Hello!Lucky
Letterpress greeting cards, thank you notes, DIY projects, free printables and craft inspiration.
The fall UPPERCASE magazine is out and features our very own letterpress printer, James Tucker! The issue is all about sharp objects like hooks, knives, and other cutting tools. Check out the "Labor Intensive" section to see James's gorgeous wood-cut print! Congrats James!
Today’s feature is about Morris & Essex! Morris & Essex products are all designed and printed by the mastermind Eliza Jane Curtis in her farmhouse studio in the small historic district of Limington, Maine. Her work is a combination of letterpress, linoleum cut block-printing and silkscreen, using both traditional screen printing techniques and a Gocco machine. It's obvious Eliza takes extra special care when creating her gorgeous cards and patterned prints, because they are impeccably made! We love that her production process includes carving with her bare hands and that she takes advantage of all the wonderful possibilities of printmaking. For more fabulous designs, check out her Etsy site here!
Q: What inspired your design for the holiday collection?
A: Each of the cards has a different look, and my inspiration was pretty diverse for each of them. I was thinking of beautiful Nordic fair-isle knitting patterns while drawing the "Stars" card. "Folk Tales" is definitely inspired by traditional folk arts too. I happened to be staying in Barcelona while working on some of the other designs, so I think some of that city's gorgeous tile patterns and busy colors found their way into the designs.
What are you currently working on?
I'm sketching up some cute Valentine designs, and I've been working on lots of patterns. I'm silk screening some really bright, fun patterns on canvas for sewing into tote bags and zipper pouches. I'm hoping to have those up in my Etsy shop in time for Christmas.
What influences your style the most?
History. I have a big collection of old cards and magazines, craft books and junk from the past hundred years; a lot of them I got from my grandmother. That's one of my favorite places to look for inspiration. And of course I'm also inspired by nature; I live in the country, and I spend lots of time taking pictures of flowers, leaves, seeds and stalks and vines and weeds, and those forms always find their way into my work.
What's your favorite holiday tradition?
Christmas at my parents' farmhouse in Maine; my cousin Lisa's buttery, fresh homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast; a day spent cooking and lounging around with family and smells of food and pine needles filling the house; a sumptuous feast in the middle of the afternoon (especially my mother's cranberry-orange relish and my father's homemade fruit pies!) and then after dinner, a long afternoon walk in the snowy fields to work off a little of the food, with all the dogs running alongside and tumbling in the snow.
Best holiday memory?
Northern lights in the sky on Christmas night.
To enter to win a $100 gift certificate to Hello!Lucky (which you could use to order Morris & Essex holiday cards!) head over to Eliza’s blog today where she’ll be hosting the giveaway! Good luck!
**A winner has been chosen! Thanks for participating!**
Today we’re featuring the lovely designs of Shannon May! Although Shannon spent her childhood on the coast of southern Connecticut, we're excited to have her as a neighbor illustrator living in Berkeley. Her designs are inspired by science and geometry, and still maintain a whimsical quality that we just adore. Not only is she a killer card designer, she spends her free time making fabulous jewelry (lintu) and fine art (themooncraft), all available on Etsy. We can't wait to see more of Shannon's work in the future!
Q: What inspired your design for the holiday collection?
A: I've always been interested in math and science, finding beauty in the simplicity of equations and diagrams. But, being more of a visual art person than a physicist, I try to use that same imagery to describe other things, like the holidays!
What are you currently working on?
Illustrating a cookbook for an amazing publishing company here in San Francisco, but it's still under wraps... Shhhh.
What influences your style the most?
Math and outer space!
What's your favorite holiday tradition?
Finding the pickle ornament! My mom would hide it in the tree and all the kids would scramble to find it. The one to find it first got a gift, and I was very, very good at finding it.
Best holiday memory?
Hearing hooves on the roof.
To enter to win a $100 gift certificate for Hello!Lucky (which you could use toward any of Shannon May's lovely designs!), comment on this post telling us your favorite part about the holidays! The winner will be selected at 12:00pm Friday, November 4th and we will email you with the exciting news!
