Today we’re shining the spotlight on Ipanema Press, a charming stationery boutique in the historic town of Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Ipanema Press specializes in custom wedding invitations and social stationery, and today we’re giving a peek inside their charming studio. We’ll let Adrienne, the owner of Ipanema Press, take it from here!
My name is Adrienne Kierans, the girl from Ipanema Press! Everyone always asks me about the name of my company. Am I Brazillian? Far from it, my father is from Ireland and mother from Brooklyn. And I’m not tall or tan (but have been called young and lovely depending on who you ask!)
The name comes from that famous bossa nova song. The word “bossa” is an old-fashioned slang for something that is done with particular charm, natural flair or innate ability. This is the essence of who we are so the name was a perfect fit.
I was a fine stationer in New York City for 6 years before starting my own company. I chose the historic town of Cold Spring Harbor to launch Ipanema Press in 2013 (the same year my first son was born). Our building dates back to the late 1800’s and was originally the home of a whaling captain. The original wood floors are still here – and are my favorite feature in the studio.
I genuinely love helping new couples create custom art for their wedding. Our clients often tell us that their experience with us was one of their favorites in the planning process and that brings me great joy. We collaborate with the country’s most talented artists, calligraphers, and printers. We truly love what we do! A challenge is that we can only take 3 appointments per day in order for us to give each project and client the attention it deserves. This gets especially hard during the busy months of spring.
Current favorite design trend? The mixing of print methods – particularly foil + letterpress + watercolor accents. It adds great textural interest and it just so unusual. Hoping to play with more print combinations in 2017.
If someone is visiting your shop, what are the other essential stops in your neighborhood?
AvaFlora – Lori creates the most gorgeous garden-esque floral arrangements and specializes in weddings.
Harbor Bridal – Leigh and Tori have a beautiful boutique of wedding gowns right in the heart of town.
Sandbar – the perfect spot for lunch on the harbor.
Sweetie Pies – they have the best ice coffee (the ice cubes are even made out of coffee, we are addicted!).
Many thanks to Adrienne for giving us this peek inside her studio! Be sure to follow Ipanema Press on Instagram for even more inspiration from this sweet stationery boutique.
All photos by Cadence Kennedy.
These elegant custom wedding invitations feature a unique combination of both blind embossed and blind debossed florals, making for a beautifully textured design. Inside the invitation envelopes, colorful florals and greenery were bursting right off the envelope liners, which featured lovely pastels in shades of blues, greens, and purples. Letterpress printing in wisteria ink was used for the text throughout the suite, accented by a sweet script font to highlight names and key details.
letterpress inks: wisteria + blind deboss | blind embossing | fonts + design: Nublia & Graham, custom | paper: 1-ply + 2-ply ivory bamboo | size: S-8 + S-6 + S-5 | envelope liner: custom submitted artwork | customization #34393 | Lion in the Sun
We worked with Kara at Nest Paper Studio to create these custom wedding invitations for a November celebration at the Annesdale Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. In order to create a thick, 2-ply piece, we digitally printed both pieces of the invitation in a flood of hazel ink, then duplexed the two pieces together. The invitations feature our popular tawny matte foil stamping for both the text and the edge treatment, adding a sophisticated metallic touch. A hazel watercolor envelope liner tied the entire set together, which set the tone for this elegant fall affair.
letterpress ink: hazel | digital ink: hazel | foil color: tawny matte | fonts + design: lilla + sans capitals + mason, custom library-based design | paper: 2-ply ivory (duplexed invitation) | size: S-8 + S-5 | envelope liner: water color 9 pattern in hazel | customization #28643 | Nest Paper Studio
Love the look of colorful edge painting on a beautifully printed letterpress wedding invitation? So do we! Order your custom wedding invitations with Smock from now through May 31, and we’ll edge paint your invitations for free when you spend $2,000 or more! Choose from one of our 60 ink colors and add a beautiful colored edge to your invitations for a perfect finishing touch. Visit your favorite Smock dealer today to get started on your order!
