Gold Foil Holiday 2015 Cards Available Now!

Hello Letterpress Lovers! Just a quick post to let you know that the 2015 Sunlit Letterpress Holiday Card is now available for purchase on Etsy. This year I hand lettered "Let it Snow" in brush script with sumi ink along with some snowflake designs and ink blots, and transferred the design in gold foil to a thick white 120 lb. cover. The cards are available in sets of 4 or 10 and ship within 24 hrs. Limited quantities are available, so order early to avoid disappointment! Limited rush wholesale orders on this design are available – please contact the studio for details.

 

"Love Is" Typographic Print Corinthians 1:13

Due to popular demand (and feedback at the September Etsy Made in Canada event), our popular "Love Is" letterpress art print is now available in a larger size at 8" x 10". The print is still available at the original 5" x 7" size, and we are also now offering a framed version:

You can purchase the typographic "Love Is" letterpress art prints in our Etsy shop:

5" x 7" Unframed "Love Is" Letterpress Art Print

8" x 10" Unframed "Love Is" Letterpress Art Print

5" x 7" Framed "Love Is" Letterpress Art Print

Enjoy!

Most Wanted Wedding Shoes | Fashion Post

{ 1. Kate Spade Charm Slingback in White Glitter; 2. Giuseppe Zanotti Chiffon Bow Sandal; 3. Manolo Blahnik Swan Embellished Satin Pump; 4. Rene Caovilla Crystal T-Strap Sandal in Gold; 5. Christian Louboutin Demi You Glittered Red Sole Pump; 6. Rene Caovilla Twist Strap Crystal Embellished Sandal in Silver; 7. Badgley Mischka Piper Feather Toe Pumps; 8. Badgley Mischka Jeannie Peep Toe Pumps; 9. Badgley Mischka Poetry-II Embellished Pump; 10. Jimmy Choo Cinderella 110; 11. Stuart Weitzman Pavé Nudist Swarovski Crystal Sandal; 12. Jimmy Choo Vivien 85}

Copper Foil Happy Birthday Cards

I just love foil – don't you? There is something so special about gold, copper or silver foil against a nice piece of thick card stock. Foil printing is such a hot trend these days, and we thought it might be nice to mix it up with some of our other favorite trends (delicate calligraphy and a folksy floral art pattern). The background floral pattern was digitized from an acrylic painting I did earlier this year in black, white, and shades of grey (not 50 shades of grey...but close). The "happy birthday" lettering was printed in a copper foil and extends to the edges of the card.  You can buy these foil birthday cards in sets of 4 with envelopes in our Etsy shop.

The plants – well, those are from a bush outside our studio. I can't take any credit for them since they were here before we moved in. I love the little berries; although they do cause me a lot of grief, since I am constantly shooing my children away from them (they think they are blueberries), and I have just assumed they are poisonous. If you know what they are, please let me know :)

Sunlit Letterpress Wins Best Wedding Invitation from Canadian Wedding Industry Awards

We are excited, proud and honoured to accept the 2014 Canadian Wedding Industry Award's Best Wedding Invitation Award for the BC Region! Thank you very much to all the judges (how exciting to know that Randy Fenoli [Say Yes to the Dress], Ellen Black {Lehr + Black], Marcy Blum [Marcy Blum & Associates], Rebecca Grinnals [Engaging Concepts], Laura Gutkin [Etsy Canada] and Francis Guindon [Maison Birks] were judging something we created!) and congratulations to all the winners from across Canada!

If you would like award-winning design and craftsmanship for your wedding stationery, please contact our studio. We are now booking wedding stationery consultations and orders for January 2015, so get in touch with us early to avoid disappointment :)

Happy New Year!

