One-Month Trial Letterpress Stationery Subscription Now Available + Giveaway | Letterpress Lovers Club

Are you a letterpress lover, or know someone who loves a good piece of stationery? Maybe you've heard of our Letterpress Lovers Club (our monthly letterpress stationery subscription service), but you're a bit of a commitment-phobe or are just not sure you want to sign-up long term (3, 6, or 12-month subscription) without checking out a sample mailing first. You can now sign-up for a one-month trial of our Letterpress Lovers Club membership to check out a delivery for yourself.

And yes, we ship worldwide! You don't have to be a resident of Canada or the US to receive letterpress stationery treats each month in your snail mailbox!

We are so excited about worldwide shipping that we're offering one one-month trial delivery as a giveaway! Enter by posting a comment below and telling us about the best piece of snail mail you ever received – was it a letter from your grandmother, your college acceptance letter, a love note? What made the mail so special? Deadline for entries is August 25th, 2014, at 12 AM Pacific. Open to letterpress lovers worldwide (except friends/family of Sunlit Letterpress or employees)! Please do not leave your email address in the comments section – we will contact winner for mailing address after contest closes.

Good luck!

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Enter to Win Tickets to Creme de la Creme Grand Wedding Showcase

Photo © and courtesy of Creme De La Creme

The CRÈME DE LA CRÈME Grand Wedding Showcase at the Four Seasons Vancouver is quickly approaching - on October 30th!

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME raises the standard of wedding shows with an unmatched haute couture fashion show, trendsetting designs, and showcase of products and services that convey style, artistry and excellence. We are so excited to be part of this year's show - and are looking forward to meeting with brides to discuss their stationery needs.

Here are the details:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2010
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL VANCOUVER
791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 2T4

11:00AM to 6:00PM WEDDING SHOWCASE
1:00PM to 2:00PM HAUTE COUTURE FASHION SHOW
3:00PM to 4:00PM ENCORE PRESENTATION

TICKETS: $45 PER PERSON (includes fashion show, deluxe gift bag & scrumptious tastings & full-scale pampering)

Be sure to check out the videos on the CRÈME DE LA CRÈME website to see what it's all about!

So, how do you go about getting two free tickets (a $90 value!)? Simply leave a comment below answering the following two (multipart!) questions, and I will enter you into a draw to win this pair of tickets. One entry per person, contest closes October 16th, 2010 - so be sure to post your comment before then!

1. Are you using a wedding planner for your upcoming wedding? 1.a) If so, who? (please provide planner's website URL) 1. b) If not, why not?

2. Are you considering letterpress for your wedding invitations? 2.a) If not, why not?

Winner will be drawn October 16th - please be sure to visit our blog on the 16th to see if you've won, as we will need your contact information in order to mail your tickets.

Good luck!!!

Chicago Retailer + Giveaway Winner

Image © and courtesy of Alphagraphics Chicago

We 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!

Two Days Left for Letterpress Contest

Only two days remain...submit your retail shop suggestions:

Letterpress Giveaway Contest
Contest 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!

RSVP Dates + Giveaway Contest

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!

Indie I Do Free Ticket Winners

Using the Random Number Generator I've drawn names from the comments for the free tickets to Indie I Do. The winners are Comment #3 (Natasha) and Comment #4 (Lianne) (I excluded the comment from Leah as it wasn't related to the show).

Natasha and Lianne, please contact me via e-mail (info at sunlit hyphen letterpress dot com) a.s.a.p. (and please send me your postal address in your email) for information on registering your free passes. To ensure that the passes are used, if I don't hear from you by the 14th, I will give the extra passes to the others that left comments. This also means that you've won a pack of letterpress notecards and a Wedding Stationery Planning Kit - so come and find me at the show to pick these up!

Happy letterpressing!

Indie I DO & Nice Try Mike!

Photo © and courtesy of Lotus Events

Just a quick post to let you know that we will be participating in Indie•I•Do on January 17th 2009 at Heritage Hall in Vancouver. From the organizers:

"Indie I Do is an alternative to the cookie cutter wedding where one size does not fit all. The first show of its kind in Canada, Indie I Do revolutionizes an industry that is dominated by commercial products and provides couples with the opportunity to think outside the box."

We will be showcasing our custom designed letterpress wedding stationery and invitations, taking orders for ready-to-wear stationery items (such as custom monogram stationery for newlyweds!), and offering a few of our "do-it-yourself" items for sale.

At a later date I will have complimentary tickets to give away (valued at $200), so stay tuned and mark your calendars!


And...On a sad note, someone tried to scam us on our recent letterpress giveaway contest. Decor Addict was the winner so in our last post we asked him/her for a postal address so we could send the set of cards to him/her. We received an email from "Mike" that said:

" Wow! thanks for picking me!!!!

Postal address to send cards:

[address]

Columbus, Ohio

thanks!!!"

Because Decor Addict's comment links to her blog, I know that a) her name isn't Mike, b) she is female, and c) she is NOT from Ohio. So I emailed her to confirm these facts, and it was true, someone tried to get us to send the giveaway prize to him when he wasn't the winner.

Mike, that stinks. Shame on you.

Happy letterpressing!

Letterpress Giveaway Winner Announced!

Today is the day! Drumroll please (à la Clark Griswold) - trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The winner of the limited edition letterpress giveaway is comment poster #47 - DECOR ADDICT who said:

"How can you not love Letterpress? You can see and feel the texture of it, it's absolutely luxurious, and so special. They should really ensure all printed material is letterpressed. The world would be much happier place. I'm not sure who I mean "they" are. I guess the printers of the world! Great, now i'm babbling. Ok, I'll stop now."

