It’s that time of year again – the Smock Design Contest is back! Twice a year, we search through our customer jobs in search of the most beautiful, most inspired customizations submitted by our lovely retailers all across the country. We think you are really going to be impressed – the designs we found blew us all away! Check back daily for new posts; we’ll announce the winner of the contest, chosen by the lovely Nole at Oh So Beautiful Paper, next week! For now, let’s ooh and ahh at the first honoree!
We fell in love with these trendy Dawson wedding invitations submitted by our wonderful friend Liz at Union Street Papery in San Francisco, California. It easily shows off simple beauty, with the grass ink perfectly contrasting the cheery apricot folio! This set has the most subtle elements, keeping it looking fresh and fun. With its clean lines and beautiful color combo, this minimalistic invitation is what’s happening! A huge CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU go out to Union Street Papery!
ink: grass | fonts: smock harrison + percy | paper 1-ply white | printing: letterpress | die cut: chesapeake | custom sleeve: page pattern; custom cartouche in apricot |invite size: 5.4375 x 8.0625
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 |
If we were not already in the holiday spirit- these colorful and cheery Christmas cards would surely turn that right around! This custom and lovable set was submitted to us by our good friend, Sara at Salutations in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Check out the reindeer envelope liner that is actually made from our Smock gift wrap! Looking at these cards we can’t help but feel good inside, as the holiday season is just around the corner! What a perfect way to send warm wishes to your friends and family!
inks: grass + cherry | fonts: smock clermont | paper: 2-ply white bamboo | printing: letterpress | signature liner: C9G1-1 | card size: S6
We are proud to announce that RSVP Today in New York won second place in the Smock Design Contest for their custom letterpress Bat Mitzvah Invitation! Playful, hand-drawn circles of the Piedmont design, in feminine colors of violet and pewter, really made this set come to life. Youthful, yet sophisticated – not a bad combination!
Deborah Hassan, owner of RSVP Today, shared with us a quote from her client illustrating the inspiration behind this design:
“For Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah, we wanted an invitation that would reflect the many levels of the day as well as the multi-generational nature of the event. We worked with Debbie from RSVP Today in Manhattan to find something that was youthful and celebratory but which did not compromise the more serious elements of the ceremony. The bubbly circles on both the invitation and the envelope and the lilac color are so well-suited to Sarah’s joyous personality, but the heft and texture of the paper give it weight and depth. We are also thrilled to support Smock’s environmental efforts and opted for a reply postcard to minimize paper. We just love our invitation!”– Jennifer and Sarah Hirshorn
Sarah, we wish you the best in all your future endeavors! Mazel Tov!
inks: violet + pewter + grass | fonts: smock clermont + graham | paper 2-ply white | invite size: S-8 | printing: letterpress | corner rounding | liner: custom in pewter
This design won second place in our Smock design competition for the first half of 2011. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.
If you’re looking for an autumnal feel in a wedding set and still want an elaborate design, then look no further! Shelby at Seaside Papery delivered a one-of-a-kind invitation set that pieced together tangerine, espresso, and grass inks in a way that just speaks to us.
Based on the Helani design, this one had a little bit of everything and has been used as a great example of how to celebrate in the fall.
inks: tangerine + espresso + grass | fonts: bescal + carlton | paper 2-ply white | invite size: 7 x 7 | printing: letterpress
This design won an honorable mention in our Smock design competition for the first half of 2011. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.
The second honoree in our design contest was sent to us by Ilyssa at Brenda Himmel Stationery. Ilyssa worked with in-house graphic designer Lindsy Aragona to create the custom artwork, and we can’t get enough of these cheery letterpress social notes! The social notes were printed in 3-color letterpress, and combine our Verbena and Grass inks with a custom ink color that Ilyssa selected. The custom artwork printed beautifully, and pairs perfectly with a coordinating Payette liner, also printed in Verbena ink.
The font selection is a perfect complement to the design and looks incredible in letterpress.
Congrats to Brenda Himmel!
inks: espresso + grass + verbena | font: tally | paper: 2- ply white | liner: payette in verbena | edge painting: | printing: letterpress | social note size: S-6
This design won an honorable mention in our Smock design competition for the first half of 2011. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.
Created for our friends at Nest Paper Studio, we printed these cute custom letterpress holiday invitations for a fun Christmas Cordials party. They were printed in raspberry and grass inks and feature our cool new Harrison calligraphy font. We love the petite size and the fun color combination. Not to mention, this sounds like such a fun party – we’d love to get invited!
Printed for the folks at By Invitation Only in Little Rock, Arkansas, we love these custom letterpress holiday invitations we recently printed. They feature a cute Christmas tree motif and corner rounding, printed in gold and grass inks. On our ivory 2-ply paper, the look is elegant and festive, perfect for this holiday cocktail party.
Today’s incredible Smock Design Contest honoree came to us from Epitome Papers in Edina, Minnesota. It’s a custom letterpress wedding invitation design with an elegant botanical motif printed in blind deboss and grass ink with sky edge painting. It also boasts our Clermont hand calligraphy by Debi Zeinert for a total package that is amazingly sophisticated and pretty. Thank you to the folks at Epitome Papers for bringing us this fabulous design! 
Today we’re excited to introduce our first ever holiday promotion! Between now and December 1, 2010 all Smock custom letterpress holiday orders will receive free printing on our luxury bamboo envelopes. All you have to do is purchase blank envelopes, fill out a coupon with your local Smock dealer and we’ll do the rest at no charge. In need of a little holiday inspiration? We’ve got you covered with this custom letterpress holiday design brought to us by Salutations in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of our favorites so far this season.
Printed in red ink, these fun letterpress holiday cards feature our Lashar design from our wedding collection with festive patterned backing in our kincaid pattern in grass and showcasing our new Harrison calligraphy font. A custom letterpress gift tag is a sweet little accompaniment, perfect for wrapping holiday gifts with a personalized touch. (Shown below with our Savoy lokta paper gift bag.)
