Sunlit Letterpress Published in HOW Magazine

I finally got my copy of HOW Magazine's July/August issue – and I am very excited to present to you our page. The article, Paper Market, was about designers that have created their own stationery lines, and how they've managed to do it. I am very grateful to Bryn Mooth at HOW for considering Sunlit Letterpress for this article, and for including us amongst the other wonderful designers that were featured.

The funny thing about this article is that years ago, I set a goal - "one day I'm going to be in HOW Magazine". I thought maybe by the time I was 40 I'd have something in the magazine. I'm happy to tick this goal off the list early!

Anyways, be sure to pick up a copy of this issue - the editors have really put together some great articles that look at how designers today are going back to their roots, using their hands, and producing some great work outside of the limitations of the corporate design sphere. The issue really covers the handmade movement well. I especially love the article about how Linzie Hunter is making art out of annoying junk e-mail. Her work is just delightful (and hilarious).

This week I have a few custom projects to work on, some wholesale orders to finish, and a lot of studio housekeeping tasks to complete. I'll post some pictures when I can.

To my fellow Canadians - Happy Canada Day (Bonne Fête du Canada)! Enjoy the holiday!

Happy letterpressing!

Weekend Printing

© 2008 Sunlit Letterpress

This weekend we spent some time printing a few custom letterpress orders, including the above blind impression monogram cards for a client in the U.K. There is nothing sweeter than a crisp, blind impression. So simple and elegant.

What are you doing on July 26th? Sunlit Letterpress has been invited to attend a "Meet the Designer" event at Gingerly in Maple Ridge on Saturday July 26th - more details to follow. Come say hello and check out some of our new letterpress products. Other Vancouver-based designers will be at the event, and the Gingerly store is a perfect place to pick up unique gifts (especially for summer weddings). More information to follow in the next few weeks...

Like I promised, I will be holding a contest for some letterpress stationery soon - I just have to get things organized. So stay tuned to enter : )

Have a great week, and happy letterpressing!

Will Smith - Letterpress Repairman

© 2008 Sunlit Letterpress

I guess it has been a little while since my last post. Lots of stuff going on in the studio, but more design than letterpress printing at the moment. Nevertheless, I did try my hand at some perfect binding the other day, and the photo above is of a letterpress notebook that resulted from my efforts. It was a fun experiment.

So you're probably wondering about my post title - about Will Smith. Well, did you know that in an upcoming movie (Seven Pounds) he plays a man that wins the heart of a letterpress printer (played by Rosario Dawson) by fixing her broken press (a Heidelberg Windmill, affectionately named "the Beast" by Rosario's character). From what I've heard, Rosario's character is dying, but she still manages to fall in love with Smith's character when he fixes her press. How cute (well, totally cheesy actually, but still...). I'll go see it just because there is a press playing a leading role. Release date is December 8th.

The movie should be interesting - a couple of printers in the states apparently trained Rosario to run the presses so that she would be convincing in the film. I hear she was a good student and learned quickly. I wonder if demand for letterpress printing will increase after the release of the film?

In other news, I am planning a contest of sorts for this blog in the next coming week or so. If you've ever bought any of our stationery, please stay tuned for more info!

Happy letterpressing!

Tyson Gets Well!

If you don't already know, we are big animal lovers around here. In fact, the studio assistant is a 2-year-old boxer (that we have to keep out of the inks and press grease so he doesn't track it everywhere!). So we were so thrilled to hear from the BC SPCA Biscuit Fund - they let us know that the dog we sponsored is healthy and well and loving his new family. Yay Tyson!

Here is the text from the photo:

Oops! You've caught me red handed or should I say pawed. Since I've received surgery through the Biscuit Fund to remove the growth on my side, I have been adopted into a great home.

My new guardians provide me with lots of great stuffed animals to "play" with and when my toys have "expired" sometimes I sneak into the kid's rooms and steal theirs. Don't tell on me!

As a special treat my guardians blow bubbles for me to chase around the yard. It's hard to believe but I could be even happier, if only my guardians would stop locking up the garbage can!

You can sponsor a special pet that needs medical care too - visit http://bcspca.ca/biscuit/index.shtml!

Happy letterpressing!

Monograms + More

© 2008 Sunlit Letterpress

It's Friday again - can you believe it? Where does the time go?

This week I worked on some new custom monogram orders (see photo above monogram in chocolate brown with kraft envelopes for Carron in Maryland). I also worked on a non-letterpress invitation for a luxury hotel in Victoria (BC) that is having an unveiling party for it's new renovations and restaurant opening. I really enjoyed designing that invitation - although I love letterpress, I do also design invitations for offset and digital printing - and switching back and forth is fun. When I get my hands on a hard copy of the invitation, I'll be sure to post.

This week I've been feeling a bit isolated - this happens every once in a while. Working for yourself is fun, but unless you have interactions with other people everyday, you can start feeling like a recluse. I guess it sort of comes with the territory - lots of designers, artists, and printers work alone. I've been looking at some local Etsy-related craft groups to join, but a lot of these are downtown, and I'm in the burbs. It would be great if there were a burb-centered group of designers that met every once in a while to talk shop. It would be an opportunity to meet new people who know what you're talking about (if I start talking about logo design with my friends and family, their eyes start glazing over). Where are all the suburban designers at? I can't be the only one :)

I've gotten a few questions lately from readers asking if they will be able to get a decent impression with a table-top press (specifically Kelseys). As I've noted in previous posts, the short answer is no. The long answer is - if you get good paper, pack your press right, print something with a small surface area, and try other tricks like dampening your paper before printing - you can sometimes get an impression. But, will you get an impression equivalent to what a floor model press could produce? No, sorry : (

In other news...One thing I am super excited about is that my husband and I finally picked dates for our trip to Asia in September. As long as I can remember I've always wanted to go to Japan. I have always been in love with Japanese design and art. My husband's co-workers tell me there is not only a printing museum in Tokyo, but also a paper museum. I can't wait to take in the architecture and bright signs and...I'll be on visual overload I'm sure.

By the way, if you are a member of Facebook and haven't joined the Sunlit Letterpress Facebook Group, c'mon down!

So that's it for now, happy letterpressing!