Speaking of weddings, we have collaborated our way to a unique wedding keepsake with our studio neighbor, Valerie Combs of Mon Atelier, who is a brilliant bespoke framing artist. Letterpress matting, french line details and handmade frames are her specialty and preserve wedding stationery suites with heirloom quality. The paper goods are mounted in a shadow box style and the border hand painted on an archival rag mat to set off the typography-heavy design. Then, using vintage wood type, we pressed the wedding date into the mat and finally the frame was custom constructed with a distressed finish to complete the ensemble.

This has been such a successful collaboration, we have begun crafting a line of photography-ready frames with letterpress patterned mats. Stay tuned for more on these designs soon.

The Bird Dog’s spirits are 5,280 feet {or a mile high} today. On newsstands now, the January 2010 issue of 5280 Magazine, page 79, you will find a feature article by Julie Dugdale, Warm Reception an inspiration on winter weddings – featuring BirdDog Press wedding paper goods! And great to be mentioned alongside Calluna Events.

I have anxiously been awaiting Julia Vandenoever’s photos from Keira & Joe’s wedding at Dunton Hot Springs a few short weeks ago. Keira Ritter and I had such fun collaborating on these handcrafted mixed-media works of art. I can’t imagine anyone would be less than thrilled to receive a welcome bucket like that or who would have the heart to throw away a seating card that looked like this? For the invitation, we set the tone of the whole event by starting with walnut veneer cut by Joseph Kitt of Flux fine furniture, echoing the rustic grey-brown tones of Dunton’s weathered cabins and a sheet of soft cotton paper for just a hint of luxury. The next step was blind debossing the wheat-like organic texture and pressing wood and metal type in layers, keeping the message simple and the white space balanced. For a pop of color and an ode to the ghost town feel, orange grommets fastened each corner. Each invitation was presented in its own box, like a gift, with a sprig of wheat, then wrapped in distressed leather and wire with a token coral closure. This unique combination of unusual materials and rustic chic textures could only be built by an architect and the can-do custom spirit at BirdDog Press. Can’t wait to see more images from the wedding weekend on the Julia Vandenoever Photography blog!