She's Here!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend - we had beautiful weather (finally!) in MA. I was missing my Mum who's moved down to Florida - but thankfully I had something to take my mind off that because...

We picked up my press on Sunday! (Collective YAY! from the crowd!)

Mike rented the largest truck available at Ryder because we needed a 3 ton lift gate for the 1500 lb press. We picked up the truck on Saturday (since they're closed Sunday) and bright and early Sunday morning we were off to Letterpress Things in West Springfield.

When we got there, John had the press running. I meant to take video for you, but I was so giddy I just plain forgot. She runs perfectly - and SO quietly - we just stood there in awe for about 10 minutes. Then John showed me how to use the new variable speed 3 phase motor and told us about all the challenges they had with this press. As I mentioned before, the old motor that came with the press had to be replaced because it was too fast, even though they had done a conversion from 220v to 110v. John and his mechanic Andy came up with a solution that was not only perfect for my press, but will enable them to easily motorize all of the presses in the shop. I'm so happy the challenges they had with our girl will help other presses in the future.

You may be wondering why I'm referring to it as a girl - well, I don't generally assign gender to inanimate objects (other than pillows...long story...RIP, Heebie Geebie) - but this press has been both expensive and (for the restorers) difficult - a real labor of love - so of course it's a she. Ha! I don't know - maybe I'm a crazy person, but the press just "feels" like a girl press. I remember meeting my friend Liz's press Gable, and it felt like a boy. I know, insanity. If there are any other letterpressers that get affectionate about their first press and can back me up on this, please do!

Then John gave me a bit of history on the press - which he had told me before but I was so excited that first day (and we were there for four hours - yes FOUR!) I was a little overwhelmed and not-so-retentive. First, I was wrong - I thought he had said previously that the press was from the 1920's but she's from the 1930's - they think she spent her whole life at the A.L. Ferdette Print Shop in Holyoke (I'm going to post the serial number to confirm), where John picked her up last year. The previous owner actually came in while John was working on restoring the press and John told him about me and where the press was headed. John said Mr. Ferdette was overjoyed at the second life the press would be getting, which pulled at my heartstrings a bit.

Anyways - after watching the press run and learning to use the speed control, it was time to get her on the truck. The shop has a loading dock, and John's an expert at this sort of thing, so Mike handed over the keys and John backed the truck right up to the dock. John had me take the ink disk and rollers off the press (got nice and greasy!), then they strapped the press shut.

At this time I wasn't needed, so I got to take a video of the loading:

Mike and John strapped her into the front of the truck (she looked so lonely in there all by herself - the truck was bigger than most studio apartments, ha!). We used some really great 1000 lb heavy-duty straps from Costco that we purchased last weekend for only $20.00. John liked them so much he said he was going to run out to Costco to pick himself up a set that afternoon. They came in a pack of four, but they only needed two to secure the press. We also lucked out and borrowed a pallet jack from my uncle's shop - so that was free.

John had also (very nicely, and very generously) brought down a bunch of items from their Chicopee store to get me started:

Oooooh, letterpress goodies! Basically with everything here, I could go home, unload the press and immediately start printing. I took almost the whole haul - I'm especially enamored with the case of furniture he had for sale (not that kind of furniture, this kind of furniture). It was his last set, and he had been holding on to it just for me (how awesome is he, seriously?).

Then we were off! We had a moment of panic at a rest stop when the truck wouldn't start, but I mentioned how the Jeep I owned in high school had a bad spot on the starter and taking it out of gear, then putting it back into gear would always turn the engine over - and thankfully that worked.

To be honest, when we got home, I hit full-on panic mode. I'd seen horrible images of presses falling off trucks. I was picturing all sorts of disaster scenarios in my head. Mike inched the press onto the lift gate - going slowly and carefully.

In no time, it was on the ground, safe and sound. I operated the lift gate and attempted to shoot some video at the same time:

From there it was an easy trip up the driveway and into her temporary home in the garage. (Collective sigh of relief!).

Then we headed over to Lowe's to look for some Simple Green to finish cleaning her up. John did a nice, light cleanup before we arrived, but she still has about 80 years worth of gunk built up that needs to get scrubbed off.

I can't tell you how excited I am for this new adventure in my life. Mike thinks I should name her - I was thinking either Ella or Clara (Ella is a family name on both my mother's and father's sides of the family, and Clara was my great-great-grandmother, I carried her handkerchief down the aisle at our wedding). But, good friends of ours (who met at our wedding!) just had a little girl and named her Clara, so I think that's out. I always said if I ever had a kid and it was a girl her name would be Ella Morgan (so we'd have the same initials), and well, as you know - Mike and I aren't into that whole reproduction thing - so I'm leaning towards Ella. Plus, Ella Fitzgerald debuted in the 30's, around the same time as this press was making it's first print, so I'm thinking it's all around appropriate. What do you guys think?

