Lucky Friday # 80, Chairs

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 80th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Frances, Jana and Chris! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Sporty Birthday card.

Design: Chairs Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration:  We took a load off, set a spell, and we fancied we'd honor the humble foundations of our inspirations. Who to send it to: Anyone named Anne, Louis, Chip, Dale, Chaise or.... Cherry. (?!) Or any antiques aficionado. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The "Go for Baroque" pun fell flat on all but a few and the "Rockin' the Rococo" rocking chair card was... actually, we might re-consider. Favorite detail: Just can't decide which chair we'd most like to have and never sit in. Why letterpress? Antique chairs, antique presses— wethinks we see a pattern emerging!

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 79, Sporty Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 79th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Lydia, Angela and Lisa! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Unicorns card.

Design: Sporty Birthday Artist: Lab Partners Inspiration: Must've been feeling inspired by all the Olympic feats of strength. Who to send it to: A trophy-toting-teen, a champion of a chum, a contender of a friend or an all-around good sport. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We nixed the Valentine's design that featured trophies— seemed a trifle tacky. Favorite detail: Love the trophy case nostalgia. Why letterpress? Nostalgia is best expressed with an antique press.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 78, Unicorns

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 78th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Janet, Julie and Bethany! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Whale of a Birthday card.

Design: Unicorns Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We thought of making a pretty corny card about unicorns, but then thought to make a pretty, unicorn-y card that wasn't so corny after all. Who to send it to: Someone truly unique, someone named Charlie (remember him?), or someone you've been meaning to get on the horn. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The "Sometimes You've Just Gotta Grab the Corn By His Horn" encouragement card. And the Austin Powers unicorn card— erm... we won't go there. Favorite detail: We fell for all the fanciful flowers; not sure which is our fave. Why letterpress? Letterpress is rare and beautiful— if not mythical, it's at least legendary.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 77, Whale of a Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 77th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Linda, Julie Glassman and Lexy! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Gallant Birthday card.

Design: Whale of a Birthday Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We were trying to brainstorm Moby Dick themed humor cards that were appropriate... Who to send it to: Seafarin' bretheren or sister'en who lived to tell the tale, a dolphin lovin' doll, or anyone named Herman, Mel, Moby or Willy. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: "Have a Kracken Good Time" was suggested for our UK store, but it must've gotten lost at sea, or lost in translation. Favorite detail: Love the swirly sea and pretzel-y, pretty clouds. Why letterpress? Letterpress backwards read "sserprettel" which makes us think of sea serpent, pretzel and pretty. There must be a message here we need to decode.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 76, Gallant Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 76th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Chelsea, Debbie Cotton and Cat! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Hog Wild card.

Design: Gallant Birthday

Artist: Esther Aarts

Inspiration: We'd been listening to a lot of Dubstep around the office. Wondering why "Dub" step. We figured it must have something to do with knights.

Who to send it to: Anyone named Arthur, Lance, Gawain or Guinevere; or any virtuous vassal or chivalrous cavalier you dub worthy of birthday accolades.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: No one expected the Spanish Inquisition themed surprise birthday card would be nixed... and the other ideas were a bit quixotic.

Favorite detail: Love the graceful gesture of his hand holding the reins.

Why letterpress? Rumor has it that Gutenberg was a knight. If he wasn't, he should have been.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 75, Hog Wild

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 75th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Rin, Diana D and Phoebe! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Animal Parade card.

Design: Hog Wild Artist: Shauna Leytus Inspiration: We went whole hog on this one. We were pretty sure we could make a sow's ear into a silk purse. Who to send it to: Anyone who plans to pig out, ham it up, hog all the attention, and wallow in the occasion. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: After butchering a couple of other boar-ing ideas, we decided we'd better stick to one that was sure to bring home the bacon. Favorite detail: The pig's pouty party expression is priceless. Why letterpress? Hamlet said "to be or not to be..." ...we say "let it be letterpress."

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 74, Animal Parade

 

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 74th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Holly, Elena Lazutina and Nancy! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Birdy Birthday card.

Design: Animal Parade

Artist: Julia Rothman

Inspiration: Julia was so inspired, she made this card in half-time— she must've been feeling wild and brassy.

Who to send it to: Anyone with a March birthday, who loves a parade, who marches to the beat of a different drummer, or who's braved band camp like a beast and lived to tell of the tails.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The Zombie Marching Band card was... hrm... actually, maybe we should re-consider.

Favorite detail: We like the gesture and lean of the leader and the tuba bear is simply too cute.

Why letterpress? Parade uniforms are most impressive when they're properly pressed.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 73, Birdy Birthday!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 73rd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Shay B, Diana D and Harper! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Très Chic card.

