Anatomy of a Booth, Part II

We're set up (finally!). We filled our frames with cards today, and it's looking pretty cute. Okay, so maybe we're a little biased, but we're quite proud of ourselves, given that we had less that two weeks to pull it together! It's a amazing what can be accomplished with a can of spray paint and a Sharpie. You can't see us, but there's some back patting going on! Tomorrow is the first day of the show, and we are (hopefully!) all ready. If you are in the New York area, we are in Pier 92, booth 36009. Stop by and say hi! img_1571.jpg

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Anatomy of a booth

We arrived this morning in New York somewhat bleary eyed after an exhausting overnight flight (ah, the glamorous world of the gift show) ready to rumble! We made book cloth panels illustrated with a variety of ornate picture frames and hand lettered (we went through various eras and genres - there are Art Deco frames, Empire, Kurbits, and, of course, a little squirrel/nut action. By the end, we were going a little, erm, nuts, but so far it's looking pretty sharp!): img_1550.jpg

Next, we'll fill them with cards - we'll report back with photos of the completed booth!

Swallows & Cherries - Rockabilly and Sailor Jerry Inspired Save the Date

tattoostd1.jpg We recently ran a save the date giveaway on Style Me Pretty - participants sent us their concepts for their upcoming weddings and we chose winners whose ideas we found especially inspiring (it was a tough, tough decision - everyone had such lovely ideas! In fact, we ended up choosing multiple runner-ups because we just couldn't decide!). This save the date card design was inspired by one of our runner-ups and by old school Sailor Jerry tattoos and the Rockabilly aesthetic, which we absolutely love. We even have a card line dedicated to this style - check them out here.

Scenes from a Gift Show

We just finished a busy week at the San Francisco International Gift Show. In addition to catching up with some of our favorite boutiques, stores and places to buy fabulous things, we made friends with a number of new and great vendors. We were huge fans of our neighbor, Tina, and her eclectic jewelry: tina.jpg

We also enjoyed visiting with fellow letterpress card designer Kim Austin, from Austin Press:

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We have a soft spot for early California pottery. The new styles based on vintage designs from Bauer really caught our eye:

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San Francisco International Gift Fair

We're thrilled to be participating in the San Francisco International Gift Fair. We started with a blank slate - white walls, which we painted a taupe stone color. Then, we installed shelving, as well as our fabulous new sign from Because We Can (thanks Jillian and Toast!): naked_booth.jpg

We then went to work on the lighting and decor (including bright fuchsia cherry blossoms!):

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And before you knew it (or, two days later) a fantastic booth appeared!

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We are especially fond of our Jonathan Adler vase and fuchsia and taupe aprons:

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If you are at the gift fair, be sure to stop by! We are in booth 6010 in the North Hall.

San Francisco Gift Fair, Moscone Center, San Francisco Remaining show dates: July 28 - 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.; July 29 - 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Open to the Trade only.

Hello!Lucky Shop!

Birthday card display The moment we moved into our new space, we fell in love with the idea of having a little shop area where visitors could purchase our letterpress greeting cards and custom invitations, which are all designed and printed on premises. We're thrilled to announce that it's finally happened, and our little shop is open to all!

Thank you note cupboardHello!Lucky shop

Downstairs we've displayed greeting cards and boxed note cards (interspersed with vintage ephemera). Our custom studio and wedding-related items are upstairs (some examples from our baby collection are below).

Girl birth announcements

The talented Francois Vigneault did our window display, based on our Birthday Cars card. Ridiculously cute!

Window display

So stop by if you're in San Francisco! We'd love to see you!

White elephant display

Location: 977 Howard Street between 5th and 6th (Powell St. Bart) Shop hours: 9:00 - 5:30, Monday - Friday and by appointment

Photos courtesy of Shauna Leytus and Sara Remington.

One Love Campaign

One Love CampaignOne Love Logos 1One Love Logos 2 We're thrilled to be participating in The One Love Campaign, a new initiative to promote same sex marriage which launched this week. Originating from the recent California same sex marriage ruling and San Francisco's status as a leading destination for same sex weddings, the Campaign's mission is create a national movement to raise awareness and support for all couples of decide to tie the knot.

The Campaign will showcase select high profile Bay Area businesses, of which Hello!Lucky is one, who offer a full range of luxury services for relationships, weddings, events and honeymoons for all couples tying the knot.

The One Love Campaign includes a select list of high profile local businesses representing the first group of vendors openly promoting their services to all gay & straight couples getting married. The One Love Campaign Preferred Businesses offering Wedding Services include:

Hello!Lucky: Hello!Lucky is a specialty design firm, creating vintage-inspired, artisan-printed custom letterpress, social stationary, and wedding invitations. www.hellolucky.com. In honor of The One Love Campaign, Hello!Lucky will donate 5% of each One Love client package to SF Pride, sfpride.org.

