From start to finish, we had a lot of fun with this wedding invitation set. Our friend and almost-next-door-neighbor, Sarah first contacted us about letterpress printing her very best friend’s wedding invitations. We had both Sarah and Heather over to the studio to talk about the project and printing. Heather is the owner and designer behind Patch Design Studio; she makes beautiful block-printed fabric goods (I particularly love this okra dish towel). It was so nice to talk with another printmaker (and someone who understands and appreciates the nuances of old-school printing).
Heather’s friend Rebecca Paull Marshall designed the invitation and two-sided reply card. We printed them in a single color (handmixed brown) onto 110-lb cotton paper (pearl white).
Since the invitation image was fairly large (in terms of our 8×12 press), it took a bit of work with the makeready to ensure an even impression for both the woodgrain and text. At the recommendation of our friend Keith (whose Chandler & Price Craftsman paper cutter we’re using), I’ve recently started using vellum for the makeready and have been really happy with the results.