Fashion Post | NYC Bridal Market Spring 2014 Trends | Subtle Color

It's taken me a while to get this post put together, but as promised, here is the second installment in our series of posts about NYC Bridal Market Spring 2014 trends! The second trend I took note of (and enjoyed) was the subtle use of color in various designer's gowns for next year. Now I remember way, way back when (the exact year I couldn't say but I'm going to venture to guess early 2000s?), when color was used in bridal gowns – and I remember some of the almost garish mixes of black and bright reds in lace overlays and so on. In my opinion, it wasn't a good look!

Jump forward to Spring 2014 and we have some really pretty and delicate use of color in a variety of gowns – from subtle lace detailing to full blown floods of pastels, golds, sand tones, peaches, and even lilacs and rose tones (the Rivini Paradisio gown below is shown in "Coral Mist" – such a great name for this golden shade). The Angel Sanchez gown really takes my breath away – it is just so exquisite and balletic.

Below are some of my favorite colored gowns from Spring 2014. In the Fall 2014 collections we see some brighter colors (especially some of the brighter selections from Vera Wang), but the Spring collections were more reserved – which I love.

Would you wear a colored gown on your wedding day – or is traditional white or ivory more your style?

{1. Oscar de la Renta - Analeigh, 2. Angel Sanchez - N10004, 3. Romona Keveza, 4. Oscar de la Renta - Aline, 5. Austin Scarlett - Flora, 6. Austin Scarlett - Azalea, 7. Claire Pettibone - Primrose, 8. Romona Keveza, 9. Rivini - Paradisio, 10. Claire Pettibone - Abigail } p.s. We would love to design a custom letterpress wedding invitation for you based on a subtle color palette or the detailing of your wedding gown. Contact our Vancouver letterpress studio for details!

Holiday 2013 | Letterpress Gift Ideas – Custom Letterpress Notecard Sets

{ 1. Chevron; 2. Confetti Monogram; 3. Hearts; 4. Bunting; 5. Engravers; 6. Neutral; 7. Banner Name; 8. Monogram; 9. Handwritten; 10. Confetti }

Are you trying to find the perfect custom holiday gift for a friend, relative, or client that is truly special? A person who is there for you when you need them most, or the client that brought you most of your business this year? Personalized note cards also make a great gift for children – one less toy to clutter the house, and you can get them into the habit of writing thank you notes (our Bunting design was designed with kids in mind).

Customized letterpress notecards are a thoughtful gift that everyone can use, and the recipient will remember you every time they take out their signature Sunlit Letterpress custom stationery box to write a new note (perhaps a note to you to thank them for their stationery!).

Our ready-to-wear (pre-designed) notecards are available in 15 different designs and in 12 different ink colors. Customize the cards with your name or your gift recipient's name, initials, or other short text, your favorite ink color, and finishing options (rounded or straight corners).

Order your custom letterpress note cards in sets of 25, 50, or 100. Cards are a flat (unfolded) standard A2 size (5.5”w x 4.25”h) and are printed in one color on ultra luxurious white 140 lb. French Paper cover stock. Each order also includes A2 kraft brown envelopes (25, 50, or 100 depending on order size). Your notecards will be beautifully wrapped with our signature packaging in a natural kraft box ready for gift giving.

Your order will be printed and shipped within 2 weeks of receipt of final proof sign-off. Rush turnaround is available at an additional charge – please inquire for more details.

How to Order Your Cards

Check out our custom letterpress note card ordering guide!

• STEP 1: PLACE YOUR ORDER
  To order, please purchase via our online shop or e-mail us with your choice of design, ink color, and order quantity.
  
• STEP 2: SUBMIT YOUR PAYMENT
  If ordering via our online shop, payment will be collected upon purchase. If ordering direct, we will send an e-invoice for your order total upon receipt of your order.  If you would rather submit payment by cheque, money order, or online bank transfer, please let us know and we will make arrangements to process your payment.
  
• STEP 3: APPROVE YOUR PROOF
  Once your payment is received, we will prepare an electronic proof of your cards and e-mail it to you for approval. Once approved, we will process, print and ship your order!

