We printed these simple, yet elegant, birthday announcements for our friend Linda Chamlin at LS Amster Company. They were offset printed in our Espresso and Heliotrope inks. They are a beautiful way to welcome an 18th birthday.

inks: espresso + heliotrope | fonts: estrella + cooper | paper: 1-ply white | printing: offset | invite size: S-5SQ

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.

If you’re looking for a traditional wedding invitation suite – then look no further!  We’re head over heels for this simple and sweet letterpressed set submitted to us by our friends at The Dandelion Patch in Reston, Virginia.  Letterpressed in black ink with gorgeous mulberry edge paint that acts as the perfect accent to this one color set – we can’t help but swoon!  After looking at photos of the The Ritz Carlton in McLean Virginia, where the fabulous wedding was held – we see what a fanciful and lavish venue the couple chose for their special day.  Of course we believe tossing our mulberry ink into the mix helps keep this set looking romantic, but this set also encourages the feeling of the winter months.  The three letter monogram on both the invitation and letterpress belly band adds another touch of elegance to this striking set!

ink: black | font: smock spencerian | paper: 1-ply white | printing: letterpress | edge paint in mulberry | liner: the champlain pattern in mulberry | letterpress belly band | invite size: S6

Seeing an order become a design is great. Seeing a design become a letterpress printed invitation is better. But when we get to see photos of our invitations in the hands of the happy couple and shots of their important day…well that just reminds us how much the hard work can pay off. Thanks so much to Michele at the Wedding Company in Hong Kong and well done to Adam Sjöberg for Ira Lippke Studios for the amazing camera work! The reception looked gorgeous and we are very honored to have played some small role in making that day special. Read our previous post about the letterpress wedding invitations.

inks: taupe + pearl + whisper | fonts: cameron + carrington | paper: 1-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | size: s8 | 3-color, bilingual invitations |

We printed these lovely pieces for the ultimate take-two wedding. The couples first attempt was thwarted by a hurricane, but, these newlyweds weren’t going to let a little weather ruin their special day. We went back to the drawing board with our friends at Judy Paulen Designs and whipped up these awesome Part II pieces. They combine beautiful offset and letterpress printing in our Navy ink. We were thrilled to be able to help them with their special day, even if the weather wasn’t going to cooperate.

ink: navy | fonts: smock spencerian + graham | paper: 1-ply white + 2-ply white | printing: letterpress + offset

These letterpressed save the dates were submitted to us by our good friend, Aileen at Aileen Invitations in Miami Beach, Florida.  Our Rhon design looks truly sensational printed in our lavender and pewter inks.  There are certainly times when a softer color palette works best and this is definitely one of those times!  We print save the dates for all sorts of occasions and these save the dates happen to be for an engagement celebration.  We can’t help but feel that the lavender ink represents gracefulness and charm while the pewter ink helps keep this set looking refined.  Purple hues have always been connected to royalty which makes these save the dates all the more classic.  The couple chose our payette pattern in lavender for both the offset back patterning and envelope liner – which ties this whole set together nicely.

inks: lavender + pewter| fonts: etienne + auden | paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | corner rounding |back patterning: payette in lavender |liner: the payette pattern in lavender | size: S6

Submitted to us by our good friend, Elle at Petite & Sweet in Toronto, Canada these letterpressed Hekla baptism invitations are downright swank!  I mean talk about being up-to-the-minute!  These invitations showcase our royale and inkless blind deboss inks – and the end result makes for some of the most chic invitations we’ve had the joy of printing in quite some time.  The envelope liner adds another nice modernistic touch to this anything but simplistic set!  We think these invitations are the perfect prelude to such a memorable occasion – and helped achieve the vision the proud parents were hoping for.  We look forward to many more unique and current customizations from Petite & Sweet!

inks: royale + inkless blind deboss | fonts: shaw + social | paper: 2-ply white bamboo | printing: letterpress | edge painting in royale | liner: the ridley pattern in royale | invite size: S8

This vintage inspired customization of our Chasseral design was submitted to us by our great friends at LS Amster Company in Scarsdale, New York.  We think our eggplant and saffron inks were the perfect pairing for an autumn wedding.  The rich colors of the season are seen throughout- so much that it’s easy to see the leaves changing color! The iznik pattern envelope lining in saffron gives off the perfect amount of charm!  Complete with direction cards printed on both front and back- these cards tell guests everything they need to know about getting to the celebration!  The couple also chose letterpress thank you cards and we cannot think of a better way to show all of your guests your gratitude for being such an important part of your special day.  Vintage inspired + autumn color palette = ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!

inks: eggplant + saffron| fonts: graham + tally| paper: 2-ply ivory bamboo | printing: letterpress | edge painting in eggplant |back patterning: sinclair in eggplant |liner: the iznik pattern in saffron | invite size: S8SQ

With a pairing of our navy and azalea inks we have a real beauty on our hands!  These lovely letterpress save the dates were submitted to us by our great friends at By Invitation Only in Little Rock, Arkansas.  The couple chose our willoughby pattern for the top and bottom of their save the dates – which we think adds a real elegant factor.  We can’t get enough of this stunning color combination because it’s not overly feminine and has just a touch of boyish charm – within the navy ink.  And we’re all about couples sending their save the dates early – it’s customary to mail save the dates six months to a year before the big day.  This allows your guests enough time to book their accommodations, save enough spending money and request time off work.  Mailing your save the dates early also allows your guests to count down the days til the “I Do’s”.

inks: navy + azalea | fonts: cahun + shaw | paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | size: S6

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 »