When Therese first visited Lunalux, she breezed through our sample albums while explaining the scope of her project – an invitation for a baby shower, something pretty and modern, here’s what it should say. In these early stages, clients are encouraged to offer specific direction regarding fonts, graphics, colors, themes, etc. But Therese didn’t want to micro-manage the shower invitation; she liked our samples, and trusted us to make something pretty for her. (Which we did – click on the image at the left for a larger view)

Clients come to Lunalux with a variety of needs and expectations. Some already have a clear vision of the finished piece, and it’s both a privilege and a pleasure to help make their vision a reality. But it’s most exciting (and challenging) to work for clients who appreciate the style and quality on display in our portfolios, and just ask for more of the same, please. This kind of openness often leads to the best work. Like this shower invitation, which is letterpress-printed on heavy wove-finish cover, in brown and apple-green inks. We also printed an extra set of cards with just the graphic, to be given as a gift to the mother-to-be. I think it’s beautiful, and apparently Therese was happy with it too, because we’re scheduled to talk soon about a personal stationery project.

Most of the time, we’re straining to make ends meet around here. But occasionally, when we’re feeling a little flush, we’re able to do design and letterpress work at a discounted rate, to help a worthy person or cause. Two such projects passed through our studio this past fall.

Markus Wuollet is a young man who worked as a server at Cafe Lurcat (one of the three restaurants on our block). At the age of 24, he was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer, and has been battling the disease for over a year. He planned a party in November to celebrate with his friends and family (and a fundraiser, to help cover his scary medical bills) and asked us to create inexpensive invitations. Though I didn’t know Markus personally, I was very touched by his story, which made me think of Lunalux founder Tim Gartmen, who lost his life to cancer at a very young age. So I was happy to help Markus on his quest to cram lots of goodness into his days. One of his friends developed a nice graphic logo, which we incorporated into a contemporary design. The invitations were letterpress-printed in chocolate and red inks on florescent white Lettra cotton cover, and paired with bright red envelopes.

We also created invitations in October for the opening reception of an art show, Dispelling Fear through Creativity. Documentary photographer Michael J. Allen spearheaded this multi-media exhibit, which shed light on the complicated issue of homelessness. With an artists’ budget, he asked us to design and print invitations for this special event. In the next breath, he also invited me to contribute original artwork to the exhibit. I said yes to both requests. Because the the show included panhandlers’ cardboard signs, we used chipboard to reference that raw material. The simple text for the invitation was letterpress-printed in red and black on 3.875×9.25 buckslip cards, and paired with red envelopes.

Which brings us to the question of… “Jenni, what did you contribute to the art exhibit?” Well, here’s a picture – me with the wood-type poster that I printed on our Vandercook proof press, inspired by a sign created by William, a homeless man who used to work on Nicollet. You can read more about this art project at Michael Allen’s website.

When you have a baby, you want nothing more than to show off your new progeny to the world. Well, that and a good night’s sleep. And a sweater without baby barf on it. But showing off, that’s a priority. Our favorite way to brag? Custom-designed letterpress-printed birth announcements, of course. We recently printed the one shown here (click on the picture for a larger view) for a returning customer. Mommy Michelle also runs a high-end clothing consignment business, and I worked with her last fall on business stationery. So it was a treat to see her again, just a couple weeks before her due date, eager to plan announcements for her soon-to-be new born. We created a card that reflected her romantic, girly style, with an ornate floral graphic and delicate gold type. We also printed some cards with just the floral design, to be used as thank-you notes.

Many new parents want to include a picture with the bundle of joy’s vital stats, so our customized birth announcements are often designed to showcase photographs. This is the second photo birth announcement we’ve created for Laura and Mike, and this time (like the first time) we went simple-simple-simple. Copperplate type is letterpress-printed on 130# natural white cover stock, and paired with a matching blue envelope – a classic design with little flourish to distract from the picture.

We often work with moms and dads before the baby is born, developing and then fine-tuning the design. When the baby is born, dad calls (or mom, still in the hospital bed, e-mails from her iPhone) with the date and weight; sometimes we get the announcements printed before the exhausted new parents have had time to capture the perfect first portrait.

Couples planning an intimate wedding celebration may wish to send announcements after the big day, alerting far-flung friends and relatives that the knot has been tied. This was the case for Jessica and Justin, who just this past weekend had a small ceremony with their immediate families. Their announcements feature the popular wildflower graphic (we’ve used this on a few other custom wedding invitations & announcements) and simple sans serif text, letterpress-printed in two colors on 100% cotton paper. The muted colors and mustard envelope are great for this time of year! (Click on the image at the left for a larger view)

Moving announcements are such a practical thing – when you relocate, it’s important to notify friends and family of your new contact information, so everyone can stay in touch. Getting custom-designed letterpress-printed moving announcements can be a fun way to show off your personal style, on a piece of mail that’s going to be sent to all the most important people in your life. We’ve worked on two great moving announcements lately, for very different circumstances.

I met Kristi shortly after she and her family moved from California to Minneapolis this summer. She was excited to find our store, as she’s a fellow paper addict and had seen our products in shops on the west coast. So we had a lot of fun designing custom moving announcements, wrestling with weighty details such as The Perfect Envelope and the right shade of white paper. Wanting the announcements to include a clever nod to their new home state, Kristi settled on a loon theme. The custom illustration and modern typesetting is printed on Lettra paper and paired with a feisty orange envelope, appropriate for an autumnal mailing.

This moving announcement, on the other hand, was created for a real estate agent to give to her clients as they settled in the new home she’d helped them purchase. We’ve used this pink floral motif in the past, both on business cards and on scratch pads we sell in our store. We used Strathmore Pastelle for this project, a paper that Lunalux has relied on for years for a wide assortment of wholesale and custom projects. The natural white cover stock has a felt finish, which many customers find very appealing. It’s thinner than many of the other papers we use, but it’s also relatively inexpensive, for how fancy it looks.