**Thanks to everyone for participating! The winner of the Shannon May giveaway has been chosen. Stay tuned on our blog for more fabulous holiday giveaways to come!**
In celebration of the new website and the beginning of the holiday season, we will be featuring the amazing designers that collaborated with us on our new 2011 custom holiday collection! Each artist or group truly inspired us with their festive illustrations, and after months of collaborating behind the scenes, we're ready to shine a little light on our dear designer friends. We've gathered some Q&A about the creative minds behind our spectacular collection, and the first to the spotlight? Jolby!
Jolby began in 2005 when design duo Colby Nichols and Josh Kenyon joined forces in Portland, Oregon. Their jolly illustrations and super colorful combinations create the perfect mix for holiday merriment. We're more than excited to feature their cards this season, and hope you all find as much fun in their designs as we do!
Q: What inspired your design for the holiday collection?
A: For us the holidays have always been about celebrating with family and coming together to recharge. We wanted both cards to reflect that and to make whoever was receiving it smile. As far as style goes, we are both heavily inspired by mid-century children's book illustrators and especially their holiday pieces. Hopefully a little bit of that comes through on these cards!
What are you currently working on?
Each year we try to take some time to work on a solo art show for a gallery, and we're up to our ears in one right now. The new collection of work is called "Shapes & Smiles" and it explores everything in our lives that makes us happy. It's really refreshing to take a break from our client work to produce art and explore new mediums.
What influences your style the most?
So many things: Our favorite artists, the amazing creative community that surrounds us in Portland, nature, our family and music. We are always trying to push one another to try something new and to take something further. What's your favorite holiday tradition?
Colby: When I was a kid, my dad used to make these homemade cinnamon rolls and they are amazing. I always look forward to those. Josh: For me it's Thanksgiving dinner. It was my mom's favorite holiday, and it just rubbed off on me. I love gathering with my family around the table to talk, eat and be with each other. Nothing is better. Best holiday memory?
Colby: Finding a Mega Man NES cartridge in my stocking one year. It blew my mind! I played it all day. Josh: When I got "Denver the Last Dinosaur" pajamas and a fake guitar as presents.
To enter to win a $100 gift certificate of customizable Jolby designs from the holiday collection, head over to their blog here!
We are soooo excited about our new collection of custom holiday cards! It was such a pleasure getting to collaborate with artists that we've been coveting for years like Hammerpress...
and Darling Clementine (how adorable are these?)...
Jolby did a series of cards that feature their signature quirky characters - the rabbit with a Santa hat on each ear is just too hilarious...
Love these winter animals by Karin Soderquist...
and how about these charming type-based designs by Office of Nature?
We also worked with some of our fav old friends like Lab Partners...
EIEIO...
...and, of course, the always geniusy Esther Aarts...
We're also super excited about our new accordion format! An excellent solution to either the problem of not being able to get everyone into one shot (this is our big problem - squirrelly toddlers don't make for a really great family portrait! Plus there's always too much fun stuff to share!)
SusyJack* did a couple of really gorgeous accordion cards, among others, for us this year...
Anyhoo, we were so thrilled to get to work with some of our illustration idols (this just the tip 'o' the iceberg, bye the bye!), we hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Hooray! The new website is live and we've gotten some amazing feedback so far! Although the site is shiny and new, there are still a few kinks we have to sort out. It's taken a lot of work and many hands to make the website what it is now, but we assure you, there is more to come!
Many of our designs are still being configured - mainly the Skyline series that we all love so much.
If you've fallen in love with a design that you don't currently see on our site, don't fret! You can give us a call or email info@hellolucky.com and we will be happy to help you order your cards. We appreciate your patience!
Drumroll, please...We are thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-spankin'-new website! We've been laboring over this baby for months and months and are sooo excited that it's finally (finally!) here!
The new site includes a fab new collection of custom holiday photo cards: This year we got together 16 of our favorite illustrators/designers—the likes of Susy*Jack, Hammerpress, Tom Frost (featured above), Lab Partners and more—and collaborated on a whole collection of fun and unique holiday cards. We can't wait for you to see them!
Additionally, the new site features beautiful photography by Edyta Szyszlo...we had so much fun styling these shots!
