A few good clients

There’s nothing more valuable to an artist trying to make it than a truly supportive patron. Not only do they support you financially by buying your work (always important!), they boost your confidence and remind you that what you’re doing is indeed worthwhile. If you’re really lucky—like me—they also invite you to fabulous dinner parties and introduce you to their fabulous friends!

My favorite client ordered a set of stationery for each of her closest friends and family. It was a great collaborative experience in which she told me a little about each person’s personality and I designed a monogram or image just for them. I thought the pineapple card might be rather popular, so I printed extras and they’re also available here!

On Wisconsin!

A woman I work with at that day job of mine has been hooking me up with awesome vintage cuts lately! Her boyfriend’s family happens to collect all kinds of antiques, and as will happen when you’re buying auction lots, has ended up with a fair share of vintage letterpress goods. Both of these cuts needed some work, but I finally invested in a Dremel a couple weeks ago and got them into printable shape in no time!
Wisconsin cards are available in the shop, bull is only special order at the moment, but don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re interested. And if you have any printing plates laying around, send ‘em my way—you’ll get some free cards out of the deal!

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!

Mono-a-Mono

One of the best parts about buying handmade directly from the artist is the ability to collaborate on custom work. Unfortunately, this can be an expensive, overwhelming and relatively slow process, so I’ve been working on ways to make custom letterpress pieces more accessible. The solution? A customizable piece with a finite number of choices for each aspect of the design.

Introducing custom monogram note cards with the following options:

1. Choose your initials (2-4 characters):

2. Choose your design:

3. Choose a color from the palette:

Purchase the listing and wait just a few weeks for your cards!