"Ecru Paper" is starting to emerge as a recent customer favorite!?!? Time and again, customers choose the Pearl Lettra paper for their letterpress invitations but as of late, we've had nearly a half dozen couples choosing the Ecru route. Perhaps is has something to do with early bird fall weddings? Then again, maybe it's something else? Maybe the Ecru paper offers that classic antique look that many traditional (and sometimes non-traditional) invitations need to put the design over the top? In any case, here's a quick snapshot taken from my iPhone of a recent invitation job featuring the use of Ecru paper and #10 policy envelopes.

Much love and appreciation goes out to Jon and Michelle. Have a great wedding day!.

xo - DJL

Dick and Jane Letterpress has been good to us. Natalie and I have met some wonderful couples, business owners, and received recognition from all sorts of unexpected places. All of which we are extremely grateful. Our blog is intended to let people in to our world, share in our joys and experiences. We want people to get an inside look at what exactly goes on in a family run letterpress shop quietly located in a midwest town. That said, we wanted to announce something that is just a little out of the ordinary of the letterpress wedding invitation theme.

I (Brian) recently received an award for web design by the AIGA Boston Chapter. Coming from Boston, I work with a business partner who is based there (in Boston). Our firm is called Dirk+Weiss. We develop web sites for upscale salons and marketing companies along with the super popular iPhone aps. It's pretty much the exact opposite of a letterpress life but hey... You've got to have variety. Every two years, AIGA hosts the Bone Show (Best of New England). This year we were selected to receive the award of best web design for a project called anyonecanswiss.com. (I'll save you the description of the site) We were completely surprised by the unexpected win. Much love and appreciation to Boston, AIGA, Bone Show Judges, friends, family, and mentors. Included are images of the award and catalog.

This is Katie Evans. She's the newest member to the shop. Her internship started a week or two ago and things have been going quite well. You may have seen her on youtube? She's managed to make her way into one of our videos posted under our account "LETTERPRESSfilms." In her video (below) she is pictured carving a linoleum block for printing on the proof press. Her carving skillz are wicked good. Katie has a lot of enthusiasm and a great attitude. We're sure she can bring a lot to the shop as we expand into the graphic design market. Be sure to check out our site in a few months for updates featuring letterpress and pricing for graphic designers.

"A little birdie told me." Printed in a mint green on Lettra Fluorescent White.

Maybe it's just me but it seems like everyone is having babies these days? We at Dick and Jane Letterpress have always done a majority of letterpress wedding invitation printing but with the abundance of beautiful bouncing babies, our services were requested to design and print a birth announcement. The J's from New Mexico had been looking around a bit and wanted something soft, super cute, witty, and sweet.  We had a few email and phone conversations about their project and went back and forth on a few variations based on the couples suggestions. In the end, we wound up settling on a very neat-o little design that came out of left field. How we got from giraffe's, flowers and initial caps to this design, I'll never figure out. We think the design turned out great and hope your enjoy.

Be sure to keep an eye out for "A little birdie told me" in our announcement collections later this summer!

xo - DJL

What a surprise! We received a package in the mail on the third of July from ProjectWedding.com. Inside was a congratulations letter. Dick and Jane Letterpress has been chosen as one of Minneapolis ~ St.Paul's "Best of Project Wedding" vendors for 2008. WOW! Who knew? According to the details of the letter, the award is granted to the top 5% of wedding professionals in the area. You'll note that our site now has a "badge" sent from PW. Here are a few reviews from PW members.

- "...we came up with a really unique template, they were fun to work with, and I had the cards in less than two weeks."

- "...we were really able to express ourselves creatively with the two owners, who listened to us, offered their input, and made some really beautiful cards."

- "The invitation cards were perfect. My favorite part would be the save the date cards, which was a picture of a calendar. It was something unique and original that I just hadn’t seen before, and really loved. They really have so much to choose from, so much originality, that I think every bride should make them their first stop."

MUCH LOVE AND APPRECIATION TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS. We've had a blast working with you all and appreciate all your kind words and referrals. We're so happy that everyone is pleased with our wedding invitation printing. Check out projectwedding.com for vendor references in your area!

xoxo - brian and natalie durk ~ DJL

Greetings all you charming letterpress people. Dick and Jane celebrated this 4th of July with the community of Saint Anthony Park. Each year local business owners and the neighborhood come together to celebrate Independence Day with a parade and good old fashioned fun. We rolled a proof press out onto the street and printed up free letterpress posters with the folks from the neighborhood. The image above shows a final print now hanging in the shop. Over the holiday we captured some videos documenting letterpress printing and our community. Check it out!

