You guys, today is going to be a GREAT day: we have an invitation from Arley-Rose and Morgan of Ladyfingers Letterpress to share with you! If you’ve been reading OSBP for the last five or so years, you know that these ladies produce some of the most imaginative and beautiful custom stationery (including my first daughter’s baby announcement!). These stunning southwestern mixed media wedding invitations are no exception. Arley and Morgan incorporated non-traditional materials like mica, leather, sage, and wood to create a complete invitation experience. Amazing!
From Arley-Rose: It’s safe to say that most of our clients these days have already experienced firsthand the quality and creativity of our work before they hire us. They likely have received an invitation of ours from a family or friend and intimately know the thrill of receiving a commissioned Ladyfingers Letterpress invitation in the mail and want their guests to feel the same way.
A few years back, we had created pretty insane baby shower invitations for some close friends who are in the film industry in New York. A guest of that shower, Alex Bolotow, was dating the iconic fashion photographer Terry Richardson at the time, and when they became engaged, she called us up right away with tons of enthusiasm and ideas.
Alex and Terry were planning an intimate gathering at a remote and serene southwestern desert location outside of Taos, New Mexico and wanted to give their guests a preview of the warmth, love, and realness that they would soon be experiencing on their wedding day. A gift of excitement, a collection of beautiful things both close to their hearts and to the heart of the place they wed.
We worked together for ten months to create something that could hardly be deemed an invitation. A gift, maybe. More like a finely curated assemblage of meaningful things, like opening the lid of a close friend’s favorite collection of personal objects. Alex and Terry wanted the suite to be as personal, tactile and location-centric as possible. The concept took on a three-dimensional form, and the invitations were shipped in large hand-lettered kraft boxes that were carefully opened to uncover a sun-kissed wooden box overflowing with the invitation and supporting objects.
We hand lettered the invitation and foil printed it in gold foil onto sturdy and semi-translucent pieces of mica. Additional pieces such as their RSVP and Smudge Blessing Card were letterpress printed on thick cotton paper. We worked with local artist Pipilo Road to design and manufacture handmade wooden boxes out of reclaimed materials. The lids were hand painted and screen printed. We went through several iterations where we sent videos of different prototypes back and forth before a design was settled and the boxes were fabricated.
Soft, tobacco deerskin leather pouches were carefully designed, stitched and hand burned by Three Arrows Leather out of Taos. Alex helped us source sage bundles, quartz rocks, vintage matches from New Mexican locations and palo santo sticks to complete the suite and allow their guests to conduct a Smudge Blessing of their own. All of these items, plus a hand-drawn map of Taos and a celestial map of the night sky on the date of their wedding, were carefully tucked into the handmade wooden box which was designed to fit perfectly within an outer shipping box.
We got to know Alex over the time we spent working together, and now consider her a close friend. In fact, she and Terry surprised us with an invitation to their wedding, which we happily accepted. We’re still reeling from our time spent in Taos with this lovely couple and are happy to finally share these photos taken by Lauren Memarian with you! For more gorgeous photos of this suite, check out the Gallery of Commissioned Works at ladyfingersletterpress.com.
Thanks Arley-Rose and Morgan!
Design: Ladyfingers Letterpress
Wooden Boxes: Pipilo Road
Leather Pouches: Three Arrows Leather
Ladyfingers Letterpress is a member of the Designer Rolodex – check out more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real inviÂtaÂtions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!
Photo Credits: Lauren Memarian