One Life, LLC: One Life, LLC established by renowned relationship expert Ali Berlin (the aforementioned co-founder of The One Love Campaign), is a San Francisco based company dedicated to visionary relationships, innovative global service and the active expression of conscious love. As One Life’s passionate leader, Berlin offers both private custom coaching and exclusive wedding officiating services for progressive couples and individuals. www.aliberlin.com In honor of the One Love Campaign, One Life will donate 10% of all One Love affiliated client services to the client’s choice of SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

Paula LeDuc Fine Catering: For twenty-eight years, Paula LeDuc Fine Catering has pushed the boundaries of what is possible, by creating unique and unforgettable events for each client and their guests. Create, celebrate, experience ~ the extraordinary. www.paulaleduc.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Paula LeDuc Fine Catering will donate 5% of your total event catering to the client’s choice of SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

Alison Events: With a fresh take on weddings, Alison Events doesn't just lead couples down the aisle, but helps them create unique, authentic and inspiring wedding experiences. With a down-to-earth planning process and a sophisticated take on style, we will help you create the wedding of your dreams and enjoy the process along the way. www.alisonevents.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Alison Events will donate 2% of each package purchased to SF Pride sfpride.org.

Lisa Lefkowitz Photography: Lisa Lefkowitz has been documenting unions since 1999 and has earned a national reputation for her luminous images and sensitive style. Her approach to weddings is photojournalistic in spirit; she unobtrusively captures each moment as it unfolds. Lisa’s work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Elegant Bride and Bride’s magazines, as well as many other publications. www.lisalefkowitz.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Lisa Lefkowitz Photography will donate 2% of each package purchased to SF Pride sfpride.org.

The Claremont Resort & Spa: Perched majestically on a pristine mountainside in the Berkeley Hills, standing watch over the glistening Golden Gates of The San Francisco Bay, The Claremont Resort & Spa is a San Francisco Bay Area landmark focused on preserving its tradition while conserving the future. From Signature Journeys at Spa Claremont and fitness classes at the newly renovated Club at the Claremont to exquisite Four-Diamond restaurants and the famous Bay Area views, The Claremont is a tradition, an entitlement of generations and America's quintessential grand resort. Please contact The Claremont for special packages. www.claremontresort.com

Mulberry Photography: Mulberry Photography specializes in fashion inspired weddings and portrait photography. Led by husband and wife team Albert and Tari Lewis, these two accomplished professional photographers have made Mulberry Photography an innovative and highly recognized company, with a style that is unmatched in the industry. Mulberry Photography has studio offices in Lake Tahoe & Palm Springs, but travel globally to shoot. www.mulberryphoto.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Mulberry Photography will donate 2% of each One Love package during 2008 to SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

TRuEStyle: TRuEStyle offers expert personal styling for fashionable weddings and everyday elegance. Founded by Teresa Kuhl, TRuEStyle translates each couple’s unique taste into a sophisticated and polished look with a flare all their own. www.truestylesf.com. In honor of The One Love Campaign, TRuEStyle will donate 5% of One Love client services to SF Pride, sfpride.org.

Sillapere: Sillapere is a San Francisco-based style lab, inventing parties and celebrations with irresistible sassiness and enduring sophistication. While providing the highest quality of service and design to clients, Sillapere also uses creativity to instill cutting-edge style with a strong commitment to sustainability for our planet. We believe in celebrating love and designing weddings that allow people to connect at a deeper level. www.sillapere.com. In honor of The One Love Campaign, Sillapere will donate 2% of all One Love packages to the client’s choice of SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

Southern Weddings invitation contest

Southern Weddings MagazineHello!Lucky Wedding Invitations We're excited to announce a new contest on the Southern Weddings blog - we're giving away 100 1-color letterpress wedding invitations (retail value of $600). Just respond to their blog post to describe your wedding vision, and we'll pick a lucky winner! Contest closes July 30. Need inspiration? Feel free to browse our wedding invitation collection, custom design gallery, and wedding inspiration boards!

Hello!Lucky UK website launch

Cosmo Bride July 2008 We celebrated the launch of our UK website this week with a smashing meet-n-greet with top UK editors at the luxurious Mayfair Suites. The launch came just in time for the current issue of Cosmopolitan Bride, which features neutral-tone versions of Antoinette (a slight variation on the one shown on our website), L'Oiseau, and Enchanted Garden letterpress wedding invitations, as well as our new Calla Lily wedding invitation. Stay tuned for big improvements to both sites in the coming months!

