Letterpress cards, notepads, and stationery in pretty shades of blue have been extremely popular this year, and it’s easy to see why! This on-trend color works in many different shades: a vibrant, true blue paired with crisp red and nautical patterns appeals to just about everyone, while a deeper navy and rich royal blues work well for men (or for women who like deep, rich colors!). For a fresh, feminine look, lighten things up a bit and go with turquoise. Which shade of blue are you?

1. Breakers boxes: Small $6, Medium $12, Large $18 | 2. Rhino Letterpress Cards $14 for a 6 count box | 3. Lobster Letterpress Card $4 | 4. Breakers Jotter Notepads $6 for a 2-pack | 5. Pearl Notebook $9 | 6. Phillips Boxed Offset Cards $12 for an 8 count box | 7. Talt Notebook $9 | 8. Chatham Scratchpad $7 

All Smock goods are made around Syracuse, New York with the planet in mind: our notebooks and notepads use 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, and our greeting cards are printed on our exclusive (and sustainable) bamboo paper.

Our Dawson design is one of our most popular here at Smock – and we always get really psyched to see the ways couples customize this suite to truly make it all their own!  Take a look at this rustic Dawson suite submitted to us by our friend, Jahna at The Pleasure of your Company in Lutherville, Maryland.  Not only does a fresh color palette make a set all the more trendy, but richer tones also have a way of bringing warmth to a wedding invitation.  There’s almost a comforting feeling in such an earthy and bold color palette.  Then toss in our sherbrooke envelope liner for even more sophistication!

inks: sage + midnight | fonts: smock spencerian + carrington| paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | liner: the sherbrooke pattern in sage | invite size: S8

Our first Smock Design Contest for 2012 was a huge success — we were so excited to recognize the beautiful work that our amazing retailers have sent us over the past few months! Today we are thrilled to share the stunning plaques that the 10 winners of our design contest received — they were created by our talented in-house designer Lindsy Aragona and letterpress printed in Moss and Butter inks on our 2-ply white bamboo paper for a fresh look. The plaques feature elements from our ever-popular Dawson design, and Kelle McCarter hand calligraphed the names of all the winning store names onto the plaques in her Bescal style for a beautiful finishing touch.

Congratulations to all of the stores that were selected as honorees! The next Smock Design Contest will take place later this year – don’t miss it!

We are always amazed at the gorgeous letterpress invitations we get to print for Smock retailer The Wedding Company, but it’s not very often that we get to see an actual event that they put on. The Wedding Company is a full service wedding planning boutique based in Hong Kong, and recently they put on an incredible bridal showcase, complete with romantic décor, elaborate cakes, gorgeous tables and a sweet candy buffet. They even had time to put together an incredible Smock display, and created paper flowers and pinwheels with our double-sided, eco friendly gift wrap for the occasion! We were blown away by the end result — take a look!

Soft, subtle hues are what’s in right now!  Take a look at these trendsetter custom letterpress wedding invitations.  This whimsical set was submitted to us by our great friend, Kappy at Le Village Marche in Arlington, Virginia.  We love that our lyon border is featured on the left side of the invitation – adding to the modern feel of this suite.  Although this set is more on the contemporary side – choosing a softer color palette helps maintain a timeless and elegant feel for your wedding day.  We think these stylish invitations will surely delight their guests!

inks: yolk + pewter | fonts: louise + peale | paper 2-ply white | invite size: S-8 | printing: letterpress | corner rounding | liner: the granby pattern in dove

How do you outdo an awesome save the date? Our good friend Niki at Papery & Cakery in Boca Raton, Florida has the recipe. We posted these lovely save the dates for Niki’s sister back in September!!!

Now that the wedding has passed, we are able to show you the amazing suite she designed, and we couldn’t be happier to share these with everyone! The suite was letterpress printed in our Pewter ink on our beautiful white bamboo 2-ply paper. All of the pieces were fitted with an offset border in pewter and die-cut in our new Chesapeake design. Each piece has a decorative offset backing and is finished with perfect edge painting in Pewter. The invitation, reply cards, and events card are tucked nicely into a custom offset sleeve.

inks: pewter + spring | fonts: submitted fonts | paper: 1-ply white + 2-ply white | printing: letterpress + offset | sleeve: custom pattern offset in pewter + spring | liner: seneca pattern offset in spring | invite size: S-8 sleeve | die-cut: chesapeake

Today we’re highlighting Urban Coast, one of our fabulous Smock retailers! Based in Belleair Bluffs, Florida, Urban Coast specializes in custom letterpress wedding invitations and event design. Owner Soosie Lazenby was kind enough to give us a behind the scenes scoop on this fabulous paperie.

