The Dingbat’s Agenda

  • November29th

    BLACK FRIDAY, letterpress Tuesday

    Posted in: Business, Business Papers, Calling Cards, Edge Painting

    Never one to follow tradition, I received a lovely email from a colleague yesterday morning wondering if I’d hold my Cyber Monday promotions and instead launch them on Tuesday as part of a Letterpress Tuesday promotion – specifically showcasing letterpress artisans and their holiday goodies on sale. I of course opted out of Cyber Monday and am happy to announce that for the next 24 hours (YES, RIGHT NOW) you can get 25% off ANYTHING in our online shop until midnight tonight (MST).

    These black letterpress calling cards were printed on a black 80# coverstock (I think it was AstroBrights paper). Black can be tricky on press because letterpress inks are very transparent and do not get good opacity when printing on dark papers. We like to recommend a color mix with opaque white to help bulk up the color (PMS Silver 877 works great too if you can afford to have a little tonality with the grey).

    With the left-overs we decided to add a teal edge paint to see how it would take to the black. I feel like I’m having an 80′s flashback!

    Because I just couldn’t get enough, I decided to see what a lavender would look like. If you want to order a set for yourself, you can customize them right here and we’ll make sure they look radical before they ship out to you! If you are unsure about color, stick with lighter hues. They will print and show-up much better than darker colors on the color wheel.

  • October24th

    Ciocia Ela

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Color, letterpress technique

    Happy Monday friends! We had the wonderful opportunity to develop branding for Nelly Wu who makes beautiful handbags and every day goods. It has been so long ago that we did her branding that I only just realized that we never blogged the finished product until we did a re-print for her business cards! As you can see below, these are a single color business card. Pantone match fuchsia, printed on 110# lettra and paired with 1/4″ rounded corners.To see Nelly’s work click over to her spectacular shop!

    The great thing about single color letterpress is that when you re-print you can switch up the color to whatever suits your fancy. It is very cost effective in letterpress terms, and really creates a great minimalist look. Many people totally rule out single color business cards, but it is a great way to get creative with the design or illustration and a fun challenge to make the design interesting for one color printing.

  • March11th

    Preview Week: Day 3 – REJECTED!

    Posted in: branding, posted by ADRIENNE

    As humans we all have off days. Here was a reject day. I worked on these among many other concepts and was really hitting a brick wall. Some of the rejections. Yes I’m glad we’ve moved on from this. I can’t wait to show you the final branding down the road!!!!

     

  • November17th

    Brittany Gerth Proofs

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Business Papers

    These proofs for Brittany are in the final stages of implementation. After presenting her logos for her branding package, brittany narrowed it down and we indicated options and alternatives from the scheme she had selected. What is your favorite?
    Upon completing her branding and refinement with typography, colormetrics and styling, we presented business card layouts for Brittany in The Euro 1.5×3.5″, The Square 2.5×2.5″, and Standard 2×3.5″. These were bid out as a 2/0 letterpress printed card and whatever she chooses will so rock!

  • August23rd

    October Wedding Proofs

    Posted in: announcements, Wedding

    These were presented to a bride who was looking for a bright fall wedding suite for her event in October.

    Option 1: Maple Leaf wedding suite
    Maple Leaf Fall Wedding Invitations

    This concept plays off a beautiful photo of a wedding cake with the maple leaves that the client sent over. Seeing that she had mentioned wanting bright colors, we explored oranges and warm coral/red on this option. We were going for elegant with the calligraphy typeface however wanted to explore some unique layouts for this. The inner envelope would be lined with the maple leaves liner, and the outer envelope is the cream, matching the paper stock used for the invites. The inner envelope is in poppy and both envelopes would look beautiful addressed with chocolate ink for her guests.

    ………………………………………

    Option 2: Heart Thumbprint wedding invitations

    Fingerprint Heart Wedding Invitations

    We LOVED the thumbprint heart concept that the client presented and thought it would be a good design to add in the requested plum color and the orange. Because we wanted to place emphasis on the thumbprint, we wanted the remainder of the invitation to invoke a minimalist feel with beautiful large margins and flowing typography to tie it in all together. Since the thumbprint is such a personal element of a human and no two are the same, we wanted to maintain that feel in the invitation with a simple typeface reflecting classic school penmanship. There are added dingbats throughout the layout as well, reflecting back on the symbolism of the heart and tying in the typography with the emblem. The envelop liner on this design is an overprint of purple ink on purple paper, to give the envelope a really stunning pop when opened. It sort of adds the detailing in the other pieces without making it look too elaborate or over the top.

    ………………………………………

    Option 3: Modern Dahlia wedding invitations

    Dahlia Wedding Invitation Proofs

    The last option was based off some client provided photos of the dahlias in a beautiful peach color. We wanted to bring in a monochromatic feel to this invite, emphasizing the oranges and peaches that are evident in that photo. Again we wanted to explore a more unique approach to the invitation layout with the typography. The flower pattern is carried across all the invitation pieces, and will make such a beautiful impression when printed.

    If you were getting hitched, what suite would you go for?

  • June29th

    Paper + Nest : Final Cards

    Posted in: business cards

    Below are Amanda’s final printed cards. You can read more about her brand re-fresh and see the initial proofs for Paper + Nest as well as process by clicking.

    Paper + Nest

    These were printed on 110# lettra in matte silver and matte metallic lavender.