Pack it Up (with Moo)

I'm kind of obsessed with packaging. Not sure why - maybe I think that anything you buy should be wrapped up like a present. I know, I know, this from a girl who doesn't even celebrate Christmas. But there is something wonderful about getting a package in the mail that was all wrapped up just for you.

I use 100% recycled materials for all of my packaging - I reuse boxes, kraft paper (I end up recycling a lot more than I use, it's ridiculous), bubble wrap and air pockets (I love air pockets, BTW - when I get a package in the mail and it's chock full o'air pockets, I get giddy). I'm always trying to add a little something to my outgoing stationery orders - first it was colorful bakers twine, then it was belly bands.

When one of my new kate spade bags came in the mail recently (someone stop me, I have a problem) it was all wrapped up in bright, beautiful paper and sealed with a label. For a hot second I totally forgot about my new purse and fixated on the wrappings. I thought to myself, "I can do this."

I went on a hunt to find some brightly patterned paper - was hoping for chevrons in particular. Alas, it was not meant to be. I found some bright, fun designs, but most looked like barfed up flowers. I could have my own tissue printed, but I'd have to buy 10 cases. That would be enough to last me through the apocalypse. In an effort to start small and subdued, I went with some wavy/chevron-ish paper from Paper Mart.

Next I needed some stickers, so it was off to Moo! If you guys haven't heard of Moo, I recommend you check them out. I got a sample pack from them awhile back and tucked it away, knowing I would do something with it some day. They also do amazing little mini cards and beautiful luxe business cards. I've always been a big fan of Moo and I was excited to finally place an order.

After waiting a week or so, my haul came in:

I like the wavy paper because it has a kraft background, so it matches all of my other packaging (although, I also found some sweet damask and houndstooth papers, so I think I may have to buy some more and alternate!).

The large labels above will seal up the tissue after everything is wrapped up and stacked in the mailing box. What's with the small labels? In every order I try to put an assembled invite for my clients to keep and a thank you note (always a thank you note!) in a plastic sleeve. These little stickers, which say "thanks" in six different languages, seal up the plastic sleeve containing the invite and card.

And here is everything all packed up and ready to go!

I hope my clients will now feel like a gift came in the mail for them - just a little something from me to show my appreciation and how excited I am for their big day!

What do you guys think - like the new goods?

Boston Skyline Invite Giveaway on Beantown Bride

Good morning, everyone! Today I have a treat for you - Beantown Bride is hosting a giveaway of my Boston Skyline invitation set. The winner will receive 100 Invitations, RSVP cards and Belly bands. You can enter here by leaving a comment. The drawing is next week - good luck!

I'm actually in the process of tweaking the skyline design a bit (actually, I'm tweaking all my designs to be re-released this summer). You see there's actually a LOT more skyline in this graphic and a few recent brides (ok...recent meaning November of last year, haha!) have requested adding in the Zakim bridge. So I've drawn a mini Zakim and incorporated it into more of a panorama which now encompasses the Back Bay to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. That zippy little bird isn't going anywhere though, promise! I've actually turned him into a plane on a few save the dates and invites for some Boston-destination brides!

Anyways - all this to say that the reason you haven't seen a lot of stationery posts is because there's a ton going on behind the scenes. I'm hoping to photograph a bunch of work from this past wedding season as many of my brides send photos from my blog that have inspired them. It's been impossible lately to set aside time to photograph the mountain of invitations and save the dates, plus get a nice sunny day - if you're from Massachusetts you'll know that we've been stuck under a cloud of rain for what seems like forever.

Maybe I should pack it all up and bring it down with me to Florida next week? :) That's right - Wicked Bride is going on vacation! I'll be back at the end of the month, but until then, get your keister over to Beantown Bride and enter to win some fab invites!

Oh and P.S. - you're not crazy, it is a new blog design - and you all know what that means: new site design coming soon. I got the blog done first and was too impatient, so it went up yesterday. The site is a whole 'nother beast...will be a couple more months before the debut.

Your Help Needed: Blonde or Black?

And I don't mean my hair.

As Mike and I start planning for our first floor/future press room renovation, I'm materials shopping. And I'm stuck on flooring. Do we go dark, or light?

In real life, I'm not into blondes (sorry Brad Pitt, I know you're devastated). While technically I'm a blonde, an $8 bottle of Nice N'Easy fixes that in a jiff. But lately, I've been smitten with blonde floors:

{via Laura Casey Interiors }

I love the light, modern, almost-unfinished, industrial vibe these floors are sending out. I'm a big fan of the industrial look, but haven't managed (successfully) to incorporate it into the house in any significant way. I think the renovation might be a chance to infuse some industrial-chic into the space, especially considering I'm going to be putting a big ol' hunk of cast iron in the corner.

But Mike raised a good point: What about oil/ink/goo from the press? It would show up like a black eye on these blonde floors. I countered with the fact that virtually any flooring we stick under the press runs the risk of getting completely ruined and eventually replaced anyways. I'm not really sure that was a successful argument...

