The seasonal season…

It’s been beginning to look a lot like christmas pretty much since August around these inky parts, as we’ve been elf-busy cranking out oh-so-many pieces of holiday cheer in preparation for the very most seasonal of seasons. It’s been a non-stop flurry of welcoming old favorites back to the press for a fresh reprinting, designing new favorites and giving them a first trip through the presses, and collating, ribbon-ing, and packaging oodles of Calendars…for you and for yours. And now, BOOM: the seasonal season is finally here! And we’ve somehow managed to get all our work finished, to boot.

So, as I take a quick break from packing up wholesale and Etsy orders, I wanted to share with you some Calendar production shots (this year we made two!) that we Instagrammed along the way, along with some pictures of a few of the finished pretty paper pieces. Oh, and all of these goodies are for SALE in the Etsy shop, as well as in the local brick+mortar shops listed on the Spoon&Sailor Letterpress website…but feel free to get in touch here if you can’t find a way to get what you’re looking for! And a very happy seasonal season to you! xo

busy bee season…

Spring and early summer is our busiest time of the year. Oh, not just because we are scrambling to get our inky work done so we can get outside the studio and enjoy the warm New England weather, but because this my friends, is wedding season…which means non-stop crankin’ in the printshop! And this year did not disappoint in the busy bee department! We’ve been a hive of productivity as we’ve created suite after suite of custom designs for the loveliest of couples and feel super fortunate to have done so. So for you, our honeys, here’s a swarm of some of the pictures that we’ve been snappin’ and Instagrammin‘ as we work. And note the new wedding trend we’ve uncovered: octopi! Enjoy ’em…xo

saving dates, making maps, hibernating & ready for spring…

Where have we been all of February and half of March? Oh, busy doing three things: cranking out custom Save the Dates, making more and more maps, and patiently waiting out the end of a long and snowy New England winter. It’s the letterpress studio’s version of wintertime hibernating…but with pretty much zero lounging and sleeping involved! It now seems that Spring is finally starting to make an appearance and we could not be more pleased, so here are some Instagram pictures of some of what we’ve been busy with during our very snowy, very inky and very busy “hibernation”…enjoy!

valentine days…

Valentine’s day is a favorite of ours as, at least around these parts, it’s chock full of both animals and adorableness. In equal parts of each, please. During the past few weeks ink, animals {in paper form only} and paper have been flying through the presses pretty much non-stop…it’s been lovely and extra cute mess!

So for you, our valentines, here’s some pictures of the pretty pretty process. And as we hate to tease, and especially would hate to tease you, all are now well-stocked in the Spoon&Sailor Etsy shop for your own valentines {or feel free to go local and check the stores that carry our goods in your own neighborhood}. Oh and, happy Valentine’s Day! xo

 

& now all on Etsy for you! {etsy.com/shop/spoonandsailor}

lately…

December flew by in a flash…or rather a very busy blur of both fun & productivity. Our December days were chock full of holiday card printing & shipping, calendar assembly, cooking & eating the best treats, visiting with friends & family, working on new wedding designs, & lots of quality cat time. It has been a busy Winter so far and we are so pleased to welcome 2013 & all of the additional days of “Winter busy” that it will bring! Here’s a bit of our favorite December moments that we captured on Instagram…or just a bit of us lately.

psst…

Spoon&Sailor is having a Small Business Saturday Sale in the Etsy shop! Enter the coupon code “SMALL” for 10% off all of our paper pals! {Good through 11/26}

cranking out a calendar…

So we finally took the plunge made ourselves {& you} a limited edition 2013 calendar! This turned out to be an even bigger project than we had expected what with fourteen plates for fourteen pages, all of them in one of fourteen different hand-mixed ink colors & most of the pages with a bleed trim…quite a flurry of activity to squeeze in between winter wedding suites & spring save the dates! But, I’m pleased to say that we 100% got ‘er done & are oh-so-very excited about the results.

It’s now all bound & packaged up, even making it over to Craftland in plenty of time for their big bash, is off to a few other retail locations in the next week & is of course well-stocked in our Etsy shop…where it’s already been selling like hotcakes which has made our inky kitchen staff quite pleased. So like any proud new parent, we’d like to show off pictures of our pretty new baby, so here are some process shots that we Instagram-ed during production & you can see the final product right here! Enjoy ’em…xo

 

a map party…

We love maps. Also, we love a good party.
So, designing & printing this antique map themed invitation to a New England clambake pre-wedding party in Newport, Rhode Island has been like peanut butter & chocolate for us in the printshop…good clean cartography-nerd fun. And with a healthy dose of nautical whimsy to boot!

We printed these two sided on an off-white 220lb cotton paper in a warm chocolatey sepia ink, so they look quite old but are nice & beefy for any high seas map reading needs. Here are some process shots that we Instagram-ed for you en route…

a nouveau nouveau…

Well, the research phase {seen here two posts back} has ended, & a new Art Nouveau & Arts & Crafts inspired suite ran through the presses this past week. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the process shots that were Instagrammed along the way…enjoy!

almost proper in the printshop…

We managed to sneak in a lil’ retail restocking this week by squeezing in some much needed press time to crank out more of our Almost Proper Conversation Cards. Once the presses got rolling, these puppies were everywhere! Hopefully we made enough to even make it through the holidays, which does seem far away for normal folk but in the printshop world things are probably going to get snowy soon…inside not outside. xo