Have a nice Easter!
Sock Monkey Easter card available here.
Featured in the Financial Times!
Our Woodland Cheer thank you card was featured in the "How to Spend it" section of this weekend's Financial Times, along with excerpts from an interview with the Moyle sisters! Writer Mark O'Flaherty did a great job with the piece. Thanks, Mark!
One of our favorite quotes he picked:
"When something heartfelt has to be conveyed, an e-mail can't compete. The stationery of the future will be unique and handcrafted. If it feels mass-produced, why bother?"
Here's the full interview:
MO: Could you tell me how you both first became interested and involved in letterpress?
HL: Eunice studied printmaking in collage and heard about a letterpress class held at San Francisco Center for the Book from a friend. She took a class there and became obsessed. Her first project was James Bond-themed invitations inspired by the original Casino Royale movie poster for a party Sabrina was hosting -- thus Sabrina got hooked as well. Eunice got her first hand-cranked Vandercook printing press on eBay and installed it in her garage. After printing thousands of cards and developing a mild case of tennis elbow, we upgraded to a more automated Heidelberg Windmill printing press, from circa 1950.
MO: How would you describe your particular style?
HL: Happy vintage graphic bohemian. We draw from eclectic sources, from Victorian to 1960s advertising design, so our style is hard to pinpoint. The unifying characteristic is a sense of whimsy and making sure the artist's/designer's hand felt in the design details and customisation.
MO: What have your inspirations been?
HL: Tim Walker, Paul Rand, Jamie Oliver's food packaging by Pearl Fisher, The Raleigh Hotel, Rob Ryan, Mucha, Hatch Show Print, Charlie Harper, Kay Nielsen, Andy Warhol, Orla Kiely, Andrew and Martin Provensen -- to name just a few.
MO: What’s the scale of the operation and how many pieces are you producing per year?
HL: We're a mid-sized boutique - about 15 staff and 4 printing presses. We produce about 2,000 letterpress cards per day, ranging from greetings cards to custom designed wedding invitation suites, each of which may consist of multiple customised enclosures. So, probably about 80,000 - 100,000 pieces a year.
MO: Do you think there is one particular piece of work you’ve produced that sums up your style, or that you think has been particularly successful?
HL: The save the date poster that Eunice created for her own wedding - it's a bit over-the-top and combines whimsy with graphic elements and hand lettering and illustration. Other than that, the L'Oiseau wedding invitation suite is representative of our style - graphic and chic but a light-hearted.
MO: Why is letterpress which is inherently ‘vintage’, so modern again?
HL: People are feeling very nostaligic for the written word and old-fashioned correspondence. Call it mass-media burnout, Facebook phobia, or what not. There is something tactile, pleasing and personal about receiving a hand-written note written on a beautiful piece of stationery. Letterpress plays perfectly to these visceral desires because it is printed on a soft, cottony paper and printing is literally pressed into the page.
MO: Impossible I know, but from the book Handmade Hellos, could you identify 2-3 people working in letterpress mentioned in the book that you think are working in a particularly modern way, and why?
HL: Absolutely. Egg Press: they are using graphic, Mid-Century modern-inspired designs (think Marimekko or Orla Kiely) and combining that to perfection with letterpress and a witty sensibilty. Pancake & Franks: their designs are uber modern, conceptual, and minimal - all the white space sets off the letterpress printing to a T.
MO: Have we lost the art of letter writing, or will it come back? I’d love to know how you feel about the whole emotion of receiving personal handwritten mail...
HL: The art of letter writing is not lost by any means -- it's just becoming much less frequent. Letter writing will always persist among a certain set and for certain special circumstances (I mean, e-mail love letters? How unromantic!). We love the immediacy of e-mail for normal communication. But when there is something heartfelt to be conveyed -- a word of sympathy, a wedding invitation, a love note -- there is just no way that e-mail, no matter how many bells and whistles are attached, will ever compete with the human hand. Because letter writing is being reserved only for special occasions and people, the stationery of the future will be increasingly unique and hand-crafted. That's where letterpress again comes in, as opposed to the traditional cheap-and-cheerful greeting card. If it feels mass-produced, why bother? You might as well a send an e-mail. (And it doesn't hurt to take a few calligraphy lessons, too!)
to have and to hold
This tote couldn't be more perfect to use as a welcome bag for wedding guests. Want to add to the sentiment? Write a sweet handwritten note on our Seahorse Love greeting card!
