Everyone is out and about enjoying a perfect weekend here in Minnesota. Motorcycles, fishing, BBQ, camping, sunglasses - you name it! Meanwhile, I decided to go hard back at the shop and crank out a completely new website. So anyway - if you don't know it - this site is 1 day old today so hooray!!!
Now I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my weekend. Hope to hear from you soon!
The weather is finally starting to turn for the better here and we have so much on the horizon! We've been hard at work this winter creating some really amazing work for brides and businesses alike! We're very excited to announce a few new designs and we're also going though the site and cleaning house! Here's a sneak peek at a couple things we've had come through recently.
We're in St Paul Minnesota so we really like to take as much advantage of the summer season as possible. This last summer lasted a little longer than usual but now as the fall approaches I can't help but daydream about warmer days, vacations and day tripping across the country. Here's a pics from driving across the tops of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Such amazing memories and adventures made this last year.
Duplexing is a term used to describe gluing two sheets of paper to each other (back to back) to create a much thicker final sheet. This is done quite often in letterpress printing to hide the ghosted dents from the impact of the press. This way we can print a deep impression into both sides of the card without worrying about ruining the opposing side. All that said - Natalie - our lady of the night (cause she works evenings) is obsessed with this practice. She's always pumped to do some gluing and get those crop marks EXACT. This work can be tedious but when you've got a love for the details like Natalie - it's a party. I swear it almost looks like she's having fun. More power to her!
We can duplex or triplex, or whatever-plex so if you have a project in need, let us know!
What a success! If you're not familiar with the Big Fake Wedding, definitely check them out! We recently took part in their Minneapolis event at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel by producing a custom invitation suite geared to fit their wedding theme. Our design aesthetic was "Folk-Floral-Fabulous!" We created a custom gold foil and digital print along with a matching rsvp, envelopes with printed labels, coasters and novelty tags. The different finish techniques we used included duplexing invitations and rsvps, foil stamped invites, foil stamped rsvps, die cutting labels, letterpress coasters, and some fun twine binding to finish it all off.
We attended the completely SOLD OUT faux wedding, met with guests, had dinner, partied and danced the night away alongside out other participating vendors and guests. We'll definitely be doing this again!
For a letterpress printer, there's nothing more fun than seeing a Heidelberg in the papers! So Letterpress printing and the Star Tribune?! ... well... sorta! We were visited last week by a writer and photographer from the Star Tribune. They we're researching for an article that came out last Sunday. The article was in celebration of the 1st anniversary of the light rail titled "University Avenue, Hopes are High!" The article mentioned our little shop and talked some about what the light rail has meant for us. If you haven't seen the article or are just curious about the new beginnings here on University Ave, we welcome you to visit the Star Tribune and read the article for yourself! Many thanks to the Tribune and all the supporters and small biz owners here on the Ave! - also - my friends tell me this pic makes me look old. .. boo.
Working on a really great video collaboration. Showing folks around the shop and diving into the ins and out of letterpress wedding invitations. We'll detail some of the custom design as well as the production elements that go into creating your unique wedding invitations. Invitation paper, invitation envelopes, inks, foils, you name it! We can't wait to share the final piece with all of you! - DJL
Trends will come and go but classic black on white will never get old. Never underestimate just how important your wedding invitations can be. They are the first glimpse your guests will get of what is to come and they truly set the tone. With this Benson + Robbins invitation suite, the couple simply commented, "we want a design we're going to love in 50 years time." We went typographic with the layout and ultimately I think these letterpress wedding invitations really nailed it. Grateful to work with Julie and George and we wish them the best on their wedding day!
We have a funny schedule here. It has absolutely nothing to do with 9-5 or Monday through Friday. Our work schedule is always up in the air depending on what our customers need. I can happily say that we've never been a team to shy away from hard work on long hours but at some point, even the busiest days eventually creep to a moment of perfect stillness and accomplishment. We appreciate each and every client we've worked with over the years. If you need letterpress work, contact us.
Day or Night, we're on it. you can also follow us on instagram for the crazy 24 hour version of our work. @dickandjane_letterpress
The Minnesota Bride Magazine - Spring/Summer 2015 issue hit stands this month and it is jam-packed with all kinds of fantastic photos and articles. Even better, this issue has their annual Invitation review and guess who made it in!?
Woo-Hoo! I swear no matter how many years we've been doing invitations, every time I see our work in a printed publication, I get all kinds of super excited! Everyone around the shop is a buzz and our spring/summer clients are starting to come out of hibernation to begin working on their invitation suites. So much fun and great new designs in store for 2015.