New Wedding Inspiration Boards

New England Beach Wedding We're thrilled to announce a new wedding inspiration board area of our website, where you can browse through pretty, creative ideas for coordinating all the design elements of your wedding.

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The boards cover a wide variety of themes and were created by the lovely and inspiring Kathryn of Snippet & Ink; they (of course!) feature our letterpress wedding invitations and paper. There are lots of fresh ideas for other wedding vendors, as well - just click on any of the images within the boards to link to its source (note the images shown above are just excerpts - click here to browse the full boards). Happy browsing!

Renegade Craft Fair

Hello!Lucky booth at the Renegade Craft Fair Last weekend we participated in the first annual San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason. Not knowing what to expect, we were blown away by the energy and excitement at the event! There were too many vendors to list all our favorites, but here's a start:

City-themed t-shirts from Campfire Goods :

Campfire t-shirts

Apple boxes and tea towels from Miss Natalie:

Apple boxes from Miss Natalie

Mobiles and collages from Petit Collage, and jewelry from Nous Savons:

Mobile from Petit CollageJewelry by Nous Savons

Not to mention, a fantastic performance from the Mucca Pazza marching band:

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Thanks to everyone at Renegade and those who stopped by our booth!

-Shauna

Chronicle Books Field Trip

Hello!Lucky & Chronicle Books Our friend Nancy Deane at Chronicle Books recently posted an entertaining blog entry documenting the Home Publishing Group's field trip last week to the Hello!Lucky studio in San Francisco. Above, one of the (slightly embarrassing!) photos she took of us tracing the roots of Hello!Lucky back to some of Eunice's original sketchbooks from circa Grade 2. I'm not sure if "Amos the Rat" or Mr. "Bone" the Dog have quite the widespread appeal of our beloved sock monkey, but it all had to start somewhere! Thanks for sharing, Nancy!

Lucky Breaks!

Lucky Breaks Attention shoppers! Check out the current issue of Lucky. magazine to receive 25% off Hello!Lucky's letterpress greeting cards, wedding invitations, and personalized stationery. Shop greeting cards online here, including all our newest designs. To order wedding invitations, browse here and call us at 415-355-0008 (US) or 07771 931101 (UK) to place an order or speak to a stationery expert.

Hello!Lucky at the National Stationery Show

National Stationery Show Booth Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello at the National Stationery Show last week! Our muppet-green booth consisted of sewn fabric panels and handmade fabric birds and oilcloth clouds -- all created in the spirit of our forthcoming craft book, Handmade Hellos, coming this Fall from Chronicle Books.

Belated BirthdayI Stink SkunkPlanet of the ApeHog Wild

We also debuted a bunch of new card designs - some our faves are shown above. Perhaps our most favorite is the "Stinky Skunk" apologies card, which depicts delicate hand-rendered plumes of odor billowing from Mr. Skunk's demure tail (the pose and the predilection for creating smells are both inspired by Eunice's dog, Simon!). Home for the HolidaysWinter Wonderland

It was painfully early to be thinking about Christmas, but yet there we were, displaying our full line of Holiday 2008 cards and wrap! Ho ho ho! We especially love these two, created for us by the wonderful duo of Sarah and Ryan at Lab Partners. The lovely and talented Julia Rothman also held court in our booth where she was greeting by legions of adoring fans! (ha ha!) The Silverware thank you notes from her card & wrap collection are currently being sold in Anthropologie stores nationwide.

All the of our newest designs are available for purchase here.

Handmade Hellos Meet 'n' Greet Giveaway

Handmade Hellos Collage We're thrilled to be participating in the National Stationery Show again this coming week, May 18 - 21. At the show, we'll be sponsoring a fabulous promotion of our new book Handmade Hellos, along with Chronicle Books and several of the lovely contributors, including Binth, Cielo Blu, Egg Press, Pancake & Franks, Paper + Cup, Pie Bird Press, Two Trick Pony, and You Send Me - click here for a full list.

The Meet 'n' Greet Giveaway gives retailers the opportunity to win over $1000 in cards and two copies of the book! Real all about it right here. Hope to see you there!

Personalized Stationery Contest Winner!

Dots Personalized StationerySophisticate Custom Stationery

It's time to announce the winner of our personalized stationery giveaway: the winner was selected using a random number generator, and she is (envelope, please): Jacqueline Lew! Congratulations, Jacqueline!

Jacqueline, please select from any of the designs in our personalized stationery collection - and we'll have your lovely stationery letterpress printed to your specifications.

Thanks to everyone for participating - and stay tuned for more opportunities to win fabulous stationery, coming soon!

Photos courtesy of Sara Remington.