We also have a gorgeous new wedding invitation collection with Anne Smith (another illustrator we've admired/been deeply envious of for years and years)...
And we're thrilled to introduce our brand-new customization tool, which is going to make it a breeze to customize cards. It's super cool, if we do say so ourselves, and allows you to change colors, choose fonts and drop in photos on the fly. It makes ordering fun and easy and gives you a lot of control over the final result.
You can also send your order straight to print (that's how much control you have over design, people!) to cut down on the turnaround time. Normally, it can take 1-2 business days (or weeks, for those of you prone to dilly-dallying!) to approve a manually-created proof, so this is an exciting new feature. Of course, you still can have our designers put their finishing touches on your design or incorporate any special requests, but how awesome is that??
That being said, please bear with us as we get settled into our new digs (there are bound to be a few hiccups along the way!). Some products may be temporarily unavailable online while we get our shop in order, but we promise they'll be back soon! If you have any questions or need help with a product that is currently not available on our site, don't hesitate to drop us a line or give us a ring! We'd love to hear from you! US: info@hellolucky.com or 415.355.0008 UK: ukinfo@hellolucky.com or 020 7378 9740
The big BIG news is out! We have been hard at work for months preparing for our new-and-improved website and blog. Unfortunately, we had to put our current site on hold in order to get all of the bits and pieces sorted out, but be assured, it will be grand! There are so many exciting new designs, customization tools, and even a few giveaways for the upcoming holiday season. Stay tuned because our new site is going live on Friday, October 28th and we can't wait for you to see!
We are still available to answer any questions during this time, so feel free to call us at 415-355-0008 or email info@hellolucky.com.
See you soon!
We're thrilled to be a part of the upcoming Lab Event taking place January 14th, 2012 at the Cline Cellars in Sonoma, and after Monday night's inspiring kickoff party at The Collection ES our heads are bursting with fab ideas for the event. Stay tuned here for more information or you can visit their soon-to-be-released blog. Tickets will go fast so be sure to book in advance! Looking forward to seeing you all there!
(above: The Collection ES, below: Cline Cellars in spring)
Tickets available here!
Happy Autumn everyone! We're signing off this lovely evening and looking forward to a long weekend ahead. Hopefully full of warm apple cider and fresh pumpkin treats.
The Hello!Lucky office will be closed Monday, October 10th for Columbus day but will return on Tuesday the 11th! Have a great weekend!
If you haven't had a chance to pick up Northern California's Brides fall/winter 2011 magazine, now would be a good time! This issue's Style Review features four favorite design movements and the noteworthy pieces that make them stand out.
One of the segments highlights the romantic and intricate characteristics of Art Nouveau, which fits quite perfectly with our Nouveau Peonies wedding invitation.
We love working with our local Northern California brides! You can pick up a copy online here!
Ahh, to be soaking in the sweet Hawaiian sun! We wouldn't mind sipping mai tai's, or tasting crunchy macadamia nuts, surfing in warm water or hiking ancient volcanoes. But, that giant blue ocean has come between us, and we must find other ways to treasure all the glory that Hawaii has to offer. One of those ways is to visit our Visit Hawaii invitation suite. Recently Hapa|Hele, a blog devoted to island life, featured our tropical invitation, and left us dreaming about all things aloha.
Things we love about Hapa|Hele? Island hopping. From these Na Pali coast prints (above) to the Big Island's magical getaways, we're gushing with island envy!
Calling all brides, grooms, wedding fanatics, and friends! We are delighted to be a part of the TILT Wedding Fair taking place this Sunday, and we want you to join! TILT is hosting this years not-your-average wedding fair at Swarm Gallery in Oakland, and it will be bustling with local designers, vendors, and event extraordinaires. If you're dreaming of a unique wedding and looking for a place to start, you definitely shouldn't miss this event! We will be there mingling with the guests and offering first hand information about our invitations (and maybe even a take-home souvenir??!). Check out the list of fellow exhibitors here!
Tickets are available here or you can get them at the door.
The event, Sunday September 25th, is 12:00pm - 4:00pm at the Swarm Gallery, 560 Second Street, Oakland, CA
See you there!
