Trisha Logan, a paper and textile obsessed designer, and owner of Shindig Paperie in Fayetteville, Arkansas is joining us today with a spectacular spotlight on her charming storefront. We love the way she incorporates Smock products throughout the shop — the pops of bright colors contrast beautifully next to crisp, clean whites.

Behind the scenes of Shindig Paperie. My background is in textile and apparel design, but I’ve worked as the art director and designer for a large gift and paper line for 9 years. I saw so much beautiful product at trade shows and in my trend research. In addition, I’m very attached and connected to my quaint college town, Fayetteville. Eventually, over many late night conversations with my good friend Brooke, a former shop owner and sales rep, we decided to open a shop to bring some of these fabulous lines to our eclectic little downtown district.  No similar concepts for a store existed in the area, and many local brides were frustrated by the lack of great paper here. Most chose to go online for unique invitations despite the surging trend and movement toward “buying local”. We had been in love with Smock for a long time and knew it would be the first line we wanted to get for the shop.

Stationery Love. My favorite part has to be discovering new lines, bringing them to town, then seeing people go crazy for them at the store, on Instagram, and on Facebook. I also love helping people add unique, personal touches to their weddings and special occasions. I’ve always gone a little nuts with my own parties and this way I get to do it more often! The most challenging part is definitely trying to juggle the different roles of being a small business owner, art director for another company, mother, and wife. It gets a little crazy. Thankfully I have a great business partner in Brooke and an understanding, supportive family.

Supporting local + green businesses. We make an effort to carry as many green lines as possible; I would say they make up about 70% of the store. We also try to carry as many local and regional lines and artists as possible. In addition, we donate pretty regularly to various fundraising efforts in our area, through both design work and product. We’re also in the process of starting a monthly group focused on writing letters and cards to area residents going through rough times.

Must-see stops in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I love my town, and one reason is the locally-owned retail renaissance of recent years. We have a great relationship with a lot of stores in our downtown neighborhood, and they truly are some of favorite places to shop: the Mustache, Savoir-Faire, Mae’s Heirloom’s, Riffraff and Good Things, just to name a few.

If you happen to live near (or visit!) Fayetteville, be sure you stop in and explore Shindig Paperie. Thanks so much Trisha (and Brooke!) for letting us get a peek inside your beautiful shop!

Mother’s Day is May 13 and quickly approaching, so make sure you’re ready with a nice letterpress card and a sweet gift for mom! Cheery stationery goods in bright colors and patterns are sure to be a hit, but she’ll be even more impressed when you wrap it up beautifully with some of our eco-friendly, double-sided gift wrap (here’s a hint: you can use one side to wrap the gift and use the other like ribbon)!  We’ve picked out a few of our favorite gifts for mom, but be sure to take a look at all of our new letterpress stationery goods to find the perfect gift today!  And if your mom has a green thumb, be sure to check out our sustainable Sunflower cards (pictured below) — 100% of profits help the Pesticide Action Network, and the cards come with organic sunflower seeds that can be planted in her garden!

1. Botanical Thanks boxed letterpress cards $14 for 6 | 2. Mother’s Day Flower Burst letterpress card $4 | 3. Ness notebook $9 | 4. Pearl Jotters $6 for 2 | 5. Queen for a Day letterpress card $4 | 6. Flower Burst letterpress scratchpad $7 | 7. Pearl boxes: small $6; medium $12; large $18 | 8. Park boxed offset notes $12 for 8 | 9. Picadilly notebook $9 | 10. Carri attachments sticky note cube $18 | 11. Mom & Trust letterpress card $4 | 12. Sunflower boxed letterpress cards $14 (100% of profits help save the honey bees!)

How to vote: Visit smockpaper.com/wedding and choose your favorite invitation design. Roll over the photo and click the “like” button that appears. That’s it!

Why vote: For every vote cast through April 12, 2012, we’ll donate $1 to Earthwork’s No Dirty Gold campaign (up to $500) to help put an end to dirty gold mining practices that are devastating the planet.

