Stationery Show Favorites, Part 1

We're having a great time at the NSS this week. It's impossible to get photos of everything we've seen and loved. But here's our first post to share some of the goodness we've been staring at all week.

HAMMERPRESS  - We've long been fans of this Kansas City press shop and we love that our booth is directly across from there's at this years show. They've got some great new designs. Including some sweet die cut holiday cards.

YELLOW OWL WORKSHOP - Just around the corner from our booth is one of our hometown neighbors and friends, Yellow Owl Workshop. We were so impressed during set up to see Christine painting a masterpiece in her booth - check out these lovely walls! As you can imagine their booth is definitely a stand out and we love how the cards match her amazing walls.

EGG PRESS - Another stand out booth is the this homemade beauty from Portland based Egg Press. Check out their custom built walls. Some great new designs from another one of our favorite letterpress companies -- and we're not just saying that in light of our big news.

9th LETTER PRESS - Another close neighbor to us at the show is 9th Letterpress, based out of Winter Park, Florida. They've got some lovely new designs and we're also liking their big spacious booth with simple wood shelves. We love the infusion of bright cheery colors in their designs as well.

Alright! We're off to the show for another day. Check back for more of our favorites which we should have up here soon!

And the winner is....

You all are amazing! Thanks for all the comments and kind words about our newest vintage circus cards. It was so much fun reading through your comments and we love hearing which designs you like best. We can't wait to add these to the site and make them available to everyone.

The person who will be winning all five cards is.... Tasha!

We love doing giveaways so be sure to check here often and follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Thanks again for playing everyone.

Eunice's Sketchbook

One of the most fun things we do around the studio is brain storm ideas for new cards. We usually have a meeting, throw out all of our silly ideas, and then whittle the list down to something manageable since Eunice usually ends up designing the bulk of our greeting cards. One of the most lively conversations we tend to have is when we come up with card ideas that center around anthropomorphic food. The idea for a 'Wokin' Birthday' card came from a dinner Eunice and Sabrina had at a Chinese restaurant.

As you can see Eunice is still in the midst of sketching but we had to share these shots of her sketch book from this morning. She said it's not easy conveying veggies and pieces of tofu dancing so she tries to imagine Wil.i.am as a piece of tofu. These veggies definitely look like they are getting down so her method seems to be working. We can't wait to see the final design for this hysterical birthday card and will be sure to show you as soon as it's on press.

In the mean time have a Wokin' Thursday!

Save Your Date + Sneak Peek!

It's true the holidays are the most popular times of year for new engagements, earning the title "engagement season." We're all for the one-knee wonder, and thus are unofficially declaring February as "Save the Date Season." Our busy brides-to-be are booking venues, putting final touches on their guest lists, and coordinating their colors with the bridesmaids. The save the date is the first piece of information guests will receive so it's a great way to make a lasting impression. Our save the date cards range from formal to funky, classic to casual and lots of in-betweens.

Year after year we see a rise and fall of our most popular designs, but here are a few that top the charts most frequently.

What would a new year be without new designs?? Our brand new wedding suites are coming soon, but here's a sneak peek of the save the date cards to get you ready!

To see all of our save the dates, visit our website here! And stay tuned on the blog for the big launch of our new designs coming very soon!

Employee Spotlight: Anna H.

Continuing along with our employee spotlight series, this week we put our talented designer Anna Hurley in the hot seat. Anna has graced the Hello!Lucky studio for four years now, and her cheerful demeanor and witty jokes continue to keep us smiling. Anna reveals below that there are many talented bakers and chefs in our studio, but the truth is, she takes the cake for most talented when it comes to baked goods.

My role at Hello!Lucky is.... 

design ninja.

I can't get through the day without.... 

coffee and music.

My ideal weekend activities include.... 

lolling about, reading, riding my bike.

My favorite Hello!Lucky design is...... 

Marquee is a new one that just came out and it's lovely. Especially the save the date card.

I prefer to listen to a lot of classic rock really loudly while designing. 

Secret insider info you might not know about Hello!Lucky..... 

Everyone working here is an amazing chef/baker—I never ever pass up a dinner party invite. 

On Press: Tie the Knot

This week On Press are samples of the Julia Rothman wedding design for Hello!Lucky: Tie the Knot. James is printing the beautiful three-color invitations. Watch him preparing the guides on his press to ensure consistent registration, cleaning between each color run, and applying ink to the rollers for distribution.

The Hello!Lucky Video

Hello!Lucky Studio from Hello!Lucky on Vimeo.

It's finally here! We've always wanted to give our fans and friends an inside peek into the daily lives of the Hello!Lucky team. This video has been in the making for awhile now, and after all the finishing touches were set in place, it's ready for opening day! The super talented Ryan Khavari of Arkaypix spent a few days with us at the San Francisco studio and captured all the right vibes. The cheerful tunes written just for us are by the amazing bay area musician Roger Riedlbauer. We're just thrilled with the way it turned out! Stay tuned on our Vimeo site for more videos to come. Enjoy!

Studio Snapshot: The Lab Event + Giveaway!

We've been having so much fun designing new stationery as part of The Lab Event and with the festivities approaching this weekend, we're finally able to see our handiwork come to life on press!

We've been lucky enough to collaborate with a few of Northern California's most fabulous event companies, A Savvy Event and Bustle Events to create wedding vignettes based on various themes.  These mini wedding mock ups will showcase gorgeous linens, china, florals, desserts and of course - stationery.