The fine print: Free edge painting promotion can be applied to any one card with minimum order of $2,000. Promotion can be combined with our other ongoing promotions: free envelope printing on tier 3 envelopes and 10% off 6 printed pieces or more, though order total must reach $2,000 after these promotions have been applied in order to be eligible. Offer ends May 31, 2013.
Check out these amazing letterpress invitations from our friends at Jenny’s Paper Ink. These invitations are simple yet elegant and are tied together with the liner pattern being duplicated on “The Night Before” card.
inks: midnight + coral | calligraphy: spencerian hand calligraphy | font: tennyson | paper: 2-ply white | invitation size: S8 | envelope liner: amble in coral offset | printing: letterpress + offset | customization #: 15635 |
We’d like to thank our friends at The Dandelion Patch in Reston, Virginia for sending us this incredible, nature inspired letterpress suite. Pairing our luscious peacock and pewter inks looks stellar and oh so elegant! Our cameron font is used for all of the text keeping this set more on the formal side. Adding an offset belly band and envelope lining looks divine and maintains the classic feel. The attention to detail on the cascading flowers and flying dragonflies has us head over heels.
inks: pewter + peacock | font: cameron| paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | back pattern: the sinclair pattern in raspberry | liner: custom pattern in raspberry | offset belly band |invite size: s7
This stellar custom invitation suite was submitted to us by our good friend Jessica at Judy Paulen Designs in New York, NY. With the perfect design elements on the invitation, this only quietly calls for attention-and we just love that! We absolutely adore the soft, subtle ink palette which is the perfect match to the couple’s fabulous venue in Chicago, Illinois. The neutral and conservative pairing of our dove and pewter inks look positively remarkable! And then there’s the metallic platinum envelope liner providing the perfect color contrast.
inks: dove + pewter | fonts: smock harrison + carrington stripes | paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | liner: metallic platinum| invite size: S7
We’ve really fallen off the deep end for these custom, nautical-inspired letterpress wedding invitations submitted to us by our friend Annie at Hitched in Washington DC. We can’t argue that this is the perfect match to the couple’s wedding venue at South Seas Island Resort in Captiva Island, Florida. We adore the reply card printed in our hot pink for a real pop of color! The simplistic look and delicate feel of this set nearly has us overboard!
inks: taupe + hot pink | fonts: graham + smock spencerian| paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | invite size: S8
Are you ready for take off? We bet these custom letterpress wedding invitations will make you swoon! This whimsical set was submitted to us by our good friend, Darcy at Pearl Beach Paperie in Orlando, Florida. The invitation is printed in an AMAZING combination of cherry and black inks. The exterior of the folio is offset printed in cherry which adds to the romantic vibe! You can see the couple’s passion for airplanes and even a bit of the couple’s personality in every piece. This set features just about the cutest reply postcards we’ve ever seen! The reply postcards ask guests if they’re ready for take off or grounded due to inclement weather -as the choices are to accept or decline. These creative invitations let guests know that the wedding celebration will be filled with fun!
ink: cherry + black | fonts: submitted| custom artwork: submitted | paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | folio exterior:custom pattern in cherry | folio interior: custom pattern in gold | liner: custom pattern in gold |invite size: 5.125 x 7.75 |
Lose your heart in San Francisco with these recently printed custom letterpress wedding invitations designed by Lindsy Aragona, who is just one of our many wonderful in-house designers. This ultramodern and whimsical set was submitted to us by our great friends at Union Street Papery in San Francisco, California (would you have even guessed?). The San Francisco Bay Bridge is letterpressed in our lovely coral ink and the bubbly persona is carried through onto all pieces. They say people go crazy for a great city like San Francisco-and we’re just as crazy for this imaginative set!
inks: coral + peacock | fonts: clementine and stockton | paper: 1-ply ivory bamboo | printing: letterpress | invite size: S8
