Image © and courtesy of Alphagraphics ChicagoWe are happy to announce that Sunlit Letterpress cards are now available at Alphagraphics in Chicago (1017 W Washington Blvd.)! What a beautiful brick building! (Because our weather is so mild here on the West Coast, we don't have a lot of brick buildings, so I miss seeing them.) Be sure to check out their new stationery storefront if you live in the Chicago area!
And now...time for the winner of the most recent Sunlit Letterpress Giveaway Contest...and the winner is...drumroll...
VENESSA! (comment #2, picked using the Random Number Generator at Random.org). Venessa suggested Joan's Papers and PaperNiche - two shops in Florida - thanks Venessa! Please send me your postal mailing address to the email address in the header of the blog and I will ship your letterpress goodies to you!
Thank you to everyone who participated by posting in the comment section. Hopefully our products will soon make it to your suggested shops so you can find our stationery in your area!
This week has been steadily busy with wedding invitation projects. As soon as I have a chance I will post photos of the completed pieces.
Happy letterpressing!
Only two days remain...submit your retail shop suggestions:Letterpress Giveaway ContestContest closes this Friday!
Thank you to everyone who has already entered!
Giveaway prize includes some letterpress coasters, notecards, gift tags, and a few other odds and ends :)
Good luck + happy letterpressing!
This week it seems we have truly entered the wedding season. I've been talking to a lot of brides about invitations and I've been thinking back to how fun and exciting wedding planning can be. Yes, it takes over your life, and yes you get worn out by it, but it is nice to look back once the big day is over and remember how all that effort turns into a day you will remember forever. Above is a photo from a few years ago of me with my mother who helped me plan my big day and who was ever so patient with me. God bless her - I was so nitpicky about everything that I would have driven most people crazy!
I've had a lot of questions from brides these past few weeks about how to pick your "RSVP by" date. Here is my simple rule: for local weddings, at least one month before (and for destination weddings, one to two months before (or earlier, depending on special travel requirements, etc.).
You'll want a month's notice for a variety of reasons: - The coordinator at your venue (reception hall, country club, hotel, etc.) will need to order food for your event at least two weeks before your event, and will probably want confirmation of your final numbers. Asking invitees to get back to you a month before gives you lots of time to figure it all out.
- Not everyone will reply, let alone reply on time. Yes, in a perfect world all of your invited guests would have manners like Emily Post - but in the real world you'll be lucky if 50% of your guests answer you. Be prepared to make phone calls to track people down and see if they are coming and if they are bringing a guest (if invited). A month gives you the time to sort the non-responders out!
- The earlier you get your RSVPs, the earlier you can figure out seating for your reception. "Meh...", you say, "I can do that the week before the wedding". Why stress yourself out? Get started early. I have a friend who left it until the night before her wedding day and stayed up until 2am trying to get everyone organized – not a good idea. Besides, you know Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Mike can't stand each other, and the groom's parents are divorced and shouldn't be within earshot, and someone needs to sit beside Grandpa to make sure he doesn't help himself to too much vino, and...You get the idea.
- Knowing how many people are coming earlier in the game will also allow you to figure out how many favors you will need, how many programs and menus to print, and you can get a head start on place cards and other details.
If you are hoping to book for letterpress wedding invitations for this summer, I strongly urge you to contact the studio as soon as you can to avoid disappointment. We are currently booking press time into March 2009 with a turnaround of 3-4 weeks.
LETTERPRESS GIVEAWAY CONTEST! I have a few items from our ready-to-wear stationery line ready to be given away...All you need to do is leave a comment below and list a gift/stationery/florist or other retail store in your area (anywhere in the world!) that you would like to see carry Sunlit Letterpress products. We are trying to build our retail network and I am looking for suggestions of stores that would be a good fit. Please leave the name of the store below (and website if you know it!). Bonus points (extra giveaway stuff!) if you know the name of the store owner :) Contest closes Friday February 20th 2009 at 12 PM Pacific time! Happy letterpressing!
It's long overdue, but it's finally ready for you retailers to check it out - our wholesale catalog. To receive your copy and find out about carrying Sunlit Letterpress' products in your shop, please contact our studio.
Later this week I will have another blog contest for some free letterpress goodness...so check back later for your chance to win!
Happy letterpressing!
Image © and courtesy of Alphagraphics Chicago
