Let’s be honest, fifteen years ago when we told people we were going to open a business making letterpress stationery, a very old-fashioned way of doing things in a very modern time, not everyone got it. It’s hard to explain why we thought it was so important and why we felt such a connection to it. Maybe because our mothers always told us how important thank you notes were or how much we loved her handwriting and the fancy pens and paper she used. For all those reasons, and let’s face it, some strong instincts and a little luck, we find ourselves having to explain our love of letterpress a lot less these days.
Anyone who holds one of our cards, or receives one in the mail, can instantly feel the difference. The extra thick paper, the impression under your fingertips, the subtle variations in the ink, these are all things you have to feel to experience and they are all things that show the value in taking your time to make something the old fashioned way. After all, good things take time.
Personal stationery is just that, personal. We realize it can be hard to know where to begin. You might ask yourself, what style is right for me? We’ve heard it all, and more importantly, we’ve listened to it all. Because of that we have some tips for ordering stationery that can help ease you through the process.
The best tip we can give you is to have fun. When we sit down, or talk over the phone or email, with our clients we like to “play art”. And that’s all it really requires.
We use our portfolio to show some of our favorite designs and we use our custom toolkit, a set of boxes filled with all of our liner, envelope and paper options to pull it together in real time. We can chat about different styles and what would best suit your needs. For example, do you like to write a lot or do you prefer to write less? This will help you determine the size of the card you want. Are you writing to business associates or to friends and family? This will help you decide if you should go with a more traditional style or if there is room for a little whimsy. It’s a good idea to come knowing these things, but if it’s not on your radar, we will lead you in the right direction. We’ll ask you what your favorite colors are? What is your personal style? Are you classic? Fun? More modern? Going through these things a little bit before we sit down can help you find your way to the right choice. And once you’re there, you’ll know it. It will feel right and authentic and special, because that’s what personal stationery is.
Now comes the hard part, who do you send a letter to first?
