New hand-made letterpress notecards

A few months ago I moved into a cheaper place. My wife and I decided that to continue to live month to month and rent one half-falling-down house (just because, hey, a house) after another would be a mistake, so we stopped repeating it. We moved into an apartment and have started to do what adults do... save money, down-size and generally take responcibility for our lives and future.

As this genuine (as opposed to the lip-service version I have attempted in the past) process of whittling down to essentials has gotten underway, I am paying attention to lots of small things in my life. I've always been detail-oriented, but the concept of curating my environment and lifestyle really appeals to me. Get the clutter out and make way for the important things. I'm slowly and meticulously doing this clearing away of the "too-much" across the board: to my clothes, my living quarters, my car, my job responcibilities, my creative life, my physique, etc.

One important thing to me is stationary. I know that sentence seems laughable, but I am one of the only people I know who still regularly writes hand-written notes and letters. Years ago, I had a bunch of stationary made for me at Crane's. Out of that set, the stuff I went through the fastest was the notecards. So I have recently set about to replace my notecard stock.

I approached Lily Smith-Kirkley of Lilco Letterpress. With great patience and warmth, she fielded a bunch of my questions. I drew my "boxed" initials in my standard way and she put it into the proper format to create a letterpress mold. I got to pick the paper, size, envelopes, color of ink and on and on. 

It was one of those situations when you want something the exact way you want it, but you, personally, don't have the skill set or equipment to execute it. Lily made sure I got exactly what I wanted and I am as pleased as punch with how the notecards turned out. Plus, I dig Lily's studio. When I went to pick up my cards I met Shari of Red Llama Studio. She and Lily were creating tags for Shari's hand-made quilts together. Definitely a creative vibe.

These cards are unique to me. They are now part of my curated, idiosyncratic existence.

I did not take this one. Lily Smith+Kirkley @ Lilco Press. March 2012. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Lily's workshop. Plain on the outside, but a crafty studio of awesome on the inside.

Lily showing me the mock-up of my notecard design in Illustrator, at her swank letterpress studio.

The feel of the "pressed" in art is awesome.