Our buddy Kyle Miller sent this beauty our way last year. It’s a blast when we get to be a part of such an extensive and well-thought-out identity package. If you’re not familiar, Grouper is a social club that sets up drinks between 2 groups of friends: 3 guys and 3 girls.

These business cards did a little Groupering of their own: 3 different colorways with matching edges kept us plenty busy. The cards were letterpress printed on French Paper Company Madero Beach 140 lb. cover that was then duplexed to 280 lb. cover.

Shirts were silkscreen printed by our bosom buddies over at Real Thread:

Hats by Ebbets Field Flannels:

See more of the identity here.

We are pleased to announce that Love Letters is officially completed and orders are shipping today! We are so thankful for the efforts of each designer that contributed to the project as well as each of you who’ve already pre-ordered your set.

Our good friends over at Fiction heard about what we’re trying to do with Love Letters and came by to make a beautiful little film about the project. Side note: if you haven’t seen it, check out the film they made about our Kluge (which is now a Vimeo Staff Pick).

We still have sets for sale, so Click Here to get yours!

“A” by Fuzzco

“E” by Justin Mezzell 

“I” by Aaron Draplin

“O” by Dana Tanamachi

“U” by Jon Contino

Ampersand by Jessica Hische

“Y” by Ross Moody, 55 Hi’s

Whether or not you’ve been to visit the Hamilton Wood Type & Print Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, the legacy and craft housed there has had an incredible impact on everyone in the graphic design and printmaking industries. Because of this, we were shaken to hear of their current plight. They’re being forced to relocate and need help raising funds to move and store their incredible type collection.

To help raise money and awareness for the museum, we’re releasing a set of 7 letterpress printed alphabet coasters inspired by the legacy and craft of Hamilton Wood Type & Print Museum. The set, made with paper donated by Neenah Paper and French Paper, includes A, E, I, O, U, &, and Y. As if the cause weren’t enough to mobilize conscientious creatives, this project has a roster to die for:

A: Fuzzco

E: Justin Mezzell

I: Aaron Draplin

O: Dana Tanamachi

U: Jon Contino

&: Jessica Hische

Y: Ross Moody

Click here to order your set now!

“Business in the front; party in the back,” proclaimed Minneapolis-based designer, Tommy Perez, as he came at us with an ambitious idea for play-with-able letterpress business cards. We told him that if he wanted to play around, he should find a print shop that thought letterpress was a game rather than a respectable and historic craft.

JK/LOL.

Tommy picked his four favorite French Paper Co. Pop-Tone colors and we mixed inks to match. Tommy’s idea was to die cut the cards so that the outlines of each letter in his name became a little foldable tab. The whimsical Pop-Tone papers were duplexed to the back of the card so that a little folding would bring the party right on through to the front.

For more inspiration/diversion, take gander at Tommy’s Kwik Krafts.

From back to front: Pop-Tone Razzle Berry, Grape Jelly, Sour Apple, and Blu Raspberry.

We don’t normally give the press this much candy at once, but…

Hogan pulled a few mental muscles on this one.

Back view of cutting die. This is what we used to punch out the cards and crease the hinges of the letters.

We’re pleased to report that we have received 50 pre-orders for Love Letters and we’re sending Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum our first check for the proceeds. We couldn’t be more pleased to send this check for $1,100 along to the good folks in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

We’re still taking pre-orders, so CLICK HERE to reserve your set now!

We’re pleased as punch to give a first look at the artwork contributed for Love Letters! $22 of the purchase price from this set of letterpress printed coasters will got to help sustain the Hamilton Wood Type & Print Museum. Paper for the coasters and packaging has been generously donated by Neenah Paper and French Paper Co.

Click here to order.

This is a terrific opportunity to celebrate a legacy of influence and inspiration. We can’t thank these designers enough for their incredible contribution:

A: Fuzzco

E: Justin Mezzell

I: Aaron Draplin

O: Dana Tanamachi

U: Jon Contino

&: Jessica Hische

Y: Ross Moody

Click here to order.

Whether or not you’ve been to visit the Hamilton Wood Type & Print Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, the legacy and craft housed there has had an incredible impact on everyone in the graphic design and printmaking industries. Because of this, we were shaken to hear of their current plight. They’re being forced to relocate and need help raising funds to move and store their incredible type collection.

To help raise money and awareness for the museum, we’re releasing a set of 7 letterpress printed alphabet coasters inspired by the legacy and craft of Hamilton Wood Type & Print Museum. The set, made with French Paper, includes A, E, I, O, U, &, and Y. As if the cause weren’t enough to mobilize conscientious creatives, this project has a roster to die for:

A: Fuzzco

E: Justin Mezzell

I: Aaron Draplin

O: Dana Tanamachi

U: Jon Contino

&: Jessica Hische

Y: Ross Moody

Click here to order your set now!

We promised this some time ago, and now here they are… Scans of nearly 200 of our vintage letterpress plates for your designing pleasure! These beauties make for great inspiration and tools and come to you in one easily downloaded zip file chock full of 300 dpi 50/50 bitmapped greatness!

Just click the pic below to download all 191 bitmaps!

ps. if you have a copyright claim on any of these, just shoot us an email and we’ll remove anything protected by copyright from the collection. these pieces are intended for inspiration only, use at your own risk.

Kwu stopped by for a few days and filmed what we do. Enjoy!

We approached our good friends at Makr with the idea of modifying a letterpress to print their wallet boxes and this is the awesomeness that ensued. Video by Jonpaul Douglass.

I remember when we first met with Julianne and Phil. The most striking image of everything shared about the wedding was Jewel’s yellow shoes. She wasn’t yet sure if they were for the ceremony, the engagement pictures, or maybe the post-wedding dash to the car – all she knew was that they had a place in the wedding and that she loved them.

Some of you may remember their save the dates highlighted in our blog post, The New Full-Color.

The couple wanted their printed materials to be a balance of playful & classic. Early on we landed on a truly vintage postcard for their save the dates & when it came time for the invitations months later – Julianne’s love affair with her shoes was still stuck in my mind. The meeting lasted less then 5 minutes. I quickly sketched a scene of the couple standing side by side with a bright popping yellow, highlighting Jewel’s shoes. Not your typical wedding invitation scene, but typical isn’t what the couple wanted.

I am especially in love with the tri-fold wrap. 110# Pearl White Lettra Duplexed to French Paper Lemon Drop, we experimented with a type of die cut that allowed the wrap to fold and expose the yellow paper underneath creating a tri-colored edge. A subtle detail that the most aesthetically sensitive recipients will surely appreciate. Ad a wax seal and the wrap is complete.

A collaboration with our friend & officemate, the talented Brian Boesch of Itchy Illustration, Julianne & Phil’s save the date and wedding suite are amongst our favorites that we’ve designed and printed this year.

click to enlarge