Father's Day Cards
Father's Day is around the corner! Above is our favorite father's day card!
Kate Sutton designed this adorable card.
Mod Father's Day card design by Sarah LaBieniec of Lab Partners.
NSS Baby stationery
We spotted some great baby-related goods at the Stationery Show. First, this hilarious card from one of our favorite new lines -- Jaime Zollars for Red Cap Cards.
Publique Living debuted two new baby place mats - perfect for showers!
Pancake & Franks' little boy airplane card is super sweet.
Petra Boase made her US debut with an adorable booth lined with her wrapping papers. We spotted this cute kid's T featuring her signature cut-paper owl design.
This adorable card by Fugu Fugu Press (Shino and Ken!) would make a great congrats card for one of life's biggest accomplishments!
Limited Edition Prints Featured on D*S
It was so exciting to see our new limited edition Woodland prints featured on Design*Sponge! We worked with some of our favorite artists, including Julia Rothman, Kate Sutton and Lab Partners, to create their own interpretations of the "Woodland" theme, and couldn't be more excited by the results! We even created one ourselves (above). Each print is 12" x 18" and is available for purchase here. Each one is printed in a limited quantity of 250, so when they are gone, they're gone!
Lovely Letterpress
We happened upon these photos of a charming letterpress wedding invitation suite via Inspired Bride and (oh so) beautiful paper. Maddy, bride-to-be and writer of Inspired Bride, is also a graphic designer and lover of letterpress (we're with you Maddy!). And, she asked us to print the beautiful stationery she designed.
How sweet is the bird and pretty dotted pattern?
So wonderful that Maddy is lending such a personal touch to her wedding and we're tickled to have helped. You can read more details about the inspiration behind the stationery here and can visit Maddy's blog for more wedding details.
New York Gift Fair
We just wrapped up exhibiting at the NY Gift Fair - it was a little quiet given the economy (crickets..!...tumbleweeds!)...but that's okay because we still got lots of inspiration and made new friends. Plus it's always great to catch up with our fellow designers/small biz owners and the wonderful independent boutiques that carry our cards. There's Chun Yee (intrepid founder of our London office) and Sabrina in our booth...
We were completely smitten with Pikku's new stationery - it's a beautiful combination of pretty, mod design, gorgeous letterpress and hand stitching. That Valerie is so talented - everything she does incorporates pretty textile-inspired details...
Pikku was also showcasing these lovely silk-screen wood wall calendars. So cute!
Angie and Ted of Poketo were there with their super-nip line of t's, plates, wallets and other delectable collectibles.
Here are some of their new mugs, available righ here.
We also spotted these fab new Orla Kiely journals from Jasper + Black.
Love these kooky dinosaur wall decals from Wall Candy Arts.
Super cool coat hooks from Fluffy Co.
And fabulous hand-made guest books and albums from Rag & Bone Bindery (this one uses Amy Butler fabrics). Gorgeous!!
One Hundred Smackers Giveaway!
We're in a celebratory mood (new President, new year, new website, etc...) and want to share the love! So, we're giving away $100 toward any custom stationery product on our website. Take a gander at our wedding invitations, save the dates and personalized stationery and leave a comment if you are interested in being included in the random drawing. The winner will be announced on Monday! Good luck!
2009 Preview Party!
We recently held our 2009 Stationery Preview party and are thrilled to report that it was a huge success! We collaborated with some of the most amazing wedding vendors in the Bay Area to transform our working letterpress studio into a beautiful event space complete with red carpet! Above, the fab Morgan Doan, event planner extraordinaire and mastermind behind this event, and Sabrina chatting by the welcome table. Our sponsor booklet featured our new Sparrow design by Joel Dewberry.
Guests arriving...it was a fantastic crowd - some of the best and brightest in weddings...
The studio on its way to being transformed. Got Light? did an amazing job with the lighting and draping - we were truly blown away by the difference a little "pipe and drape" made. The back-lit bar was provided by Blueprint Studio Collection and Wildflower Linens provided the lovely table clothes. DJ John Jow turned the place into a mini-nightclub with his expert music mixing.
