The Card Designer Highlight is a collection that includes unbiased makers whose greeting playing cards yow will discover in Paper Supply shops. Meet and be impressed by a brand new designer each month on our weblog!
This month, meet our Card Designer Rosanna of Shorthand Press. Rejoice Worldwide Girls’s Month and learn the way this lady owned enterprise began 16 years in the past and the place a gentle tempo, unique greetings and the magic of letterpress has result in at the moment in our weblog put up right here.
How did you each start your card-making profession?
A few years in the past, I discovered myself drawn to this little retailer in Seattle. I’d go in and simply take a look at the greeting playing cards, really feel the paper, learn the phrases, take a look at the again to see who made them, after which attempt to discover out extra concerning the firm and one who had made the playing cards. I discovered that the printing methodology that I noticed on these playing cards that I used to be so drawn to was referred to as letterpress printing. I discovered a category and discovered print on a letterpress, purchased my very own press and began printing enterprise playing cards and marriage ceremony invites.
It wasn’t till I used to be a few years into printing that I assumed to myself “Perhaps I strive my hand at making a greeting card. I’ve a number of concepts!”. I made somewhat assortment of about 12 playing cards, took pictures of them, assembled a tiny catalog and walked into a number of shops in Seattle to hawk my wares. And the Shorthand greeting card line was born!
Creating greeting playing cards has been such a satisfying and fantastic profession and I’m so glad that I found letterpress greeting playing cards in somewhat retailer in Seattle all these years in the past. I can’t consider how far that little assortment of 12 playing cards has come!
The place do you draw inspiration from? Meals? Pop Tradition? Timeless Motifs? Playful Puns?
Inspiration comes from colour mixtures, from structure, folks artwork, swatches of outdated cloth. Inspiration for sentiments comes from my life and the lifetime of these round me – what are the playing cards we need to ship that we don’t have the phrases for? What are the events we discover ourselves celebrating?
It’s vital to me that the feelings we specific on our playing cards for each state of affairs are unique. There are solely so some ways to say Completely satisfied Birthday, however the problem of developing with a brand new approach to say it’s enjoyable! After I suppose I’ve provide you with an concept that I’ve by no means seen earlier than, I google the mixture of phrases to double test that another person hasn’t already had this good concept, haha. Now we have a pair older playing cards in our line which have candy sentiments which can be common equivalent to “I really like you to the moon and again” – however even that line doesn’t have a particular writer attributed to it.
What does your day appear to be as a card maker and designer?
I drop my daughter off in school after which head into work. My desk is at our first retailer location within the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Our print store is situated at the back of our retailer. At this level in my business trip, the majority of my time is spent working this firm – which I completely love. Every day brings varied areas of focus within the enterprise from eager about wholesale gross sales, budgets, print schedules, social media, analyzing information, constructing programs, conferences, picture shoots, what every retailer wants. I really like being within the print store to see what Nick and Paul are printing that day, I like to get a glimpse of the orders Martin is transport out, watching Coral, Corey and Ian make notebooks and fold greeting playing cards to satisfy orders. It’s enjoyable to stroll by the shop and listen to the retail workforce working with prospects, to sit down at my desk and work with the again of home workforce on the print store and retail operations, or hear concerning the progress of our wholesale gross sales from Molly. I’ve a fully fantastic workforce and I’m so lucky day by day to work in such an excellent setting.
After which earlier than I do know it, the afternoon comes and I race again residence to choose my daughter up from faculty. Usually the concrete work is completed for the day, however simply residing life as a enterprise proprietor and entrepreneur is filled with inspiration. Within the down time after work is commonly when my inventive mind subconsciously thinks of recent card concepts or continues to refine concepts for brand spanking new merchandise, or I’ve an concept of resolve a query on a spreadsheet. I’ve discovered that point spent NOT working is as worthwhile as time spent working and I really like being open to the inspiration that can hit once I’m doing non-work associated duties.
What’s your most well-liked medium?
Letterpress printing remains to be our main printing methodology and I simply adore it a lot. The best way colours overlap to create new colours, the way in which the feel of the paper provides a further layer to the general design is a magic I haven’t gotten uninterested in but. For instance: a area of flowers is printed on a card, the inexperienced ink urgent into the paper – the aid of the little white flowers left poking by the inexperienced have an nearly 3-D side to them as a result of the white paper has not been smooshed down by the press. The white flowers appear to be they’re coming out of the sphere. Then blue ink is added to create the sky, and little flower stems and grass blades seem the place the blue ink additionally overlaps in sure spots with the inexperienced ink. I don’t suppose I’ll ever recover from how a lot I really like letterpress printing!
What does your inventive course of appear to be?
Ariel is my co-greeting card designer at Shorthand and since 2017 we now have labored collectively to create all of the playing cards. Yearly we share inspiration with one another of what we’re loving (proper now we’re very floral heavy, and I simply can’t get sufficient!). This consists of specific motifs, colour mixtures, and so forth. After which as we work by every assortment, every new launch, we pull from our bigger themes that we’ve compiled for that 12 months and we expect by the feelings we would like for every card. It’s a true inventive partnership. Ariel creates the visible components, I consider the feelings and do the handwriting for the playing cards, after which we refine our ideas – it may be tough to inform the place her work stops and mine begins and vice versa. It has been such a pleasure to develop such a robust inventive partnership and I believe our work is stronger due to our teamwork.
What are you most pleased with as a creator and card maker?
I’m so pleased with the sluggish and regular journey this enterprise has been on. I began printing in somewhat shed in my yard in Seattle 16 years in the past. The print store moved to Los Angeles, the workforce expanded, we opened our first retail retailer 8 years in the past, we simply opened our second retail retailer final summer time, our wholesale line continues to develop, we now have such nice relationships with each our distributors and our stockists. I’m proud to have created jobs that pay folks pretty, this work is truthfully all a lot extra fulfilling due to the workforce doing this work with me. I’m pleased with the truth that I’m nonetheless delighted by greeting playing cards even 16 years later.
Any private tidbits? Particular abilities/enjoyable info?
This 12 months, in an try to broaden my mind past mothering and dealing, I purchased a drum set. I’ve all the time wished to discover ways to play the drums, so now I’ve a equipment in my storage and most afternoons I’m going out and play for some time whereas my daughter performs close to me within the storage. This expertise has been an excellent reminder that studying new abilities is invigorating!!
Discover Shorthand Press Playing cards, equivalent to Funkier Cheese Birthday Card, Stoked for Your Engagement Card, and Planning a Wedding ceremony Card at our native retailer or on-line at papersource.com. For extra inspiration and behind-the-scenes motion, observe ShorthandPress on IG.
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