This week James is operating the Vandercook and pressing a large broadside for a custom print job. The press is a No. 4 proof press from 1947. This video shows him setting up his guides and adjusting the furniture around the base for a perfectly positioned print. Next, he applies ink to the rollers and inks the polymer plates. Finally, after printing, he carefully cleans all the rollers.
How to Assemble your Wedding Invitations Video
How to Assemble Your Wedding Invitations from Hello!Lucky on Vimeo.
And now for a feature presentation! We're over the moon about this next installment of DIY videos and the first to debut is "How to Assemble Your Wedding Invitations." This short film gives detailed instructions about how to put your paper materials together tastefully and efficiently. You'll know just what to do once you receive your pretty blue boxes in the mail. Check out all of our feature films on Vimeo and stay tuned for more DIY to come!
On Press: Tie the Knot
This week On Press are samples of the Julia Rothman wedding design for Hello!Lucky: Tie the Knot. James is printing the beautiful three-color invitations. Watch him preparing the guides on his press to ensure consistent registration, cleaning between each color run, and applying ink to the rollers for distribution.
Studio Snapshots
We admit it, one of our latest obsessions is Instagram. We're having a lot of fun taking little breaks in our day and posting some studio shots to this highly addictive app. Do you use Instagram? We'd love to see what you're posting so follow us or tell us your account name in the comments! We're @helloluckycards - nice and simple!
Eunice at work designing a custom wedding invite.
Rainy day gear.
James at the press.
We're anxiously awaiting the android version so more of our friends and studio mates can join in on the fun.
Studio Valentine's Day Craft Night
We love crafting up a storm around here and Valentine's Day offers a great excuse for us to pull out all of the paper, washi tape, heart stamps, and other craft supplies we have laying around the studio. We were joined by the fabulous ladies from Alison Events and our new friend, wedding photographer Allan Zepeda. Here are a few shots from the crafting extravaganza!
Lia's valentine matched her outfit.
Anna B.'s sweet dog silhouette valentine.
Alyssa from Alison Events made a sweet paper couple.
Lyndsey's adorable banner.
We hope you have a sweet Valentine's Day!!
On Press: Cross Stitch
This week on press is the new Susy Jack* design for Hello!Lucky: Cross Stitch. Here is a video of Hello!Lucky's printer, James, positioning the polymer plate, setting up the press, and printing samples of the new design.
This design will be available on the site soon!
Valentine's Day Craft Round Up
Whether you’re a fan of Valentine’s Day or not, there’s no denying it presents a great excuse to get crafting. Every year at Hello!Lucky we gather for a craft night in the studio a few days before Valentine's Day. We have found a few fabulous projects we've got our eyes on for this years craft night, and can't wait to get our hands on some paper and glue!
Valentine Love Boats (above) Fill the boat with some conversation hearts and let it set sail to your loved ones! Found via Green Jello
Heart Votive We love that this candle holder is made with pages from an old book. It doesn’t scream Valentine’s Day but would definitely set the mood for a romantic evening. You can even use it all year round! Found via i love this
DIY Yarn Font
Spell it out with pipe cleaners and yarn. Seems simple enough for kids and those of us less craft-inclined.
Found via The Journals of Giddy Giddy
Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies
Surely these sugar conversation heart cookies are tastier than the classic candies, and who wouldn't love a homemade "Kiss Me?" These bite sized valentines are little more involved but we always love trying out new recipes!
Found via Food For Thought
Do you have a go-to craft project for Valentine’s Day or a suggestion for our studio craft night? Leave a link or let us know your faves in the comments!
On Press: Best Mate!
This week for on press we made a video giving you a behind-the-scenes look at our Heidelberg windmills in operation. Our talented printer, Max, is printing the platonic love greeting: "Best Mate." It was designed by Esther Aarts for Hello!Lucky.
The Hello!Lucky Video
Hello!Lucky Studio from Hello!Lucky on Vimeo.
It's finally here! We've always wanted to give our fans and friends an inside peek into the daily lives of the Hello!Lucky team. This video has been in the making for awhile now, and after all the finishing touches were set in place, it's ready for opening day! The super talented Ryan Khavari of Arkaypix spent a few days with us at the San Francisco studio and captured all the right vibes. The cheerful tunes written just for us are by the amazing bay area musician Roger Riedlbauer. We're just thrilled with the way it turned out! Stay tuned on our Vimeo site for more videos to come. Enjoy!
Gifts from Esther Aarts
How cute is this silk screened tote bag from Esther Aarts!? We received a special holiday package from our friend all the way in the Netherlands and can't wait to fill it up with our favorite farmers market finds. And her X-mas controller card had us giggling right away. Another brilliant design!
Calligraphy + Letterpress = Brilliance
What can we say? Michele Papineau has done it again. For her holiday cards this year, Michele hand wrote the lyrics to "I'll be home for Christmas" and we letterpress printed them in festive red ink. We just received a hand addressed card with a little note inside. It's so wonderful to be friends with such a talented artist! Thanks Michele!
Happy Holidays from all of us!
You may think that because we're a stationery company that we never face any uncertainty when choosing our own holiday cards. It actually takes lots of consideration to be sure we send the perfect card to our friends and colleagues. But we must admit, it was a seamless decision when we chose the design for our own holiday cards this year. Inspired by Susy Jack's Amazing New Year card, we transformed the digital version into a four color two-sided letterpress stunner.
For our special friends, we slipped in a package of digital/letterpress hybrid gift tags! They're suitable for any occasion, but think they'd be fabulous wrapped up with a festive bow or around a bottle of spirits or wine.
Happy Holidays from all of us at Hello!Lucky! We are so thankful for all of your support and friendship, and are looking forward to a bright and bustling 2012!
Love from London
Christmas came early to the San Francisco office! A large package arrived at our studio the other day, and who could it be from? None other than our friends Iain and Hamad over in London! We were squealing like kids when we found bunches of simple brown wrapped presents, each attached with a handwritten song lyric.
Hmm, what could it be?
Scarves for all!
Thanks Iain and Hamad! Warm winter greetings to you!
Sabrina's Adorable Accordion
Now would be an appropriate time for an "Awweee" moment! Sabrina's holiday cards just arrived off the press and they are cute as can be. Her twins Alex and James are getting so big, and we can really see the resemblances! We especially love how the boys' stripes match perfectly with the winter and spring illustrations in Susy Jack's Four Seasons accordion card. The best part is that there's no pressure to send them before Christmas because this card is perfect for any time of year!
Alex and James definitely make our list of Holiday Cuties this year!
The gorgeous photos were taken by the Sarah at Modern Kids Photography - more on this soon!
Visit from Santa
Santa stopped by our studio this morning, just to say hello!