Jane Hammond Events provided the seriously delicious hors d'oeuvres, including bite-sized crab cakes, empinadas, and mushroom tartlets and the most amazing brownies of all time. Andronico's Market provided the excellent wine (selected by the talented Jeffrey Porter).
We made these little buffet signs - the holder was just a standard restaurant sign holder that we spray-painted a matte pink and the orchid pattern on the sign is from one of our new collaborations with Joel Dewberry.
One of the things we were celebrating was the launch of our latest invitation collections including a collaborations with EIEIO, Joel Dewberry, Julia Rothman, and the always amazing Lab Partners. They did a destination series featuring New York, San Francisco, Hawaii and London (London and New York pictured above). We've already gotten such and incredible response, we're already thinking about adding some new destinations to the line!
Sharla Flock designed the gorgeous floral arrangments - we love her subtle use of color and texture.
She used pieces from our large collection of flea market found vases and bowls to create an eclectic look.
One of our talented printers, James, did demonstrations of the letterpress printing technique.
We were also celebrating the launch of our new website which we are SO excited about. The dapper Mr. Daniel James of Three Rings and brilliant event planner, Lisa Feldman, check out the new look.
We had a whole selection of our work on display - this was a variation on our popular Cherry Blossom design - including fan programs, and round menus designed to fit into the dinner plates. We were also introducing our new digital printing option - an excellent (and fast!) alternative to letterpress (or a budget-friendly way to augment beautiful letterpress invitations).
Gorgeous photography by Allure West.
Thank you so much to all our incredible partners in this event and to everyone who came out for the party!
The Handmade Hellos Crafting Party!
The crafting party last night was a smash hit!
All of our demo stations were full of ambitious crafters–Hello!Lucky's snowy variation on Petra Boase’s Owl-y Friend yielded many colorful results! You can download the template here to try it out for yourself!
Our Handmade Hellos contributors demonstrated various craft projects. François Vigneault instructed guests on how to make postcards composed of found maps, a fun and easy project for anyone with a crafty eye.
Sarah Adler's magical banner project used dainty little boxes to enclose a quirky greeting one letter at a time!
Stacy and Nicole (above) from Pancake & Franks had a station devoted to their accordion card, which uses durable board ends to make up a booklet.
Jody Warshaw, Christina Loff, Kate Woodrow from Chronicle Books showing off their projects!
Happy crafters!
Jeffrey McGrew from Because We Can fashioned his card into part of his ensemble!
Nancy Deane from Chronicle Books shows off her owl.
Sarah Adler watches as one of her students displays her very own magical banner.
The Hello!Lucky staff were, of course, busy at work! Pictured above, Max Koch and Shauna Leytus were the studio bartenders while, below, James Tucker and Alex Ewers greeted incoming crafters!
Aaron Cohick, our lead pressman, was kind enough to demonstrate the ins-and-outs of our vintage Heidelberg presses throughout the evening.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Hostess with the Mostess
Hostess with the Mostess is a fantastic resource for ideas, inspiration and sources for hosting a fabulous get together. Makes us want to throw together a little party... just because!
We stumbled across this post about a lovely bridal shower hosted by Alison Donahue, a photographer, in honor of her close friend. There are loads of great DIY details and she used our letterpress coasters (yay!). Contact us if you are interested in purchasing them for yourself.
Go here for all the details about this stylish shower and be sure to visit Hostess with the Mostess for amazing (and tempting) inspiration for your next party.
Kate Sutton
Speaking of fabulous illustrations, we just have to take a moment to opine about the brilliantly talented Kate Sutton. She just posted these new cuckoo clocks on her blog - how hilarious are they?! Love the squirrels especially.
Here are some hilarious soft items she sewed - the pirate peas and carrots are our favorites! Avast, pea hearties! ha ha
Kate has not one but two projects in our new book, Handmade Hellos, including this charming pop-up birdie card...
The beaks pop open - a chirpy way to say hello!
Kate also illustrated these fantastic letterpress valentine's day cards for us; check out all her cards for Hello!Lucky here. We'd seen Kate's work around - like this poster for the Renegade Craft Fair - and fell in love with her quirky style!
