Keeping up with Bess the Press

Hello blog readers! I’ve been doing a bad job of keeping you up to date lately… a long post just seems intimidating these days! Please make sure you like us on facebook to stay in the loop: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bess-the-Press

A couple cool things are happening over on that other website: I tried my hand at live micro-blogging this weekend. I had a lot to print and thought it would be fun to give my followers a more real-time experience of what printing is like. Along the same line of thinking, I photographed the process and posted the pictures as well. I hope that explains a little more about the process of printing—don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Among the things I made this weekend is a beautiful stationery set for a Madison woman named Masarah. She’s been a fan for more than a year now and it always nice to collaborate with someone who has an appreciation for what you do. Her cards were simple and elegant: with her name blind embossed using lead type. As always, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re interested in a custom piece of your own!

Shadow Monograms

I’ve had these in the shop for a few weeks, but haven’t had a chance to post them here. I’m now offering custom monogram cards using my new wood shadow type!

The process is simple: choose your letter, choose your color and choose your quantity. A set would make a great gift, so keep them in mind for the person who has everything this holiday season!

Speechless

Oh hello there, long time no see. Sorry guys, when it comes to blogging lately I’m out of practice and frankly a little uninspired. Why don’t I just tell you what’s new around the shop?

These are new:

So are these:

And I’ve got a yellow-orange version of these drying as we speak:

I’ve also been working on a couple really exciting things—including a new limited edition print and personalized note cards. Stay tuned!

One month and counting

T-minus 30 days until Valentine’s! Just sayin’…

New Work & Old Favorites

This Christmas, I gave myself a gift. The first part was to really, truly take four full days away from work. No email, no phone calls, barely a thought of the office. Sure two of those days were a weekend, but if I’m being honest, it’s rare that I even go a whole weekend without doing a little something for the magazine, so this really felt indulgent for me.

The second part of that gift was to spend much of that time printing. I had a few things I had to get done for Driftless Studio—a beautiful store on State Street in Madison owned by a talented photographer, writer and wonderful person named Anne. Her favorite design is my “Gone to Seed” dandelion print, so I printed up a bunch of those in light blue, plus some Happy Birthday bike cards, some blue and green grasses, love you. cards for Valentine’s and more.

Since the process of inking up, setting the plate and cleaning up is so labor intensive, I tend to print several different designs while I have a color on press. So while I was at blue and yellow, I also did a reprint of one of my fastest-selling designs that I’ve been out of for a while, “you are my sunshine.” I also did a run of a new “congrats” card that would work perfectly for a wedding or new home, plus started lots of recipe cards, limited edition prints and more.