The Story of a Coaster, Business Card and Holiday Card.

Milk Jar Cookies – A perfect pairing for letterpress

I walked into Milk Jar Cookies on the day of their soft open. Their store told a wonderful story. So much effort was put into the store that I knew the cookies were going to be incredible. The cookies were like no other. They are soft and luscious with great taste combinations. I worked on a card to house their gift card, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to work on three new projects!

The story begins with the coaster set. They wanted a set of coasters that included the Milk Jar Cookies logo, their iconic Milk Jar and Spatula illustration, and “Life’s Short Eat Cookies.” I printed them on double thick cotton stock and gave them rounded corners. They included the coasters in the cookie of the month mailing this past fall. Plus they selling them as a set of six at the store.

Then I got to design and print their holiday card. Their storefront is so charming with the window displays changing for each season and holiday. It welcomes you from the street and I felt it would be perfect vignette for their holiday card. A loose and hand drawn style helped to convey their warmth and friendliness. I love that we printed it in red

The last chapter of this story is about the business card. The store has a business card, but Courtney the owner wanted letterpress cards for herself. I knew that I wanted to create a double-sided card to give it more substance. The back was designed with a pinstripe design and their tagline. It gave the cards a great textural feel that made you want to turn them over. For an extra visual impact, there is a layer of aqua between the front and back of the card. 

If you haven't had a Milk Jar Cookie, check them out. www.milkjarcookies.com.

Kickstarter Reward - What A Great Project!

California Four O'Clock - A Novel

I had the opportunity to print 4 illustrations as part of a reward for a Kickstarter project. Martin McClellan (@hellbox) wrote the novel California Four O’Clock and crowd funded it through kickstarter. He commisioned Vicki Nerino to create illustrations for each chapter head. Four were selected by the backers and then I got to have some printing fun! Martin is not only a novelist is a letterpress enthusiast. When we began the project, it was going to be black only with a half-tone screen. When I saw the artwork, I suggested doing two colors. I thought black and silver would be a great compliment for the illustrations. Each print was 5” x 7” and printed on 100 percent cotton stock. They were sent off to Vicki in Canada to sign and number. Martin included them with the case bound books he signed for those who backed the project.

“Pin-ups, photographers, painters and models collide in mid-century Los Angeles.” Find out more about the book at http://californiafouroclock.com/

Gift Tags - The Unsung Hero

Teal and Persimmon Star Gift Tag

We spend time choosing just the right gift for a birthday or holiday... We choose just the right bottle of wine when going to a cocktail or dinner party... We make or buy cookies when just going to hang out with a friend - but often times we forget to finish it all off with a gift tag. So we might even slap on a post-it note. Don't get me wrong I love post-it notes, but they should not be used on a gift... unless of course you did an amazing job of using post-its to wrap/cover your gift. Even if your message just says to and from or you are someone who can write a lovely sentiment in a few words, a gift tag adds that little extra that shows you care. Like the sprinkles on a homemade cupcake or that cherry in the Shirley Temple you got to drink at your cousin's wedding when your were six. So don't forget the gift tag! Plus you get to show a little extra style. 

This gift tag was letterpress printed on a 10x15 vintage C&P oldstyle press. The persimmon and teal are a contemporary turn on the aqua and red of Mid Century look that inspired me. They come in a set of six designs. 

Raven Note Cards

A custom notecard set for artist, Stephanie Miller

Stephanie did a series of quick brush and ink sketches she refers to as, 2 minute sketches. This was a series of 4 ravens that she commissioned me to print a set of note cards. The jet black of the letterpress ink made a striking contrast to the white of the lettra stock. She sells them on her website, StephanieMillerArtist.com. The crows were printed on the Vandercook 4 and the indicia on the back on a C&P Pilot Press. I decided to print them on two separate presses. This gave me the ability to make the ravens a super dense black and give detail to the indicia. Although this added time to the project I was quite happy with the end result.

You can read about Stephanie’s 2 Minute Sketches on her blog. http://www.stephaniemillerartist.com/blog/2014/8/22/the-two-minute-sketch

Buckslips, Buckslips Everywhere!

Personalized Buckslips

One of my personal favorite stationery items is a buckslip. What a wonderful casual note. And it is the perfect size to fit into a No. 10 envelope - policy style of course. Not everyone has works at a place where this is part of the standard business stationery. I was fortunate to have learned about these handy note cards.

For those of you wondering the origin of the name. It was a small vertical note that was the size of a dollar bill - a buck. Our dollars are smaller now and for my designs, I have made it larger.

