You couldn’t tell by the snow storm that slammed Central New York last night and early this morning, but spring is on the way! We’re getting so excited to start up our annual Community Supported Agriculture program with Grindstone Farm and it got us thinking about our friends at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York. We recently contributed pro bono letterpress printing to their fundraiser event at Candle 79 in New York City honoring chef Leslie McEachern of Angelica Kitchen for her 30 year career as a chef supporting local organic agriculture in New York State. It was an honor to be a part of this event!
All of the letterpress pieces feature our Rhon design printed in peach and taupe inks. We love this color combination! It felt appropriately earthy for this autumn event while still being super sophisticated.
NOFA-NY sent over a few photos from the event. The food looks so good! This is our kind of party.
Many thanks to our friends at NOFA-NY for extending us the honor of being a part of this important event and for your ongoing efforts! Read more about NOFA’s work on the NOFA-NY website.
The second runner up in our latest Smock Design Contest, as selected by guest judge Audrey from Urbanic Paper Boutique, is a truly one of a kind letterpress baby announcement from Rock Paper Scissors in Franklin, Tennessee. Using our popular Liony motif paired with our Piedmont design, it was printed in a sophisticated pairing of taupe and sand inks. A space was left for a photo and our Harrison calligraphy font was put to fine use on this cute custom creation. Thanks so much to Rock Paper Scissors for bringing us this great design!
Brought to us by our lovely friend Debbie at RSVP Today, we just adore these pretty save the dates and letterpress invitations. Showcasing our Sabion design, the letterpress save the dates were printed in midnight ink on our pearl colored bamboo paper. To complement the save the dates, the letterpress invitations feature our Dorset design printed in pearl and black. Together the look is elegant and chic. A big thank you to Debbie for bringing us these fabulous customizations!
The first runner up in our latest Smock Design Contest, as selected by guest judge Audrey from Urbanic Paper Boutique, is a gorgeous custom letterpress invitation from our friends at Paperkiss in Australia. It features lovely script printed in taupe with corner rounding and taupe edge painting for a look that is simple and sophisticated. Many thanks to Paperkiss for working with us on these stunning letterpress invitations!
Last year we had the pleasure of printing custom letterpress wedding invitations for our friends Ailbhe and Jane at Pretty as a Picture in Ireland for Jane’s own wedding. We’re so excited to share the inspiration and design process behind the gorgeous final design. First up, Jane’s inspiration board…
- Edinburgh – where they had their first few dates
- Thistle, a representation of Scotland
- The bridesmaids dresses – purple colour scheme for wedding
- The wedding car
- Summerhill House Hotel – where they were getting married
- Their house
- The church in Wicklow Town where they were getting married
- Their baby
- An engagement photo
- Golf – John Joe’s favorite hobby
- A clock to represent the time of the church
All of that inspiration, came together in this first sketch by Ailbhe, which incorporated whimsical imagery and representations of Jane and John Joe’s zodiac signs…
Later the design was finalized and streamlined…
And then we letterpress printed the design on our 2-ply bamboo paper in a custom shade of purple and taupe inks.
We loved seeing how Jane’s inspiration came to life and how Ailbhe’s amazing sketches turned into really fabulous letterpress invitations. Read more about the design process and Jane’s inspiration on Pretty as a Picture’s blog. Thank you for sharing, ladies!
{Photos by Pretty as a Picture.}
Sent to us by Pearl Beach Paperie, the first place winner in our latest Smock Design Contest is a lovely customization of our Lashar letterpress wedding invitations. Perfectly elegant in sea mist and taupe inks, the letterpress invitations were accompanied by a separation invitation card printed on our seamist paper in taupe ink using our Plym letterpress design. This card invited guests to a low country boil the next day. The reverse of both cards features the Plym motif as a pattern for a complete set that is unabashedly elegant.
Pearl Beach Paperie proprietress Darcy shared the inspiration for this stunning customization…
“Working with the bride, Becky, on this set was such a pleasure. She had a clear vision of the invitation design, pattern selection and ink colors. I simply made a few suggestions to finish off the suite. I LOVED changing up the paper color and fusing the designs for the separate event within the overall celebration.”
A huge thank you to Pearl Beach Paperie for bringing us this lovely design and thanks again to guest judge Audrey from Urbanic Paper Boutique for selecting our winners! More winning designs to come!
It is with great pleasure that we announce the winners of our latest Smock Design Contest for the second half of 2010! As always, our beloved Smock retailers have continued to amaze us with their design inspiration and their passion for stunning stationery. Our good friend and paper connoisseur Audrey from Urbanic Paper Boutique in Venice Beach, California stepped in and did the honors of guest judging our contest this time around. Audrey has impeccable style and a fabulous eye for stationery – we love her picks and you will, too! Over the next few weeks we will be sharing full details and of photos of all our honorees right here on the blog so don’t miss it!
FIRST PLACE WINNER – Pearl Beach Paperie in Orlando
Brought to us by Pearl Beach Paperie in Orlando, guest judge Audrey loves the timeless colors and fonts of this design, a perfect balance of masculine and feminine.
FIRST RUNNER UP – Paperkiss in Australia
Saying that this pretty wedding invitation “…makes a sharp, sophisticated statement without getting too busy” we loved Audrey’s pick for first runner up, a custom letterpress wedding invitation design from our friends at Paperkiss in Australia.
SECOND RUNNER UP – Rock Paper Scissors in Franklin, Tennessee
Audrey’s choice for second runner up is a sweet letterpress baby announcement from our friends at Rock Paper Scissors in Franklin, Tennessee. She loved it because it is “soft and whimsical and a keepsake any recipient would save and adore.”
HONORABLE MENTIONS
In addition to our three winners, we’re recognizing seven additional designs that inspired us to no end. We extend a heartfelt thank you to our friends at the following stores – we are continually awed by all you do!
Arabesque in Naples, Florida
Kate’s Paperie Soho in Manhattan
Inscriptions on the Boulevard in Fort Worth, Texas
Byrd & Bleecker in Fort Worth, Texas
By Invitation Only in Little Rock, Arkansas
LS Amster Company in Scarsdale, New York (two honorable mentions!)
New York City friends take note! Next week we’ll be hosting two incredible trunk show events with our friends at Judy Paulen Designs. In addition to other fabulous promotions, we’ll be offering 25 free letterpress invitations when you buy 75+ and our resident design experts will be on site to help you dream up something one of a kind for your wedding stationery. Come out and say hello! We’d love to meet you.
Monday, February 7th
5pm to 8pm
1282 Third Avenue
212.737.0037
Tuesday, February 8th
4pm to 8:30pm
Bloomingdale’s 59th Street, 6th Floor
212.705.2833
These bright and elegant letterpress bat mitzvah invitations were printed for our good friends at Aileen Invitations in Miami. Featuring our Rhon design, they were printed in espresso and tangerine inks with envelopes lined in our payette pattern in tangerine. Pretty calligraphy accents and Hebrew text are the perfect finishing touch.
Brought to us by our friends at Francis-Orr in Corona del Mar, California we just love this ocean inspired letterpress invitation suite, printed for a destination 50th birthday party! It is a custom design featuring motifs from our Social Occasions album in fun tropical colors of midnight and papaya. The letterpress invitations, events cards, and reply cards were tucked inside a patterned folio featuring our Willoughby pattern on the interior and a seahorse on the exterior, both printed in midnight. To bring it all together, the envelope was lined in Willoughby in papaya for a complete package that is bright, festive and just perfect for a fun-filled birthday getaway.
