We were cleaning the shop this week. While filing away some summer orders, I came across these really cool invitations! Pictured below are the final invitation, rsvp and thank you card designs for Jean Claude and Esther. They selected our Spring Leaf II wedding collection design. After a few quick tweaks, we finalized the beautiful compositions. I can't believe I overlooked adding them to our letterpress blog. I guess I'll never know how that happened? The final letterpress wedding invitations were printed on pearl paper in a sage and dark grey ink combination. Special thanks to JC and Esther for their creative attitude and proactive approach to finalizing all the little details required to make these invitations so tasty!

Be sure to visit our letterpress blog often for updated images and specials on affordable letterress printing from Dick and Jane Letterpress

It has been a surprisingly long wedding season for us at Dick and Jane Letterpress this year! We just finished an invitation suite as well as announcements for the Brown wedding. The couple chose our Spring Leaf II design in a burnt orange ink on the egg shell paper. All in all, we think they turned out quite nice. See for yourself. - XOXO DJL

We recently finished an invitation order for the Peterson wedding. The bride and groom came in with the brides mother. The four of us sat down over a coffee and notepad where we discussed their particularly stylish taste unlike anything we had ever really attempted before.

The couple expressed their adoration for the traditional calligraphy/script type style however it was obvious that the two of them were a little more daring than leaving it at that. They continued to tell me about the ceremony being held at the super cool Gold Medal Flour building in Minneapolis, MN. I had recently been looking at pictures of the giant sign still mounted to the top of the roof so I was quite familiar with the allure of the building. The Petersons wanted to somehow incorporate the building into the invitation suite but do it tastefully.

After some back and forth we came up with the pictured design. We combined a blind emboss (no-ink) with an elegant script in formal black. At first glance, the invitees would not quite notice the full-bleed Gold Medal Flour sign quietly slipped in behind the script text. Also, if you lay each piece down on the table, the pieces reassemble like a puzzle to reveal one large sign which runs the width of both the invite, rsvp, and tidbit card. This was by far one of our most fun designs of the year. Thanks so much to the Petersons for being so daring. xoxo - DJL

We're very pleased to announce the kick-ass addition to the gang, Sara Bischoff! Sara has come to us from MCAD. Her background is in marketing and design. She is helping Dick and Jane reach out to the Minneapolis / St. Paul design community. We're working on a great new self-promotion initiative which Sara is spearheading. Be sure to check out the blog for more news on that topic. In the meantime, Sara has been featured in a recent YouTube video posted above! Sara is updating her site so we'll be sure to follow up with the new URL as soon as we receive word. Be sure to visit the Dick and Jane blog for more wonderful updates from the world of letterpress.

xoxo - DJL

That's right! We set the letterpress wedding invitations aside Thursday night for an evening of fun and entertainment as Dick and Jane Letterpress (along with an A-list of wedding vendors) partied with the Knot Magazine (MN). We managed to keep our heads together long enough to snap a few quick pics and even capture some small video clips. We compiled the pieces and posted to Youtube today for everyone to check out. Check out our videos posted under username: "LETTERPRESSfilms"

Special thanks to everyone at the Knot for hosting such a wonderful evening. We greatly appreciated the invitation and will be sure to stop out again in the future. Be sure to check out our letterpress blog for regular updates covering the local Minneapolis, St Paul wedding scene!

Greetings to all you letterpress people! We've been a bit busy organizing the new shop but have now found the time to finally get back to the letterpress blog. Featured today is a special treat from a good friend of Dick and Jane Letterpress by the name of Nicole DeRosa. Nicole creates handmade clam shell boxes and hand bound journals for babies, births, scrapbooking, and brides-to-be. Shown below is a clam shell box and journal made for Dick and Jane Letterpress featuring a canvas blue and metallic silver seagull motif celebrating the birth of our new son. Nicole works with us regularly to create beautiful things for brides-to-be. Check out her Etsy shop, Signature Handmades, for more work.