Decor Addict, please e-mail your postal address to me at info at sunlit (hyphen) letterpress dot com and we'll get your card set to you a.s.a.p.!

Thank you to everyone who posted - it is so nice to know there are so many letterpress lovers out there in the world : )

Here are a few of the other comments that were posted:

"Time stops when the mail includes a hand-addressed envelope. Inside, we find a scrumptious Lettra card, an antidote to our frenzied pace. We sense both the care of the sender and the passion of the artisan. What other type of correspondence delivers such grace?"

"...you know it's a special occasion when you receive a letterpressed card."

"The perfect marriage of design and craftsmanship - letterpress elevates the printer from merely applying ink to paper to an artisan of texture and beauty."

"I just love the smell of ink. It makes me warm all over and reminds me of visiting my Dad's print shop when I was very small."

"Opening a letterpress envelope invokes the feeling of something special and decadent, just for you, like finding a trunk of your grandmother's accessories in an attic and trying on a dainty glove, or biting into a cupcake. It makes people pause, sometimes even close their eyes, as if to hold onto this comforting, whimsical thought for as long as they can."

"A letterpress card in the mail means someone really cares for you."

"...it's a good reminder to impress something beautiful on the world - we need all the beauty we can get."

"It makes your heart skip a beat and takes your breath away."

"Whenever a letterpressed card or letterhead is in my hands, I don't just hold it, I lovingly cradle it – then I run towards the light and tilt it ever so slowly to see just how deep the impression is and to watch the cotton sparkle, strand by strand at the edges of the strike."

"I love the texture, of course, and the fact that a real human being made it."


Thank you again to everyone who participated by posting their comments. Because this contest was so fun, I plan to do more contests in the future, so check back often. We have some fun new designs coming out before Christmas, so we'll plan to give a few of those away soon.

I wish you all a Happy Halloween and safe trick-or-treating! Below is a photo of the pumpkin I carved up last night. This was my first time using the "scraping technique" and I have to say I am proud of the results!

Happy letterpressing!

Contest Winner Announced Tomorrow!

Don't forget that tomorrow we announce the winner of the limited edition letterpress giveaway contest! Be sure to leave your comment under the giveaway post to be included in the draw.

I was recently tagged by Rajshel over at the Stationery Hustle blog, so here we go:

Favorite Artist/Designer: I plead the 5th. No really, I couldn't possibly list all my favorites.

I love to create using: Paper, ink, and big ol' cast iron beasts.

What inspires me: Nature, big cities, foreign travel, Japanese design, and Martha and her ridiculous empire.

Favorite medium besides my own: Screenprinting.

Most inspirational city: Tokyo, hands down.

Ideal weekend off: Oddly, a weekend where I don't print anything would be a treat! A lot of printing gets done on weekends.

Favorite color: Robin's egg blue.

Favorite musician: Hmmm...don't really have one.

Favorite movie: Como Agua Para Chocolate (Spanish version).

Favorite song: Margaritaville

Favorite song lyric: "Before I had it, I closed my eyes and imagined"

If I could have any other job it would be: Fashion designer or surgeon.

I wish: I could spend a day on a bounty hunt with Dog and Beth Chapman.

Who I'm tagging next: Nic from NicEvents


Check back tomorrow for the winner! Happy letterpressing!

Business/Showcards

Just a quick post to say thank you to everyone that has posted a comment for our Limited Edition Letterpress Giveaway! A name will be drawn on Friday to determine the winner. Your comments have been so wonderful and have really reminded me of why I love doing what I do. It is so nice to know that there are people out there that still value the tradition of card-giving and who know how easily a written card or note can brighten someone's day. It's easy to get bogged down and think that no one appreciates cards anymore, but obviously some people still do, right? Your comments made me smile.

So yes, check back on Friday for my post announcing the winner!

This week is going to be a busy one. We have a press test to conduct for a print broker in Alberta, and some corporate and personal letterpress stationery to finish designing and printing. Add to this the fact that I am dog-sitting two extra pooches (in addition to my boxer, a.k.a. the letterpress intern) and it gets a bit overwhelming! A small pack of dogs in the studio makes getting work done a bit of a challenge. I wonder, am I the only one who has to apologize for barking dogs while having a teleconference with a client?

Above are some photos of some business card-sized showcards that we printed for client Lisa. Lisa will be giving these cards out at an upcoming photography show. We wish Lisa the best of luck with the show! The cards were printed in a darker teal ink on Crane 100% cotton Pearl Lettra stock.

I've had a few people contact me about whether we are participating in any upcoming art/fine craft shows for the holiday season. I've actually decided to skip out on shows this year - partly because we are busy with custom orders, and partly because I have been somewhat disappointed with the last few shows we've done. Shows that we have done well at in the past have changed their formats or locations, so we've had to reassess our attendance. I have been tossing around the idea of doing a trunk show on my own, but it would depend on a variety of factors that have yet to sort themselves out. We will still have holiday stationery available in our Etsy store soon though, so our cards will be available for purchase online.

Time to get back to work, happy letterpressing!

Limited Edition Letterpress Giveaway!

Because we love our blog readers so much, it's (finally!) time for our first letterpress giveaway!

For the taking is a 4 card set of our limited edition "Leaf" print greeting cards in warm fall colors (a perfect card for your Thanksgiving dinner host[ess]!). Each card is printed in two inks on Crane 100% cotton Lettra paper and comes with 100% recycled kraft envelopes.

To be entered to win, simply tell us (by submitting your comments below) WHY YOU LOVE LETTERPRESS! Is it the texture? The fact that letterpress printed pieces are unique? The idea that someone used a 100-year old pile of cast iron to make something purty? Tell us!

We will draw a name on October 31st to determine the winner! Don't miss out!

Happy letterpressing!