These shipped last week: I like how it still embodies a traditional sophistication even with the layout right justified. Not your typical gold seal and foil announcement. For another view click on the image to go to the flickr pool.

In continuation with Doing Business As: Why I started Dingbat Press

I always wanted to be a graphic designer and/or illustrator due to an inspiring and mentoring neighbor who sparked my interest at a young age. So school was a matter of finding the right BFA program. However, I found a husband first, so I made the best out of school that I could. Luckily, the university I received my BFA from had an excellent design program with amazing professors.

Due to my husband’s line of work (fly-fishing outfitter) I knew we’d be living rural and that I could work for someone else or work for myself. I did the agency thing for a few years and had a great experience there however later decided to take the plunge as our family expanded and I wanted to be at home more with my children. The business evolved out of my ADD obsession to create new designs whenever I felt like it, which led me to stationery. Letterpress was already an obsession and so the two naturally melded nicely.

What makes you do what you do? I do what I do because I love it. There’s just something so breathtaking in seeing a design go from the drawing board, to digital proofs, to press and then into the client’s hands. That final printed piece is what keeps me coming back to do more. There’s also the added perk that I can have a studio in my home, letting me be there for my family too.

To Be Continued….

Spring seems to be fluttering away here with the 2 feet of snow we got over the weekend that covered everything up again. Even my husband is disgusted with the snow, which is rare in and of itself. I was so excited to show you these, and now it seems I am jumping the gun but who really cares!

With butterflies emerging everywhere in the bridal sphere (think MS Weddings winter issue and so on). These would make a great thank you note or Mother’s Day gift. Available in the shop now! If you’d like them in a different color I’d be happy to accommodate you (minimum order of 18 cards – 3 sets for custom colors).

See it HERE!

With Mother’s Day around the further corner (I know Easter hops in first) I’ve been thinking about our addition to the brood and how my own mother has been such a great influence in my life. We almost lost her last December and I am constantly thinking about how life would be without her. I’ve been working on this vintageous line for awhile now and felt it was time to unveil one of my favorites in honor of my amazing mom who was not only thoughtful, but showed her love through action as well. Available as a single in the shop now!

Okay, these poppies were left over from another job and I wanted a way to use them instead of just let them go to waste since they are odd sized. I thought it might be cool added onto a colored card and now can’t decide on the placement/cropping.

Don’t mind the hideous photos, these were taken at night with our tungsten light bulbs. My camera and lens prefers natural daylight for good product shots.

The catch? Comment on your favorite, (left portrait, middle landscape, right portrait). You have until Saturday at noon MST (3/28). A winner will randomly be generated from the comments and you’ll get all three samples shown here as well as a 6 pack of the winning layout!

So I don’t know if I’m just slow or what, but I just discovered while browsing Etsy that you can buy individual cupcake stands! How adorable, paired with a cupcake tag and maybe some matching cupcake recipe cards for a birthday gift or Mother’s Day or Easter.

From Left to Right:

WhitneySmith : LEFT, Bird Cupcake Stand
FAR RIGHT: Stand with Scallop Bell Jar)

MichelleMiller: MidLEFT, Red Cupcake Stand (available in all sorts of colors though)

VesselsandWares: MidRIGHT: Yellow Cupcake Stand

This is what my tummy feels like all the time now. Catch them in the shop before they hop away!

I’ve always loved the schoolbookish look of the typeface Clarendon originally cut in the 1800s, however there’s never been a really great digital version until my recent discovery of ClarendoNeo Pro. There are over 900 glyphs and ligatures to complete this face including a combined text/display weight, swash options, old style numerical options, Cyrillic, small caps, alternate and discretional ligatures, and fractions! Not to mention the gorgeous ornamented letters you see here! If you feel inclined to purchase, FontHaus is offering a new free font with purchase (Gross Pointe Metro) as well. Check it out!

Clarendon has recently been thoughtfully researched and revived in 2007 by the German designer Björn Altmann.

In this economy, it’s more important than ever for consumers to know who’s behind the wheel in a business before making a purchase. Special event stationery and invitations are no exception, seeing that they can be significant in how they emulate what type of event is being thrown and can take up a large chunk of the event budget.

This is a small series that will be posted throughout the next few weeks giving insight into the business brains behind the designs and a little about my process, designs and why I do what I do.

What is the name of your business? I’m DBA Dingbat Press. Sometimes I get funny reactions and snickers from people when they hear my business name as they think I’m the dingbat (which in some cases I can be), however the historical reference behind the name is related to a printer’s dingbat, often used as ornamentation in typeset letterpress printing.

How long have you been in business? Since December 2005 – officially – however I’ve been printing for about 5, and designing invitations here and there since 2000.

What is your name, title, and role in the business? My name is Adrienne Berry. I am owner and sole-proprietor. My colleagues call me suzy homemaker, or the one-man-band because at this stage in my business I do it all: design, print, represent myself, take care of the house, love my kids and my hubby, be an accountant and gardener (when the spare moment arises).

To be Continued…

Some of you may have seen the Mimosa recipe cards posted earlier. Here is her counterpart, the 4Bar note! I love bright sunny colors, and this whole set I’ll be posting thorugh out the week is all printed in some vibrant hues. Enjoy!

I’ve always loved unique hair fascinators, and without a doubt WhichGoose has to be one of my favorite Etsy sellers. This was a custom order for Evelyn for her Easter dress, and now you can see the whole ensemble.I just can’t get enough of the pom poms.

I still have to sew the jacket but am happy the dress even fit since I spent all last Saturday night sewing it without a pattern! AND, it’s reversable: Thank you Britex Fabric for buying awesome Japanese brocade! Now I’m just kicking myself since I didn’t get enough yardage for a little something pretty for me.

On the left, is purple. To the right is the white reversible.

Do you tweet? To the right >>> you’ll notice a new little twitter button designed by yours truly. I’ve been convinced to tweet and am not quite sure what I should be doing here? Something about micro-blogging, giving everyone a peek into my 24 hour window via 140 character messages? To tell your friends about awesome giveaways like this one?

Well, who couldn’t be without a little cupcake love? I sure can’t! One of our favorite things to do around the house is bake cupcakes. Granted most of them are from cake mixes but we still love it! To share the love with you, I’m offering a give away of the freshly printed recipe cards and gift tags.

To ENTER:
Comment on this post as to why or why not you twitter.

If you want DOUBLE CHANCES, you can click on my Twitter button to follow the Dingbat Press feed.

If you desperately need this giveaway, for TRIPLE CHANCES, tweet about the giveaway on your own twitter profile. Your tweet will need to link back to this post!

The GOODS:
Set of 20 Cupcake Recipe cards. Letterpessed in pink, measuring 4×6″ AND
a set of 15 Cupcake Gift Tags (five of each pattern). Letterpressed in pink, measuring 1×6″ for all those cupcakes you have to share with everyone else!

Giveaway ends on Tuesday March 31 at midnight!