2012 has been a great year for us here at Sesame. We have worked with some wonderful clients and companies and we have had the opportunity to get involved in some really fun and exciting collaborations.Keep visiting the blog in 2013 as we post more about our products, projects and adventures. Stay tuned for more posts about our experiences fixing up the Golding Jobber No. 7 and please do keep in touch and let us know what you think of our new items and stationery lines. We love hearing from you!

Happy New Year from everyone at Sesame Letterpress!

I wanted to share a few posts that investigate websites and blogs that we adore. The internet is such a great source of inspiration and resources to help us (and our clients!) when it comes to thinking about and designing personal stationery.First up is Color Collective. The concept is really simple: Lauren Willhite posts a single image and then includes swatches of the main colors which are featured:

It might be an interior snapshot or a fashion image:

Or much more random images:

The idea is that you get a sense of the way that seemingly disparate colors can actually look fantastic together. Brides who are looking for an unusual palette for their wedding colors could really benefit from checking out this website!

- Jana

We really love being featured in any Martha Stewart magazine or website. We are over the moon to have our stationery included in a photo story about Justine and Eamonn's wedding. They are a really glamorous couple (just check out her stunning Jenny Packham wedding dress - swoon!). So we wanted to work with them to design an invitation and stationery suite that would reflect the vibe of their summertime New York wedding.

We especially love the bespoke coat of arms that features on the invitation! It was designed especially to reflect the couple...

See more photos from this gorgeous wedding by clicking here.

Well, admittedly we're not even past Christmas yet. But we're thinking ahead! And we do love a good New Year's Eve Party...I've been going through our stock and I think I have found the perfect card to use as an invitation or to say a festive thanks for gifts and fun events.

I love the slightly old-fashioned image of a drinks tray, especially the way it has been modernized with flashes of bright yellow. Being British, I also like the greeting, "cheers", printed underneath!

Here's a close up:

What do you think? If you want to purchase a few of these for your New Year's party, just click here!

I never realized that there is a whole community of people who champion the use and preservation of antique letterpresses. Obviously, here at Sesame, we are all enthusiasts and we have quite a few presses which we are constantly caring for and printing with. But there are also some amazing online resources with active members who are regularly posting about their printing projects, design ideas and love of old letterpresses. Here are a few suggestions if you want to start exploring letterpress. And these sites also have listings where you can buy and sell old presses...Briar Press - this is our go-to site with nearly 70,000 printers, artists and designers!

British Letterpress - as the name suggests, this site is quite UK-centric. It features lots of hands-on guides and ideas.

Happy exploring!

Update, 1/15/13:

Thanks to Shayna at Steel Petal Press for letting us know about another excellent new website for letterpress fans:

Letterpress Commons - great new open source site built by the letterpress community. Loads of really awesome information and links.

 

Thanks to Melissa who sent us these gorgeous photos of the stationery we printed for her wedding. We especially like the personalized belly band around the invitations.

All photographs by Todd France (tfrance.com)

We have put together a lovely range of customizable holiday cards. They are designed so that clients can choose their own photograph to incorporate into the card.All of us here in the studio adore this gorgeous faux bois design. Perfect for Christmas and especially perfect for letterpress: the impression makes the paper actually feel like woodgrain!

- Jana

Kate just inked the press with the most wonderful, rich, saturated blue. It looks like the perfect summer sky. It reminds me of International Klein Blue - a color first mixed by the French artist Yves Klein.

She has been busily printing some lovely, simple ceremony programs that we're sending out very soon - it's going to be a nice crisp weekend for a New York wedding!

- Jana