Our neighbor Nick and Eddie will be hosting a block party this weekend behind Lunalux. A stage in the alley will feature Jackie Factory from NYC, plus local acts such as Cirque Rouge and All The Pretty Horses. I’m most excited about the Summit beer truck that will be parked in front of our store.

The block party coincides with this weekend’s Pride festivities, including the all-day festival Saturday and Sunday in Loring Park. Depending on how busy we are in the Lunalux store, and how tempting the weather looks, we may lock our doors early and head outside for some summer fun.

James came into Lunalux as he was preparing to leave a full-time job to launch his own public relations firm. He needed business cards to help establish his new brand. We bounced around a few logo ideas, settling on a superball. Toothy 100% cotton Lettra paper would be the base, with all information set in simple Times New Roman. After considerable debate over color trends, we chose a vibrant orange for the logo. And we were off to the presses.

We finished the Engine Innovations project just in time for James’ first official event. When he picked up his cards (raves all around, natch), he paid his bill and gave me a crsip $1 bill. Just days into his new venture, he’d received his first check, and was giving 20 one-dollar bits of it to people who helped him with the launch. As tips go, this is the smallest I’ve ever received, but also the most prized. I’m saving this as a reminder that we do good work, and poeple appreciate it. On my worst days, I might feel like a glorified desktop publisher; but on my best days I am really more of a paper therapist.

Many of our clients are navigating serious transitions, such as preparing for their first baby, facing a milestone birthday or diving into a new career. Whether we’re working together on formal invitations, or simple calling cards, or a show-stopping business stationery suite, the process of deciding what goes on the paper makes people think very carefully, and in a new way, about their crossroads and how to articulate it. The subtle implications of color schemes, paper textures and punctuation elicit unexpected visceral responses. The weight of the world suddenly hangs on a hyphen – or is that an en-dash?

It’s not always that heavy, of course. Sometimes people come in, they order something pretty, we make it, they pay for it, and everyone’s happy. Untimately that last part – everyone’s happy – is what we care about the most. But when we have the opportunity to help someone clarify their vision and move forward with confidence, there’s extra gratification in that.

You’re invited to participate in an exciting new event at Lunalux this weekend: Stationery Saturdays. This Saturday, June 7, we’re offering customized stationery printed while you wait! For this inaugural event, we’re printing 4×9 buckslip notecards with up to three characters, and a decorative stripe of your choice. While we print your cards on our Vandercook proof press, you get a one-on-one demonstration of letterpress printing. Personalized stationery is a fun treat for yourself, but also makes a great gift – consider a set for the dad in your life (Father’s Day is June 15) or someone who’s graduating from high school or college this spring.

Stationery Saturday runs this Saturday during regular store hours, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Cards will be printed in black ink on natural white card stock, and paired with your choice of matching or contrasting envelopes (click on the image above for a larger view of this week’s design). The price: just $29.00 for a set of 10, and additional cards can be printed for $2.00 each. Prices don’t include sales tax.

We’ve done a couple of test runs with friends and family, and received great feedback from all who participated. It’s a lot of fun, and a great deal to boot! If all goes well, we will host Stationery Saturdays at least once a month, each time with a new design. Watch our blog or updates!

Lunalux will be part of a Shopping Salon at the Commodore Hotel next Monday, June 2. This will be the second time we’ve participated in this event. Last time was a lot of fun, and this will be the last one for a few months – so don’t miss it! The lineup of vendors varies from month to month, but last time we were pleasantly surprised by the interesting variety. We saw antiquey collectibles; jewelry and crafts collected by wold travelers; hand-crafted clothing, jewelry and accessories; and high-end arty jewelry as well. Other stuff too.

The Commodore is an interesting old hotel in St. Paul that features a beautiful art deco bar (it’s worth a visit just to see this historic bit of architecture). The shopping vendors take up two large rooms on either side of the bar. With Willie Murphy playing on the grand piano, old-fashioned cocktails being concocted by the dapper bartenders, and some complimentary cheese and crackers, it ends up being more of a social event than a shopping expedition.

The gritty details: First Monday at the Commode happens Monday, June 2, 2008, 4:00-8:00 p.m. The Commodore is lated at 79 Western Avenue in St. Paul. You will find photos, some history, and directions at the Commodore website. Free off-street parking is available in the hotel’s lot. We hope to see you there!

Flying somewhere on Northwest Airlines this month? Be sure to look in the May 2008 issue of World Traveler, the NWA in-flight magazine, for a brief story on Lunalux. A three-page round-up of must-see shops and restaurants in the Twin Cities (pp. 33-35) includes a picture of Lunalux owner Jenni (that’s me!) and a write-up about our store. An excerpt: “Lunalux gives visitors the chance to see traditional presses in action while they peruse a wide variety of unique greeting cards, notebooks and wrapping paper. If you’re a die-hard letter devotee, this place is for you.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!

Click on the thumbnail image to the right to see the full story. And this is just the tip of the ice berg for us, media attention wise. You can read about more about the press we’ve been getting in our blog archive.