I just wanted to share these Polish Wycinanki inspired wedding invitations I did for a couple in Pittsburgh. I love the colors Amy picked out – they are so much fun! These may have been one of my favorite projects and sort of amazing that all correspondence was done over email. I’ve never worked with a wedding client in a different state, but Amy knew exactly what she wanted. These are printed on #110 Lettra in Pearl White, which gives it such a nice “kiss” on the paper. I love doing wedding invites because you can really show off the letterpress quality.

I want to thank all my customers, friends, family, and clients for a fantastic year. I had no idea I would add 20+ stores to my list, do a huge trade show (and survive, thanks to my booth-mates and always supportive boyfriend, Andrew Lee), travel to several cities for craft fairs, and meet so many wonderful clients all over the country. Thanks for supporting the small guy in an ever growing sea of large companies. It’s a hard world to navigate, but I somehow made it through this year in one piece.

you can see the layers of the print in the detail
It’s passed through the press three times – the first being a super transparent/blind emboss, then with a medium transparent white, and gray

Hot off the press!

Alright, we are really gettin’ the ball moving now that the blog is FINALLY up! The past two years have been a disorganized mess around here. First, I started with a web domain that I wasn’t quite sure about. Decision making happens well into the night when my brain is functioning at about 15%, so the name did not dawn on me until later. “But I wanted paperparasolpress, no paperparasol.net!” When I realized I no longer wanted this web domain I already wanted to redesign the website anyhow. Then, it was getting a line together – as I teetered back and forth between screen printing and letterpress printing. Being a pretty lousy screen printer, I chose the later.

A little background: I tend to gravitate towards things that seem to be going out of fashion (or, a revival among certain groups) or are not the most conventional ways to make a living.  “That is a dying art – study graphic design,” “Is it really worth it? All that work?” Was it worth majoring in Illustration and going to an art school? Was it worth buying an 80-year old, one ton machine? Yes, because I am able to combine the two things I love: illustration and letterpress. The two make a happy marriage and with the technology of making polymer plates, I am able to translate my illustrations to the press without much complaint.

I hope to share my love of both letterpress and illustration on this blog. It can’t wait to pack it with inspiration, process, ideas, and even a little frustation when need be, but for the most part, there is already enough negative stuff out there, so this will act as a happy place. Visit back for art giveaways as well! If you cant’ wait ’till then, visit our online shop.

cheers and thanks for reading!