happy weekend sweets

My goodness, Friday afternoon already. Deary me, time has run away on us. again.

Hayden has a little saying (to make fun of me no doubt) - I say "Deary me" he says "Deary deary you" with all the appropriate levels of affection combined with sarcasm. Obviously I say it far too much. Life inside studio, as well as out of it can so hectic. Do you sometimes feel deary too?

As we finish up for the week and prepare for the weekend, I leave you with some photos of some David Austens we recently had scattered around the house. They certainly made me feel very lucky and not deary at all.

xox

P. S Before we sign off for another week we also want to say a very big thank you to Paper Crave, The House that AM built and BDR Studio for their super lovely blog posts of late, you guys are too sweet. If you have blogged about us please to do let us know so we can give lots of love and thanks! xox

ampersand letterpress print now available!

Sometime ago we did a limited edition letterpress print based around our all time favourite character of the alphabet - the Ampersand. We designed our very own ampersand and it was completed with a simple and gorgeously written description of this fabulous character.

This print flew out of our doors in record time and ever since we have had many requests for us to print another edition. Today I am pleased to tell you that we have finally had a chance to do so!

This edition has been hand printed on our antique letterpress printing presses and printed in a timeless combination of French Navy and Ivory ink on white 100% cotton tree free stocks. Each print measures 8.5" x 11" and has been printed as a limited run of 150 prints. They are $45 each and are available via our online store here.

passionfruit & apple cake

We are in abundance of passionfruits around here. Our four vines have gone bananas over the past few months. After we have eaten our daily share, given away to any visitors and Ruby has stolen her daily two from the vine (no kidding, morning and afternoon without fail she steals one and chews them open for some passionfruit loving) we still have an abundance left over.

Lately I have been experimenting with different passionfruit flavoured cakes. After a failed pineapple and passionfruit upside down cake (a disaster) all shortcomings were forgotten with this delicious and super easy passionfruit and apple cake.

Ingredients:
125g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup milk
pulp of 4 passionfruits
1 large granny smith apple peeled and sliced into thin slices

Icing:
1 tablespoon soft butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
Pulp of 2 passionfruits

Method:
Preheat oven to 180'C
Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs and mix
Add sifted flour and milk
Add passionfruit pulp and mix well
Pour half of mixture into prepared tin
Layer apple slices over cake mixture
Pour the rest of the cake mixture into Tin
Bake for 40 minutes - cake will look golden early so watch out not to undercook.
Once cooled drizzle with icing.

Delicious!

morning sun

Hello friends, how is your Easter long weekend going? We have enjoyed some lovely sunshine here in Brisbane. Talking of sunshine, have I ever told you how Miss Ruby Tuesday always sits in this spot above each morning? She gets just the right amount of sunshine on the top of head to warm her up for the day. I know the feeling, I love a little touch of the sun each day.

Our long weekend has flown by with some printing, much sleeping, just a little chocolate (okay, maybe more then a little) and a day trip down south for a lovely lunch by the sea. Today we are back in the studio one day early to get on top of some work - hopefully you can do some relaxing and enjoy this last public holiday for us instead!

paperphine now in store

Before we sign off for the Easter long weekend, today we wanted to share with you one of our newest favourite brands here at Bespoke. Paperphine hails all the way from Austria and we are super pleased as punch to be one of the first Australian importers of these divine paper yarn products. Linda from Paperphine is one of the sweetest girls ever, so we are really very pleased to be able to sell her wares here in Australia.

In stock we have Paper Yarn/Twine sampler packs ($15), vintage european bobbins ($18) with 50m white or kraft twine and the most fantastic spiky twine rings with mustard yellow, turquoise or chocolate dots ($35). Such a beautiful range, we only have limited numbers so grab them while they last here.

Have a lovely super long Easter weekend friends, I am feeling a bit under the weather so will be taking the time to rest and recover. See you again next Wednesday the 27th of April.

xox

hello notecards

Hello, hello! Did you see our newsletter out yesterday? We have so many new products which we have been working on the past few months - over the next few weeks we will introduce them all to you - but one of our favourites is our new hello notecards. They have custom lettering which has been letterpressed on our 100% cotton white stocks. Finished off with scalloped corners these notecards are available in red or cornflower blue ink.

To make them just even that little bit more special for sometime we have been sourcing old road atlas maps from Australia, UK and France. We have had die cut these old atlas pages into a very special envelope design we created. They are portrait envelopes with a scalloped top flap and come complete with an adhesive dot to adhere this flap down - just gorgeous, we are so pleased with how these turned out. Each envelope is unique in terms of its map design which makes these just that little bit more special!

We are selling these as a 6 pack for $25 available here. Since posting these in our shop yesterday these have been flying out the studio door - so grab them while they last.

If you have any old road atlases laying around (large size required) - please do let us know - we would love to trade them for some letterpress goodies!

newsletter :: online sale, new products and flat rate $5 shipping!

Hello friends! How have you been?
We have been super busy little bees of late. Here in the studio we have been working on lots of new exciting products which today we are excited to let you have the very first sneak peak!