To order in time for the holidays, please contact us today to avoid disappointment!

p.s. Unlike our 100% custom letterpress note card offerings, we are able to keep costs lower for these ready-to-wear cards because they are pre-designed, only offered in certain quantities that minimize costs, and are only available in a smaller range of ink colors. If none of the design options meet your specific needs, please let us know and we will be happy to provide an estimate for a 100% custom option just for you – with a unique design, in the quantities you need, with additional finishing and envelope options, and in any ink color you choose. For more information, please contact the studio.

Fashion Post | NYC Bridal Market Spring 2014 Trends | Beautiful Backs

The New York International Bridal Week (Bridal Market) wrapped up just over a week ago, and I noticed some exciting and beautiful trends in the Spring 2014 collections. One trend I really loved (I'll post about some others later) was how so many designers really focused a tremendous amount of attention on the design of the back of their gowns. From ornate embellishment and beading to lace illusion backs and exquisite embroidery, there were numerous gowns that simply took my breath away. Claire Pettibone is my new favorite designer when it comes to the beautiful back trend; the backs of her gowns were so delicate and romantic, with just the right amount of detail. You really could not add or take anything away to make the dresses more beautiful than they already are. The Amsale gown is not quite in the same category of lace and detail, but I like it because it is still a dramatic back without being over the top.

Considering that most of your wedding guests will spend a significant amount of time looking at your back during your ceremony, why not go for some drama with one of these gorgeous numbers?

{ 1. Claire Pettibone – Aphrodite, 2. Claire Pettibone – Toile Francais, 3. Claire Pettibone – Genevieve, 4. Claire Pettibone – Alma, 5. Ines Di Santo – Clementine, 6. Claire Pettibone –Papillon, 7. Claire Pettibone – Alchemy, 8. Amsale – Newport, 9. Rivini – Lanai, 10. Rivini – Avina, 11. Reem Acra, 12. Angel Sanchez – N10000 }
p.s. We would love to design a custom letterpress wedding invitation for you based on the lace and embellishment of your wedding gown. Contact our Vancouver letterpress studio for details!

Chevron Letterpress Notecards

Do you love the whole chevron trend? I do! I'm hoping it sticks around a while longer so I can keep printing this pattern on a variety of pieces.  The above pink chevron pattern is printed on French Paper's 140 lb. Muscletone stock and comes as a set of 4 A2 cards with 4 envelopes. You can find them here in our NEW BigCartel shop.

We recently decided to give BigCartel a try and see how it goes. To be honest, I've become a bit disillusioned with Etsy of late (as have many other sellers), especially after their recent policy changes. What started as a virtual handmade marketplace has now turned into a sort of pseudo-eBay – minus the bidding. Before, an Etsy seller was not allowed to have employees (the seller him/herself had to do the design and manufacturing – hence the "handmade"), you could not use drop-shipping, etc. These policies were created with the idea that limiting such activities would allow for success for the little guy/gal and provide a home for handmade crafters and artists. Well, most of these policies were recently trashed, so Etsy now favours mass-producers and sellers who farm their knitting, jewelry assembly, etc. to other countries with cheap labour. Now don't get me wrong – I'm all for progress and all that jazz, and I'm certainly not anti-capitalism or anything, but for a business that is scheduled to bring in over $1 billion this year in annual transaction fees, did they not have anyone on staff think that all these changes to the core business would not offend or turn away their original sellers? Hmmm. Who knows.

Anyways - our BigCartel shop is now open with a listing for the chevron letterpress notecards. Check it out! I hope to create more listings for Sunlit Letterpress there soon.

Wood Grain Letterpress Notecards + Mini Wood Grain Letterpress Notecards

Now available in our Etsy shop...

A2 (5.5" x 4.25") Wood Grain Letterpress Notecards - Set of 4 with printed envelopes

Mini (4" x 2.25") Wood Grain Letterpress Notecards - Set of 5 with printed envelopes

The mini notecards are the same size as the little cards you find at the florist that you can insert into a bouquet or plant that you buy for someone as a gift.