(above) Captured in this video is Katie Evans at Dick and Jane Letterpress. Katie is cutting down a big block of linoleum for the proof printing poster project for 4th of July, 2009! The posters will be printed on the recently refurbished Challenge proof press. It's a little bit of a departure from our regular letterpress wedding invitation printing but overall, it's good fun for the kids.

(above) Watch as I (brian durk) print on the challenge proof press incorporating linoleum cuts and wood type. It was a patriotic day for letterpress printing!

xoxo - DJL

Howdy Party people! We've been wicked busy these past few weeks. Everything from babies, to invitations, to family visiting, to new client projects, to new presses, to baby announcements! Needless to say, we've let the blog slide a bit. Well... now we're back. We have a new intern on board (Katie Evans) and tons of new projects to share! Check back often as we will be updating the blog regularly with lots of super sweet letterpress wedding invitation goodness.

xo -DJL

One more video update from Dick and Jane Letterpress! This time we just finished a letterpress wedding invitation set that included a pocket folder feature. We decided to make a quick how-to video displaying exactly how these pocketfold invitations can be assembled. We're using double sided scrap book tape but there's a lot of options for adhesives. Please feel free to comment with questions or help.

enjoy!

xoxo - DJL

Howdy everyone!

Here's another installment in our letterpress short films. This one includes a bit of time lapse video depicting owner, Brian Durk printing letterpress wedding invitations in a sage green on lettra pearl stock up in the front shop window. This order was completed for the Kampa wedding and will ultimately be assembled in a pocket folder with a really amazing letterpress monogram face card. We'll be doing another video shortly showing a "how-to" quick assembly of letterpress invitations in a pocket fold so check back in a few days!

Audio track by none other then the talented Mr. Tim Williams. Be sure to watch in HQ for best quality!

xo - DJL

Last Friday Dick and Jane Letterpress took a little day trip to the University of Minnesota. We received invitation to their St. Paul campus for a visit with a fine fellow by the name of James Boyd-Brent. James has been hard at work collecting an ensemble of letterpress equipment for their blossoming letterpress courses. Just a quick four block walk from our shop to McNeal Hall, the studio is simply too intriguing to pass up a visit. The walls were lined with type cabinets and the shop currently consists of a couple Vandercook Proof presses along with a hand press in AMAZING condition. We spent a hour or so discussing the shop and the many possibilities of the program. With the semester now at an end we are eagerly awaiting the fall term to begin so that we can drop in once more for additional letterpress photos and discussion. Admittedly, the photos are a little lower quality than I'd prefer but I was using the iphone camera.

enjoy!

xo - DJL

There's just nothing like it. Beautiful black script letterpress wedding invitations! This design was recently commissioned by Abigail Mikeworth. Abby hit the nail on the head during our first visit. "At first glance, I wasn't that into it but after looking at it a bit more, it just grew on me." There's something captivating about this invitation style. It's quite an exquisite composition to feast the eyes on. Enjoy!

xo - DJL

Here's our first installment in many more letterpress shorts to come! Today we are printing a few St Anthony Park greeting cards. Black ink on good old kraft card stock. The artwork includes an illustration of the neighborhood Finnish Bistro and the Dunn Brothers Coffee building. Illustration by Jordan Kay (msjordankay.com). Pictured printing in the video is Keisha Bigelow enjoying the view from the shop front window. Don't forget, Dick and Jane Letterpress is your affordable source for letterpress wedding invitations and other printed goods. Be sure to check out our site for up-front pricing and other info. Please feel free to contact us with any questions on your upcoming project.

xoxo - DJL

The letterpress coasters have been printed and we have lots of pictures! All the materials arrived on Thursday afternoon. We squeezed the job in between a few other pieces with the goal of having it all completed for delivery on Monday. We started printing the coasters on Friday morning. On Saturday we printed up the packaging pieces. Finally, Sunday we had a romantic evening sitting in the dining room with the fireplace burning as we folded, stuffed, stapled and assembled everything. Okay... Maybe it wasn't so romantic. But it was MUCH more cozy than the shop! All in all, we think they turned out pretty darn good looking! Have a peek for yourself!

xo - DJL

Natalie was in charge of printing this one!