a sneak peak

We've got lots of new fabulous letterpress things we are shooting this week... they will be ready in all their photographic glory soon!!!

thank you melbourne!

Oh my, what a few busy days we have had in Melbourne! The Finders Keepers, as always, was perfectly curated with the very best of Australian independent designers, beautifully decorated and so much fun to take part in! We shipped 134 kilos worth of letterpress loveliness down to the great big shell of a shed which is Shed 4 in the docklands. It is amazing how such a big empty shed can be transformed into a land of design wonder, it does simply blow your mind.

The ever gorgeous Megan (our new fabulous graphic designer) came down for the trip and played the fabulous role of shop girl - thank you lovely, we couldn't have done it without you! We had great neighbours in Limedrop, Otto and Spike and the ever beautiful girls from Finders Keepers next door.

We were kept quite busy with fabulous crowds of happy shoppers so didn't get much time to take photos around the market - however you can view some great images here, here and here.

Thank you Melbourne, once again you showed us a wonderful time!!

xox

found

Out on the back grass today I found this precious little home. Sitting haphazardly in the garden it had fallen from one of the many trees above. Such a delicate little home, no more then 5cm wide. It makes me quite sad to think that this little nest has been a home and what has happened to its family, I guess we never will know.

With little hints of blue twine it really is the sweetest little nest. But what shall we do with it now - pop it back in a tree and maybe it will become a new home for someone one day?

Friends this is our last post for a few days, but we will be back mid next week. We are headed super early tomorrow morning to Melbourne for the Finders Keepers Market - we might just see you there!

anna and andrew :: letterpress wedding menus

Earlier this year we showed you a gorgeous wedding suite for Melbournian couple Anna & Andrew. Well this gorgeous couple are getting married this coming weekend and we have recently completed letterpress menus and place settings for their reception. And oh my, their menu made us all deliciously hungry around here.

We really loved working with Anna & Andrew, as our design process with our clients is quite an intense one and often we don't get to meet, we spend alot of time chatting to each other via email. We started working with Anna & Andrew in April 2010, so for almost a year we have been in touch chatting of design, letterpress, weddings and all those pretty things.

It is always a little sad when a lovely working relationship comes to an end, but a whole year of email chats has been leading to this coming weekend, so we are very excited that their big day has arrived and wish them all the very best.

Have a fabulous day you two!!
xox

in the studio

In the studio today we are mixing three new shades of dusty blues with just the tiniest touches of violet thrown in. Almost good enough to eat don't you think?

Disclaimer: Ink consumption is at your own risk.

love :: pinterest

Do you pinterest?? Up until a few weeks ago I had never heard of this website, However now that I have I must admit that I am well and truly hooked!

I am a bit of a visual hoarder. I love to collect images, inspirations, colour palettes, house inspirations and typography. All sorts of gorgeous images I find on the web have either been randomly saved onto my computer or added to an ever expanding pile of bookmarks. Admittedly these folders started of with all good intentions but several years later have just grown in to a series uncontrollable monsters.

However, along comes pinterest and my visual organisational obsessive trait is tickled pink! Each image you find on the internet you "pin" into a mood board of like images and it stores all the information such as the source location you initially found the image {yay for not ever losing the source of an image again!}.

You can build and grow boards of images which you can then share with others, effectively creating a network of a beautifully orchestrated delightful visual wonders.

So easy and oh so fabulous, may the visual hording long live.

You can find, view and follow my boards here.

To join Pinterest you do need to be invited, If you would like an invitation please do leave your email address in the comments field (or email us) and we will organise it for you!

finding calm

Today we are run off our feet in the studio. On days like these I really pine for a sweet calm serenity. Somehow I think I would most certainly find that walking into this room above. Every little bit of me would relax into a calm dream like state. Work (as lovely as it is) would seem a distant memory don't you think?

Designed by Ken Pursley and found via the fabulous Period Homes blog.

the finders keepers melbourne markets - next weekend!

