Hello!Lucky
Letterpress greeting cards, thank you notes, DIY projects, free printables and craft inspiration.
The Alameda flea market this past weekend did not disappoint - one of our favorite finds was this table full of beautiful prize ribbons and goodies.
We fell in love with the palette - how pretty would this be for a wedding, and aren't those bon bon bags perfect inspiration for pretty favors?
Given the busy-ness of the holidays, we're a little late on posting on Week 3 Chick-o-Meter progress!
We're now at about 1,500 chicks -- halfway to our goal of 3,000 chicks!
As a reminder, to help support our effort, just enter "GIVECHICKS" at checkout. On behalf of ourselves and Heifer International, THANK YOU!
Just in time for the holidays! We just added these adorable gift tags to our site, inspired by one of our clients! Above, Owls.
Traveling Mice -- also available in blue
Prices start at $50 for 25 personalized tags (printed on premium textured label stock).
Happy gift-giving!!
We've been seeing quite a few fantastic holiday cards come across our desks -- some of them just make us laugh out loud, like this one!! Ah, the unfettered joy of the holiday season! (Thanks to the Clancy's for sharing!)
Another of our faves is this fantastic montage by Good on Paper's Lisa Wong Jackson! Love the oven outfit (as in "bun in the") and that dog is too darn cute!
The designs shown above are: Cut Paper Christmas and Vintage Doves. Enjoy!
Check out Hello!Lucky cards on Gilt Groupe this week - steep discounts on some of our favorite letterpress cards styles, including thank you notes, holiday cards, and party invitations! Not a member? Leave your e-mail address in a comment and we'll be happy to invite you join!
Chick-o-meter update #2 is in! We're now at 900 chicks - almost a third of the way to our goal! Woot!
We want to especially give a shout-out to Michele Papineau of Papineau Calligraphy, our Chick-o-Meter MVP! Thanks for your support, Michele!!
For those of you not in the now, Michele does amazing hand calligraphy. Check out this beautiful custom Christmas card she did recently (which we letterpress printed). Lovely, eh?
Thanks to all who've contributed to our effort so far! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Thanks to event planner Morgan Doan and Geoff White Photographers for sharing these stunning photos from Lori and James' recent wedding at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco. For their opulent event, they chose the Chandelier wedding invitation design by EIEIO Studio in coal and a custom berry red. So lovely!
Lori looked gorgeous! (Her makeup was by Neja Cosmetics).
As did James! Elegant minimal bout and floral arrangements by Michael Daigian Floral Design.
For those of you not familiar, the Bently Reserve is a gorgeous neoclassical building near the Embarcadero. Morgan did an amazing job of transforming it into a dramatic event space for the ceremony...
...and the reception.
Lovely cake by Jen's Cakes. Catering was by Taste Catering.
The invitation motif was carried through the seating cards...
and even the lighting (patterned gobos on the ceiling by Got Light?).
Congratulations, Lori and James!
Photography by Geoff White Photographers.
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!)
We were thrilled to be part of this amazing, effortless-feeling wedding by Alison Hotchkiss and Kelsey Sheofsky of Alison Events (one of our hands-down favorite bay area wedding planners!), featured on Style Me Pretty this week.
The wedding took place at the Holly Farm, and couple chose our L'Oiseau letterpress wedding invitation in moss and spring. The beautiful photos were captured by Adi Nevo. See all the details here.
Okay! We have our first Chick-o-Meter update, and are glad to report slow but steady initial support! We're at 400 chicks -- only 2,600 to go before we reach our goal of 3,000 chicks!
For those of you who are just reading about our effort, here's the scoop: We've committed to donating 3,000 chicks (100 flocks) to hungry families in the developing world via Heifer International, one of our favorite charities. These chicks provide essential, live-sustaining nourishment to the families, producing eggs and an ever-growing flock that can support families and communities in need. Read more about our effort here. To support us, all you have to do is enter "GIVECHICKS" at checkout (yes, you have to buy something, but don't you need holiday cards or gift wrap anyway?).