What happens with the winning design? The invitation design with the most votes will be the next Smock design of the month. From 4/14 – 5/14, all custom orders that feature the winning invitation design (wedding invitations, stationery, save the dates, you name it!) will be 10% off (or 15% off for orders with 6 or more pieces!). You can place your order with one of our amazing Smock custom dealers.

So why should you care about dirty gold mining practices? If you’re engaged, there’s a good chance  you’ve already got a ring with some gold in it (and you may be looking to purchase wedding bands soon, too). There are certain dirty mining practices that have really terrible impacts on the communities and the environment surrounding the mines – did you know?

• The production of one gold ring generates 20 tons of mine waste.
• The drinking water in mining communities often becomes contaminated, and mine drainage can also raise acid levels in rivers and lakes that can be harmful to wildlife and people.  Some mines even dispose of toxic waste in rivers, lakes, and oceans on a regular basis.
• Some of the refining processes that are used in mines release chemicals that cause smog and acid rain.
• Many gold mines create solid waste, too: by employing a process known as heap leaching, these mines drip a cyanide solution through high piles of ore. The solution strips away the gold, but a lot of waste is left over from the process (read: the waste from these sites can sometimes reach over 300 feet – which is nearly the height of a 30-story building!). Many of these heaps are often abandoned because they are too costly to dispose of properly.
• Indigenous people around the world typically lose out when mining leases are granted. In rural communities, locals often become vulnerable to eviction without notice, meaningful compensation or an offer of equivalent lands in a new region because legal land titles aren’t always on hand (even if a family has occupied the same lands for generations).
• Mining is a dangerous job: rock falls, tunnel collapses, fires, heat exhaustion, and other dangers claim the lives of over 15,000 miners every year, and while the profession only accounts for 1% of the world’s labor force, it accounts for 5% of on-the-job fatalities.

Wondering what you can do to help? It’s really easy to take action. Sign the Earthworks pledge today, and be sure to support retailers who are actively pursuing clean gold sources. If you choose to work with a retailer who’s not on that list (like Macy’s or Costco – the only two retailers in the top 10 list that haven’t committed to sourcing responsible gold) be sure to ask your jeweler about the source for the gold in your ring.  Other ways you can help:

• Recycle old jewelry, and have old rings melted down to make new ones. Support jewelers that offer products made with recycled gold.
• Buy vintage or antique jewelry.
• Keep jewelry in your family and pass on to your children or grandchildren.

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

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 »

There’s no better compliment than when a store asks us to print their own cards. Julie from Sweet Paper in La Jolla, CA used our Pearl design in such a clever way. I think this might be my favorite Christmas card to date! I may have to steal the idea for myself Thanks Julie!

inks: dove + grasss + gold | fonts: percy + harrison | paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | Christmas card |

The holidays are right around the corner, so it’s time to start shopping for gifts! At Smock, we’ve got something for everyone — whether it’s pretty letterpress stationery for her, or man-friendly notebooks for him, we’ve got you covered. This is a carefully selected assortment of our best-selling items, so they’re sure to please everyone on your list! We’ve even got some great stocking stuffer ideas — all for under $15!! So stop by your local Smock retailer or visit our website to get started on your holiday shopping today! And don’t forget to stock up on a few rolls of our double-sided, eco-friendly gift wrap for a perfectly coordinated present (and to find out how to make matching bows, visit us on Youtube!).

1. Veranda Medium Keepsake Box $12 | 2. Quadrille Attachments Sticky Note Cube $18 | 3. Pollen Letterpress Scratchpad $7 | 4. Sorbet Letterpress Art Print Calendar $8 | 5. Honeycomb Letterpress Social Notes $14 for a 6 count box | 6. Veranda Notebook $9 | 7. Berry Memo $7 | 8. Cayman Offset Social Notes $12 for an 8 count box | 9. Picadilly Jotters $6 for a 2-pack | 10. Newport Lettersheets $20 for a set of 12

1. Oxford jotters $6 for a 2-pack |  2. Planet Memo $7 | 3. Ridley Lettersheets $20 for a set of 12 | 4. Bicyclette Letterpress Social Notes $14 for a 6 count box | 5. Peacock Letterpress Art Print Calendar $8 | 6. Koi Notebook $9 | 7. Bicyclette Scratchpad $7 | 8. Pembroke Offset Social Notes $12 for an 8 count box | 9. Oxford Medium Keepsake Box $12 | 10. Beetle Attachments Sticky Note Cube $18

