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

During our West Coast travels, Lindsy and I had the chance to stop in and visit lots of our LA dealers – we were thrilled to be able to stop in to the shops and meet our lovely retailers in person! Today we’re highlighting some images of two of the stores we visited during our trip – we’ll start with Presence Studio City, a stationery and gift shop in Studio City. Presence offers a carefully curated selection of unique gifts – including some gorgeous hardcover books, one-of-a-kind jewelry, home decor, fragrant candles, and more.

We chatted with Kaila from Presence – she was kind enough to tell us more about this sweet boutique!

What about the store are you most proud of?

We try to showcase unique yet affordable gifts that people won’t find anywhere else. We also pride ourselves on our customer service – many of our stationery and gift customers come back on return visits because they were so happy with their experience.

What’s the hottest color palette right now?

We’ve been seeing a lot of blues right now – cool tones of blue paired with silver, lots of navy, some turquoise here and there too. Blue is definitely a popular color right now.

One of our other stops in LA was to Landis Gifts & Stationery – a shop that truly has something special for everyone. Located on Larchmont Boulevard – an area that got its start in the early 1920’s – the shop is nestled into one of the most historic areas in LA and is surrounded by a wonderful mix of boutiques and restaurants.

Edie shared some thoughts about some of our latest products – check out her interview with Lindsy!

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We are crazy in love with this great customization of our Lashar design, submitted by our friend Libby from Byrd + Bleecker in Fort Worth, Texas (who we had the joy of seeing last week when she came up for a visit – see the fabulous letterpress coasters made for her while she was here on Boxcar’s blog!).  We can’t get enough of the creative ways she uses our designs and motifs to create unique invitations for the lucky couples that walk into her store!

ink: midnight + peacock | fonts: engravers + engravers gothic | paper: 1-ply white | printing: offset | invite size: s-8 |

by Sarah Walroth, In-House Designer.

Although it seems we have just kicked off the summer season, it’s time to start looking ahead to fall weddings that are only around the corner! What about fall inspires you — maybe it’s the foliage or the the cool nights or the feeling of change? One of the things we have been seeing a lot of lately is lots of jewel tones paired with light vintage colors and classic themes, these are all great inspirations for a lovely autumn wedding! We love this pairing of our Eggplant and Antique Gold inks letterpress printed in the Lashar wedding invitation design, submitted by our friends at Inklinations in Manhasset, NY.

inks: eggplant + antique gold | fonts: clermont calligraphy font + cooper | paper: ivory 2-ply bamboo | printing: letterpress

by Racheal Decker, In-house Designer.

This stunning letterpress wedding invitation was submitted to us by our friends at Pretty as a Picture in Co. Wicklow, Ireland.  Jane and Ailbhe love to create custom designs that are intricate but still work very well on letterpress.  The simple Black ink on 2-ply bamboo ivory paper helps the focus remain on the detailed artwork which is what we think makes this invitation beautiful.  We’re also very excited for our Irish friends to come visit Smock in a couple weeks!

ink: black | fonts: cameron| paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | invite size: s-8 |

by Nathan Fleming, Client Coordinator.

The last of our honorees from our latest Smock Design Contest, these letterpress bat mitzvah invitations were brought to us by two-time honoree LS Amster Co in Scarsdale, New York. They featured a vibrant customization of our Piedmont letterpress invitations, printed in hot pink and tangerine inks. The reverse features brilliant patterned backing in hot pink with envelopes lined in our rowe pattern. Hot pink edge painting is the perfect finishing touch, for a suite that is joyful and celebratory and perfect for this very special occasion.

With summer weddings on the way, bridal shower season is officially kicking into high gear. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with fabulous letterpress invitations. These were printed in hot pink ink and showcase our Nevis design for our good friends at Byrd & Bleecker.

This gorgeous letterpress invitation design was honored in our recent Smock Design Contest and was sent to us by Arabesque in Naples, Florida. The bold color combination features verbena and pewter inks and showcases a custom design styled after our Graham suite from our Social Occasions collection. The set, which includes fun letterpress insert cards detailing weekend events, is enclosed in a pretty folio printed with our champlain pattern on the interior and our botanical-inspired virelles pattern on the exterior. Many thanks to the folks at Arabesque for bringing us this showstopping design!

This gorgeous customization of our Sutton letterpress invitations was sent to us by our friends at Kate’s Paperie and is among the honorees in our most recent Smock Design Contest. It was printed in a custom bright turquoise ink paired with pewter and calligraphy accents for a look that is elegant and formal. We love this fresh and chic color combination for a traditional summer wedding. Many thanks to Kate’s Paperie for working with us on this stunning invitation set!

Recently we were honored to have Brides ask us to create our vision of the perfect invitation for the upcoming royal wedding. With our Aberdeen letterpress invitations as our inspiration, we wanted to create something modern yet very sophisticated and regal. In shades of peacock and chartreuse paired with elegant script and a square shape, we love this look for a formal and stylish wedding celebration. We envision them enclosed in envelopes with a fabulous liner, gorgeous hand calligraphy and a patchwork of vintage stamps to complete the look. Check out all of the designs on the Brides magazine website and many thanks to our friends at Brides for asking us to contribute!