    If you are interested in a brand refresh or custom work, not only do we provide letterpress printing but design services as well. Contact us for info or a bid on custom letterpress printing for your business or purchase a letterpress sample pack here!

  • June21st

    Soiree Floral, Business Pack

    Posted in: branding, business cards

    Soiree Floral, Design Proofs

    These letterpress business cards were done for Dawn of Soiree Floral. She had her logo and Soiree Floral typography but needed help tying it into business card layout and design.  The only recommendations were her pantone numbers, the possible exploration of a blind impression, and wanting to see some stripes in the design as a 2.5×2.5″ square letterpress printed card. With her unique logo, I knew it would be so tactile when printed as the tear-drop would reverse out and look embossed when finished.

    Soiree Floral, Pantone Match

    Her light lavender/plum color scheme was a great change of pace as I haven’t printed purple in ages too. Above is Dawn’s pantone match and below the final printed business set.

    Soiree Floral, Final A6 Note and Biz cards

    Letterpress printed on 110# paper for both pieces, the A6 (4.5×6″) notes were paired with matching un-printed envelopes, and the business cards (2.5×2.5″) were printed as a 2/0 color job with 1/4″ rounded corners. To see some of Dawn’s inspiring work, check out her website and blog and be prepared to be wowed!

  • May5th

    Final Cards : Adley Studio

    Posted in: Business, business cards

    AdleyStudio

    These cards shipped earlier this year for Leslie of Adley Studio. Lesley had a specific vision for these cards and they turned out to be so elegant. She wanted to utilize her business name as her logo and wanted it clean/simple/fresh. On the rear she wanted some sort of monogram or pattern with her studio name to add texture and variation. Letterpress printed on 220# lettra, 2/1 with royal purple and matte silver ink.

  • April19th

    Brand re-fresh: Paper + Nest

    Posted in: business cards

    Paper+Nest Proofs

    It was such a pleasure to work with Amanda of Paper + Nest on this branding refresh. Amanda already had a great start with her nest element but wanted more help with her typography and layout specifically. This was a fun card to design for letterpress because all these amazing elements would look so awesome letterpress printed.

    When working with this, I wanted to explore some typefaces that were softer as the main stationery she is looking to rep are wedding, personal and baby. I thought that with her modern look we needed to try some soft options as well as typefaces that were light in weight. In all of these layouts, I wanted to be consistent with the natural elements of the nest and to do so we adapted it from its straight lines to a more roughed up and organic look.

    I can’t wait to see where Amanda goes with these cards and who she picks up for representation in her trunk shows. Amanda, will you rep me? You’ve been so fun to work with, I can’t wait to blog about the finished letterpress printed piece!

    If you are interested in a brand refresh or custom work, not only do we provide letterpress printing but design services as well. Contact us for info or a bid on custom letterpress printing for your business or purchase a letterpress sample pack here!

  • February11th

    Mod Wedding RII Proofs

    Posted in: Wedding

    After narrowing these mod wedding invititations down from the round I proofs and punching color to a brighter scheme, we explored some typeface options. This next round we looked at Memoir and Handsome Pro Classic along with illustration that gave a little more cirque d soleil and 60s vibe. The bride still can’t decide whether to have the layout done by a calligrapher so I tried to reflect in type as close as possible to what style she was going for.

    The bride also wanted to explore incorporating a peony motif into one of the designs so here’s what we came up with on that regard. I can’t wait to see where these go for the final piece. They are going to be simply stunning when plated and printed letterpress.

  • February3rd

    Signature Dingbat Brights!

    Posted in: Custom

    Signature Dingbat A6 Flat letterpress notes

    Another set of Signature Dingbat letterpress A6 notes. These were super fun because the client was ordering them for a gift and decided to mix up ink and envelope. Generally people choose matching ink/envelope combos with the envelope printed in a hue darker. This lovely lady made it fun for me because she wanted a contrasting envelope and then ink color the same on both the card and envelope. Printed on 110# Lettra in an A6 size, these are perfect as a bridesmaid gift, mother-of-the-bride gift, or for anyone in your bridal party!

  • September8th

    GNO, Giveaway!

    Posted in: GIVEAWAY

    I printed these Halloween Ghoul’s Night Out party packs last year and sold one set! There are now too many taking up precious space in my studio so I’m offering one for FREE and have slashed the price from $55 to $40 in the shop.

    Ghoul's Night Out, Halloween Giveaway

    THE GOODS:

    12, A6 Letterpress Invitations (Imprintable) – 2 Color (Silver|metallic purple) with matching envelopes.
    12, 2.5×2.5″ Heavy weight letterpress coasters, reverse printed.
    12,  letterpress Escort cards|Place Cards and mini-lopes.

    To enter: Comment by Thursday the 10th at midnight MST!

  • August12th

    Custom Quotation

    Posted in: Custom

    I think this is my new favorite project as of late. Custom letterpress quote 8×10 prints! It’s spiffy to have someone come to me with a quote and then try to graphically portray it for them. This one was from one friend to another and I love how it turned out. I did an edition of 10 that will be available in the shop soon – printed like the image below. There’s also an edition of 5 on black paper (super rad) with a double strike of silver ink for stars and quote.

    Evening Sky Print

    Printed on Arches 140# paper, 2 colors – silver & lavender

    If I could hold a star for every time you’ve made me smile,
    and entire evening’s sky would be in the palm of my hand.

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