We also love this custom illustration she did for a baby girl named Grace. What a sweet idea! Check out Kate's work and blog here.
Paper Dragon Books
We happened upon Paper Dragon Books on our way to the gift show. Intrigued by their antique book presses, we invited ourselves into their studio. Owner Gavin Dovey was kind enough to show us some of the projects that he was working on, including these stunning handmade boxes made to look like classic leatherbound books:
Paper Dragon hosts classes at their Chelsea studio, as well as creating their gorgeous custom work. We loved their airy studio filled with tools, buttery swatches of leather and a vintage guillotine paper cutter:
Paper Dragon Books
145 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
Poppytalk
Our studio was featured on Poppytalk today!
You can read the full post here.
Hello!Lucky featured on CraftZine blog
We were honored to be selected by Craft Magazine to be interviewed for their blog. Witness our ascend to stardom here:
See Natalie's original post here and view her flickr photos of the studio here.
Thanks Natalie and Craft!
National Stationery Show - Yum!
Well, better late than never! Herewith, in bite-size chunks, is our coverage of the National Stationery Show.
One of our favorite booths was Hannah's of Pie Bird Press. Her approach to creating her gorgeous 3- and 4-color letterpress cards is refreshingly unique - each design starts as a linoleum block print, which she translates into letterpress. Hannah demonstrates a DIY version of her technique in our forthcoming book, Handmade Hellos. Her images of chocolates, beets, cherries, popsicles and bundt cakes are so yummy we want to eat them up!
Speaking of yummy, who could resist Motormouth Press's candy shop booth? We sure couldn't. We especially loved the ice cream sandwiches. Mmmm!
Moroccan Save the Dates
Today we continue this week's Save the Date theme in conjunction with our promotion on Style Me Pretty! We created this intricate save the date card for a multi-cultural couple who are getting married in Lausanne, Switzerland. The pattern blends Moroccan tile work and Mexican textile patterns to reflect the couple's travels.
Photograph courtesy of Sara Remington.
Orchid Wedding Invitations
We created these orchid wedding invitations for Su-Lynn and Pierre, a wonderful couple we first met in London. Their January wedding was held at Au Jardin des Amis at the Singapore Botanical Garden followed by a reception at the Ritz Carlton. The letterpress printed invitations featured a modern, minimal orchid design in a fresh spring green, plum and gravel color palette, a Warhol-inspired "hair of the dog" invitation for the post-wedding brunch, a fan-shaped program, and a custom-illustrated map. We're grateful to Su-Lynn and Pierre for their vision, and to collaborating with us to create our favorite wedding invitations of late! Congratulations, Su-Lynn and Pierre!
Photography by Sara Remington.
Functional Art: Letterpress Stationery
Why do we love letterpress stationery so? Obviously, we’re a little biased – but it didn’t start out that way.
We first fell in love with letterpress as an artistic medium – it creates gorgeously tactile prints and beautiful, saturated colors. We also loved the authentic, vintage quality of it – it used to be the primary commercial printing technique back when commercial printing was still a small-scale craft and involved hand-setting individual letters of type, backwards. It reminded us of days gone by, an of the old nature books we used rummage through our grandmother’s attic. Today, it’s still a highly respected artistic medium, with studios like Arion Press in San Francisco producing sought-after limited-edition letterpress-printed books that are created in collaboration with fine artists from around the world.
Eunice and I love functional art, so the next step in our love affair was to figure out how to make the medium accessible. Greeting cards and custom stationery immediately came to mind as personal, creative, accessible, and affordable formats that many people could enjoy and share. Wedding invitations, in particular, mark an incredibly meaningful event and the first step in creating a new life, home, and family – if fine art is to have a place anywhere in people’s lives, it should be on such an occasion.
So, we started doodling and printing on a hand-cranked Vandercook printing press in Eunice’s garage, and the rest is history! Today, we continue to remain focused on letterpress as a fine art – our printers have advanced degrees in fine art, and have apprenticed with master printers for years. Our goal is to create beautiful products that have an heirloom-quality and that make art and craft a central part of our everyday lives.
Photographs courtesy of Sara Remington.