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.

Our first Smock Design Contest for 2012 was a huge success — we were so excited to recognize the beautiful work that our amazing retailers have sent us over the past few months! Today we are thrilled to share the stunning plaques that the 10 winners of our design contest received — they were created by our talented in-house designer Lindsy Aragona and letterpress printed in Moss and Butter inks on our 2-ply white bamboo paper for a fresh look. The plaques feature elements from our ever-popular Dawson design, and Kelle McCarter hand calligraphed the names of all the winning store names onto the plaques in her Bescal style for a beautiful finishing touch.

Congratulations to all of the stores that were selected as honorees! The next Smock Design Contest will take place later this year – don’t miss it!

We are always amazed at the gorgeous letterpress invitations we get to print for Smock retailer The Wedding Company, but it’s not very often that we get to see an actual event that they put on. The Wedding Company is a full service wedding planning boutique based in Hong Kong, and recently they put on an incredible bridal showcase, complete with romantic décor, elaborate cakes, gorgeous tables and a sweet candy buffet. They even had time to put together an incredible Smock display, and created paper flowers and pinwheels with our double-sided, eco friendly gift wrap for the occasion! We were blown away by the end result — take a look!

How do you outdo an awesome save the date? Our good friend Niki at Papery & Cakery in Boca Raton, Florida has the recipe. We posted these lovely save the dates for Niki’s sister back in September!!!

Now that the wedding has passed, we are able to show you the amazing suite she designed, and we couldn’t be happier to share these with everyone! The suite was letterpress printed in our Pewter ink on our beautiful white bamboo 2-ply paper. All of the pieces were fitted with an offset border in pewter and die-cut in our new Chesapeake design. Each piece has a decorative offset backing and is finished with perfect edge painting in Pewter. The invitation, reply cards, and events card are tucked nicely into a custom offset sleeve.

inks: pewter + spring | fonts: submitted fonts | paper: 1-ply white + 2-ply white | printing: letterpress + offset | sleeve: custom pattern offset in pewter + spring | liner: seneca pattern offset in spring | invite size: S-8 sleeve | die-cut: chesapeake

Today we’re highlighting Urban Coast, one of our fabulous Smock retailers! Based in Belleair Bluffs, Florida, Urban Coast specializes in custom letterpress wedding invitations and event design. Owner Soosie Lazenby was kind enough to give us a behind the scenes scoop on this fabulous paperie.

Tell us about yourself & the shop. What was the inspiration behind Urban Coast?
I had a very blessed 20 year career in sports and entertainment marketing. I worked for companies such as IMG and Adidas, and served as the Sports Commissioner for the State of Massachusetts, an appointment by Governor Mitt Romney as the Chair of the Governor’s Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports, and then built my own company which I later sold. A geographical move made me ponder what was next. I decided to create a business that represented all the things I loved about my prior career and the challenges I faced in planning prestigious events. Thus, I founded URBANcoast: marrying the creative side of events and developing a model that provides a one stop shopping experience for clients. URBANcoast offers custom invitation designs, and represents the best in stationery, personalized gifts and accessories, and tabletop decor.

What do you love most about what you do?
Designing a one-of-a-kind look for clients that conveys the style and experience of their event. I also love getting to know our clients – it is such a personal process that takes place over an extended period of time. It creates a special opportunity to form a bond that goes beyond their wedding and carries over into other momentous occasions in their life.

Any predictions for 2012 weddings? What do you think will be popular this year? We are seeing a huge surge in letterpress. History always repeats itself. Additionally, fonts are taking center stage.  This is why Smock and Bella Figura [Smock’s sister company] do so well for us. Having your design libraries allows our clients to create a unique look that represents their personality.

What’s the hottest color palette out there right now? Taupe — this color somehow makes its way into a majority of our designs.

What charities does your store support? We support a number of local charities, but the one we champion most is the Morton Plant Mease Foundation. Morton Plant is one of the top 50 hospitals in the country and we are fortunate to have the care they offer in our backyard. We have raised almost 100K and named a hospital suite on the new Women & Children’s floor after my father who has been on staff there for over 40 years, in addition to three other physicians who have made a profound impact on the lives of many in our community. (more…)

For the last week, we’ve been posting the honorable mentions for the Smock Design Contest. Now we’re down to the final three! Our good friend Nole at Oh So Beautiful Paper chose our winners for this competition, and selected Alphagraphics Lyric Opera Invitation as the 3rd place winner. Here’s what Nole had to say about the design: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a corporate invitation that was so pretty!  I love the patterns, the font selections, and the fold out layout. Gorgeous.”

