The second December rolls around, I have Christmas on the brain 24/7…and this Tiffany & Co. ad isn’t helping one bit.
Despite having gone to school for advertising and then worked in both the magazine and fashion industries, shots like this get me all the time. I forget that it’s all carefully manufactured, and my heart lifts for a moment in anticipation of the next scene – I hold my breath, as I imagine she’s holding hers, and will the static photo into motion.
I guess this just goes to show you that little blue boxes really do make girls crazy. Even girls like me who a) know better and b) have occupied ring fingers, so to speak.
But still. Sigh.
Though we have a serious backlog of project photos waiting to be uploaded, this hummingbird wedding invitation order was so beautifully personal that I had to share it first.
From the unique bird-themed text to the addition of an introductory poem, Maria and Wilson’s wedding invitations were full of meaningful touches. I especially love that they chose to use their nicknames on the invitation to really make it theirs.
The matching entourage card they included is a Filipino-Catholic custom, meant to honor friends and family who will play part in the couple’s new life together – isn’t that such a wonderful tradition?
Still, the sweetest part of the design had to be the hummingbirds: they were hand-drawn by Maria’s brother just for the occasion.
So that the very special hummingbirds remained the focus of the invitation, we went with rose silhouettes instead of illustrated roses. Note the fine detail in the thorny vines and serrated leaves.
Both cards were printed in hand-mixed chocolate brown ink on ivory paper….very carefully! One of the main challenges we faced with this suite was getting the inking just right as solid shapes like the flowers typically mottle unless heavily inked. Of course the opposite is true when printing fine details, so a very delicate balance had to be struck 240 times over. Phew!
Totally worth it though, don’t you think? We certainly do!
As we were driving home from dinner tonight, I caught sight of a twinkling Christmas tree in an apartment window – one of my very favourite sights in the whole world. No cigars for guessing what happened next!
Breaking our yearly tradition of being incredibly late to the Christmas tree lot, we headed down to the nursery early this year and were rewarded with almost too many options and an early bird discount. How’s that for Christmas coming early?
At just over 7 feet, our chosen tree barely fit into our car, but it was worth the squeeze – it looks (and smells) fantastic in our living room. I can’t wait to start the rest of my holiday traditions. Here’s hoping the Christmas spirit finds you soon too.
Here’s a quick peek at a blind test we did for today’s print run. I can’t wait for it to be finished so I can post proper photos!
If you’ve been following my tweets, you’ll know that the last couple of days have been a little crazy thanks to the press jamming. Twice. While we were already behind schedule.
Thankfully everything was set straight by Adam, my amazingly handy fiance, and his toolbox. Right next to his left foot, you can kind of make out the comically large rubber mallet he was using – we were joking that toting it around makes him look like Wile E. Coyote out to get Roadrunner!
Happy thanksgiving everyone! We had a super low-key one this year since my crazy work schedule left me no time to cook, but if I could I would have definitely attempted these Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Tarts. In fact, I might just stage a Thanksgiving do-over and make them next week as a surprise for Adam.
Despite spending four hours setting up for a job only to have the press seize on the 20th print, I am thankful for a lot today. Actually, I’m thankful that I’m remembering to be thankful! I think I’d have been a lot more upset about this setback if it wasn’t Thanksgiving, but having been mentally counting my blessings all day, I’m feeling remarkably zen. Isn’t it amazing what a little perspective can do?
Photo via tartelette.
Despite my best efforts to maintain a tidy studio, a sharp descent into letterpress madness today left it looking like a tornado had hit. Why yes, that is a popsicle stick in my ink can.
The only thing in a relative state of order was the paper, neatly counted out and stacked in cross-piles of ten.
Here’s hoping I remember to take some better photos today – possibly with my camera instead of my iPhone!
Mia Perlman’s papercut cloud installations just made my day. Aren’t they spectacular?
I know they aren’t super-practical to have in a home, but wow. The mental image of waking up under a paper tornado every morning is going to keep me smiling all day.
More photos here.
Can you imagine coordinating the production on something like this? I love that it’s tactile and involving – kind of like a grown-up version of a pop-up book.
A work of publishing magic, Jonathan Safran Foer’s Tree of Codes marries paper sculpture, interactive art and print. The text, a story in itself, is actually formed by die-cutting and repurposing the words of another book: The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz.
Brilliant idea, brilliant execution. And good inspiration for those moments when aligning a single letterpress plate seems frustrating!
As luxurious as letterpress cards are on their own, nothing elevates and finishes the look better than edge painting. I like to think of it as the stationery equivalent of lipstick: a last, polishing sweep of colour that subtly perfects and completes.
I’ve gone on about edge painting before, so at the risk of sounding like a broken record I’ll just stop here let these photos of a recent project speak for themselves. Enjoy!
I’m no comicon type, but I’ve seriously been in love with this 1941 Wonder Woman concept sketch since I saw it earlier this week. Don’t you think it would make a great framed print?
Gotta love her sensible shoes.
On a funny side note, it reminds me of when we were house-hunting in LA last year – one of the houses we saw that had a basement full of comic books! I’m talking at least 100 neatly labeled document boxes here, stacked in the only room of the house that wasn’t pristine and beautifully decorated….no doubt the influence of the lady of the house.
Sketch from here
