Oblation Papers & Press was founded in 1989 by Ron and Jennifer Rich.  In 1998 they opened the retail space for which they are well known within the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon.  The reach of their business is really quite impressive – not only do they offer a well curated retail shop in the front of the space, they also house an urban paper mill, letterpress print shop, custom invitation gallery and design and produce their own line of wholesale goods that are warehoused and shipped from this very same location.
| Storefront |
Love the current window display – nothing says Portland quite like a cute bicycle and a few raindrops.
| Retail Space |
Oblation stocks a selection of the finest stationery and gift items. They also offer an impressive selection of European accouterments to add an extra special touch to your correspondence.
| Custom Invitation Gallery |
Their custom letterpress offerings include: Classic Wedding, Baby, Correspondence and Black & White Wedding portfolios.
| Wholesale Line |
Oblation also offers a comprehensive wholesale letterpress card and gift line. The collection is stocked in stores worldwide and is also available in their online shop.
| Urban Paper Mill |
Papermaking is where Ron and Jennifer got their start in the business. Oblation continues this tradition by producing their own cotton paper using recycled remnants from the garment industry. Their handmade paper is perfectly suited for letterpress printing.
| Letterpress Print Shop |
Oblation has six platen presses in their studio. At this time, the print shop is entirely operated by women. Oblation’s printing practices include the use of wind power, soy inks and recycled cotton.
Thanks again to Oblation Papers & Press for opening their doors to me and allowing me to share their story and space.
Photo Credit: Carina Murray
“Behind the Scenes: Oblation Papers & Press” is a guest post by Carina Murray of Crow & Canary
Wow– must make a trip to Portland! Such an amazing shop– front to back! Awesome guest post Carina!
What a beautiful store! I love the window display too. How cool that it’s operated only by women!
One of the most beautiful stationery stores in the country. I was in Portland last summer and was lucky enough to visit it…twice! ♥
I live in Portland & I love hanging out in that store! It’s so fun looking at their products & process. I feel so inspired when I’m done. Thanks for sharing!
I want to go to there.
All the more reason for me to plan a trip to Portland to see Carina!
my dream is to have a store like this some day. so lovely
Carina, we can’t thank you enough for your gorgeous photos & words. We love making, printing on, and working with paper… the spirit shows through in this wonderful post! Thank you to all who commented 🙂
Love the photo of the bike display with the wet window and person carrying an umbrella outside!
This is so crazy, a friend of mine was just down at Oblation this weekend and she brought me back one of the initial cards — what a funny coincidence!
Beautiful work, I have a major talent crush!