If we reach our goal, we'll also donate a pair of llamas!! (Picture from here.) So, don't be a chicken, help us give chicks!
Jen over at the Haystack Needle just announced a giveaway for our custom holiday cards (we're giving away 50 cards & envelopes!). In preparation for the post, she sent us this fantastic photo of herself and her new hubby Dan. So adorable! We tested it out in 3 different cards for her. Cut Paper Christmas (above)...
and Woodland Bunnies! Check out Jen's fabulous blog here. Thanks, Jen!!
We're just loving this series of baby photos by amazingly talented photographer (and frequent H!L collaborator) Adi Nevo.
She just captured this baby's personality to a T! Adi's also behind the couples portraits shown in our Vintage Christmas and Vintage Doves holiday cards. Such a talented gal! Check out her blog here.
Thanks to amazing photographer John Lee of John Lee Pictures for sharing these hilarious outtakes from our 7x7 photoshoot. While the editors chose a rather staid photo for the magazine, they must have had to work hard to pick these out among the majority, which involved stuffing ourselves with cupcakes, blowing up balloons, and general silliness! It was so much fun!
I feel sorry for those poor little cupcakes!!
Thanks for sharing, John!! Check out the rest of John's work here and his blog here.
Photo credit: John Lee Pictures
We're thrilled to have been featured on Daily Candy Deals this week! The editors hand-picked our new custom holiday card line - yea! The feature also includes a 30% discount site-wide (yes, you heard us - that includes wedding invitations, greeting cards & gift wrap, personalized stationery, and more!) through December 10 (enter code HELLODC at checkout). Above, one of our faves, Cut Paper Christmas.
All our photo holiday cards are printed on thick 130 lb 100% recycled paper and custom designed by our crack-team of expert designers! They're great for newlyweds as well as families!
Of course, our signature quirky sense of humor abounds -- like in our dancing dreidels hannukah card (note tiny "yea!" flag)! (Folded version also available)
And don't forget personalized stationery, which makes a great gift!
So enjoy, everyone, and happy holidays!! And thanks, Daily Candy!
Big thanks to Well Wed New York for including us in their beautiful color palette story in the current Fall/Winter issue! They've illustrated four different color palettes in beautiful spreads that show how the table, bouquet, and other details can come together to create a cohesive aesthetic. Above, a rustic take on greens & browns featuring Julia Rothman's Home Sweet Home wedding invitation.
Silver, white and pewter featuring the Chandelier wedding invitation by EIEIO Studio.
Red, purple and lavender, featuring one of our custom invitation designs.
Orange, blue and gold featuring the Architecture wedding invitation by Joel Dewberry.
Check out the whole story here (starting on page 59).
We just completed a series of posters for a fantastic 50th birthday party! The amazingly creative organizers produced an entire musical revue all about Bob, the birthday boy. Apparently, the whole thing was a total hoot!
Fork & Spoon Productions, the event designers, asked us to design 8 ft x 10 ft posters that incorporate a few of Bob's black and white childhood photos. We edited the photos and designed the posters to look like vintage movie or musical broadsides, and gave each one a show-stopping title. This one's based on a B-movie poster (obviously!).
This one's loosely inspired by the classic Lassie movie poster (the bunny's name really is Floppy!).
Vintage 1970's.
Inspired by Tommy (The Who's classic rock musical).
For this one, we were thinking Bull Durham, For the Love of the Game, etc. The posters were hung around the party tent, and we also designed a classic style playbill for guests. So much fun!
Thanks to Jennifer at Fork & Spoon Productions and Holly, the lead host, for letting us be a part of this amazing event!
