Big Sur modern

To set the scene for their Big Sur wedding, these clients wanted to bring the 'wow' factor of redwoods as well as the expansive vista of the rocky coast to their invites. The graphics were hand-drawn digitally and then printed in one color. I'm so taken with how the redwoods turned out that I plan to print some notecards with the same design, soon.

pretty peonies

For my dear friends, Sarah & Armand, an invite set inspired by the peonies destined to adore their wedding celebration. The blossoms were hand drawn and the delicate lines were printed in two colors, with a distinctively different layout for each of the three pieces. Matching sage green envelopes add dimension to the collection. After printing, the invites were each hand painted, to add depth.

seriously hip biz cards

One side: Young Voters, Other side: MTV. Riffing on the logos for these two organizations, we ended up with some pretty awesome cards. How many people have a blue donkey (that actually looks cool) on their biz cards?

Lummi Island, by moonlight

For a wedding on Lummi Island, a save the date postcard print of the island, by moonlight. Printed in a warm antique brown, with the info on the back. I was especially happy with how the moon came out in the print.

Festive Poinsettias

These were created for a holiday party / fund-raiser. The poinsettias were hand-drawn and printed in two colors. I liked the results so much, I printed some notecards from the same design. Look for them in my Etsy store closer to the holidays, or email me anytime to place an early-bird order.

Tropical Palms, part two

For the invitations, we took the ornate tropical design a few steps further. Again, the contrast between the detailed botanical drawings and the almost-rococo border and flourishes produces a classy, not kitschy, tropical flare. These botanicals were hand-drawn with attention to the fine details. One particularly unique feature of this invite set is how the three inserts feature the same design, but are cut off at decreasing heights. When stacked together, the three pieces fit together seamlessly, even hiding the text behind each successive piece. This was truly one of the most delightfully elaborate designs I've ever worked on.

new EMprint cards!

I couldn't resist using my newly-acquired wood type for some new EMprint business cards. Each card is unique, as I printed the front in 2, 3 or 4 different colors, slight offsetting the two different prints of either 'EM' or 'PRINT' by varying amounts. Other colors and shades are produced where the prints overlap. I'm smitten with the bold simplicity of the typography and love handing them out.

business cards, for the family business

Our family's gourmet vinegar business required cards, at once unique and professional, artisan and classic. I had such a hard time finding the right font for the business name, that we ended up using the handwriting of 'George Paul' himself. Having our contact information on the backside gives recipients a few moments to absorb the impression of the letterpress, before turning it over to find the 'details'.

Sandhills Sweethearts

Simple and lovely, this invite used the echinacea flowers from the Pacific NW invite as the central theme. It also has a similar landscape format, but with only three panels. [The last panel, a map, is cut off in the picture above.]

Pacific NW Landscape

For my dear friends Dana & Daniel, I wanted to create a design to really set the scene for their Pacific Northwest farm wedding. Drawing inspiration from the Gorge, Mt. Hood, and photos from the actual farm location, I created a series of drawings, which were arranged as a landscape. The invite text was nestled among the barn and pear tree and the RSVP and map were printed on the backside. After printing, I added a few splashes of watercolor to bring a bit of color to the scene - blue for the Columbia River, red on the barn, green for the mountain tree-line and golden yellow for each little pear on the tree. The expansive invite was accordion-folded to fit in a modest sized envelope, which featured a detail of echinacea on the back flap. [I couldn't scan the whole invite at once, so I split it into two pieces for this entry - you can see where the barn matches across the two pieces.]

Tropical Palms, part one

The challenge of this design was to evoke a tropical paradise, without seeming kitschy. This was achieved in part by overlaying the palm frond sketches with an ornate border and flourishes. The result is very classy, with a lovely tropical air. Printing a bit of the palms on the envelope made this set extra special.

classy shells

This classic beachy look was achieved with true-to-life seashell etchings and a soft pallette of beach sand tan, crisp water/sky blue, and cloud white papers. A casual tone was set with the less formal font choices and rounded corners. I especially love the bride's idea to make all three inserts the same size.

modern floral

This lovely design was originally conceived as asian-inspired cherry blossoms. As the design evolved, incorporating modern styles and fonts with a soft vintage blue, the blossoms transformed (in my mind at least) into forget-me-nots. These were printed on extra thick, stiff watercolour paper for a truly exquisite tactile effect.

brilliant deco design

This design was created from a wonderful array of inspirations: the Art Deco architecture of the wedding locale, a drawing by the bride of her favorite flowers, as well as a very fun color pallette. The result is lovely ~ bold, yet cheerful.

classic & meaningful

These invites were created for a couple getting married in a former cigar factory, under the Brooklyn Bridge. The fonts and embellishments were chosen to match the style and tone of the bridge image (found on an antique postcard) and the "cigar paper" cigarband seemed an appropriate way to tie it all together.

wood etching postcard

wood etching, originally uploaded by EMprint.

I spent many enjoyable hours etching this woodblock. Wood etching is done with special etching knives into very hard end-grain woodblocks. Wood etchings are different from wood-cuts, which are carved in the same plane as the grain of the wood. You can achieve an incredible amount of detail with wood etching, though it is incredibly time-consuming.

I letterpress printed a small edition of 20. They are available for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Robert Frost print

I printed this Robert Frost poem last year as a commissioned work for a client. The text is hand typeset in 72 pt. Garamond and 24 pt. Century Schoolbook. The abstract flowing water illustration was hand-inked and printed from a paper carving (cut pieces of paperboard mounted type-high in the pressbed). I have a few prints leftover, so I am now offering them for sale on my Etsy shop. There are 11 different prints available, each on different papers, with a unique abstract illustration.

simple elegance

This classic design is simple, yet elegant. The flourishes adorning the top and bottom of each text block were created especially for this couple.

vintage lilac scrolls

I created this design using elements from a wedding invitation I printed last year. The muted lilac and charcoal tones give the design an elegant, vintage feel. This is a versatile design that could take on a different tone with the choice of an alternate color pallette.

delicate floral vine design

This original design was inspired by a piece of vintage fabric. The vines and blossoms have a delicate yet crisp look. I especially love how each petal is pooched out by the impression of its outline.