Check back often for more fabulous letterpress blog updates, including wedding invitations, business cards, and other super sweet projects.

xo - DJL

Can you believe it!?!? It's only been a year since we arrived here in the Minneapolis, St Paul area. It's been an exciting year, with lots of growth. New presses, interns, and babies (or at least one baby). With the great year we've decided to move to somewhat larger digs. We're moving to 2500 University Ave. Unit D6. New shop features hardwood floors, twelve-foot ceiling, and five presses. Above is a pic of the space prior to our moving. We will be sure to post updated shop pics once we are all settled in. Until then, much love to all you fabulous letterpress people. Check back often for more updates.

xoxo

DJL

Dick and Jane Letterpress is extremely proud to announce our recent feature in the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of Minnesota Bride Magazine. We were featured in a small article titled "Pretty Prints - Get a Little Whimsical With Your Invites, Embracing Bright Colors and Thematic Graphics". Featured was a letterpress wedding invitation including an Indonesian flower pattern combined with a script and red poppy motif. This particular order was created as a custom design for a Canadian client in the past season. Please note the photos below.

Be sure that you pick up your issue of the new MN Bride Magazine on local newsstands today! Visit Dick and Jane Letterpress Blog for updates on all our current adventures in letterpress printing.

Lila and Oliver approached Dick and Jane Letterpress with a request to print their wedding invitations designs. The designs were created by Lila's sister, Livia Foldes. Truth is... It's not everyday we get the opportunity to print client designs quite as stunning as these. The designs were simple, elegant, and masterfully formal.

Lila and Natalie (co-owner of Dick and Jane Letterpress) have been friends since high school. It was quite a surprise to both Lila (now living in New York City) and Natalie (living in Saint Paul, MN) when they realized they would be working together. Much thanks and appreciation to Lila, Oliver, and Livia for the opportunity to assist in their wedding plans.

xo - DJL

The other day, the smart and quirky writer of Flotsam Blog, Alexa Stevenson, came into our shop to order business cards. Her upcoming appearance at the BlogHer Convention 2009 in Chicago inspired the creation of these awesome cards and we all can agree that they turned out great.

BlogHer 2009 is a business conference aimed at teaching an ever-growing web demographic—online women—how to improve their blogs, while also engaging in group discussions and networking opportunities.

"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

Hey all you Letterpress lovers out there! With the grand news of our new baby Sonny's arrival, we set to work to design a fun birth announcement, complete with an exposed baby bum and a friendly stork. We thought it turned out pretty cute and cheeky (hah!)

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

We totally had our baby a few weeks back! We've been so busy with getting back to work, family and friends visiting and new client meeting that reporting this little snip of news wound up shelved for a spell. Sorry everyone. Any hoot ~ On June 15th at 5:45pm, Natalie and I were suddenly rocketed into parenthood by this little guy! Jameson "Sonny" Robert Durk was born! He weighed in at a whopping 10lbs and 12oz. He was 22.5" long and being two weeks overdue and "large" to say the least... he's already holding up his head and sleeping through the night! I personally have big expectations for Sonny. He'll make a great Printers Devil once he can walk/spell. Over the years, you can definitely expect to see more pics and notes including my boy around the shop. In fact, starting in August, he's coming with dad to the shop every day (letterpress daycare).

We love you Jameson.

xo ~ mom and dad

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

That's right folks. Tomorrow is our due date! At this point, we're pretty certain that the baby action will not be happening tomorrow but then again... you never know. Above I've included a picture of Natalie quietly talking to the baby. I think she's asking him if he's got plans tomorrow. I guess we'll find out. In the mean time, it's back to the wedding invitation printing for me and back to the couch for Natalie. Keep checking back if you're interested.

Oh yeah... FYI ~ I sometimes write about letterpress printing too. So... if you're into that, I promise things will be back to "letterpress awesomeness" in no time.

xo - DJL