Congrats to the lovely Julia Kostreva for her fabulous feature on Design*Sponge yesterday! It's always thrilling to see your work (or friends' work!) debuting on such a popular site, and a spot on Design*Sponge is definitely an accomplishment. Check out our post on Julia's new work here, or visit her shop here!
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!
Real Wedding: Carolyn and Ben
There are endless destinations that make great wedding venues in the bay area, and we never tire of browsing the beautiful scenery and indulging in the rustic charm each place has to offer. But this venue's classic architecture and sophisticated style has us feeling city-stricken and in love. Carolyn and Ben wed at the historic Julia Morgan Ballroom in downtown San Francisco amongst dear friends and family. The event, which takes classic beauty and tradition to a new level, turned out exquisitely.
The couple chose to use our San Francisco Skyline invitation and day-of materials in a crisp black/white to capture the simple yet striking characteristics of their decor.
The floral arrangements by Chestnut and Vine graced each table with fresh scents and bright whites.
Congratulations Carolyn and Ben!
Check out the entire gallery on Style Me Pretty here!
All photography by Meg Perotti
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!
Letterpress Printing Classes at SFCB
Have an interest in learning about letterpress? Know someone who does? Well now's the time to get printing! The San Francisco Center for the Book just released their Spring 2012 Workshops & Events Catalog and it's full of opportunities for beginners and professionals. It could be a tremendous holiday gift for a loved one, or a New Year's resolution project for yourself! Classes range from $40 - $600 and from 3 hours to 5 days! What a great way to learn something new. And if you like to plan ahead, our very own printer James Tucker will be teaching the Advanced Letterpress Production Printing: Core Curriculum class on April 14 and 15. Sign up today!
Orders, Orders, Orders!
We're seeing tons of holiday orders printed and shipped from the H!L studio this week! It's definitely a peak time to order holiday cards, but there's still time to personalize your own. One of our most popular designs this year is the Greetings from San Francisco photo card. We think the kelly green and red color combination is especially festive!
Craft Bar Event at MOCFA
Tonight's Craft Bar event at The Museum of Craft and Folk Art is going to be a total blast! Every first Thursday of the month the MOCFA invites local Etsy artists to come participate in a craft night - complete with materials, tutorials, and beer! For just $10 you can go home with some adorable felted wool penguin buddies and handmade holiday cards! Artists Jackie Huang and Rigel Stuhmiller will be there offering hands-on help to all of you first timers. It's completely kid friendly so bring the family!
The event lasts from 6-8pm and is located at 51 Yerba Buena Lane in San Francisco. Don't miss it!
Tour with Printeresting
Be sure to head over to Printeresting today where they feature a studio tour of Hello!Lucky! Our printer James showed the crew around and introduced them to the pressroom and shop. We love having visitors come to the studio so feel free to come say hello any time!
SFMade Pop-Up Shop
We had a lovely time at the opening reception of SFMade's Pop-Up shop at Banana Republic last Thursday! If you haven't seen the images on our Facebook page, you can enjoy them here!
From now until December 26th the Banana Republic flagship store is home to the products of a few of SFMade's local members. You can find bags from Rickshaw, coffee from Ritual, and holiday cards from yours truly. There's plenty more to see so head over to Banana Republic on 256 Grant Avenue in San Francisco today!
Shannon May Giveaway!
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!**
More Designs are Coming Soon!
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!
Our New Website is Coming!
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!
TILT Wedding Fair this Sunday!
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!
Real Wedding: Jamie and Justin in Mexico!
Although we've had a streak of decent summer weather in San Francisco this week, we wouldn't say that our city is a warm destination, by any means. You might find an ocean breeze and sandy beaches, but nothing like this Mexican gem. Jamie and Justin decided that they would travel far and wide to find their perfect wedding destination spot. And boy, from the looks of these photos they hit the bulls eye!
The couple chose Le Reve Hotel and Spa in Playa del Carmen (just south of Cancun) to hold the special event. Equipped with a perfect beach, delightful cabanas and a relaxing hammock, what else do you need? Well, a few of their closest friends and family and a deluxe reception wouldn't hurt :-)
Hello!Lucky designed and printed these Mexi-style details cards and place cards to match the green theme of the setting. The place cards were wrapped around individually sized bottles of hot sauce as a favor, as if the summer sun wasn't hot enough!