This is just a sneak peek, to see more grab some tickets and hop up to Sonoma on Saturday, January 14th for an event that's sure to inspire!  We'd love to see you there, so we're giving away a pair of tickets to one lucky reader.  Leave a comment telling us why you would like, love, or absolutely NEED to be in attendance and we'll pick a winner on Thursday!

Studio Snapshot: New Valentine's Day Cards!

Here's a little sneak peek of some new letterpress Valentine's Day cards on the press as we speak! This is just one of many new card designs making their big debut soon, so stay tuned!

Hello!Lucky Photoshoot

We have a bunch of sparkling new designs that we're getting ready to launch and we couldn't be more excited.  It's still top secret but we can tell you that everyone has been working like busy little bees around here.  Designers are designing, printers are printing, and the number crunches are... we'll we're not actually sure but it looks really hard!  Best of all the super cute and talented photographer Edyta Szyszlo is in the studio working her magic and taking gorgeous photos of our products.

We were so lucky to have a bright and sunny day here in San Francisco (no fog!) and our photo shoot glowed with natural light.

Our craft stash was the perfect place to find all kinds of goodies to use as props - buttons and bows, candies and clothespins!  We love to collect and hate to throw away so our storage room is filled to the brim with creative notions and vintage ephemera.

Lively backdrops make old favorites like Heirloom Harvest pop, while artful accessories give new designs like Midsummer (coming soon!) an appropriate introduction.

Weddings aren't the only life events we celebrate around here - a new baby deserves a shout from the rooftops... or at the very least an adorable circus animal announcement!  Our Big News Elephant gets the job done in style.

We love, love, love Edyta and her super creative assistant and welcome them back anytime!  Hello!Lucky staff glamor shots anyone?

Design Notebook: Sarah's Woodsy Mural

When Sarah first called us to create custom wedding invitations inspired by her gorgeous venue, the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, she had a very specific vision for what she wanted.  She loved the hand-draw illustration style of our Cala Lily suite but wanted to recreate the flora and fauna depicted in the hotel's painted mural.  In her words, "vintage elegance with a little bit of whimsy".  Sign us right up!  We don't want to steal her thunder, so here's just a glimpse at a few of our favorite bits. The details are the best part!

How cute is this little guy heading up the Particulars card?

National Stationery Show Sneak Peek!

It's that time of year again when we're packing our bags and heading east to the National Stationery Show where we'll be debuting our Spring Release! We'll be at booth #1536 if you're planning on attending, stop by and say hello.

And now here's a sneak peek of the latest and greatest including a new product we are super excited about!

Drum roll please....introducing our new reversible letterpress journals to bring out the word smith in you whether you've got a hare-brained scheme (doh!) or a big idea (yay!).

But wait there's more! More hilariously genius greeting card designs from Julia Rothman and Esther Aarts:

Julia's Rockin' Birthday conjures up childhood memories of Jem and the Holograms or Kids, Incorporated!

Whether to say bon voyage or congratulations on your engagement, this adorable card from Esther Aarts is sure to wish you well on your new adventure.

Stay Tuned for more sneak peeks!

Studio Snapshot: Hot Off the Press!

Our printers have been busy cranking out a delicious new crop of letterpress greeting cards including some adorable designs by Esther Aarts.

Max adjusts a plate to ready it for the press.

Stacks of printed cards await their turn for trimming and folding.

We're so excited to send these out - Christmas in July maybe?

Studio Snapshot: Rain, Rain, Rain!

San Francisco has been drenched in buckets of rain this past week and our cool exposed beam warehouse-style roof has sprung a leak!  Secretly we liked the romantic "ping-ping" of water catching in this tin pail, but a company that specializes in paper certainly needs a more long term solution.  Enter James, our intrepid press-man and sailor extraordinaire (note the yellow rain pants) who with Stewey's bucket-lifting assistance, is brave enough to climb up on the roof and fix the leak!

Ahoy there!

The rest of stayed cozy and dry under the roof and chose instead to snack on soul-warming Pho and grilled pork sandwiches from Tin, the ridiculously delicious Vietnamese restaurant that just so happens to be our neighbor.  Love them so much!

Studio Snapshot: Moving Day!

We all love to know what goes on behind the scenes - a glimpse into the kitchen of that hot new restaurant or the chance to sit at the drawing board of our favorite fashion designer... we're giddy at the thought!  So in the spirit of sharing, we welcome you to our latest weekly feature - Studio Snapshot.  You might get a sneak peek at a snazzy new design we're dreaming up, hear about fun happenings around the studio, or meet some of the awesome people who make Hello!Lucky a super fun place to work!

Our current project is a little office makeover and here Lillian organizes samples in preparation for their shift across the studio.  How gorgeous is that shelf with its lacy carved details?  It was custom made just for us by our lovely and talented friends at Because We Can!

The result of all that hard work is a bright and airy space where customers can browse stationery, buy the latest greeting card or discuss custom wedding invitations with our helpful staff.  Pop in and say hello!

We adore this charming turquoise settee for spontaneous client chats and our giant farmhouse table is just the place for full scale design brainstorming!

Rows and rows of organized samples make it easy to spot favorite designs and gather inspiration!

A letterpress dress?  Oh yes!  This festive number was handmade by one of our crafty employees with Cherry Blossom save the date and RSVP cards.  Could there be a new trend in paper bridesmaid dresses?

A travel themed display showcases some adorable variations on our Destination Series created with local design duo Lab Partners.

With so many vivid colors and sweet little details its hard to pick a favorite but we're always going to be partial to our home sweet home - good old San Francisco!

We hope to see you soon!