When we moved into the house originally, I pictured dark flooring everywhere. Dark, ebony stained floors upstairs and down.

{ via homedit }

Ohsosexy! Seriously, can this be my living room? I love the black floors with gray (would that be Universal Grey, perchance?) walls and monotone furniture and accessories. This flooring would look amazing with our new doors, too.

But during the Great Floor Debate (as mentioned above), my point to Mike about dark flooring is that, while it hides oil and ink well, it shows EVERYTHING else. By everything I mean those two little fuzzballs that live with us and shed constantly. The only reason our house doesn't look like the Wild West of cat hair tumbleweeds on your average Tuesday is because the floors upstairs are light - we can get away with a few days of shedding before having to break out the Dyson. With dark floors that ain't gonna happen. I'll Mike will be vacuuming every day.

Each floor option is beautiful - each has it's pros and cons. What do you guys think?

We could always split the difference and go Rustic:

{ via Big Dave's Woodworks }

If only it weren't a bajillion times more expensive.

Jonathan Adler, where have you been all my life?

Apparently, (one) Amazon.com knows me better than I know myself and (two) I live under a rock. On a book buying spree recently, some design books by Jonathan Adler popped up in my "Amazon recommends" - they had bright, patterned colors (which we all know is basically catnip to me) and I dropped them in my cart immediately.

(The chevron rug alone on the Happy Chic cover had me drooling like one of Pavlov's dogs) 

They arrived the other day and all I can say is, JA - dude, how did it take me so long to find you?

His style is nearly spot-on with what I'm trying to accomplish in our house - bright, bold patterns mixed with neutrals blended with modern-yet-whimsical elements with a shot of glam thrown in once in awhile. If you understood any of that, congrats!

Likely, I haven't heard of JA because he's not on HGTV/DIY. I'm so sheltered. Flipping through the books (which will be studied in serious review this weekend), I was a little reminded of this post, where I was pulling inspiration together for our living room.

It's a smidge Adler-esque (that's right dude, you're a verb now) with the mix of neutral furniture and bright patterns. And by "smidge" I mean not-even-close-yet-hopeful. I think the reason I love the living room and dining room so far is because they came right out of my brain AFTER we moved into the house. I didn't have any preconceived notions of these rooms, they came about organically - and I think because of that process, they feel much more "me."

As we move forward with a renovation of the downstairs, these books couldn't have come at a more perfect time. We're going to be gutting and redefining spaces and to say I need a little bit of guidance is an understatement. If you don't know by now, I love research. Love it. I was in college for six years, peeps - I'm either eager to learn or a masochist (it's possible that I could be both). Just like I researched the shiznit out of letterpress before actually diving in and purchasing a press, I think it's time I stop pretending that I know what I'm doing and find some inspirational advice. In the same Amazon spree that day, I also picked up Domino's design book, Design*Sponge's book, Undecorate, and Decorate (all popped up in my "recommendations" list after dropping the Adler books in my cart. Amazon = winning!). Will these books make me a better designer? Probably not. Will they give me endless hours of inspiration and kick-start my brain to get me out of this "I-hate-my-house" funk?

Good God, let's hope so.

Our New Addition

Ok, I'll say it again, just so we're all clear. I'm not knocked up.

BUT - Wicked Bride Stationery (and our household) is growing! This past weekend, Mike and I took a trip out to Letterpress Things in West Springfield and purchased a press!

It's an 8x12 Chandler & Price (C&P) platen press - they think from around the 1920's. I can't bring this baby home just yet - it's getting a brand new motor and rollers, so it will be another three weeks or so. It needs a bit of love, but I'm pumped - I've been talking for two years about getting a press, but there were so many things in the way (for example: how to convince the landlord of your itty bitty condo to let you put a 1300 lb press in the living room). Now that we've got the perfect place, it was time to grow the business. I've been reading about letterpress for a year, stalking letterpress blogs for two years - it's just time.

I'm hoping to have letterpress services up in running for September, just in time for the start of next wedding season. In the meantime I'll spend the summer cleaning, oiling and learning my way around my new press!

And I may have created a monster: Mike is already talking about getting a second one...

What do Kate Middleton and I have in common?

Um, not sure. But for some reason, we're both pictured in this article:

Yep, that's us! My friend sent me this article yesterday and I was shocked that our photo appears in it! How cool is that? The article was put together by the Thread, and includes our photo from the Knot. As I've said before, I love the Knot! From planning tools to vendor reviews to the community message boards, I wouldn't have been able to put my wedding together without this resource. And some of the girls I met on the message boards became dear friends. From the looks of it, the Knot loves us too! I mean, out of all the people who have suits instead of tuxes at their wedding (especially with details like mason jars and stuff that we didn't have but they mention in the article) - out of all those people, they went with our photo - what are the odds?