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If you're considering invitations and you've got a crush on letterpress, definitely hit us up! We've got all kinds of packages to fit you needs AND your budget! - xoxo DJL!
We did this fall wedding duotone set for Anastasia and Robert around this time last year. The set had been photographed and ended up being used in a few displays for wedding shows. Meanwhile, we completely overlooked adding a pic to the blog for all to enjoy. The set was based on our Spring Leaf design and produced on a natural white paper with a wonderful fall color pallet. An absolutely darling invite suite for a fantastic couple!
We at D & J drink coffee - lots and LOTS of coffee. And we got to thinking, why not give something back to our local coffee joint? As we started thinking about expanding into new materials, we did a test run of coffee koozies for our the nearby Round Table Coffee Works. Now the locally-roasted fresh brew looks as good as it tastes :) Keep a lookout for us - we might be around your favorite coffee cup, next!
Often time we wonder what happens to the pieces we produce for customers. The jobs can be so different from one to the next.
We received an email from a past client, Jordan Fretz who had us produce a set of very elaborate coasters. Turns out the final product was packaged in pairs for guests and included a pair of individually wrapped bags of tea and honey. Very cool idea indeed! Jordan did a great job on these and we just wanted to share a quick pic of the coasters for all to enjoy.
Many thanks Jordan!
Double sided letterpress printing. We get this question often. Can it be done? YES! But there are some things to be aware of. First and foremost, printing on side A will leave slight ghosted residual impression marks on side B. We can certianly dial back the impression to minimize these marks but that sort of defeats the purpose of letterpress, don't you think?? So you still want to double side your print and you want a nice, notable impression? No problem. Our best suggestions would be to either print on a duplex sheet (2 sheets glued together back to back to create a thicker sheet) or our 2-ply (double thick stock direct from the mill). Both will allow for a very nice impression with little to no damage to the reverse side. Pictured below is a job we recently finished which includes an example of double sided letterpress printing on 2-ply paper. Note the impression marks from each side are practically invisible.
*One additional advantage to the 2-ply is that if you are considering a painted edge, the extra thick stock yields great results!
Chris and John came in a few weeks ago wanting an invitation to gather friends and family to formally celebrate their marriage. That said, they were definitely in search of a more casual feel so they came up with the idea of having a garden party! Did I mention John owns an absolutely wonderful landscaping company? Needless to say, their garden/yard is a real treat. Chris also wanted to integrate a font styling that had an architectural feel without being too fussy. We sat down over some samples, chatted about the neighborhood, and came up with this amazing duotone green on green leaf format which in its completion, really struck a chord. Many thanks to Chris and John! - pictured here pre-final trim.
This is another customer submitted design which became a favorite of the season around the shop. The layout clearly observes the typical rules of invitations with things like hierarchy, balance, weight and a gentle hand. On the other hand, the groom and brides names are completely different fonts, there are at least 4 + different fonts being used and the card was cut to a custom size for specialty envelopes. I won't say what company the designer works for by day but I will say her work combines fashion and the outdoors on the daily. Being this was a Wisconsin wedding, It's clear this is a case of the bride and designer being a fantastic match! - reflex blue on fluorescent white single ply.
The Fall is fast approaching and we are rolling out our Fall Seasonal Special!
Here are the details! 100 Letterpress Invitations w/ matching envelopes 100 Letterpress RSVP cards w/ matching envelopes All Envelopes include Return Address Printing Regularly priced at a value of $699! OFFER EXPIRES OCTOBER 31st!
Your wedding is still a few months or even a year out? No problem! Take advantage of the special offer and book your order now. Come back to it later this year when you're ready! Call or email us today to book your order and simply mention the ad offer code. Many thanks for visiting Dick and Jane Letterpress. We hope to work with you soon!
Hello all!
Dick and Jane Letterpress is here to announce that we will be at the Twin Cities Bridal Association’s “Wedding Fair”! This event is on Sunday, October 24th. It’ll be a good way for us to meet other people from the wedding industry, as well as you guys to take advantage of discounts we will be offering at the fair!
If you come and visit our booth on the 24th, we will be offering a big discount on invitation/RSVP sets and you'll get to see all of our designs in person!
Kari Jacobsen visited Dick and Jane Letterpress with lots of great ideas in need of a little interpretation. We quickly settled on this unique double border letterpress wedding invitation. Note the line and dot pinstripe and the detailed embellishments surrounding the bride and grooms names. Elegant and simple, the design takes a simple typographic approach and pairs it with detailed illustrations (note the tiny crown). It is contemporary, eclectic, and fresh. Much appreciation to Kari for her unique vision.
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