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.