Enjoy!

Desert Time

Last year I was contacted by a great couple from my hometown that are getting married this March in Palm Springs. I was excited and loved designing their invitations because I totally dig the whole Palm Springs modernist vibe and arts scene - and this was my chance to try to capture a California wedding destination on paper. I haven't photographed the whole suite yet since we haven't had a good clear sunny day for lighting in a while (Yay for living in the Pacific Northwest [not]). Anyways, above is a photo of one of the pieces with the wedding logo I created for the couple. I thought two palms together would tie the wedding and the destination together into one motif with names and the wedding date.

My family just returned from Palm Springs and while we were visiting we had a night away sans kiddies (thanks Mum and Dad). When I was sitting at the hotel pool I saw two palms staring back at me and it made me think of the invitations. So, I snapped a shot poolside.

This week we are just finishing up the menus and thank you notes for Celia and Jonathan's wedding. More photos to come!

As a side note, if you are ever in Palm Springs I highly recommend Birba Restaurant on North Palm Canyon Drive. Holy yum. And a Negroni Sbagliato that will blow your mind. The fact that it was Modernism Week meant lots of interesting people and clothing (I didn't know Pucci designed men's suits...but I'm pretty sure I saw a few vintage ones at Birba).

We are back to the sunshine in a few weeks (to HI) - maybe for good this time :)  I am looking forward to leaving all this rain behind!

Happy New Year!

Hello friends – I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the holiday season! Since 2013 is about to arrive, I thought I would do an end-of-year post with a few updates.

First, I am happy to announce that Sunlit Letterpress was a finalist for Best Wedding Stationery for the 2012 British Columbia Professional Wedding Awards. The photos below are of the invitations that placed us in the top three for the British Columbia.  These invitations were for Sharon and Faizal, a great couple from Vancouver that was married in Waikiki, HI, earlier this year.

This was the most technically difficult invitation I have designed and printed to date – with envelopment printing and very tight (hairline) registration for the pieces with the background pattern and borders. Forgive the printer jargon – when one color is printed first and the second color is printed on a separate pass, and the two colors meet exactly at a point and the inks cannot overlap or be separated by a gap – this is hairline registration. With a 100+ year old Chandler and Price printing press, getting the registration right is nightmarish to say the least. Although you can’t see it on the paper or in the photos, there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears in these pieces!

A special congratulations to my friend and fellow invitation designer Tammy of Uniquity Invitations who was also a stationery finalist this year!

Although I had hoped to get back to work in mid-December, I have not quite made it back. As I mentioned in my previous post, we welcomed our second daughter in mid-October. As wonderful as having a second child has been, I was unprepared (or just had unrealistic expectations) for how much less time and energy I would have left for work/studio time with two young children. Most days I struggle to find time to fit in a shower, let alone get any work done. Our baby girl has had some gastrointestinal issues that have made things much more challenging than with our first. I am hoping that as we settle into more of a routine after the New Year that I will find a bit of time to head back to the studio – just in time for the start of wedding season. However, this year I will definitely have to cut back on the number of projects/clients that I take on because I just won’t be able to handle a heavy workload like before.

This year has been a very tough one for our family on a personal level, and I am very much looking forward to it being over. Other than the birth of our second little girl, watching our oldest daughter grow and change, and attending a private party in Vegas hosted by Michael Jordan and Alan Thicke (a story for another day!), this year will go down as one of my worst. I have experienced struggles and challenges in many areas and they have tested my strength and resilience. I am very grateful to those who were there for us during the hard days – especially when my husband was very ill - and who continue to be ready to help. We are working with a neurologist and hope to have more answers about my husband's condition soon.

I hope 2013 will be better for us all!

Best wishes to you and Happy New Year!