Welcome to Hello!Lucky's Amazing Chick-o-Meter! This pile of chicks represents the 3,000 chicks we're donating to hungry families this holiday season via our new partnership with Heifer International! Oh yes, we plan to catapult, slingshot, parachute, float, fly and belay as many chicks as possible to families that need them! Read more about Heifer and why we're doing this here.
Each week, we'll measure how much support we're getting for our goal with a pile o' eggs that represents YOU (yes, you!). Just enter the code "GIVECHICKS" at checkout*, and each time you do we'll add 20 chicks to our count. If we reach our goal, we'll donate 2 llamas, too!
So don't be a chicken...help us give chicks! We hope you can join us!
Yours sincerely,
Hello!Lucky
*sorry, this can't be combined with promotions.
No chicks were harmed during the process of illustrating this graphic. The catapult is intended for comic effect only. Hello!Lucky does not condone using a catapult in the creation of a pyramid of chicks.
We're thrilled to announce our new partnership with Heifer International. It's hard to pick favorite charities, but they're near the top of our list.
Why? Heifer is helping fight poverty and hunger around the world. They're doing it in the simplest way possible - giving families a sustainable food supply. Sometimes this is a goat. Sometimes it's a yak. Sometimes it's a flock of chicks. Or a pair of llamas. Each of these livestock produces milk, eggs, or offspring that can feed a family and support a community. They help people become self-sufficient. And they're darned cute, too!
The amazing thing about Heifer is that even a small contribution goes a long way. To quote author (and Heifer fundraiser extraordinaire) Patrick Rothfuss, it's not like trying to cure cancer, or heart disease. If we by some miracle were able to raise $10,000 for either of these causes, our contribution would be a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of researching a cure. With Heifer, we know that the flocks of chicks we donate are going directly to help hungry families. There's no research needed - the cure for poverty is simple, and Heifer's approach doesn't just give families a bag of rice, it gives them a food source that can last for generations.
Since we've never done this before, we thought we'd start small. We're donating 100 flocks of chicks to Heifer - that's about 3,000 chicks - to help 100 families. We've already made the commitment. All we're asking our readers and customers to do is to enter the code "GIVECHICKS" at checkout to show your support, (or "egg us on"! yuk yuk). For every person who enters the code, Hello!Lucky will credit 20 chicks to our chick count. If we reach our goal of 3,000 chicks, we'll donate two llamas as well! We'll be posting the official Hello!Lucky “Chick-o-Meter” on our blog, and will update it weekly.
You can also make direct contributions to Heifer by purchasing a goat, a flock of chicks, etc. for friends and family members this holiday season. You can do it right here. Take it from us - people LOVE getting a goat as a gift. And, hey, why not accompany your gift with a cute Hello!Lucky letterpress holiday card? (just a thought!)
So stay tuned for updates and the amazing Chick-o-Meter!
Very warmly yours,
Hello!Lucky
We're loving this old-school video game-inspired wedding invitation! Makes us nostalgic for Space Invaders. Nerdy, yet so very romantic! Boop beep boop beep!
Via Geekstir
Congrats to Abby and Ross, who got married last month at Limn Gallery, a beautiful modern space in San Francisco!
It all began with this custom save the date design that we created for the couple, combining a nod to the fact that the space is a functioning art gallery, and a little bit of wit and whimsy!
Limn provided a chic, minimal backdrop for the reception. The event was catered by Jane Hammond Events.
Emily Dreblow of Soulflower Floral Design created these lovely sculptural boutonnieres, as well as the succulent centerpieces.
We revived the save the date design in a welcome sign carved by Because We Can...and a hand drawn seating chart.
The ceremony was held in gallery's outdoor courtyard.
The bride wore this gorgeous beaded shrug, custom made by seamstress Glenda Pongiglione.
The programs coordinated with their invitations (they chose the Lunaria invitation design in espresso and apple).
Promptly after the ceremony, they left for an amazing honeymoon in Greece (we're so jealous!!). Congratulations, Abby & Ross!!
Photography by Marla Aufmuth.
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