Our dear friends over at Alison Events helped make this dream wedding come alive. They sure know how to put the perfect touches on such a fun event!
There is no doubt we will be visiting Le Reve for some R&R some day in the future. Congratulations to Jamie and Justin!
All photos by Paco and Betty
Letterpress love: Menus for Chez Panisse
Ahh, the world of letterpress shines again. Menus for Chez Panisse is a visual record of forty years of food, love, and appreciation for fine printing. In this unbelievable collection of letterpress menus printed by Patricia Curtan, you will find images of hand carved linoleum block illustrations and lead type text describing the mouthwatering ingredients from the early days of Chez Panisse. In the early 1970s when Alice Waters first opened the iconic Berkeley restaurant, Patricia printed the menus. by hand. for years. and we are gushing.
It's almost painful to imagine how many restaurants treat menus these days, when Alice Waters presented her guests with hand printed art at their dinner plate. It just goes to show how a nice quality menu really enhances the dining experience!
Be sure to purchase your own copy of Menus for Chez Panisse here or here.
Photos from Mint
Prairie Collective is an SF favorite
We're sure all you blog lovers out there are familiar with Design*Sponge's Friday column, "We Like it Wild." Here in San Francisco, we love it wild. Fortunately, we have access to the most creative wild collectors in the area! To continue with the ecological theme, we're thrilled to shine a little light on the crew behind the scenes.
Local shop Prairie Collective provides top quality floral arrangements, and home & personal accessories - one location, two businesses. What we love most is their use of natural, raw materials and clean presentations. Studio Choo, the floral purveyor, is the collaboration of Alethea and Jill, friends and florists with an eye for design. They are also the authors of We Like it Wild, and get to scour the land for beautiful, naturally grown plants.
What is the perfect pair to your green accessories? Jewelry, of course! Magpie and Rye is the home & body accessory portion that stocks some incredible geometric and organic style pieces. What we're loving right now? Arrows & stones! They also have stunning home products that will add a bold touch to your space.
Check out more from Studio Choo and Magpie and Rye online, or go visit them at Prairie Collective, 262 Divisadero St. in San Francisco!
You Say Tomato, I say Tomato!
It's no secret that our Hello!Lucky employees are naturally gifted in the cooking department. We're always ooing and awing over the savory snacks and sweet treats that are brought in to the studio for lunch or to share. And there is no better way to bring fresh ingredients to the mix than by hand selecting them straight from the farm! Last weekend Lillian and Anna had the once-a-year opportunity to visit Eatwell Farms, a family run farm in Dixon, California for their annual Tomato Saucing/Canning Party, and boy was it worth the hard work!
We first picked the most ripened tomatoes and washed them up in a big bucket. We sliced the tomatoes and boiled them until the skin was soft and peel-able. It truly was a test of patience - we could have eaten them all raw!
Placement is key at an event like this. Being first time canning goers, we needed to scout for the canners that knew their stuff. Luckily our table mates were professionals and came with state-of-the-art canning equipment, and were nice enough to share! This device rotates using a hand drill, peeling the skin and sifting the seeds, leaving a nice puree sauce.
After the sauce was strained through cheesecloth, it was ready to be boiled and canned! We couldn't believe how bright the reds and persimmons of the sauce were. And the farm provided fresh bundles of basil to add to the flavor. Can't you just smell the herbs from here??
Living in the Bay Area definitely come with its perks. One of the most special is being in such a close vicinity to homegrown fruits and vegetables. As a special treat, we both took home a basket full of prime ripened heirloom tomatoes, the cream of the crop!
Thanks Eatwell Farms for hosting such a fun and educational event! We'll definitely be back next year!
If you're interested in joining the Eatwell CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) click here!
Real Wedding: Kathleen and Seth
Since we often meet couples in the first stages of their wedding plans, its always such a thrill to see how it all comes together in the end. The adorable Kathleen and Seth were married at Barndiva in Healdsburg, California and our Heartland wedding invitation suite coordinated perfectly with the rustic elegance of the celebration.
We'd love to have this dapper group of young musicians at our next soiree, do they take special requests? We're in the mood for some Monday melodies!
You can find more images of the wedding here!
All photos by Matt Edge Photography