These buckslips were commissioned as a gift for a friend's wife. She has a love of paper and an appreciation for buckslips. Instead of getting one design I recommended that we do a personalized variety pack. This way she can use a different design depending on her mood or the person receiving it. Since I love buckslips, this was a great project for me!

Duplexed Holiday Card

The Refinery Creative Holiday Card - 2013

This is the third year I have had the opportunity to print the holiday card for The Refinery. They are a creative agency located in Los Angeles working primarily for entertainment clients. Each year a different designer works on the design... and since their print work is motion picture and television, designing in two color line art is a little different for them. 

I always look forward to printing their cards. Each year we do a flat card duplexed with a color stock. This year the back was Aspire Juniper Berry with Lettra on the front. It is a nice contrast between the smooth hard finish of the Aspire and the soft cotton feel of the Lettra.  The shimmer always gives me a challenge when mixing the ink to match. But isn't that part of the fun! It is for me. The second color was a red-orange which complimented the winter aqua nicely.

I hope all of those receiving these cards enjoyed them as much as I did printing them.

Retro Contemporary Holidays

Holiday Cards to Match Your Style

If you have a flair for Mid Century Styling. Are Mad about Mad Men. Love that you can find contemporary versions of those retro classics, then these holiday cards are for you. 

The flames of the candles and the Star of David depict a Menorah on this modern Hanukkah card. Like real snowflakes, all the snowflake designs are unique and have a modern twist. The colors are muted, but contemporary and maybe a little unexpected. The wine and white circle pattern isn't a fabric from a slipper chair, but a graphic representation of glass ornaments on a silver tinsel tree. 

Custom Buckslips

G-star logo design

I was commissioned to design a buckslip. They would be for G-star, and she works in the entertainment print industry. So not only would I be designing for a client, but it would be a gift for a print professional. 

I began by choosing a font that I thought had a good shape. Then I altered the letterform to make the counter in the lower part of the g larger (The counter is the empty space in the lower part of the g). This gave me the perfect place to put the asterisk, which became the star. I found the perfect asterisk that went with the g and gave the logo the right balance. The hot pink color was an easy choice as it is a color she uses when signing off her emails. I placed the logo in the upper left corner bleeding off the top and left side. Some people are uncomfortable when artwork is cut off, but I loved the way the negative space worked with the edge of the buckslip.

The client and the recipient were both happy with the results. 

J+J Wedding

Jessica + Jeffrey  |  The Wedding

Jessica and Jeffrey's wedding ceremony and reception was held at Camarillo Ranch in Camarillo California. The outdoor wedding was held in the gardens outside the Queen Anne style home built in 1892. The weather was perfect for a garden wedding.

I was told by the bride that she would like the barn to be included on the invitation. Their reception was to be held in the barn. She liked the paper bag color and I thought it would be a nice color for this elegant and rustic wedding.

In addition to drawing the barn, I also created a hand drawn heart with their initials. I wanted it to have the feel of a heart with J+J carved in the wood on the barn. These two illustrations really personalized the invitation and other elements. In addition to the invitation and reply card, I also designed the program that was fashioned into a fan and recipe cards that they asked the guests to fill out at the reception. They were Recipe For A Good Marriage cards. 

The wedding was beautiful and the decor for the wedding and reception was lovely.

Three Color Holiday Card

Little Red Bird

This little red bird was my most popular holiday card in 2012. The sapling was the perfect place to rest as the snow fell around him.

I love the look of silver ink on the Lettra stock. Although it loses most of it's metallic properties it still has a hint of shimmer. I like to use silver instead of gray to add a little extra pop to my designs.

This little red bird has made a journey to Ireland and Australia. Wonder if he will fly to other far away lands.

Wild Mustard Buckslips

For the love of Buckslips

During the spring, wild mustard would blanket the hills in the Valley in yellow. There are less open hills now, but you can still see them popping up. My reimagined version is a little more modern. This let me change up the color a bit, to a deep orange. 

Buckslips are such versatile pieces of stationery. They can be used as for informal correspondence – when you just want to write a short message and a post-it note is a little too informal. You can use them as a one-sided notecard or thank you card. They fit right into a standard No.10 envelope. How perfect is that! I even use them to write my project "to do" lists. They got their name because they were around the size of a dollar or "buck." They have been a part of my work stationery essentials for a while. So I thought I would design a version for personal use. I often get comments from people that they love buckslips. So I know I'm not the only one.