happy holidays | a self-promotion piece
This year, I made the kind of Holiday card you send out sometime between September and October. It's the kind that reminds people that it's time to order their holiday cards.They were printed on Crane's 110# Fluorescent white Lettra 2/2. It's always a bit strange to...
the chicken or the egg?
OK, so I'm not asking which came first, but which do you run our of first. When I deliver invitations to clients, I include a small overage of envelopes (usually 5%). However, when I send notecards or thank you cards, I usually send equal numbers of cards and...
(do you) like type? read this.
I love type. X-height and kerning make me a giggly inside. I know, I'm weird. I really love typefaces and typography, but I'm not a huge fan of most books the subject has begotten. See, most History of Type-type books are incredibly boring. There's all sorts of great...
giving thanks | Élan event studio
I love the different ways people say "thanks." Some of my good friends would never ever consider sending a thank you card, but they will express their gratitude in extremely sincere and thoughtful ways. I think even Emily Post might be OK with the trade-off. Of...
a birthday party!
Earlier this week, I showed you this invitation. I want to share the beautiful party that went along with it. My wife did an amazing job bringing together a Seuss-ian experience for Annika and her friend!
annika | letterpress birthday invitation
. You know the old story about the cobbler's children never having shoes? Well, I was determined not to make this the case as my own little girl turned two. We were having a small Cat in the Hat-themed party and opted for a single-panel invite (and a regrets-only...
a visit from matthew r photo
My good friend Matthew of matthew r photo (now Penny and Finn) paid me a visit last week and brought his camera along. We're working on a letterpress and photo project together about which I'm incredibly excited and can't wait to share. I cherish the opportunity to...
we’re famous!
Hey! My friends and I are featured in this video about why we're members of NACE. If you're in the event industry, you should join! If it's still October, 2011 when you read this, DO IT NOW! it's $100 off this month!
how much is too much?
You may have noticed that a significant portion of the work being produced by a fine press is produced by letterpress, a method of printing where a raised surface, coated in ink, is applied to paper to create an image. From Gutenberg through the first half of the last...
a real wedding – with a little bit of flair
Have you heard of Improv Everywhere? You haven't? Take a minute; it'll change your life. OK. What'd you think? So, here's what happens when the founder of this fine group of raconteurs gets married. This makes me smile.
the story of color
Color is something that is often carefully planned for, but executed without much scrutiny. Whether you're planning a wedding, fundraiser or brand strategy, it's likely that someone (you, your wedding planner, your marketing/branding firm...) put a lot of time into...
wacom inkling – a simplified workflow
I'm not yet convinced the Wacom Inkling will do much for me - I'm not much of a sketcher - but I can see this really simplifying the workflow of several designers and illustrators I know. If you design, could this product enhance your experience?
how can you give?
If you've not heard of Help Portrait, do yourself a favor and pay a visit. Then, watch this video from Jeremy Cowart. In retrospect, the Help Portrait concept is so obvious. But it took a visionary with the right combination of concept and contacts to make it happen....
here’s why…
Let's be real: custom printing (even when it's not letterpress or engraving or some sort of fancy glow-in-the-dark inks) is expensive. It may seem inordinately more expensive than more off the shelf print jobs (standard-sized postcards, business cards, stationery,...
moving pictures in the jazz age
I am in love with the cinemagraphs of Jamie Beck. Especially this one:
what gmail’s missing (and where to get it)
Some people put every form of contact available in their signature line. Others don't. Nobody (that I correspond with) is putting their latest tweet in every email. To be honest, I don't even recall where I heard of Rapportive. Now that I've used it for a bit. I...
color inspiration #5
Back after a week of vacation and a broken metatarsal. Today's inspiration came from one of Adbuzeedo's excellent daily inspiration posts. Unfortunately, I can't find a source for this one, as the link takes me to some worn out servers.
color inspiration #4
Since Pinterest is acting up today, it took a bit of digging to find the original source of this image - Mark Lawrence. All of his work is beautiful.
the national stationery show 2011
Though I can't attend the National Stationery Show (NSS) this year, I can live vicariously through the wonderful stationers and denizens of the internet who blog and tweet and vlog (and whatever other new thing we do) the entire show. Like last year, I'll be updating...
color inspiration #3
It can be tough to track original sources on tumblr. Here's where I found this image. Not sure who the photographer is. *photos in this series, unless otherwise noted, have not been taken by anyone at a fine press and can be seen in their original iteration by...
stationer’s secret | number your RSVPs
Tracking RSVPs may be one of the largest challenges of inviting a large guest-list to an event. Whether it's dealing with guests who take it on themselves to include a +1 or those who refuse to send their response card and, instead, call or email. A particularly...