This is a long newsletter (we do apologise) but we have so many new things to share with you! To celebrate all our new goodies, we also have some items for SALE - as well as new reduced shipping costs.

Our new postage cost is $5 FLAT RATE SHIPPING* Australia wide no matter how big or small your order is, and for our overseas friends we haven't forgotten you with $10 flat rate shipping! *Twine unfortunately excluded.

ampersand print - french navy & ivory ink - $45
Due to overwhelming demand we have printed a new edition of our Letterpress Ampersand Study. This 8.5 x 11" letterpress print has been printed in ivory and french navy ink for a classic timeless combination. Available in a limited edition run of 150 prints - be quick - our last edition sold out in record time! Available for $45 here.

introducing 20 new letterpress folded greeting cards - $6 each!

Finally after much pleading and begging from our loyal customers - we have a range of letterpress greeting cards in our online store. And not being one to do things by halves, we have designed and printed a whopping 20 different designs! All feature vintage etchings complete with a little touch of quirkiness to keep your receivers entertained. Available in a menagerie of colours with kraft envelopes our cards are $6.00 each.

If you are a frequent card user you might enjoy our 6 pack of cards for $30, or if you are a compulsive card lover you can buy our whole complete range of "letterpress card lovers" 20 pack here. With our new flat rate $5 domestic shipping you can order as many or few cards you like without being slugged some silly shipping cost - just the way we like it!


6 pack hello note cards with vintage atlas map envelopes $25
Our little fingers have been busy busy busy lately making our new letterpress hello notecards. Each note card features custom lettering and is letterpress printed in either red or cornflower ink for a beautifully tactile result.

Included with our Hello notecards are handmade envelopes - made from pages of a vintage road atlases (currently sourced from Australia, UK and France). Our envelopes have a scalloped flap and includes an adhesive dot to secure. This truly have been a labour of love to produce - grab them while they last here!


limited edition print sale
For a limited time only (or whilst they last!) we are having a clearance sale on several of our much loved limited edition letterpress prints - they are a whopping 35% OFF and are now only $30 each (were $45) - grab them quick while they last!!


new letterpress swing tags instore
We have grown and expanded our letterpress swing gift tags with 6 new gorgeous vintage designs. Featuring vintage etchings printed in the prettiest of pretty colours - you can get them as a 12 pack for $20 here.


alphabet packs now instore $35
Finally (after much pleading) we have our letterpress alphabet packs available instore. Each pack contains 26 tags with the characters A-Z. Get them here for $35.


paperphine products now instore
We are super excited to be one of the first stockists here in Australia to be selling the gorgeous Paperphine products direct from Austria - If you are a twine lover, a kraft lover or a twine and kraft lover combined - make sure you check out our new goodies here - with paper yarns on vintage bobbins, paper yarn sampler packs and the most amazing paper twine rings you will not be disappointed. Here in the studio we are all going bananas over this latest range!

upcoming events
May is going to see a busy month for us here in the studio in Brisbane as we pack our letterpress goodies and head to not one, but two amazing design events! May 6th to 8th will see us in Adelaide for the first ever time selling our wares at Bowerbird Bazaar at Queens Theatre.

Two weeks later we will then be at our ever favourite Sydney Finders Keepers market at the amazing Carriage Works on the 20th and 21st of May. You can find details for both events here and here.

And for all our hometown Brisbane friends - don't forget to mark your diaries as the Brisbane Finders Keepers will return on July 2nd and 3rd - we look forward to seeing you all there again!

and finally (after the longest newsletter, ever)
We wanted to say a very big thank you - for reading this far! We hope that you enjoy all our new products, they certainly have kept us very busy and we would love to hear your feedback.

Lots of love, The Bespoke Letterpress Team xox

P.S Our design and print studio is pretty much fully booked until September 2011 for custom wedding stationery work. If you are after wedding stationery we suggest you drop us a line asap to confirm your requirements for 2011 and early 2012.

today

We've got a whole new range of goodies launching today - so many in fact that we are loosing track of them! We will be sending a newsletter out today with all our new products, sale information, reduced shipping and lots of other news! Are you a subscriber? If not head over here and add your name to our subscribe box down the very bottom of our homepage.

lessa & daran :: wedding stationery

Hello friends, how was your weekend? It has been a bit chilly and wet here in Brisbane - here in the studio Megan and I are in our cutest cardigans and contemplating hot chip sandwiches for lunch, Ruby is all curled up keeping warm - I think that Autumn has definitely arrived! (edited, chip sandwiches were amazing!!)

Lately we have been sending out lots of gorgeous winter and early spring stationery suites out to our lovely clients. We have got quite the backlog to share with you, so first up today we wanted to show Lessa & Darans super sweet stationery suite.

This gorgeous couple are getting married at Song Birds Rainforest retreat in the Gold Coast Hinterland. With a personal connection to the property, their May wedding will feature hints of classic vintage styling with a colour theme of chocolate, ivory and accents of red.

