Minimalistic Letterpress Stationery

April 1, 2013

This masculine and minimalist letterpress stationery is so classic we just needed to share. Sweet Paper sent us this order our way and we couldn’t be happier with the result.

Odin is Smock’s Design of the Month! On sale for 10-15% off through May 14

April 19, 2012

The votes are in: Odin is the Smock design of the month! From now through May 14, all custom orders that feature the bright and bubbly Odin design (wedding invitations, social stationery, save the dates, programs, menus, calling cards, hang tags, baby or graduation announcements, birthday party invites, and more!) will be 10% off (or 15% off for orders with 6 or more pieces!). Locate one of our amazing Smock custom dealers today to get started on your Odin stationery!

Thanks to everyone who voted, we’ll be donating almost $200 to the Earthworks No Dirty Gold campaign to help put an end to dirty mining practices that are devastating the planet. (Click here to read more about dirty gold and find out what you can do to help). To show you just how unique our Odin design can look with a few simple tweaks, our designers put together the stunning customizations below to get you inspired!

A cheerful customization of our Odin invitation featuring ocean and saffron inks. Letterpress sale for Odin invitations going on now

An elegant customization of the Odin letterpress invitation. Odin Letterpress from Smock is on sale now through May 14.

A square customization of our Odin design in sand, pewter and peacock inks. The Odin letterpress invitation suite is on sale now through May 14.

A pretty customization of our Odin design in pink and whisper inks.The Odin letterpress invitation suite is on sale now through May 14.

Stop in to your local Smock retailer to get started on your custom Odin order today!

Vote for your favorite letterpress design and help the Earthworks No Dirty Gold Project!

April 4, 2012

How to vote: Visit smockpaper.com/wedding and choose your favorite invitation design. Roll over the photo and click the “like” button that appears. That’s it!

Why vote: For every vote cast through April 12, 2012, we’ll donate $1 to Earthwork’s No Dirty Gold campaign (up to $500) to help put an end to dirty gold mining practices that are devastating the planet.

What happens with the winning design? The invitation design with the most votes will be the next Smock design of the month. From 4/14 – 5/14, all custom orders that feature the winning invitation design (wedding invitations, stationery, save the dates, you name it!) will be 10% off (or 15% off for orders with 6 or more pieces!). You can place your order with one of our amazing Smock custom dealers.

So why should you care about dirty gold mining practices? If you’re engaged, there’s a good chance you’ve already got a ring with some gold in it (and you may be looking to purchase wedding bands soon, too). There are certain dirty mining practices that have really terrible impacts on the communities and the environment surrounding the mines – did you know?

The production of one gold ring generates 20 tons of mine waste.
The drinking water in mining communities often becomes contaminated, and mine drainage can also raise acid levels in rivers and lakes that can be harmful to wildlife and people. Some mines even dispose of toxic waste in rivers, lakes, and oceans on a regular basis.
Some of the refining processes that are used in mines release chemicals that cause smog and acid rain.
Many gold mines create solid waste, too: by employing a process known as heap leaching, these mines drip a cyanide solution through high piles of ore. The solution strips away the gold, but a lot of waste is left over from the process (read: the waste from these sites can sometimes reach over 300 feet – which is nearly the height of a 30-story building!). Many of these heaps are often abandoned because they are too costly to dispose of properly.
Indigenous people around the world typically lose out when mining leases are granted. In rural communities, locals often become vulnerable to eviction without notice, meaningful compensation or an offer of equivalent lands in a new region because legal land titles aren’t always on hand (even if a family has occupied the same lands for generations).
Mining is a dangerous job: rock falls, tunnel collapses, fires, heat exhaustion, and other dangers claim the lives of over 15,000 miners every year, and while the profession only accounts for 1% of the world’s labor force, it accounts for 5% of on-the-job fatalities.

