kodak Gallery or on oh so beautiful paper, but I wanted to share some of my favorite images here too. Before next year's show, I will do a longer post outlining all the deets of our entire experience, from set-up to breakdown, as a sort of beginner's guide that will hopefully be helpful to other newbies out there. But for now, just the pics!

Brand-New Etsy Shop!

In anticipation of the launch of the super-new Fine Day Press website, which is undergoing a few final tweaks, we're getting our new etsy storefront all shined up and ready to shop! The Fine Day Press shop is dedicated to our debut line of letterpress greeting cards and invitations. I hope you like it! I will be adding more card and invitation designs in the coming weeks. Totes, art prints and tees will remain in our happy little Lovely Pieces Shop.

Chirp!

Love these state bird and flower letterpress prints by dutch door press. A good reminder to refill our bird feeder, which seems to empty out as fast as we can fill it and provides endless entertainment for our two cats.

Bag o' Love

So glad I signed up for Linda&Harriett's email list. So glad it's a snowday and I'm getting caught up on my emails. This cute little item was awaiting discovery in my inbox, it contains a set of notecards (you choose the letterpressed design), a notepad and pencil in an adorable screenprinted hot pink heart bag. Yes, it is perfect for Valentine's day, but good for spreading a little love any time of year.

Campbell Raw Press

I came across these really sweet and special hanging letterpress calendars in a local paper shop last week. By Brooklyn-based bindery and print shop Campbell Raw Press.

Hello? Retro-Cuteness Calling!

I randomly came across Lab Partner's etsy shop recently and am now completely enamored with their work. A pet-loving design/illustration duo based in San Francisco, they have collaborated with Hello Lucky! letterpress studio and Monocle magazine, among others. I originally fell for their excellent San Francisco print, but I couldn't resist posting these retro charmers, from a limited edition series for a Hunt & Gather show in Australia. There are so many tasty tidbits over on their site, including a couldn't-be-cuter pair of animal pen pals, so be sure to have a look!

Monday, Monday

Good morning! Sometimes Monday mornings can be such a drag, but they can also be full of inspiration - a whole week of possibilities lies ahead! I'm heading to San Francisco later this week, so I've got to be extra-productive in the few days that I have to work. Time to get started...

When we were traveling in England in May, I came across a store in Bath full of vintage birdcages. Soon after our return, I did some research and began a series of ink drawings. Finally, I had some plates made and took them over to the letterpress studio last week. Here are the results... these cute little thank you cards have been added to my etsy shop, along with the chrysanthemums print in dark turquoise, below.

Wilkintie

Rounding up this week's all-letterpress posts with some beautiful artist's prints. Wilkintie is an Melbourne, Australia-based couple, Carly Hargreaves and Niels Oeltjen, who collaborate with their favorite artists to create gorgeous limited-edition pieces.

From top, John Copeland for Wilkintie, Rabbit by Klaus Haapaniemi, and Forest Harvest by Apak. You can learn more about the artists and their work at their etsy shop.

Pressing On

Way back in my pre-blogging days (April, to be exact), I shot some photos of our workshop at The Arm in Brooklyn, so I thought I would share those today. For anyone interested in trying letterpress, it's a fantastic introduction. Dan has an amazing shop with tons of vintage equipment he's collected over the years. He reviews the basics of running the press with polymer plates, and then everyone gets to play around with wood type and metal type.

Super Saturated

Pie Bird Press, aka Hannah Berman, makes bright, fun, retro letterpressed cards. I love the use of rich, saturated inks combined with both nostalgic and everyday objects. A truly unique voice in the world of letterpress stationery.

Oh, and DesignSponge did a recent sneak peek of Hannah's vintage-filled home in California - check it out here. Love the turquoise kitchen and beautiful backyard with fairytale-esque fig tree. Ah, to have a backyard...

Letterpress, Part 2

I just recently learned about the work of Amos Kennedy, through wnyc's Culture blog. A computer programmer turned old-school printer, Kennedy runs a print shop in Gordo, Alabama, using wood type and turning out amazing broadsides that feel like a piece of American history. Sometimes political, sometimes community-focused, always lively.

As anyone who has worked with wood type on a press knows, creating a lock-up is an endeavor of patience and love. In this digital age, we have come to expect everything instantly, but this type of process takes you back to a time when the pace of life was a bit slower. As his website states, his print shop is "on the cutting edge of 19th century technology!"

For my fellow NYC-ers, Amos Kennedy has guest-curated the current show at the Center for Book Arts, together with Alexander Campos, entitled Racism: An American Family Value, up through September 12. Also, TOMORROW NIGHT, Wednesday August 5th at 6:30, the Center for Book Arts will be showing Proceed and Be Bold!, a documentary on Amos' life and work. Cool!

Letterpress, Part 1

This week's posts are all about letterpress and stationery-related items. Kicking things off with this really fun Visual poster from Minneapolis-based Studio on Fire, who also happened to print our wedding invitations. They are a really amazing bunch of talented designers and printers.

The image here was created using wood type, ink, solvent, and alcohol combined to result in cool, random textures. A really unique way of utilizing the press!

Happy Medium

A land of rainbows, ice cream cones, blue skies, and happy little characters - welcome to the world of paper medium. In a time when so much is over-designed and we're constantly bombarded with busy imagery, there's something so incredibly refreshing about these sweet, simple, beautifully letterpressed cards. Give one to someone nice.