This Saturday, Lunalux shoppers again have the opportunity to get personalized stationery, letterpress-printed right before your eyes. for just $29. We’re printing the same design that we used last week, but this time with aqua ink.

This will be our last Stationery Saturday event for a while, because weekends for the rest of the summer are so full of weddings, travel, visitors and State Fairs. We’ll plan to do it again in September.

You can read all about Stationery Saturday, a semi-regular event at the studio, on the Stationery Saturday page. If you’d like to receive e-mail updates about future events at the store and other studio news, visit the Lunalux blog and sign up for the email newsletter.

Last November, we printed notecards and letterhead for a film production company. Writer-director Rob Perez had relocated from Hollywood to Minnesota to shoot an independent movie, and he came to Lunalux for distinctive business stationery for his project. Because a goat plays a pivotal role in the film (titled Nodoby, starring hometown talent Sam Rosen), the design featured an image of a goat.

A few weeks ago I ran into Rob next door at Nick and Eddie. Filming had just wrapped and he was headed back to L.A. for editing. With one last thank-you for a job well done, Rob gave me a keychain inspired by the goat image we’d created. This marks the first time that anything I’ve made has been translated into a 3D metal object.

Visit the Lunalux studio store on Saturday July 12 for personalized stationery letterpress-printed while you wait. 10 cards, with an assortment of colorful envelopes, cost just $29 (additional cards are available for $2 for each). We’ll be printing during regular store hours., 11a.m. to 6p.m.. Full details are available on the Stationery Saturdays page. Click on the photo (above left) for a larger view of this week’s design.

Stationery Saturday is an occasional event at the studio. Customers old and new are invited to take a closer look at how letterpress printing works. This week, we’re printing names with weathered wood type and dark brown ink, on folded cards. Your first and last name? First and middle, like your mom calls you when you’re in trouble? A newly hyphenated last name? You decide!

We’ll host the next Stationery Saturday on July 19, when we’ll be printing a different design. Stop by each week to collect them all.

We’ve been working with Coreil and Charlie on wedding stationery for many months. They first came to Lunalux last November to talk about their save-the-dates. Since then we’ve also printed their wedding invitations, which are dramatically different from the colorful announcements with which they started (and which we wrote about in March). While their save-the-dates reflected the colorful atmosphere of New Orleans, where their nuptials will take place, the invitations are the most traditional we’ve ever done. The classic text was set in elegant script, and letterpress-printed in black ink on the front panel of a folded sheet of thick 100% cotton text-weight paper. Double envelopes, a simple reply card, and a white tissue insert completed this formal set.

Since the invitations have been mailed out, we’ve continued to work on other wedding-related paper goods for the couple, including this invitation to a morning-after-the-wedding breakfast. The color scheme recalls what we used on the save-the-dates. This time, we printed in kelly green ink on yellow and white duplex cover – the double-thick sheet makes for a very substantial postcard, and gives plenty of room for a nice impression without any show-through.

Along with the breakfast invitations, we also printed very simple social stationery for the couple to use as thankyou notes after the wedding. With just their names letterpress-printed on a flat 130# bright white card, the notes are versatile enough to be used for many occasions after all the toasters and china place setting have been dutifully acknowledged. And the project doesn’t end here. As their wedding date approaches, we’re putting the final touches on programs for the ceremony (traditional black-and-white) and tags to be tied to wedding favors (bright and colorful).

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.