Tell us about yourself & the shop. What was the inspiration behind Urban Coast?
I had a very blessed 20 year career in sports and entertainment marketing. I worked for companies such as IMG and Adidas, and served as the Sports Commissioner for the State of Massachusetts, an appointment by Governor Mitt Romney as the Chair of the Governor’s Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports, and then built my own company which I later sold. A geographical move made me ponder what was next. I decided to create a business that represented all the things I loved about my prior career and the challenges I faced in planning prestigious events. Thus, I founded URBANcoast: marrying the creative side of events and developing a model that provides a one stop shopping experience for clients. URBANcoast offers custom invitation designs, and represents the best in stationery, personalized gifts and accessories, and tabletop decor.

What do you love most about what you do?
Designing a one-of-a-kind look for clients that conveys the style and experience of their event. I also love getting to know our clients – it is such a personal process that takes place over an extended period of time. It creates a special opportunity to form a bond that goes beyond their wedding and carries over into other momentous occasions in their life.

Any predictions for 2012 weddings? What do you think will be popular this year? We are seeing a huge surge in letterpress. History always repeats itself. Additionally, fonts are taking center stage.  This is why Smock and Bella Figura [Smock's sister company] do so well for us. Having your design libraries allows our clients to create a unique look that represents their personality.

What’s the hottest color palette out there right now? Taupe — this color somehow makes its way into a majority of our designs.

What charities does your store support? We support a number of local charities, but the one we champion most is the Morton Plant Mease Foundation. Morton Plant is one of the top 50 hospitals in the country and we are fortunate to have the care they offer in our backyard. We have raised almost 100K and named a hospital suite on the new Women & Children’s floor after my father who has been on staff there for over 40 years, in addition to three other physicians who have made a profound impact on the lives of many in our community. Read the rest of this entry »

Check out these personalized Tallulah letterpress baby announcements.  Our friends at Nest Paper Studio in Oxford, Mississippi submitted these precious baby announcements to us for printing.  The silhouette at the very top makes these all the more elegant and truly adds a personal touch.  We truly adore the bold color palette of our papaya and peacock inks on these.  We can only imagine how excited the proud family is to announce the arrival of their new bundle of joy!

inks: papaya + peacock | fonts: cameron + worthington| custom artwork: submitted |paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | card size: S5SQ

Nole Garey, editor and publisher of Oh So Beautiful Paper, gave this fantastic invitation set first place in our design contest! Nole loved the texture and the playful yet elegant mix of patterns for this wedding invitation set, and we couldn’t agree more – it’s simply stunning!

Danielle from Creative Touch Party Design in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida always sends us gorgeous designs, and this set is no exception. Much of the inspiration for this design was pulled from Smock’s Dawson suite, sleeve and all. Layers of dynamically designed pieces in this suite really bring it to life, and the colors of pewter and merlot give the playful patterns a little sophistication.

Danielle gave us the scoop on the inspiration behind these invitations. “The wedding colors are shades of wine and berry with silver.  The wine color comes from her Lulu Kate bridesmaid dresses, which are just beautiful.  These were the inspiration for the border color. The gray picks up the silver throughout the wedding decor. And the men are wearing gray tuxedos, which is reflective in the pocket she chose.  The linens are a modern lace pattern which is reminiscent of the quilting in the invitation itself.”

We loved this set — congratulations, Danielle! And a huge thanks to Nole for judging the contest!

Customization = letterpress inks: merlot + pewter | fonts: carrington + smock clermont | paper color: white | paper size: s-7 for sleeve | envelope liner: ashford reversed in pewter | sleeve: custom design in pewter letterpress

This design won first place in our Smock design competition for the first half of 2012. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.

Our second place design contest winner comes to us from Shelley at /di’zain/ loft limited in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, a recent addition to the Smock family. The couple chose a dreamy color palette of dusty pinks and greys for their wedding, so invitations in pewter and shell inks on our white bamboo paper fit their theme perfectly and created a soft, sweet feel. The invitation design was modeled after a vintage, “fashionably chic” handwritten love letter, which seems perfectly fitting for Clare-Ann and Joshua as they have had to experience the challenges of an overseas relationship. Shell envelope liners and a pretty script font reminiscent of elegant cursive handwriting complete the look of the invitations.

The couple strove for a sense of romanticism with their invitations, and we definitely think they’ve achieved it! We fell in love – and so did our contest judge, Nole, at Oh So Beautiful Paper, who selected the design as the 2nd place winner. She writes, “The invitation has a clean and modern layout, and I love the use of script and serif fonts that keep the design from looking too fussy.  Sweet and simple.”

Congratulations Shelley, and best wishes to the happy couple!

Congratulations again to Di’zain Loft Limited for taking 2^nd place in our design contest. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.