Custom Orchid Letterpress Invitations

Despite some recent health issues, I am finally getting back to work slowly in fits and spurts. On Sunday I completed our first press run in over 5 months. It was a bit challenging since I am still not 100% and the studio has moved to a new location since I last printed anything, so it was frustrating trying to find studio supplies that weren't where I expected them to be. My press was also a bit squeaky since some of the oil had worked its way out of oil holes during the move, so I had to hunt down each squeak and re-oil and lubricate joints. Nevertheless the 250 piece print job was completed and I enjoyed getting back into the rhythm of printing and moving to the beat of my 1,200 lb press.

My recent downtime has allowed me to get the camera out and take a few photos of jobs past - including the above photos of letterpress invitations we designed and printed last year for a couple in Toronto. We worked closely with their wedding planner (who is based here in Vancouver) for most of the design phase and printing of the letterpress stationery, and then we worked with the planner and the couple again to design their "day-of" wedding stationery that was to be printed digitally (including menus, programs, favor tags, and place cards). The ink used was a dark eggplant purple on Pearl White Crane Lettra stock.

If you are interested in having us design and print your custom letterpress wedding invitations and wedding stationery, please be in touch. We look forward to working with you!

Custom Letterpress Wedding Invitations - Peonies and Silhouette

These custom letterpress wedding invitations were designed and printed for a couple from Hong Kong. We worked together via email to design the invitations according to their vision, and the couple happened to be travelling to Vancouver earlier this year and picked them up in person. It was fun to meet clients from overseas after working with them remotely - with most of our overseas clients we never get this opportunity.

I think the couple actually mailed their invitations out from Canada while they were visiting because the postage was cheaper from here to many of their guests living in the United States.

These invitations were printed on 110 lb. Crane Lettra Pearl with a robin's egg blue ink. A separate invitation was also printed in yellow ink for the reception only. RSVP was by email and this information was included on the invite itself, rather than having a separate RSVP card.

For more price lists and more information on custom letterpress wedding invitations, please contact the studio.

Updated Lead Times for Wedding Stationery

Hello friends!

Just a quick post to let you know that custom letterpress wedding invitation suites are now taking 5-7 weeks lead time for the design and printing process instead of 4-6 (as stated in our information sheets and on our website). If you need wedding invitations this year, I strongly urge you to get in touch with the studio early to avoid disappointment. Also, if our plans come to fruition, we will be moving the studio again (ugh...not another move!) this Spring, so we will have a period of a couple of weeks of press downtime - so be sure to schedule your order early!

If you would like more information on our custom letterpress wedding invitations, please contact the studio. We look forward to working with you!

Letterpress Love for Your Valentine

Get 10% off Letterpress Lovers Club memberships in time for Valentine's Day! Use coupon code CUPID2012 at checkout. Applies to 3, 6, and 12-month memberships! Visit our Etsy shop to purchase. Offer expires February 14th, 2012. Enjoy!


What is the Letterpress Lovers Club?

Letterpress treats delivered monthly to your mailbox! Join our Letterpress Lovers Club - the letterpress-of-the month club where the recipient will receive a unique letterpress stationery item once a month for the duration of their membership.

Each month the item will be different - a fun surprise in your mailbox - and will include an assortment of stationery items such as notecard or greeting card sets, art prints, gift tags, letterpress printed packaging items, seasonal stationery pieces, etc.

Buy a membership for yourself or as a gift for someone special!

Free Letterpress Stationery for the First Three Responders

We have some extra notecards and other bits and pieces of letterpress stationery on our shelves that we'd like to give away to the first three people to respond.

Here are the rules:

- you have to be from Canada
- you have to "like" our Facebook page
- you have to leave a comment on our Facebook page (don't leave your comment here, go to Facebook) answering the following question:

If you had an unlimited wedding budget, which Vancouver vendor would you pick for your:

a) wedding venue
b) wedding photographer
c) wedding planner, and
d) wedding cake designer

If you are already married that's ok, just go ahead and list who you would have chosen for your wedding if money was not an issue.

First three people to post will be sent a letterpress package. Please email us your mailing address once you've posted on the page.

Enjoy!