You need these letterpress invitations now. We’re serious. Our 14 brand new letterpress wedding invitation designs just launched on our web site and they’re available in stores right now, too. Some of our favorites include the chevron-crazy Hekla, the preppy formal Breton, and the romantic flutter of Aneto. We didn’t feel like stopping after 14 designs, though — the new album features a customization of each design, so we’ve doubled the amount of pretty you can choose from. We only spent, oh, about 9 months on this release. But it was worth it.

Planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah? Wedding? Birthday Party? Rehearsal Dinner? Baby shower?? These new designs are perfect for special occasions, and they’re all completely customizable, so go crazy & make one your own. We think you’ll love the die-cuts (or perhaps some hand bordering?), and the new gift wrap liners are pretty cool, too. We even have coordinating postage stamps to go with each new design.

Dying to get your hands on some of that gorgeous bamboo?? Visit a Smock dealer & see the new collection today.

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.

We are so excited to kick off another round of the Smock Design Contest! Over the next 10 days, we’ll be honoring some really gorgeous designs that have been sent to us by our Smock retailers. So without further ado, let us begin by showcasing our first honoree!

Joellen and the team at Bennett Schneider, Inc. brought us what may be the perfect color selection for the letterpress wedding Aberdeen suite.

The tangerine ink helps this wedding announcement pop in such a way that it doesn’t overpower the design or distract from the details.  Sometimes all it takes is a little tweak to make a letterpressed card look fantastic, and that is just what they did!

inks: tangerine + black | fonts: Spencerian +  Cooper  | 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | liner: payette in tangerine | invite 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.

In San Fransisco, we had the chance to stop by a few more Smock retailers – first up: Paperwhirl. We spoke with Kitty, one of the owners of the trendy Union Square stationery shop.

What cause do your store support?

Paperwhirl tries to support local artists whenever possible – a lot of the cards and merchandise that we keep in the store comes from local artists in the Bay area.

What about your store are you most proud of?

We’re probably one of  the only independent businesses on Union Square – it’s mostly chains, and we’re one of the few small, privately owned shops in this area. We’re also proud of the fact that we’ve been in business for almost 30 years.

If someone is visiting your store, what’s another essential stop in your neighborhood?

I love this shop called Downtown – it’s got some really edgy, organic clothing.

What’s the hottest color palette out there right now?

We’ve been seeing lots of bright, happy colors lately – oranges, corals, and pinks have been really popular for summer.

Our next stop was to Cherish – a sweet shop with lots of paper love. They had a great studio set up that’s perfect for parties – we got to see one getting started during our visit! This particular party was a birthday and scrap-booking event, and looked like so much fun! There were tons of beautiful papers to be found throughout the shop – we couldn’t get enough.

Ryan from Cherish filled us in on the shop – check out our interview with him!

What cause does your store believe in? How does this impact the store?

We give lots of donations to auctions that benefit local schools throughout the city – we tend to do a lot of gift certificates for parties and studio space usage, so we donate a lot of our services.

What about your store are you most proud of? What makes you unique?

We’ve narrowed down our store image to be more about local artists – we have a lot of items in the shop that are made locally, and some we make ourselves. It’s a win-win – we love offering a selection of local goods, and it provides an opportunity for the artists to get exposure, too.

What do you predict will be the biggest wedding or stationery trend for 2012?

I’ve noticed lately that  a lot of brides are more mindful about the environment when it comes to their wedding stationery, and I think that trend is going to grow even more in 2012. They’re scaling back, trying to waste less paper, and making their selections extra special – choosing quality over quantity.

Thanks so much to Paperwhirl and Cherish for welcoming us with open arms! Be sure to stop in to these fabulous shops if you’re in the San Francisco Bay area!

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.

As promised, more photos from the Summer Social! The talented husband-and-wife duo over at The Why We Love provided us with some amazing images of the event. We teamed up with Bash Please, who helped set up the scene with some gorgeous decor, Sweet Lucie’s, who provided incredible organic ice cream, and Mrs. Lilien, who poured delicious lemonade cocktails throughout the night. Attendees included some stylish L.A. bloggers, letterpress lovers, summer enthusiasts, some sweet kids & some kids at heart. We had so much fun getting to chat with everyone who stopped by – it turned out to be one great party!  Even more fabulous photos from the event can be found over on 100 Layer cake – check it out! By the end of the night, attendees made over 275 Smock pinwheels out of our cheery eco gift wrap! A big thanks to Audrey at Urbanic for hosting – we had a blast!

Recently unveiled at the National Stationery Show and the New York International Gift Fair, today we’re excited to introduce you to our latest eco stationery and paper goods from our Everyday collection! Just in time for back to school season, our new letterpress greeting cards, eco gift wrap, gift bags, eco sticky notes, patterned boxes, letterpress notepads, pocket-sized notebooks (and more!) can be found on our website and at Smock retailers worldwide.

Eco Sticky Notes
Our new eco sticky notes are bright and vibrant, featuring 700 sticky notes made from 100% post consumer recycled paper. They are FSC certified and made locally here in Upstate New York.

New Jotter Notebooks
Our jotter notebooks come in a set of two coordinating jotters with 40 pages each. They are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper with covers made from our signature gift wrap and letterpress printed with the word “notes.” We keep them in our pockets, our purses and at our fingertips for jotting down great ideas.

New Letterpress Notepads
Our pretty new letterpress memo notepads feature letterpressed bamboo paper covers + 90 blank interior pages made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

New Patterned Eco Boxes
Acid-free and made from 100% post consumer recycled materials right here in Upstate New York, our new eco boxes come in three sizes and a variety of patterns and colors. They are perfect as gift boxes, keepsakes boxes and as stylish storage solutions. How will you use yours?

New Eco Gift Bags
Our new eco gift bags are truly one of a kind. They are made for us in the Himalayan forests of Nepal by a really cool community-owned group devoted to sustainable forestry. They are FSC certified and silkscreen printed on handmade lokta paper – they’re also sturdy enough for re-use! These bags are made using papermaking techniques that have been around since the 12th century A.D.

New Letterpress Greeting Cards
More of our letterpress greeting cards you know and love, our new cards feature all new occasions including happy new home, baptism, bar/bat mitzvah, pet sympathy, and graduation in additional to perennial favorites such as happy birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, baby, wedding and engagement greeting cards. All of our greeting cards are sustainably letterpress printed on our bamboo paper and come paired with patterned envelopes.

New Eco Gift Wrap Patterns
A long time Smock favorite, our eco gift wrap is made from 100% post consumer recycled paper and features colorful double-sided patterns. We’ve introduced six new patterns all perfect for the upcoming holiday season and occasions beyond.

Stay tuned for even more great new designs and updates!

Many long but fun hours later, we’ve finally wrapped up setup on our first ever New York International Gift Fair booth! Tomorrow through Thursday, you can find us in booth 7555 at the Jacob Javits center showing off all of our favorite paper goods and stationery. If you’re attending the show we do hope you’ll stop by and say hi. We’ll be blogging and tweeting throughout the week so stay tuned for more from New York!