Melbourne Friends we are headed back down your way for the second Finders Keepers Markets! We will be there with lots of new letterpress goodies fresh of the press. Please don't be shy, make sure you pop by and say hello - meeting blog readers makes our day!!

Shed 4 Docklands
Victoria Harbour, North Wharf Road, Docklands
Saturday 26th March from 10am - 5pm

Sunday 27th March from 10am - 5pm

on the mixing table

How was your weekend friends? Amongst watching the news (Japan our heart breaks over and over for you) we kept quite busy printing in the studio. We did have a little side trip to ikea - okay, actually when is an ikea trip ever little, but most of the weekend was spent getting inky. We mixed some new fabulous colours and printed 2800 prints of something special coming to our online store very soon!! Will keep you posted!!

love :: pony rider

Do you ever get those "oh my god I love" moments? I seem to get them a lot, however sometimes I get those moments and it comes with some much more then love - it comes with awe, a deep appreciation and that feeling that makes me so jolly happy. Usually it involves amazing independent designers, coupled with just damn fabulous typography and Pony Rider is exactly one of these.

Last week I got an email in my inbox from Kelly and Pony Rider. She dropped me a line to say she had viewed our work and loved it. I gushed so badly, and did a little squeal as I too had been loving her work for sometime... it kind of seemed a little like a touch of fate.

You might have seen the work of Pony Rider around lately - they have been so deserving featured in a few of our favourite mags, but do make sure to take the time to check them out here and visit their shop here. I just adore everything - the typography, the colours, the photography styling. Oh my, such lovely love.

xox

rachel and stirling :: wedding stationery

Today's wedding stationery suite is a super pretty design which we created for Rachel and Stirling. This adorable coupled are located in the Goondiwindi region of country Queensland. With a theme of vintage eclecticism they are having their reception at the Sir Henry Parkes Memorial School of Arts in Tenterfield. This beautiful old building has a family connection and its classic historical history is perfect for their wedding theme.

For their stationery the brief was for something beautiful, elegant and understated. Both Rachel & Stirling have a love for nature and especially beautiful flowers. Keeping this in mind we designed their wedding invitation to feature a beautiful dusty vintage pink floral etching. And something new for us here at Bespoke - we commissioned custom lettering for their names to give the invitations a sense of movement and looseness which isn't always achievable in a more formal script font.

When then tied together the floral illustration and custom lettering with a vintage uppercase serif (with quirky numeral characters) all printed in a mid tone grey ink.

The stationery suite included invitations with printed and lined envelopes, thank you cards, order of service cards and the sweetest little gift tags complete with dusty pink satin ribbon.

Just the prettiest stationery suite don't you think?

phoebe & joey :: wedding stationery

Today we have a stunning wedding stationery set you to show you. Phoebe and Joey are based here in Brisbane, however are planning an amazing wedding in Sydney in April this year at the crypt at St Mary's Cathedral, followed by an evening of decadence at the The Ivy Ballroom.

Phoebe is passionate in the planning of her wedding to use young independent designers as much as possible so we were tickled pink that she chose us to design her wedding stationery. Her brief was for a black and white typographic design which was classic, understated yet glamorous all at the same.

We designed their invitation to feature two of our most classic typefaces and printed them in a strong black on white cotton stock. The central alignment keeps the design in line with the traditional aspect and the over sized feature script gives the design a real wow factor.

As well as invitations we also designed and letterpress printed reply cards with envelopes, registry cards, order of service booklet covers and invitation envelopes. We finished off the envelopes with our new scalloped envelope labels utilising the same typefaces from their invitation design.

We wish Phoebe and Joey and amazing day in April, and have our fingers crossed that they will share some photos from their amazing day with us - it is bound to be spectacular!!

