Filed under: BirdDog Press, Green, Letterpress | Tags: blind deboss, inkless printing, weddings
Now that you’ve heard all about our opinions on ink, here is the lack thereof! A popular technique in the art of letterpress these days is to actually print “blind” with no ink at all. How’s that for green? It creates a wonderful texture on the right type of paper and is something that the world of offset printing cannot reproduce.
This is from an engagement party invitation that I printed late last year. Weddings are on the forefront of our minds these days and we have to point out how lucky we are to have such wonderful, innovative, out-of-the-box thinking clients this season. So much to share coming soon!
Continuing on my stream of consciousness, since we mentioned ink colors yesterday, I want to bring up something about the inks that we use in the studio. There is such a buzz with the whole soy ink thing and I like that consumers are demanding that businesses be earth conscious. However we have found that soy is not necessarily better than some of the other inks we use. We have inks in our studio that fall into each of the Oil, Soy and Rubber categories. We have what we like to think are educated opinions about all of them and have decided that what works best for us is actually at Rubber/Soy combination, here is a synopsis on how we have arrived at this conclusion:
Soy inks dry when exposed to air much more quickly than Rubber-based inks. This means two things, they crust over and dry up, which results in wasted ink AND if they dry on the press, we have to use harsh chemicals to clean the rollers. How green is that? Rubber-based inks stay open on the press longer allowing us to use our favorite Crisco & Seventh Generation cleaning combination and the inks are not wasted in the can because they don’t crust over. We have found a happy medium with using a half-soy/half-rubber concoction that seems to be the best of both worlds and keeps our letterpress rollers happy.
Also, here’s what Spark has to say about the subject, It seems that they have a similar sentiment : INK: Soy vs. Oil vs. Rubber
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Design, Green, Letterpress | Tags: business cards, colorado, eco-friendly, Green, Lyons, plantable, seed paper, Urban Oasis
Urban Oasis chose to go with a 100% recycled seed paper for their business cards. It makes sense for them to practice what they preach and have their first impression really speak to what they’re all about. When I met with them to set this project in motion, they told me of all of the marketing materials that they have been unhappy with in the past. Glossy postcards and brochures with great photos but without true representation of their image.
Our big design ideas + small batch letterpress approach works for them because they don’t have to order multiple thousands of something, the eco-friendly look and feel has more potential to garner new business with their ideal demographic and they’re staying inline with their sustainable philosophy, too.
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Design, Green, Letterpress | Tags: business cards, colorado, landscape design, Lyons, small business, sustainable, Urban Oasis
Have I ever mentioned how much Lyons rocks? There are so many fabulous small business owners here that I am lucky to have as neighbors – everyone is a neighbor when you live in a 1.5 square mile town, right? Urban Oasis is a landscape design company that really has it figured out. In addition to that, they are awesome people to work with. Here is the design for the new Urban Oasis business cards. Stay tuned for the final product here on Two 4 Tuesday!
Filed under: Bozeman Collaborative, Craft Biz, Friends, Green, Tangents | Tags: guest post, lobotoME
I told you I might just surprise you. I am printing away at the shop today, but made an appearance over at LobotoME for a guest post. Jenny keeps me SANE in this crazy mom & printshop show. Check it out & I’ll see you back here tomorrow for more yellow birthday yumminess. Happy Humpday and Thanks, Jenny!!
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Design, Green, Inspirations | Tags: desktop wallpaper, first day of autumn, free download
Happy first day of Autumn everyone! Let’s celebrate with a free downloadable desktop wallpaper for autumn! Inspired by a feedsack, of course. Choose your resolution below.
1600 x 1200
1680 x 1050 (iMac)
1024 x 768
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Craft Biz, Friends, Green, Handmade Revolution, Letterpress | Tags: earrings, guitar strings, jewelry, packaging, recycled, upcycled, Verde Designs
Here’s that word again! Collaboration. It just flows so well with my client, Bianca of Verde Designs. We worked together to create a boutique style packaging system for her incredible handmade jewelry. Today, she was visiting the studio and she showed me some pieces from her new G-String series – made with recycled nickel and brass guitar strings from Boulder bands!
She is truly and artist after my own heart. Upcycling materials, handmade craftsmanship and a beautiful story behind the art!
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Green, Handmade Revolution, Life | Tags: Feedsacks, National Geographic, sackcloth, vacation
The BirdDog Press is on holiday June 28th – July 8th. We are recharging our inspiration batteries. In the meantime, we leave you with this feedsack advertisement from the December 1947 National Geographic, No. 6, Volume XCII
The copy underneath reads :
From the Feed Store, Now a Fashion Emporium, Comes Sackcloth for Colorful Dresses
Many a poultryman has overstocked mash to please his wife. “Give me that one in pink,” says she, pointing to a mountain of 100-pound bags. At no extra cost she gets fine-quality, ready-to-sew cotton prints.
Filed under: Friends, Green, Life, Tangents | Tags: Bucket Cargo Bike, Madsen, Win
This is the perfect solution to my townie existence here in Lyons. Peddling my 2-year-old back and forth from my studio, Montessori school and sending packages of my eco-crafted letterpress stationery, … sometimes the Chariot just isn’t big enough. I am in LOVE with this bike, which is why I’m also letting you in on the secret – you can win one from Focus Orgainic by commenting here or straight from Madsen right over here!
