Louella Court

Two Paperdolls at Brooklyn Craft Central!

Come visit our table this weekend at Brooklyn Craft Central! We'll be selling our letterpress notecards and prints, holiday card sets, screenprinted onesies and toddler T's, and our newest projects: mounted letterpress clocks and monoprints. Check 'em out!

These monoprints were made using a combination of printing techniques. Letterpress printing with polymer, metal blocks, and wood type forms the first layer of the print, which is then fed through a digital printer. Found and scanned imagery, typography, sketches, and photographs interact with the impression from the woodblocks to form a completely unique image. No two are exactly alike!

The letterpress clocks are fully functional and mounted on lightweight wooden bases. 

Our letterpress prints are trimmed to 8" x 10" so they are easily framed and ready to give as a unique holiday gift!

AIGA Philly hosts "Typeface" Screening

{ posted by Jen James, designer/illustrator }

We were excited when AIGA Philadelphia asked us to design and letterpress print a postcard to promote the screening of the documentary "Typeface," by Justine Nagan, hosted by Cabrini College and the Bryn Mawr Film Institute. Here is a short summary of the focus of the film, taken from the AIGA Philadelphia website:

Nowadays, contemporary design is very much a digital process. Come and see what life was like when type was made of wood and you could not change the point size with the click of a mouse. This film focuses on the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum and how it is the juncture of modern design and traditional technique. Click here to view the trailer.

Our very own Vanessa Kreckel (owner and creative director of Two Paperdolls) will join Ray Nichols & Jill Cypher from Lead Grafitti and Kseniya Thomas from Thomas-Printers after the film for a panel discussion.

Here are the details for the event:
WHEN: Tuesday, October 5, 2010
TIME: 7:30pm
WHERE: Bryn Mawr Film Institute
PRICING:
$10 Adult
$7 Students
$5 Cabrini College Faculty & Staff
FREE Cabrini College Students with ID

Super Sweet Custom Hangers

{ posted by Jen James, designer/illustrator }

Excuse the pun here, but I'm so hung up on these hangers! What a sweet gift for a bride-to-be to hang her wedding dress on. This would make for a seriously sweet "before" shot of her wedding day. I found these on Etsy at a shop called lilafrances. This crafty lady donates ten percent of her profits to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund to honor her mother, who encouraged her to develop her creative skills into a career.

Jewelery for Typography Lovers

{ posted by Jen James, designer/illustrator }

I found an amazing jewelry maker on Friday's post on Swiss Miss, and it reminded me of some other typography-inspired accessories I've seen.

Littlefly explains his process better than I could, so here it is in his own words:

"Paper is many things: a carrier of text, illustration, history and emotion.

Jeremy May has captured the beauty of paper via a unique laminating process. Littlefly jewelery is made by laminating hundreds sheets of paper together, then carefully finishing to a high gloss. The paper is selected and carefully removed from a book, and the jewelry re-inserted in the excavated space.

Each piece is impossible to replicate, and is unique to the  wearer. The beauty of the jewels extends within the piece: text and images pass all the way though the object, only exposed at the surfaces – giving a tantalizing glimpse of the book within."

 

 

 

Here are some pieces from other jewelry makers that also pay homage to the written word, all found on Etsy.

vintage typewriter "K" ring

brass moveable type "M" pendant

colon/semicolon cuff links

various keys bracelet

Inspirational Letterpress Posters!

{ posted by Jen James, designer/illustrator }

Here at Two Paperdolls, we typically use our letterpress equipment to make flawless impressions using polymer plates. Polymer is amazing because it allows us to use an antiquated technology in a new way, bridging the gap between the days of movable lead type, and the needs of today's modern bride. It's also what makes it possible to show our clients so many custom design options before their project ever goes to print.

On the other end of the spectrum, printing with movable wooden type creates gritty textures that are "happy accidents," rather than planned design elements. Take a look at these lovely posters made by traditional printmakers that print the old-fangled way. These images were taken from artist Brad Vetter's portfolio site, and were printed at Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee. Also check out this informational video about letterpress and it's history. Of course there are other great traditional letterpress studios across the country, but this one holds a special place in my heart because they welcomed me for a six week internship last summer, letting me dive right in to 130 years of letterpress history.

Maybe our pressman Scott will let us shoot some footage of him printing up some invitations!

 

Skinny Ships

 

One of my favorite illustrator/designers is Richard Perez, who goes by the moniker Skinny Ships. His type-based illustrations are so much fun, but really show restraint and aren't over-done. Maybe it's the outrageous slab serifs or the gritty texture in the backgrounds...whatever he does, I like it. Here is a peek at some of my favorite of his drawings, but check out his flickr page to see more!

     

  All photos from Richard's website

Tweed Tom screenprint

{ posted by Jen James, designer/illustrator }

For Print Only is a great blog that posts fresh design work that is always well designed and well executed. Today they posted this amazing poster for us to marvel at. It's a 4 color screenprint by London designer Tweed Tom.

Here are some of his other screenprints that I love!

And check out our work featured on FPO!

Represent your City with a New Logo!

{posted by Jen James; designer/illustrator with the help of Kate, fabulous intern!}

CitID is, in their own words, "an ambitious community project where designers world wide are invited to design a logo for their city. We are aiming to collect a unique set of inspiring logos, displaying the various styles and trends in contemporary design all over the world."

Click the link about to read submission guidelines and see the 150+ submissions they are currently displaying!

a Save-the-Date for the Lone Star State

{ posted by Jen James, designer/illustrator }

I had so much fun with this project for my big sister! Knowing Kelly and Clayton personally allowed me to design something unique and just for them. They liked the idea of bringing everyone up to speed with a cute little story explaining that the high school sweethearts were reunited after college. We tried to achieve a theme of Texan-inspired shabby chic, with a nod to Clayton's love for vintage music posters. 

 
Apparently, this part earned her the nickname "Pickle Thief" at work!

Keep Calm and Carry On

Our design intern Kate uncovered another lovely collection of silkscreen posters. This time it is the resurgence of WW2 British Military propaganda. In 1939, the British Ministry of Information commissioned a series of posters to boost morale and civil support. The design of the posters consisted of a message from the King set in a simple sans serif against a bold, flat colored background, and an image of his crown.

"Keep Calm and Carry On" is the third poster of the series to be used if and when the Nazis should invade Britain. Since that never happened, the posters – apart from limited distribution – were never used.

Here are the other two (considerably less cheery) in the series:

 

Kate recently purchased a print for herself to hang in her apartment as a reminder and morale booster during stressful times.

She also had the good idea to buy postcards as little reminders and placed them around her space as a reminder to keep her head up. For instance, when her computer decides it wants to turn itself off for no real reason. We all know that feeling! Or, when she's making the commute to TPD dodging other stressed out drivers who are talking on their cell phone, reading the newspaper, eating breakfast, and applying makeup.

They are available here - they also have plenty of other wares to satisfy anglophile sensibilities.