For their invitation we introduced a vintage floral etching complete with a chocolate songbird to tie in with classically styled chocolate typography. Their stationery suite also included a reply card, registry card and information card which were all printed in chocolate ink and housed inside an ivory cotton envelope complete with a stunning solid red envelope liner.

We particularly love that when Lessa & Darens guests open their envelopes they will get a stunning shot of red, combined with our ivory etching and chocolate songbird peaking out of the envelope - it is all about creating an experience and really setting the tone for an amazing wedding to come!

love :: my heart wanders

Beautiful Kylie from Paper Boat Press whose studio I featured in the post below is holding a very very special event here in Brisbane on May 7th. Her beautiful home and tranquil surrounds will host the Brisbane book launch of Pia Jane Bijerks new book "My Heart Wanders". You can find out more details here via Pias blog and Paper Boat Presses blog here

I am terribly sad that we will in interstate that weekend and will miss this amazing event (biggest saddest sigh). But sweet friends if you are free please do book tickets to attend - tickets are limited and will no doubt sell out quickly for this amazing afternoon of inspiring ladies, butterfly cakes, petite sandwiches and beautiful new friends.

studio love :: paper boat press

Here in Brisbane there are many wonderful creative and beautiful people who over the years I feel incredibly lucky to have become very special friends with, Beautiful Kylie from Paper Boat Press is one of those.

Last Sunday we meet up for a much overdue catch up over breakfast. Breakfast turned to lunch and lunch turned into almost dinner. It was a most wonderful and inspiring day of "shop" talk, lots of laughs and sharing of ideas. A truly special day.

The afternoon saw some gorgeous light streaming into Kylies studio and she ever so graciously allowed me to capture the beauty of her gorgeous work space. It really is the most inspiring place - it is a studio where magic happens, beautiful things are created and friendships blossom. I could live all day in Kylies studio - their is such beauty in her work, the combination of clay and beautiful words, with limited colour palette and classic typography.

You can visit the Paper boat press website here, blog here, shop here and her collection available via Anthropologie here, here, here and here.

Thank you sweetness, it was one of the best days.

thank you home beautiful

Our love you the longest of time print has been featured in the latest Home Beautiful magazine out this week. Found in the trends section, surrounded by so many beautiful typographic goodies I absolutely adore, you can also find our print here in our online store.

Thanks Home Beautiful, Love you always!

a visit to woodford

Late last week my ever amazing production assistant (and even more fabulous beautiful friend) Louise and I stole a sneaky afternoon out of the studio and went on a little road trip to Woodford for some antique hunting and much needed relaxation out of the studio.

Little Miss Violet came with us for her first ever antique hunt. She was quite mesmerised by all the pretty wonders - she is no doubt going to have her mums amazing eye and sense of style!

We stopped for a little coffee and cake break (oh so good) and a little impromptu photo shoot while eating our cakes. Such the prettiest girls - thank you for such a wonderful afternoon!

weekend finds

How was your weekend lovelies? Amongst some printing I enjoyed quite a lovely and wonderful weekend with visits with friends, antique browsing and some very inspiring conversations!

Some of my favourite finds this weekend handful of beautiful old postcards from the early 1900's - my favourite is dated 02.11.1906 and was addressed to Mrs J Wheaton of "Hubbard's" Farm, Hornchucrch, Essex and reads

Dear Auntie, Received permission form B of E this morning. Are you having wet weather? Hope you are all well, and children are able to go to school. With love to all, from us both, and thank you very much, I am your loving niece, Maudie.

Also found this weekend was a collection of booked from the Mental Efficiency Series printed in 1937 by Angus and Robertson in Castlereagh Street Sydney. Our collection features Personality: How to build it, Influence: How to exert it, Speech: how you use it effectively, Practicality: How to acquire it and Perseverance: How to develop it.

Words of wisdom from Personality: How to build it
"First of all, to impress your personality, be yourself. Copy no one. Do not assume the manner or style of others. Follow your own temperament. Do not let anyone say of you: "He has the manner of such and such a one." Make them say: "He is entirely original." Be that, and you will commence to be someone".

Looks like I have got some interesting reading to do - I'll make sure I pop back with some more words of wisdom in the next coming weeks!

love :: finding new blogs

This weeks love is all about finding new blogs - with a world of blogs out there these days, it really does take something special to grab my attention!

My three latest finds are Oh, hello friend - beautifully designed with amazing finds (and some great deals to buy). Curated by Danni this graphic designer has a great eye for design and keeps things fresh and sweet - you can also check out the amazing photos from her amazing wedding here.

Secondly for some fabulous eye candy I have been enjoying Delight by Design. Blair is based in Wyoming, Canada with a great eye for interiors, there is always some fabulous interior inspirations to be found!

Closer to home, I have been loving the Sunday Collector blog - Briar Stanley is a Sydney based props buyer and interior stylist. Follow her travels as she thrift shops, styles and takes fabulous photography. Serious job envy!!

Do you have any few found fabulous blogs? Please do leave a comment and let us know!

See you again next week my sweets.

xox