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…
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.}
Inspired by our bright red and purple Picadilly and Flounce eco gift wrap, I created this modern party inspiration shoot for my blog, The Sweetest Occasion. I used a paper punch to create hearts from the gift wrap and then hot glued them to small dowels to form a cute DIY cake topper. Recycled cardboard heart-shaped boxes got a coat of gold spray paint and then were topped with a gift wrap heart. I chose bright purple and red anemones simply arranged in sleek white vases to pick up on the colors of the gift wrap. DIY twizzle sticks using metallic purple pom poms hot glued to bamboo sticks and a few raspberries tossed in with the champagne bring the whole look together. We love seeing how people put our pretty double-sided gift wrap to use so please share you inspired creations with us!
{Photos by Megan Dailor.}
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
As a sponsor of last week’s Altitude Design Summit, we proudly printed really cool letterpress menus and business cards to contribute to the event. 400 of the country’s top design bloggers attended and spoke at Alt and it was a great experience to be a part of the festivities. For the letterpress menus, we used our Piedmont design as inspiration and printed in black alongside a custom yellow ink to match Alt’s branding.
We also contributed to the awesome gift bags given to all Alt attendees. Actually, they weren’t bags at all, but rather metal lunchboxes with a cool Alt magnet on the front. Inside was a bunch of goodies including one of our small gift boxes filled with an assortment of Smock Everyday cards. Big thanks to the Alt team for allowing us to be a part of the fun! We can’t wait for next year.
For lots of discussion and ample recaps on what makes Alt such a cool event, visit the Alt Summit blog.
{Bottom two photos from Alt Summit. All others by Smock.}
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.
A while back we sent our friends at Salutations super yummy cupcake kits from Saint Cupcake as winners of our Smock Design Contest. In return, they sent us this really sweet thank you note that reminded us just how lucky we are to work with the coolest retailers the world over. If you’re on the hunt for fabulous stationery, stop in and visit one of our Smock dealers today!
We couldn’t let the holidays completely slip away without sharing the letterpress holiday cards we printed for the Amazon Conservation Association this year. ACA is one of the eco organizations we regularly partner with on special projects and pro bono printing throughout the year and these letterpress holiday cards were an especially fun project. Letterpress printed in rich green and blue inks to match their branding, we designed them greeting card style playing on one of the pretty floral motifs from our Everyday stationery collection. For more information about our eco commitment, read more about our environmental efforts and the organizations we support through donations via 1% For the Planet, pro bono printing and special projects.