Catherine & Timothy :: wedding menus

Last week I was printing these menus on Herbie for Catherine and Timothy who are having an amazing wedding next weekend! We have worked with them on their entire stationery suite over the past few months, but for the first time ever - printing made me ravenously hungry - their degustation menu sounds simply amazing!

sara & ian :: wedding stationery

Last week I showed you a fabulous Blue we had been mixing on the ink table. Well today I am super excited to show it all printed and looking gorgeous!

Sara and Ian are based in Adelaide however they contacted us sometime ago to design and print invitations for their wedding which is being held in Santorini, Greece in May this year.

For their wedding Sara and Ian were planning a small intimate wedding and as their immediate family and close friends were willing to travel across the world they put on their thinking caps. Sara was born in Greece, although having never been back since they decided to make the most of the opportunity and have chosen to have their wedding perched upon the stunning Santorini cliffs. Totally jealous!


For their invitation we designed a very intricate illustration based upon images of the Santorini cliff side which Sara supplied us with. This illustration was then printed in a very light ivory ink coupled with our new fabulous blue (nicknamed Santorini Blue funny enough).

We coupled this gorgeously detailed illustration with very simple and relaxed typography and printed these on our 100% cotton stocks in a white colour for a beautiful classic contrast of blue on white.

It was such a wonderful joy to illustrate and print these invitations. We wish Sara and Ian and amazing trip, wedding and fabulous holiday to follow! If only they could find some room to squeeze us in their suitcases...

love :: oh so beautiful paper

It is true, I suffer from blog obsessive overload disorder. However what keeps my sane in this big wide world of blogs are those which just get it right and time and time again. These beautifully written and presented blogs keep me just that little bit calm amongst the manic storm of design blogs out there in the world.

And one of my all time favourite blogs if Oh So Beautiful Paper. This adorable blog has been a firm favourite of mine for years. It is one of my first daily port of blog calls each and every morning. Living in the land of paper myself, I can't help but feel at home.

Oh So Beautiful Paper originates out of Washington DC and is written and curated by Nole, who I must admit I think I have a little girly design crush upon. Do make sure you pop on by and have a visit, be warned though, so much paper candy will keep you busy for hours!!

Have a great weekend my sweets!
xox

amanda & mick :: wedding stationery

Today we have a super lovely wedding stationery suite to share with you. Designed for Amanda and Mick who are a Brisbane coupled getting married in May this year. Their design brief was for something classic and elegant, which a touch of vintage styling.

For their invitation we designed a vintage inspired botanical illustration which we combined with classic and elegant typography. This invitation was accompanied with an information and map card and reply postcard. All three cards were held together with a personalised bellyband and housed inside a matching ivory envelope with a stunning black and metallic ivory lining. Just gorgeous!

Amanda & Mick it was such a joy to work with you, we hope your guests love receiving your invitations as much as we loved making them for you!

order of service booklets

With many of our clients Autumn weddings fast approaching we have been busy busy bees lately designing and printing a lot of order of service booklets.

We have a few different options for these little beauties. We can do a single program card (for less formal ceremonies) or order of service booklets which have a letterpressed outer cover and then digitally printed inserts which we bind together with a machine stitched spine.

For crafty brides, or those on a bit of a budget, quite often we letterpress the outer cover and our clever clients design and compose the internal sheets themselves. These can be bound with a pretty ribbon and bow. This helps keeps the cost down a little and also allows our clients to have a very special input with the production of their stationery.

Either way, we love these little booklets. They make such a wow beginning to a wedding ceremony don't you think?

on the mixing table

We have been mixing and printing the most amazing shade of blue here in the studio, Although since we mixed the above ink I have been finding bits of blue ink all through the studio. I don't know what it is about blue ink, but out of all the inks it is always the one that always travels the furthest around here.

I find it on the studio floor, walls, fingers, feet and doggy paws. Now don't think we are messy - because we do keep the studio quite clean, but some how this sneaky blue ink finds its way to explore the studio. One tiny little blob makes it way off the mixing table and we find it for months to come. We never seem to have this issue with other colours. For some unbeknown reason, blue just likes to make its mark around here.