1. Peacock Letterpress Scratchpad $7 | 2. Bubbles Letterpress Gift Tags $8 for a 6-pack | 3. Ming Memo $7| 4. Herons Letterpress Social Notes $14 for a 6 count box | 5. Pollen Jotters $6 for a 2-pack | 6. Oxford Letterpress Art Print Calendar $8 | 7. Pollen Letterpress Art Print Calendar $8 | 8. Jade Letterpress Gift Tags $8 for a 6-pack | 9. Crochet Memo $7 | 10. Flowerburst Letterpress Scratchpad $7

You just might say we have a soft side for pastel ink colors letterpressed on our thick 2-ply bamboo paper-and you would be right.  Take a look at these elegant Engadine invitations submitted to us by our good friends at Salutations in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Softer hues have a way of looking peaceful and calm, without being over the top.  The highlight is of course the gorgeous folio offset printed on the interior and exterior in the coolest colors to keep things modern.  There is a real warmth seen throughout this suite and we adore it!

ink: sea mist + wisteria | fonts: smock harrison + graham | paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | corner rounding | folio exterior: virelles pattern in wisteria | folio interior: pippen pattern in moss | invite size: 5.125 x 7.75

If you haven’t gotten started on your holiday shopping yet, head over to our sale section for some great gifts for the paper lovers in your life! Sale section items are marked down to 50% off, and if that weren’t reason enough to start shopping, we’re adding a bonus: all proceeds from sale items purchased on Monday, November 28 or Tuesday, November 29 will be donated to Earthworks Oil & Gas Accountability Project to help raise awareness about hydrofracking. Through this project, Earthworks teams up with tribal, urban and rural communities to protect their homes and the environment from the devastating impacts of oil and gas development. Your purchases can make a difference! Need some ideas? We’ve put together some great combinations for gift sets with items straight from our sale section, so check out our picks! We’ve included a wide range, so you’ll find ideas for under $15 or $30.  Our sale section has also got some fantastic holiday cards & gift tags, so stock up before they’re gone!

Great Gifts under $15

Perfect for the person who loves to send little notes just because. Pair a box of our Ellie notecards with a box of coordinating petite folded notes — at just $7 per box, give these letterpress cards as a set for a pretty present at just $14.

Know a paper-crazy kid? Introduce them to letterpress with these sweet cards! Petite folds in fun colors with kid-friendly motifs come in sets of 8.  At only $7 per box, these would be great little stocking stuffers! Choose from our Ellie, Horsey, Liony and Ducky notes.

Great gifts under $30

Our Thackthwaite attachment is a pretty cube full of sticky notes — 700 of them, to be exact. Attachments from Smock are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper and they’re FSC certified, so they’re eco-friendly and cute. Snag this deal (marked down to $9!) and pair with a set of blank Thackthwaite notecards for just $21.

Pair some flat social notes with one of our notebooks for another great gift idea under $30 — we love seeing our Horsey flat notes with a Persimmon notebook, a fun combination for only $16.

At just $2 per card, we love the idea of giving a sampling of cards (paired with a lovely keepsake box, like the Veranda box pictured below).  Simply choose 10-12 cards from our fabulous selection of designs, package your picks in a small keepsake box, and you’ve got a great present for less than $30. Cards for special occasions such as engagements, birthdays, a new baby or ‘just because’ will have the recipient of this thoughtful gift prepared for the year.

Holiday Cards

Don’t forget about holiday cards! Check out the beautiful holiday cards in our sale section — stock up on our Joy & Peace cards and send stylish letterpress greetings this season. Our Joy petite folds make great gift tags, and our Celebrate cards make lovely thank you notes after the gift giving is over. Looking for something more traditional?? Check out our Holly letterpress greeting cards or our festive Poinsettia gift tags – boxes sell for just $7 each!

We’ll be posting more gift ideas along with DIY projects for the holidays over the next few weeks (including tutorials for gift bows and the most beautiful holiday wreaths ever), so stay tuned!