Wondering what you can do to help? It’s really easy to take action. Sign the Earthworks pledge today, and be sure to support retailers who are actively pursuing clean gold sources. If you choose to work with a retailer who’s not on that list (like Macy’s or Costco – the only two retailers in the top 10 list that haven’t committed to sourcing responsible gold) be sure to ask your jeweler about the source for the gold in your ring. Other ways you can help:

Recycle old jewelry, and have old rings melted down to make new ones. Support jewelers that offer products made with recycled gold.
Buy vintage or antique jewelry.
Keep jewelry in your family and pass on to your children or grandchildren.

Letterpress in Beijing – The Big Day!

February 10, 2012

Seeing an order become a design is great. Seeing a design become a letterpress printed invitation is better. But when we get to see photos of our invitations in the hands of the happy couple and shots of their important day…well that just reminds us how much the hard work can pay off. Thanks so much to Michele at the Wedding Company in Hong Kong and well done to Adam Sjöberg for Ira Lippke Studios for the amazing camera work! The reception looked gorgeous and we are very honored to have played some small role in making that day special. Read our previous post about the letterpress wedding invitations.

Floral Letterpress Save the Dates in Soft Hues

February 6, 2012

These letterpressed save the dates were submitted to us by our good friend, Aileen at Aileen Invitations in Miami Beach, Florida. Our Rhon design looks truly sensational printed in our lavender and pewter inks. There are certainly times when a softer color palette works best and this is definitely one of those times! We print save the dates for all sorts of occasions and these save the dates happen to be for an engagement celebration. We can’t help but feel that the lavender ink represents gracefulness and charm while the pewter ink helps keep this set looking refined. Purple hues have always been connected to royalty which makes these save the dates all the more classic. The couple chose our payette pattern in lavender for both the offset back patterning and envelope liner – which ties this whole set together nicely.

Sharp and Chic Hekla Letterpress Baptism Invitations

January 30, 2012

Submitted to us by our good friend, Elle at Petite & Sweet in Toronto, Canada these letterpressed Hekla baptism invitations are downright swank! I mean talk about being up-to-the-minute! These invitations showcase our royale and inkless blind deboss inks – and the end result makes for some of the most chic invitations we’ve had the joy of printing in quite some time. The envelope liner adds another nice modernistic touch to this anything but simplistic set! We think these invitations are the perfect prelude to such a memorable occasion – and helped achieve the vision the proud parents were hoping for. We look forward to many more unique and current customizations from Petite & Sweet!

Letterpress Rehearsal Invitation

January 13, 2012

We love hand bordering! Bringing metallic gold to the front of this rehearsal card was a great way for Rugg Road in Boston, MA to accentuate the silver font and shell-colored liner. I think Cristina did a fantastic job this one. It’s simple and elegant and we were very impressed.

Pastel Letterpress Wedding Invitations!

November 28, 2011

You just might say we have a soft side for pastel ink colors letterpressed on our thick 2-ply bamboo paper-and you would be right. Take a look at these elegant Engadine invitations submitted to us by our good friends at Salutations in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Softer hues have a way of looking peaceful and calm, without being over the top. The highlight is of course the gorgeous folio offset printed on the interior and exterior in the coolest colors to keep things modern. There is a real warmth seen throughout this suite and we adore it!

Presenting our Smock Design Winner Contest Plaques

October 20, 2011

Our latest Smock Design Contest was yet another success (THANK YOU!). We were so thrilled to see all the customizations, and the hard work from our lovely dealers certainly paid off! At this time we are pleased to show off the Smock Design Contest Winner Plaques! Designed by our talented in-house designer Lindsy Aragona, these stunning plaques are letterpressed in our rich ocean and azure inks on our 2-ply white bamboo paper. The amazing Debi Zeinert adds her gorgeous touch of hand calligraphy. We gave these plaques to our top ten winners. Our next Smock Design Contest will be featured in 2012!

Hong Kong knows Letterpress Invitations

October 10, 2011

This is the first order sent to us from The Wedding Company in Hong Kong and we already can’t wait to see what’s coming next! Michele uses a combination of whisper and pearl inks to give a wonderful 2-color accent to the invitation text of this Dawson-inspired design. The border chosen frames the English invitation as well as the Mandarin one in such a beautiful way. We are very happy to showcase our newest friends, particularly when this is the quality of the invitations they come up with. Well done Wedding Company!

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