While we were in Los Angeles for the Urbanic Summer Social, Lindsy and I made time to stop in and visit some of our lovely West Coast Smock retailers. One of our first stops was to Christie, located in beautiful Manhattan Beach. The shop carries a gorgeous range of unique gifts and cards, and there’s a great area set up to view albums and order custom stationery.

Here, Lindsy shows Kim and Mara the new album from our sister company and BFF, Bella Figura.

The ladies at Christie were also kind enough to share with us what they love most about the shop.

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

We’re most proud of the fact that we’ve been in business for 26 years – we started out as a small card and gift shop in a smaller space down the street, and about 4 years later we moved into a larger space, where we were able to start offering custom printing to our clients. Our shop is located in a really cute little beach community, and our clients think we work in the happiest place on earth (and we agree!). People come a long way to see us here, and many of our clients say it’s like coming to Cheers – where everybody knows your name. We’ve printed birth announcements, Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations and wedding invitations all for the same kids – we’ve seen a lot of our clients grow up.

What are some of the hottest trends you’re seeing lately?

We’ve seen a lot of navy and pink together these days, and monograms are still really big – we’re seeing monograms everywhere! We’ve also noticed that a lot of our brides are loving hand calligraphy for their envelopes – it adds such a nice touch to any invitation set.

If you’re ever in Manhattan Beach, we highly recommend stopping in to see everything that Christie has to offer!

As owners of The Enchanted Florist, a whimsical, flower lover’s dream come true,  Lance and Kim Williams opened the most charming stationery boutique in Burbank, California – An Open Invitation. This inviting space is nestled right next store to their flower shop, so visiting is certainly a treat!

About two years ago, I met the cutest couple ever at the National Stationery Show – guess who!? They both had the warmest personalities and a great love story! I was hooked! Lance and Kim had actually met and fell in love while working in the flower business together – adorable, right? And they just so happened to be overly intrigued by Smock – even better! They wanted to be Smock dealers right away and the rest is history.

Our adventurous trip out west in June lead us right to this enchanted world of flowers and stationery created by the Williams’. Surrounded by the scent of orchids, the textures of fine papers and sweet-as-pie gifts – I didn’t want to leave! You won’t want to either!

Be sure to stop by – the invitation is always open!

by Lindsy Aragona

We cannot wait to venture out to the West coast this week to host a trunk show event with our friends at Union Street Papery in San Francisco! The event will be held on Sunday, June 12 from 2pm-4pm, and we are so excited to show off all the fabulous letterpress invitation designs from the amazing new Smock wedding album.  In addition to some fantastic promotions (we’re offering 25 free letterpress invitation sets when you buy 75 or more!), you’ll get the chance to chat with Smock design experts to dream up the most gorgeous wedding invitations for your big day.  So come join us — we’d really love to meet you!

If you can believe it, it’s that time of year again! It’s time for the 2011 National Stationery Show! Smock will be holding down the fort with inspired new additions to our Everyday and Studio collections and a stunning new letterpress wedding album. We can hardly wait to show it all off! If you’re attending the show, be sure to swing by and see us in booth 2241. See you soon!

Printed in beautiful silver and lake inks, we can’t get enough of these gorgeous letterpress calling cards and matching correspondence cards. Honored in our most recent Smock Design Contest, we created these pieces for the fine folks at By Invitation Only in Little Rock, Arkansas. From the color combination to the simple, statement-making monogram, this is one of our favorite social stationery sets to date.

We’re excited to be kicking off a new round of Smock Store Spotlight features with Wordshop in Denver. A unique paperie with a beautiful storefront, Wordshop is Denver’s premiere indie stationery shop, offering a wide range of eco-friendly and artisan brand stationery, letterpress and paper goods. Proprietress Jill Alyn has an English degree and an unsurpassed passion for stationery and the written word. Wordshop is, for her, a longtime dream come true.

Please share a bit about yourself and your background. What makes you tick?
I am a wordgirl. I have an English degree. I never would have gotten into business school. I’m one of you who has also collected greeting cards for years. Good, thoughtful text makes me tick. From a. favorite design to me’shell ndegeocello.

What was the inspiration behind Wordshop?
There wasn’t a proper paperie in Northwest Denver (1) and (2) I had been dreaming of doing this for a really, really long time.

What’s your favorite part about what you do?
Hands down, connecting with people. Brides, mamas of brides, hopeless romantic card buyers, people who still see the value of the written word.

What stationery trends are you currently loving?
Great pattern on pattern invites, regional assembly of text is taking the crafty look to upscale design, and the return of the reply envelope – funk the postcard reply.

For first time visitors to Denver, what are your recommendations for must-do sights and scenes?
Table 6 for seasonal and local deliciousness, H|Burger for their roasted marshmallow and Nutella shake, Highlands Square shopping district, oh and the mountains are pretty, pretty.

What are you top prized possessions?
1. my little wordshop
2. an old dresser full of cards I have received, and cards I have purchased and will never send
3. a metal sculpture of peace doves from the seventies, snagged up from my parents house
4. a black, vintage ’79 Nicole Miller dress – a total show stopper.

If you could only have three fonts on your computer, what would they be?
Smock Clermont, Lawrence and Stockton

If you were a PMS number, what would you be?
7499 – daytime I am Victorian ivory + 5753 – nighttime I am pewter.

If you could describe your personality in letterpress, what Smock design would you be?
I would be Cavall. I think I already am. (Understated, some flair, a dotted line for annunciation. ) As for color, nothing is classier to me than black and ivory.

Thanks so much, Jill! If in Denver, be sure to stop by and pay Wordshop a visit.

Recently featured in Martha Stewart Weddings and showcased on their blog (here and here), we loved working on this stunning summer-inspired custom designed wedding suite with our friends at The Wedding Library. We chose bright and cheerful shades of red and aqua, inspired by a vintage handkerchief with a fun cherry motif. The end creation is bright, elegant and perfect for a summer wedding celebration. We designed and printed letterpress invitations, signage, table numbers, favor tags, and place cards, all perfectly coordinated for the vision of the event and showcasing our Smock Clermont calligraphy font. Another huge thank you to Claudia Hanlin for proposing this fantastic project – it was so much fun and a true honor.

An issue near and near to our hearts, we wanted to spread the word about an incredible effort by PAN North America, one of Smock’s eco partners, to shed light on the devastating effects of pesticides on honeybee colonies and their call for the EPA to take action on this major issue. Why does it matter? Beekeepers face an industry on the verge of collapse, an industry particularly susceptible to the devastating effects of pesticides. With 1/3 of food production reliant on bees for pollination, the collapse of commercial beekeeping would devastate U.S. farmers as well. The time to act is now.

Smock supports PANNA’s admirable environmental efforts through donations via 1% For the Planet, pro bono printing and other partnerships. Just recently we printed a version of our popular Garden letterpress cards for PANNA, which contributors donating $75 or more receive as a special thank you. Wondering how you can get involved, too? Visit PANNA to sign the petition to take a stand with beekeepers and consider giving today. A huge thank you to PANNA for continually inspiring us – bravo!

Want in on a little known secret? These ten beauties (standard liners from our Social Occasions album) are over 50% less than our custom envelope liners! Our standard liners are still the same high quality offset printing on bamboo paper, but made more affordable because we keep these ten popular options in stock. Featured colors include pewter, pool, mango, grass and azalea. If your local dealer carries both our Social Occasions and Wedding album, you can use these standard liners with any design, including wedding invitations! To learn more, visit a Smock store near you!

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!