Nole, we couldn’t agree more! It’s not often we get to print letterpress invitations for galas, concerts, or charitable events, so when we do, we tend to get pretty excited. This espresso and gold invitation to the Lyric Opera’s Charitable Subscriber Concert and Dinner was extraordinary! It was, indeed, a ticketed concert (which explains the use of the pocketfold), and the invitation invited 100 of the Opera’s premier patrons to dinner and a concert.

To the untrained eye, this striped, monogrammed pocketfold invitation looks beautiful and classy. For those who spend a lot of time at Chicago’s Civic Opera House, they’ll notice graphic elements that remind them of the gilded gold walls and ceilings of that very building. When designing the invitation, Amy at Alphagraphics used the opera’s Art Deco elements and color scheme as her guide. She created an invitation that was reminiscent of the old stately edifice, glamorous in its timelessness.

Her work was well appreciated by all! Both the Lyric Opera and the event’s attendees thought the invitation was a fantastic bidding to a wonderful evening of music and feasting. Bravo Amy, Bravo!

Congratulations again to Alphagraphics for taking 3^rd place in our design contest. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.

We featured these stunning letterpress invitations back in October and are thrilled to show them off one more time as a design contest honoree! This sophisticated set was sent to us by Darcy at Pearl Beach Paperie in Orlando, Florida, and features charming vintage airplanes and a rich color combination of cherry and black inks. The swirls and flourished fonts set a whimsical tone which balances the chic gold stripes printed on the folios and envelope liners. Congratulations and thank you to Pearl Beach Paperie for sending us such a lovely invitation set!

ink: cherry + black | fonts: custom| 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 |

This design won an honorable mention in our Smock design competition for the first half of 2012. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired designs submitted by our beloved dealers.

Get ready to lose yourself in these charming Mecan letterpress wedding invitations submitted to us by Raegan at Papel New York in Brooklyn, NY.  This set has the perfect balance of design and whimsical fonts -which make this an excellent choice for a destination wedding!  Check out the downright adorable reply postcards requesting flight information. With flair to match to their idyllic wedding venue in the Caribbean these invites are making us wish for warmer days. The turquoise ink used throughout adds to the island feel. Finished off with a stellar envelope liner that reminds us of champagne bubbles.

inks: pewter + turquoise |fonts: coombs + gertrude | paper 2-ply white | invite size: S-6 | printing: letterpress |back pattern: the granby pattern in pewter | corner rounding | liner: the babine pattern in turquoise

We’re thrilled to introduce our new “change the world” letterpress card series, where we’ll donate 100% of profits to a critical environmental issue. The first card in our series is called Sunflower, and will benefit the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA).

Here’s the problem: Honey bees are in trouble — colonies have been collapsing mysteriously and adult bees are disappearing. The problem started in the mid 2000’s and is known as “Colony Collapse Disorder,” and researchers believe that pesticides, habitat loss, pathogens and immune system damage are factors that may be causing the collapse.

Why you should care: Of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food supply, over 70 of those crops are pollinated by bees. In the United States alone, the bees’ contribution is valued at over $15 billion, and this vital industry is on the verge of collapse.  One out of every three bites of food are dependent on honey bees for pollination, so government action is critical to help the colonies recover.

Take action now:

• Sign this petition to help protect the bees. By doing so, you will encourage the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce restrictions (such as not spraying while pollinator-dependent crops are in bloom) and to take action against pesticides that are toxic to the honey bees. 
• Get informed: learn more at PANNA.
  
• Start your own bee-friendly garden: Grow plants (like sunflowers!) to help the bees out. Download this handy brochure from PANNA for some bee-friendly gardening tips.
• Make a contribution: help PANNA continue their program work by making a direct contribution, or purchase our sustainably printed Sunflower cards — 100% of profits will be donated to PANNA to help save the honeybees, and organic, locally grown sunflower seeds are included with the cards for you to plant.

To all of our fantastic letterpress customers and fans — Happy Valentine’s Day from Smock! We love you all and hope your hearts are happy and full of love on this very special day.

Did you get your sweetheart a letterpress love card from Smock? Here are some of our favorites for this year!