Design: Birdy Birthday Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: "Happy Bird-day" is a common alternate pronunciation, particularly after a few bird-day cocktails. Who to send it to: A hero of herons, a champion of chickadees, a protector of parrots— basically a bird's best bud. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We were too chicken to print the Valentine's card "Ornithologists Make Me Orni." Favorite detail: The itty bitty birdie with the bowtie. Why letterpress? Any other printing method is, erm, for the birds.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 72, Très Chic

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 72nd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Jackie G, Land and Sarah M! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your 1st Birthday card.

Design: Très Chic Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We'd been clutching onto some old ideas, but we just had to buckle down, strap in, compartmentalize and get a handle on it. Who to send it to: Someone suave as suede, luxurious as spanish leather, and very well put together. Or, maybe just someone who has a lot of baggage. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The "Old Pairs of Jeans" card wasn't too flattering, and the bomber jackets and cargo pants cards didn't have the same je ne sais quoi. Favorite detail: Ooh, definitely the subtle spring green patterns. Why letterpress? Did I hear someone say "leatherpress?"

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 71, 1st Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 71st edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Derek Rigby, Nicky, and Sierra Catherine! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Hipster Party card.

Design: 1st Birthday Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: We had a little block about this one— our train of thought didn't have rails, but then we got on the ball and it ended up being a real bunny of a design. Who to send it to: We can think of some one, one for whom it's perfect, the one and only, the sweetest one of all! Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The text "One Is the Loneliest Number" didn't suit the occasion— not one bit. Favorite detail: Ooh, that's a tough one... Why letterpress: We can give you one good reason... it's one-derful.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday #70, Hipster Party

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 70th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Richelle, Martha and Ashley W! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your You're a Peach card.

Design: Hipster Party Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: Esther was hip to the idea long before the idea was hip. Who to send it to: Someone who is Indie or die, who makes wardrobe and facial hair decisions based on "what he can get away with," or who's so new and fresh she hasn't even been born yet. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We had a birthday card that was so unimaginably funny—the joke was so raw and wrong and real and right-on that we didn't get it. Favorite detail: Sweet how you can see the dude's hand through the green glass of his micro-brew. Why letterpress? Why? Really, sister, stay with us here. Need we explain why the sky is blue like an orange?

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 67, Better With Age

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 67th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Jen, Karen B. and Christine Power! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Retro Garden card.

Design: Better With Age Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We wanted a card that was full-bodied, that didn't "wine" about its age, and that could be cheesy but not too cheesy. Who to send it to: An oenophile or turophile with a penchant for the piquant, and with enough years under its cork to discern that maturity means complexity, quality, and intrigue. Favorite detail: It's not as much about the individual details, rather the overall flavor and the harmony of the pairings. Why letterpress? We'd compare letterpress to a Chateau Mouton, or at least a Lafite— it gives a strong impression and a beautiful finish.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

The Best of NSS, Part 3

There was so much good work at NSS this year that it was hard to keep it to just two posts. So here is my third and final post, but really I could have done about three more! Rose from The Great Lakes Goods always has a strong showing and this year was no exception (above and below).

Newcomer Pei Designs featured some super cute illustrations - all letterpressed (above and below)!

Our buddy Susy (from Susy Jack) really knocked it out of the park this year with her awesome recipes boxes, paperweights and calendars (above and below).

Do you recognize the feather illustration?

The always amazing Rifle Paper debuted these ridiculously adorable cocktail coasters:

Fawnsberg is run by two sisters, and features sweet illustrations on their cards and rubber stamps (above and below).

Finally, Atlanta-based Alee and Press really nailed it with their ombre style:

Whew! It was a great show and I loved checking out all the beautiful new work. Let us know in the comments if you discovered anyone new and amazing at the show this year!

Lucky Friday # 63, Go Wild!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 63rd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Laura H, Angela, and Ana Laura de Romero! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Going Places card.

Design: Go Wild Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We were wool-gathering for a while, and though the idea was a little fuzzy at first, we eventually found it had teeth. Who to send it to: Someone's who's packin' pachyderm, who's a giraffe-and-a-half or who's the ostrich with the mostrich. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: "Let's Get Domestic" was a cute design, but we didn't feel like it was going anywhere. Favorite Detail: Why, all the animals have de-tails, so how can we choose our favorite of de-tails? Why letterpress? Animals all make such interesting prints, we figured we'd use a heavyweight press method for all our animal champs.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday #50, Spring Chicken Birthday Card

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 50th (!) edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Stephy-Lou, Phoebe and Lauren C! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Biggest Fan card!

