Lowcountry Artist Market

We’re rolling into beautiful spring days here in Charleston, and we’re looking forward to a day of beautiful weather for tomorrow’s Lowcountry Artist Market. We’ll be set up downtown at the Music Farm (32 Ann Street) from 10am until 3pm, and we’d love to see your smiling faces. The Charleston Farmers Market in Marion Square kicks off tomorrow too, so it’s the perfect day to drop by both markets and stock up local produce and handmade goods.

We’ll be stocked with plenty of cheery, springtime cards as well as cards for graduation and Mother’s Day.

See you tomorrow!

Easter Candy and Easter Cards


How cute are these little plush Peeps? They’ve been enjoying some time in the studio hanging out with the jars of confetti and helping with print runs since Easter is just around the corner (this Sunday to be exact).

We might be biased, but we think our hand-drawn Easter Eggs letterpress card is the perfect addition to an Easter basket, nestled right next to all of that Easter candy.

And speaking of candy, I’m pretty sure Easter might just take the award of best holiday candy offerings. The favorites at INK MEETS PAPER:

Jamie – Peeps

Allison – Cadbury Creme Eggs

Darcy – Robin’s Eggs

What’s your favorite Easter candy?

 

Text Less. Write More.®

Happy Spring! It seems we’re finally out of the chilly weather and into warm sunny days here in Charleston. Jamie and I have been taking advantage of the late evening daylight with bike rides through the neighborhood. The fresh air and sunshine have been really invigorating. With preparations for the upcoming National Stationery Show in full swing, it’s not hard to feel the need to work 24/7– there are so many things to consider (not to mention rules and regulations to follow). Balance is key though, which is why I think these postcards are pretty fitting with today’s post. Texts and emails are definitely convenient, but they can’t replace the beauty and timelessness of a handwritten note. So go ahead and send your texts for happy hour meetups and last-minute grocery store errands, but just make sure you don’t leave out real, handwritten sentiments.

P.S. The above postcards are available in our Etsy shop.

Hive Church Notecards

These custom letterpress notecards are a recent project for the awesome team at The Hive Church, a new urban church plant in the North Charleston area. We printed their logo (designed by Dan Romanoski) onto 110-lb cotton paper. Half of the cards were printed in gray, and the other half were printed in mustard yellow. The cards are paired with recycled kraft envelopes. The impression in the paper is really nice, and I think they’ll definitely make an impact on their recipients.

Makers Summit Recap

The talented ladies behind the Indie Craft Parade hosted another amazing event at the beginning of February: The Makers Summit.  A one-day business conference for creatives, artists, and makers, the event allowed people to connect with fellow creatives while learning how to start or grow your creative business, hear practical advice from industry experts and participate in collective discussions. The lineup of panelists included Stephen Fraser (Spoonflower), Grace Kang (Pink Olive), and Kimm Alfonso (Etsy), and attendees also had access to 10-minute complimentary consultations with experts in various creative and non-creative fields: accounting, legal, branding, marketing, public relations, and Etsy shop reviews.

Along with the conference, there was also a dinner and after party– the “Best Craft Party Ever.” Elizabeth contacted us about doing a letterpress printing station at the craft party, and we couldn’t have been more excited to participate. Since we don’t have a portable (tabletop) press, the lovely folks at Redux Studios allowed us to borrow one of theirs. We’d thought we’d be bringing the Showcard sign press, which would have made for super quick setup and easy printing; however, I vastly underestimated the weight (it didn’t seem that heavy when it sat on the cabinet during the letterpress class), so we ended up bringing the Craftsmen tabletop platen press instead. It took us a bit more time to set up than we’d anticipated (due to a cracked weld and those darn impression screws), but our patience paid off, and the press was printing like a champ.

We made the journey to Greenville with the press as a backseat guest.

And while we missed out on the conference portion of the day, we had an amazing afternoon and evening at the dinner and craft party portion of the festivities. Dinner was delicious and beautiful (those balloons!). We were happy to chat with fellow Charleston creative Emily Jeffords and meet blogger Shannon Orr during dinner.

After dinner, the craft party kicked off. Participants chose a craft for the night (terrariums, beeswax candles, and leather bound journals were a few of the options), and everyone was also able to screen print their conference shirt with Dapper Ink, pull a letterpress print with us, and see a 3D printer in action with the Greenville Makers group.

It was so lovely to meet so many amazing people during the evening (and share our love of letterpress). A few scenes from the letterpress printing station:

 

We loved catching up with friends Michelle of Finkelstein’s Center (and hang out with Barnum, pictured below) and Jessica of Owlette. Being surrounded by so many passionate, creative people is exhilarating and wonderful.

 

What an awesome event! Thanks, Indie Craft Parade team, for letting us be a part of it. Let’s keep on making… because the world always needs more awesome. 🙂