Magic Fold Letterpress

THE LETTERPRESS

Every good celebration starts with the art of letterpress. Over the years I’ve learned much about this technique and interestingly, back in the day, the true sign of a skilled letterpress printer was to see absolutely no impression. The die blocks were only meant to kiss the surface of the people leaving just the ink behind. But in time the practice and effort of letterpress revealed a different impression that is now a staple in the wedding industry. There is a beauty to the visual tactility that is second to none.

For this birthday, I gathered a few friends to celebrate in the hills of Wimberley with a little glamping weekend. Preliminary plans were communicated prior to the weekend, but upon arrival, I wanted my guests to received a little letterpress magic to walk them through the weekend festivities. This initial type-driven pattern is a tie-in to the invitations where I used the same pattern printed on tissue paper stuffed in weekend bags.

THE SCHEDULE

I designed a minimalist schedule that walked guests through the weekend highlighting meals and a few key activities. I brought back the same type-driven pattern and created a negative space cutout and vintage, woodblock image header to run down the center. With our weekend chef I planned our meals and I wanted to provide a few details of the dinner cuisine to give guests a taste of what’s to come. The top header was the perfect image that captured the overall weekend glamp aesthetic.

The cards are printed on 220 DTC, Pearl White, Crane Lettra, using two 8.5” x 11” letterpress dies and then trimmed into four separate cards to be assembled into the magic fold card.

PENDLETON BLANKET INSPIRED GROSGRAIN

I was inspired by the Pendleton Glacier National Park blanket with it’s four solid stripes in green, red, yellow, and black. In order to create this magic fold letterpress card, it requires four separate ribbons applied in alternating fashion glued between letterpress cards. I ordered several rounds of grosgrain ribbon from different vendors to best match the colors to the blanket.

CUSTOM CUT WRITING TOOLS

Below the magic fold cards, I custom cut foam and inserted Hay pens, Delfonics mechanical pencils, colored lead, black lead, and rubberized erasers. I wanted to provide tools for my guests to utilize during the weekend getaway. In addition to the writing tools, I included a flashlight, notebooks, a book, and playing cards. Whether the guests used everything provided or not, it was important to me that they felt that everything was available to them for a fun and reflective weekend.