Here is a peek behind the scenes in our Brooklyn studio where we do all of our printing. We enjoy making beautiful things by hand using traditional techniques. We are celebrating our 20 year anniversary of our shop, and are very happy to share a bit of our process with you!

We always hand mix the ink for each job that comes to us. We use a Pantone book to determine the formula for the color, and the proportions of inks to combine. Because each ink is hand mixed, we are able to match anything from a swatch of fabric to a scrap of paper. We pride ourselves on getting the color just right each time.

Before we begin printing, we measure out where the plate should print on the card. We have to be very precise in order to keep the printing straight, and especially when there are multiple runs of colors. Taking the time to set up perfectly (or as close as we can) saves time in the long run.

Our plates are made out of a polymer plastic with an adhesive back. Traditionally, letterpress was done using hand set metal or wood type, but this new technique of photo polymer saves time, and allows us more freedom to use a variety of font and image options. We are even able to print a drawing that a client send us, with a bit of editing on our end.

Once the plate is adhered to the base, we ink if up and do a test print. We always double check the measurements and alignment and make any adjustments before beginning the print run. We also check to make sure the color matches the Pantone guide. If it’s a little off, we can make small changes by adding tiny dots of ink to the press. At this point, we also check the level of impression on the paper and make any adjustments. We prefer to have a nice bite into the paper, so you can really feel the impression.

Here is a shot of our favorite press, a Golding Jobber, inked up with a beautiful forest green after a run of stationery. All of our work is printed on one of three presses in the studio. When it’s printing time, we hand feed each piece of paper into the press. The presses all run on a motor, so the press closes, making the impression and transferring the ink from the plate to the paper. We retrieve the paper and stack it to the side, and keep printing! Once we’ve finished the run, we go through each set of cards to check for any imperfections before packing the job up to send to our client.

We recently got a peek at Caitlin and Teddy’s wedding photos from their nuptials and they did not disappoint! Their wedding was at a gorgeous seaside estate on Cape Cod this past October, with perfect blue skies. We are so happy for this beautiful couple, and are glad to have been a small part of their big day.

Photos courtesy of Meredith Jane Photography

Photography: Meredith Jane Photography - www.meredithjanephoto.com
Venue: Turntide Estate 
Coordinator, Caterer, Cake: The Casual Gourmet - https://thecasualgourmet.com
Floral Design: Patrice R. Milley - https://www.patricermilley.com
Gown: Romona Keveza - www.romonakeveza.com/ 
Accessories: Julia's Alterations - https://www.juliaalterations.com 
Hair: Judy - www.instagram.com/heyjude857/ 
Invitations: Sesame Letterpress & Design - https://www.sesameletterpress.com 
Tux: The Black Tux - https://theblacktux.com  
Band: Murray Hill Talent - https://murrayhilltalent.com/ 
Rentals: UnderCover Tent & Party - https://tentrentalscapecod.com/ 
Transportation: Cape Destinations - http://capedestinations.com/ 

We came across this gorgeous set of invitations from last fall and had to share! Alexa and Greg had a black tie wedding in Italy with a very romantic vibe. On their invitations, we printed a drawing of the villa, provided by the couple, and a hand drawn map in the background of their event card. Those hand-drawn touches add a to of character to the whole set. All of the cards were printed in charcoal gray ink on natural white paper, with a wine red envelope.

Here is a follow up to a wedding set that we gave a snapshot of recently. This set is one of our favorites from 2019! We love this slate blue, floral themed set for Joy & Spencer. The design was straight from our Blossoms template, printed in slate blue and gray ink on natural white paper. They opted to do an online rsvp, but indicated that on a small website card and also a manila tag, which was tied around the invitation with a beautiful ribbon. On the day of, they had a folded program, and also a cute card featuring transportation information and a trolley image.

We love seeing the photos from weddings we've worked on! We spend so much time imagining wedding day details and designing invitations to reflect these that we always feel really invested in the event! Here are some gorgeous photos by Stephanie Brauer of July a wedding at Lyndhurst Mansion. We customized our Roses invitations in honor of the estate's famed rose garden for this event.

Photo credit :stephaniebrauer.com

We want to thank all of the couples we worked with in 2019 for trusting us to be a part of your special event! We enjoyed getting to know all of you and hope you will stay in touch so we can work together again. We’re looking forward to the 2020 wedding season and collaborating with more creative couples.

We printed this wedding invitation set earlier this year, and are dreaming of seaside summers now that we’re fully immersed in winter. Ann and John had their wedding in the midst of July in Portland, Maine, complete with the requisite lobster bake rehearsal dinner. Their suite is based on our Downtown design, with some added nods to the great state of Maine, like the tree and star silhouette on the rsvp card, referencing the state flag. Their save the dates were adorable bookmarks with a pair of Plovers, an endangered bird that nests in Maine. The cards and map envelope liner were printed in navy ink, and the rehearsal dinner card in warm red.