We’re thrilled to introduce our new “change the world” letterpress card series, where we’ll donate 100% of profits to a critical environmental issue. The first card in our series is called Sunflower, and will benefit the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA).

Here’s the problem: Honey bees are in trouble — colonies have been collapsing mysteriously and adult bees are disappearing. The problem started in the mid 2000′s and is known as “Colony Collapse Disorder,” and researchers believe that pesticides, habitat loss, pathogens and immune system damage are factors that may be causing the collapse.

Why you should care: Of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food supply, over 70 of those crops are pollinated by bees. In the United States alone, the bees’ contribution is valued at over $15 billion, and this vital industry is on the verge of collapse.  One out of every three bites of food are dependent on honey bees for pollination, so government action is critical to help the colonies recover.

Take action now:

• Sign this petition to help protect the bees. By doing so, you will encourage the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce restrictions (such as not spraying while pollinator-dependent crops are in bloom) and to take action against pesticides that are toxic to the honey bees. 
• Get informed: learn more at PANNA.
  
• Start your own bee-friendly garden: Grow plants (like sunflowers!) to help the bees out. Download this handy brochure from PANNA for some bee-friendly gardening tips.
• Make a contribution: help PANNA continue their program work by making a direct contribution, or purchase our sustainably printed Sunflower cards — 100% of profits will be donated to PANNA to help save the honeybees, and organic, locally grown sunflower seeds are included with the cards for you to plant.

It’s time to say thanks to the fantastic editors who have featured Smock’s letterpress wedding invitations, greeting cards, gift-wrap, and more in their magazines and on their blogs over the past few months. Our first feature is from Brides magazine, which showed our Palmer letterpress wedding invitations in their White Hot! section of their November edition — they were digging the die-cut shape and the fact that our invitations are eco-friendly!

Well Wed Hamptons Fall/Winter 2011 edition featured this set of stunning letterpress wedding invitation suite and one of our amazing retailers — Claudia Hanlin of The Wedding Library!

Eco Beautiful Weddings, an online magazine, recently featured Smock wedding invitations in their winter 2012 edition in “Green Is” — a section that helps brides track down eco-friendly goods for their weddings, and MODBlog also featured a variety of Smock wedding invitations this fall! Read the rest of this entry »

We recently had the pleasure of printing these gorgeous die-cut invitations for our friends at Urban Coast in Florida! These luxe invitations invited local industry experts to a special evening with esteemed wedding and event planner, Bryan Rafanelli. Inspired by our National Stationery Show invitations, we created a beautiful set of invitations and insert cards using one of our new die-cuts, which were neatly packaged in a stunning 2-color sleeve. Taupe and Papaya inks on our white bamboo paper made for a chic, summery look that we just adore.

ink: taupe and papaya | fonts: alice (new for 2011!) and century | paper: white 1-ply bamboo | printing: letterpress | die-cut: chesapeake | sleeve: letterpress, seneca pattern in taupe; marsden cartouche in papaya

While we were in Los Angeles for the Urbanic Summer Social, Lindsy and I made time to stop in and visit some of our lovely West Coast Smock retailers. One of our first stops was to Christie, located in beautiful Manhattan Beach. The shop carries a gorgeous range of unique gifts and cards, and there’s a great area set up to view albums and order custom stationery.

Here, Lindsy shows Kim and Mara the new album from our sister company and BFF, Bella Figura.

The ladies at Christie were also kind enough to share with us what they love most about the shop.

What about your store are you most proud of? What makes Christie unique?

We’re most proud of the fact that we’ve been in business for 26 years – we started out as a small card and gift shop in a smaller space down the street, and about 4 years later we moved into a larger space, where we were able to start offering custom printing to our clients. Our shop is located in a really cute little beach community, and our clients think we work in the happiest place on earth (and we agree!). People come a long way to see us here, and many of our clients say it’s like coming to Cheers – where everybody knows your name. We’ve printed birth announcements, Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations and wedding invitations all for the same kids – we’ve seen a lot of our clients grow up.

What are some of the hottest trends you’re seeing lately?

We’ve seen a lot of navy and pink together these days, and monograms are still really big – we’re seeing monograms everywhere! We’ve also noticed that a lot of our brides are loving hand calligraphy for their envelopes – it adds such a nice touch to any invitation set.

