Let’s Go!

Perhaps its the impending winter and cold weather, but lately I've had a serious case of wanderlust — so I'm definitely feeling this letterpress print by Cindy Tomczyk:

Lets-Go-Poster

Although I'm definitely not limiting myself to Europe.  Last summer, my husband and I went to Peru for our honeymoon, but I've always wanted to visit New Zealand and Madagascar among many, many others.  Have you also found yourself with a bit of a travel bug — and where would you go?

{image credits: Cindy Tomczyk}

2010 Calendar Round-Up, Part 2

Hi everyone!  I've been a busy bee the past few days compiling even more fantastic 2010 calendars to share with you.  So once again, you might want to settle in, get comfortable, and prepare yourself for more calendar goodies!  

First up, Sarah from Parrott Design Studio switched from gocco to letterpress for her calendar this year, and it's absolutely beautiful!  But there are only about 15 left (and it's definitely a one-time limited edition run), so hurry over to Sarah's etsy shop to pick up your copy:

Parrott-Design-Calendar1
{Parrott Design Studio}

Postal Press also debuted its first calendar this year, and I'm loving the entomological and botanical specimen theme:

Postal-Press-Specimen-Calendar
{Postal Press}

Catlin Keegan's 2010 calendar features her beautiful signature illustration and hand lettering, and is printed in a wheel format with space to write birthdays and other important dates below each month:

Caitlin-Keegan-Calendar
{Caitlin Keegan}

The 2010 Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar calendar by Noah Bembribre continues to be one of the coolest calendars available — almost guaranteed to be a favorite for any designer friends: 

Noah-Bembribre-2010-Calendar

Noah-Bembribre-2010-Calendar2
{Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar; images via maquette}

Decoy Lab is offering a combination clock and calendar this year — the calendar can be replaced with a photo at the end of the year:

Decoy-Lab-Wood-Clock-Calendar
{Decoy Lab}

The Lark Press 2010 calendar features letterpress illustrations and hand lettering:

Lark-Letterpress-Calendar
{Lark Press}

I love the letterpress illustrations and woodgrain texture on the cover of this year's calendar from Paisley Tree Press:

Paisley-Tree-Press-Calendar
{Paisley Tree Press}

One of my favorite calendars last year was the fabric panel calendar from Cicada Studio — which is back this year with two fabric calendar choices:

Cicada-Studio-Fabric-Calendar
{Cicada Studio}

This hand-illustrated calendar from Nisee Made is just darling, and is printed on 100% recycled paper with soy-based inks:

Nisee-Made-Calendar
{Nisee Made}

Pistachio Press is offering two versions of its 2010 letterpress calendar — a tear-away version and a traditional version with different artwork for each month inspired by vintage china patterns:

Pistachio-Press-Calendars
{Pistachio Press}

Albertine Press took a slightly different direction with this year's letterpress calendar, incorporating overlapping illustrations with a unique color scheme for each month — requiring to 29 (!!) separate color runs for the calendar — with a lovely result.  Each calendar has rounded corners and is hung with fine ribbon and printed onto 100% recycled paper:

Albertine-Press-Calendar
Albertine-Press-Calendar2
{Albertine Press}

Both Suzy Jack and Snow and Graham are offering coordinating desk and wall versions of their 2010 calendars:

Suzy-Jack-2010-Calendars
{Suzy Jack}

Snow-and-Graham-Calendars
{Snow and Graham – click on "stores" for online retailers}

These pocket calendars from Sub-Studio are a perfect calendar-on-the-go — just tuck them into a pocket or purse for a handy reference whenever needed.  The calendars feature 24 different proverbs printed on the front, with the full 2010 calendar printed on the back: 

Sub-Studio-Pocket-Calendar
{sub-studio}

Another favorite from last year, this eco-chic calendar from Cat Seto is printed on 100% recycled paper and includes a wood block stand made from reclaimed lumber:

Cat-Seto-Eco-Chic-Calendar
{Cat Seto via See Jane Work}

Also, I'm afraid I kind of lied — I'm going to have to break my calendar coverage into a 3-part round-up since there are so many calendars!  I'm working on gathering the rest together now and will be back with Part 3 of the 2010 calendar round-up a bit later this week.  In the meantime, if you'd like to catch up on the previous calendar round-up, you can find Part 1 right here.

{images from their respective sources}

Wedding Invitations — Campbell Raw Press

Maggie Campbell is kind of my hero — she *just* had a baby (the ever-adorable Charlotte) and just three weeks later she’s launching her new line of absolutely beautiful letterpress wedding invitations.  Amazing!

Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations

The Campbell Raw Press wedding line includes three invitation suites named for some of Maggie’s favorite authors — Fitzgerald, Collins, and Strand — each of which can be customized with different color palettes and beautiful Japanese patterned screenprinted paper known as chiyogami:

Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations3
Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations2
{Fitzgerald}

Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations-Collins
Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations5
Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations-Collins2
{Collins}

Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations-Strand
Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations-Strand2
Campbell-Raw-Press-Japanese-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitations-Strand3
{Strand}

Aren’t these gorgeous?  So elegant and beautifully letterpress printed.  Just in case you’d like to see one of these suites in person, Maggie has made samples available for purchase in her etsy shop.  You can also read more about the Campbell Raw Press wedding invitation line (and check out a bunch of additional photos) on her website right here.  Congratulations Maggie!

{image credits: Campbell Raw Press}

Carrie + Barrett’s Wood Veneer Mountain Wedding Invitations

Today’s real invitations come from the fantastic design duo of Bird and Banner, who created an amazing set of wood veneer wedding invitations (and ceremony programs, menus, favor labels, and table numbers) for Carrie and Barrett for their Jackson Hole, Wyoming wedding last year.  This suite is one of my favorites from the Bird and Banner portfolio, largely for its wonderful mix of different materials and typography styles.  Erin and Nicole, the talented ladies behind Bird and Banner, stopped by to describe the creative process behind these lovely pink and brown wedding invitations, so I’ll turn things over to them!

Jackson-Hole-Wood-Veneer-Invitations-Canvas-Bags

From Erin and Nicole: Neither Carrie nor Barrett are from Jackson Hole but the couple had shared many special times there.  They knew it was the perfect place to celebrate their wedding.  Held at the Crescent Ranch, the inspiration was rustic yet elegant which included a formal BBQ menu and a fiddler band.

Jackson-Hole-Bird-Banner-Wedding-Favors

Jackson-Hole-Wood-Veneer-Programs-Menus

Because it was a destination wedding Carrie and Barrett wanted to highlight the location in their invitations as much as possible.  This led us to explore using new materials and formats that would help introduce their guests to the location.

Bird-Banner-Invitation-Sketch

Our initial idea was a muslin bag filled with wooden postcards.

Jackson-Hole-Wood-Veneer-Invitations

We loved the idea of mixing Carrie’s palatte of bright pink and brown with wood.  Working with language describing the location, we planned to use a mix of type styles.

Jackson-Hole-Wood-Veneer-Invitations-detail

Jackson-Hole-Wood-Veneer-Invitations-Muslin-Bags

Unfortunately the design started to look like a “Most Wanted” poster!  So we scaled back, and then everything came together.

Jackson-Hole-Wood-Veneer-Invitations-illustration

Carrie and Barrett had a full weekend of festivities planned so we also created an itinerary for guests that included hand drawn illustrations of the various Jackson Hole event locations, including the arch in the town square where they got engaged.

Jackson-Hole-Bird-Banner-Table-Numbers

From the bride, Carrie: Erin and Nicole from Bird and Banner are so amazingly creative; I never had to reiterate the feel/mood we wanted to convey to our guests more than once.  Awesome!  The itinerary, invitations, packaging, etc., are what I was most proud of in the wedding planning process — even though they did all the work, they made me feel like we were a team in creating the PERFECT presentation.

So, so lovely — and a beautiful mix of rustic and modern design elements that create the perfect invitation for a wedding in Jackson Hole.  I love the attention to detail throughout the invitation, from the line illustrations to the tiny hearts and border details.  Thanks so much to Carrie, and of course to Nicole + Erin from Bird and Banner, for stopping by to share these gorgeous wedding invitations today!

{image credits: reception photos by Carrie Patterson, all others via Bird and Banner}

Hello Handmade Holiday 2009

I really can't think of a better way to start the week off than with two new holiday items from one of my favorites – Hello Handmade!  For those of you who might not remember their totally amazing 2009 calendar and valentines, Hello Handmade is a wonderful collaboration between calligrapher Betsy Dunlap and artist Shanna Murray.  They're back this holiday season with a beautiful tea towel calendar and holiday print:

Hello-Handmade-2010-tea-towel-laureled-calendar

Hello-Handmade-2010-tea-towel-calendar

Hello-Handmade-Holiday-specimen-print

Hello-Handmade-Holiday-Print

Both the calendar and print will be available in the Hello Handmade shop this morning.  The Laureled calendar is printed in black ink on snowy white cotton fabric, and of course can be re-used as a tea towel once the year is over.  The O Tannenbaum specimen print is printed in black and white (with Betsy's lovely calligraphy) on sturdy kraft paper.  Shanna and Betsy will also be adding additional items and downloads, including an advent calendar, bunting, and ornaments, as we get closer to the holidays, so be sure to check out the shop for updates!

{image credits: Hello Handmade}