Design: Spring Chicken Artist: Eunice Moyle Inspiration: We trimmed our quills and made a lot of chicken scratch before we hatched this one. Who to send it to: Even though Punxsutawney Phil disagreed yesterday— send it to the wise bird who knows spring is just around the corner, and that we're all in the full bloom of our youth. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: Another poultry card featuring a turkey— "Wattle I Do Without You?"— we agreed was little too wistful and weird. And the "I'm Too Chicken to Say I Love You," was a bit too heavy to get off the ground. Favorite detail: Chickens always look surprised, don't they? Why letterpress? All the better for the fine feathers and flourishes.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 30! An Epic Birthday Card!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 29th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Rachael, Lauren and Brian C!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Cup of Tea!

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Epic Birthday

Artist: Eunice Moyle

Inspiration: After consulting the oracle we were thunderstruck with visions of divine design & pierced through the heart with love for letterpress!

Who to send it to: a buddy having a big birthday bacchanal, a femme fatale with a face to sink a thousand ships, or an Adonis with an Achilles heel for fine print.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: Our "Stoic Stationery" jokes couldn't even crack a smile & we didn't dare even look at using Medusa.

Favorite detail: We're still a little giggly about how Zeus and the Minotaur have the same labyrinthine chest hair.

Why letterpress? Must avoid cause for clash of our Titans of Typesetting.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 25, Treat Yourself to a Julia Rothman Birthday Card!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-fifth edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Mirabelle, Joseph and Mary!

We’ll contact you early next week to arrange sending your Octo Sailors card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Treat Yourself

Artist: Julia Rothman

Inspiration: A sugar smorgasbord from Swedish fishes to licorices, it's every designer's desire to depict the decadent-est of birthday wishes..

Who to send it to: Your sweetie, a sweet sixteen, a sweet tween or a sugarplum fairy queen (or king.)

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: A menagerie of sweet creatures living on the big rock candy mountain: Chocolate bunnies, peppermint pigs, swedish fish, licorice scotties, jelly babies, gummy bears and... a candy ass?(!)

Favorite detail: We can’t decide if it’s a box of Andes Mints or Turkish delights! And the candy corns and unicorn horns and tootsie rolls and marshmallows and… !!!!

Why Letterpress: Because that's how we print our sweet greeting cards— letterpress is the icing on the cake.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 24 Octo Sailor Birthday Card

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-fourth edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Whitney, Emily and Zoë!

We’ll contact you early next week to arrange sending your Dinosaurs card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Octo Sailors

Artist: Eunice Moyle

Inspiration: A bit of Busby Berkeley birthday stylishly swirly and smiley sailor shenanigans.

Who to send it to: A beloved Octogenarian or perhaps a favored seafarer with a taste for tako.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: “Here’s lookin’ at you, Squid” with a giant squid’s giant fish-eye was too creepy.

Favorite detail: The overall effect of the pinwheel pattern of poly-podes is pretty octo-riffic.

Why letterpress: Octopi (or octopodes, if you prefer), like pressmen, can do a lot with a little squirt of ink.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 23, Julia Rothman's Dinosaurs Card for a BIG little Guy!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twenty-third edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Darilyn, Sherri N and Brenda Eden!

We’ll contact you early next week to arrange sending your Bundle of Joy card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Dinosaurs

Artist: Julia Rothman

Inspiration: Big ideas abound when there’s dinosaurs around!

Who to send it to: For a big birthday for a little guy, terrible lizards make for terrific cards.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one:  A surfer stegosaurus on a card that read “Cretaceous, Dude!” But we realized that was waaay bogus.

Favorite detail: The absence of T-Rex lets a little big guy fill in the big blank with a big roar!

Why letterpress: Dinos left some impressive fossilized prints behind— similarly, our ancient technology will withstand the test of time.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 20, Julia Rothman Rocks the Birthday Card

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the twentieth edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Christa, Jean K and Lindsey!

We’ll contact you early next week to arrange sending your Belated Birthday card.

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Rock On

Artist: Julia Rothman (or maybe we should call her Julia Rock-man from now on)

Inspiration: Catching a wave of New Wave nostalgia, jonesing for some Joan Jett, or blasting Blondie on the boombox.

Who to send it to: A Jem of a friend or a Misfit on your list.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: Our singer-songwriter version featured a Garfunkel fro wig, a harmonica stand, a tambourine and a pair of Birkenstocks and it read “Happy Folkin’ Birthday.”

Favorite detail: Love that we amped up the palette with some hot pink ink.

Why letterpress? Why guitars, why Chucks, why leather, why letterpress? Dude, because it rocks!

Don't forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you've won!