If you’re ever in Manhattan Beach, we highly recommend stopping in to see everything that Christie has to offer!

As owners of The Enchanted Florist, a whimsical, flower lover’s dream come true,  Lance and Kim Williams opened the most charming stationery boutique in Burbank, California – An Open Invitation. This inviting space is nestled right next store to their flower shop, so visiting is certainly a treat!

About two years ago, I met the cutest couple ever at the National Stationery Show – guess who!? They both had the warmest personalities and a great love story! I was hooked! Lance and Kim had actually met and fell in love while working in the flower business together – adorable, right? And they just so happened to be overly intrigued by Smock – even better! They wanted to be Smock dealers right away and the rest is history.

Our adventurous trip out west in June lead us right to this enchanted world of flowers and stationery created by the Williams’. Surrounded by the scent of orchids, the textures of fine papers and sweet-as-pie gifts – I didn’t want to leave! You won’t want to either!

Be sure to stop by – the invitation is always open!

by Lindsy Aragona

On our recent trip to California, Lindsy and I had the pleasure of stopping by PS Paper – an adorable paper boutique in San Anselmo, California. The store recently relocated, and their new location is super sweet. PS Paper specializes in custom stationery and lovely gifts – they have an incredible selection of pretty paper goods.

While visiting PS Paper, we had the chance to meet with Johanna and her friendly dog Nyack – a loveable stray who was found (and adopted!) on a hiking trip a few years back.

We were thrilled to hear the story behind all of the beautiful paper cranes hanging in the storefront window, and Johanna was kind enough to tell us all about it – check out the video below!

Our lovely friends over at Union Street Papery sure know how to throw a party! On June 12, Lindsy and I teamed up with Stacey, Nichelle and the rest of the team at Union Street Papery  in San Francisco to throw an amazing trunk show complete with sweet pastries, bubbly champagne and gorgeous new letterpress goods from yours truly. Guests had the opportunity to check out Smock’s new designs at Union Street Papery’s new location – a gorgeous little stationery shop with an upper level bridal bungalow and a charming courtyard to mingle in. Here are some photos of the sweet setup:

Lindsy, Stacey and I before the event!

Union Street Papery carries a great selection of our eco-friendly Smock Everyday products – boxes, cubes, letterpress calendars, gift wrap, letterpress note cards & more can be found in this charming shop!

Upstairs, brides & stationery aficionados had the opportunity to look over the brand new designs from our new album in the stunning bridal bungalow.

We had so much fun getting to know the gals at Union Street Papery, and especially enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with some local stationery lovers and help them design their own custom pieces! A huge thanks goes out to Stacey for hosting such a fabulous event!

We are so excited to share this amazing little video from the Urbanic Summer Social! Design Life Cinema shot this great footage, and we just love seeing all of our crafty guests picking their favorite Smock gift wrap & putting our DIY pinwheel project in motion!

Lindsy and I are back from our whirlwind adventure to California, and we are so excited to share photos from our trip! We had the opportunity to visit with a bunch of our amazing dealers, and even had the pleasure of teaming up with Urbanic for a kickin’ summer social. Complete with DIY pinwheels (made from swatches of our favorite eco gift wrap), delicious lemonade cocktails, and the best (organic!) ice cream ever – this was one awesome celebration of summer. Here are some photos of the set-up – stay tuned for part 2!

Wear Organic is a project from Pesticide Action Network UK aiming to reduce the problems from pesticides used in cotton, particularly by promoting organic and fair alternatives. We regularly partner with PAN North America on collaborative projects and love their mission to spread awareness about the environmental impact of pesticide use in agriculture and food production. Gain more inspiration for wearing sustainable fibers from this Wear Organic interview with Leah Borromeo.

Wondering where to shop for organic clothing? Threads for Thought is one of our favorite places to shop for organic and sustainable apparel. They offer stylish basics and a collection of fashionable clothing, with a portion of sales donated to charitable causes. Also check out Nau. Their incredible selection of outdoor and everyday apparel is stylish, urban-inspired and sure to make your closet happy. Nau also donates 2% of sales to their partners for change, making them a kindred spirit to our own mission here at Smock.

{Photos from (top) Threads for Thought and (bottom) Nau.}