Drum roll please......Introducing, the newest member of the Skyline collection, Chicago! We know all you mid-westerners have been waiting patiently for the Chicago Skyline invitation suite to arrive, and the time has finally come! The invitation, reply card, and details card have carefully selected images of Chicago's finest monuments, buildings, and railways. We are so proud to welcome the windy city to the H!L family!
We're still working on getting the invitation up on our site, so if you're interested in Chicago Skyline just give us a call and we'll tell you how to order!
For all of our overseas readers, we have some delightful news! Our very own UK General Manager Iain Bartlett has been busy in the magazine world! He was recently quoted in Your London Wedding giving some helpful advice should rain fall on your wedding day. He's always had great ideas for quick fixes! And when you live in an area where the weather does not always cooperate, you must be ready for a plan B!
Iain also wrote a wonderful and creative spread for Cosmopolitan Bride about how to add a crafty detail to any invitation set. We love the idea of including a handmade touch to your invitations, even if it's simply a ribbon or button!
If you're in the UK don't forget to pick up your own copies! Cheers Iain!
Extra! Extra! Yesterday we received a special delivery with the soon-to-be-released September 2011 issue of Brides Magazine! We always love to browse Brides' perfectly groomed pages for inspiration and fresh ideas. The September issue is packed full of glamorous wedding gowns, delicious cakes, and smart tips to make your big day a cinch! They also included an article titled "The Ultimate Guide to Table Stationery," and we were thrilled to have a few of our designs featured.
Our Whimsy menu, Big Day place cards, and Evelyn table number shined among other amazing pieces by super-talented designers.
We always encourage creativity when preparing for a table display, and we've seen a number of beautiful arrangements in the past. Whether you choose tented place cards, personalized menus, or framed table numbers - there is always room to spruce up the presentation. Simply placing a card in a pool of jellybeans creates a playful and colorful display, like these bright pink and orange custom cards below!
The September 2011 issue will be on newsstands soon and we just know you'll love it as much as we do!
There's a new babe in town! Elliot is the newest baby to join the growing H!L family and we are thrilled! Almost as adorable as Elliot's button nose is his letterpress printed birth announcement designed by our very own Anna Hurley. How cute are the worms and mushrooms?!
Welcome Elliot and congratulations Kelly & Erich!
We've got to give a big "hip hip hooray!" to our UK General Manager Iain! He went above and beyond to hand deliver a day-of wedding piece to the bride & groom, one day before the wedding - now that's customer service! Forever and Ever Events gave a super sweet shout out to Iain - the US team couldn't be more proud!
Way to go Iain!
The girls at the Collection Event Studio recently visited our SoMa studio and shared a behind the scenes glimpse into the bustling world of Hello!Lucky! We love to browse their blog for creative inspiration, and are always amazed by their stunning collection of wedding and event resources. They snapped such lovely photos of our office, here are some of our favorites:
Meet our ravishing sales team! This handsome lad and three lovely ladies are the best when it comes to planning your special day!
And how adorable are their business cards?
(Pictured: Stewey, Lia, Kristine, and Lillian)
Above: John prepares specialty ink colors as James works the Vandercook press.
Anna B., along with the help of Lillian, are carefully assembling envelope liners.
Part of the design team (missing Anna H. and Shauna!) making all the perfect adjustments on every stationery order!
You can read the original post here. Thanks again for stopping by ladies!
All photos by Kate Webber Photography
Hello!Lucky has just received an award for the 2011 Editor's Choice from Brides Northern California! We love our local partners and clients - thank you for your support!
At Hello!Lucky we specialize in Letterpress greeting cards, as well offer DIY step by steps & free printables. Led by sisters Eunice and Sabrina Moyle, our small team of expert designers and artisan letterpress printers specialize in creating neon & foil, holiday cards, birthday cards, & thank you cards, that are full of creativity and whimsy. We've been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Design Sponge, Style Me Pretty, Real Simple, and many other leading publications. Please feel feel to contact us via chat, phone or e-mail - we'd be happy to assist you!
Hello!Lucky | P.O. Box 17605, San Francisco, California
