Wednesday, 25th August 2010

TWO NEW PRESSES!

We recently purchased two new, or very old, letterpresses. I have been keeping an eye out for a new letterpress for quite a while now, they are very hard to come by, so when I saw an ad for an Arab hand fed platen press I was very excited, to top it off the photographer selling the press was also including a No.1 Croperette hand fed platen press! We think the Cropper is an 1888 press and the Arab is an 1894 press.

Deal done next step drive to London to collect the presses, easier said than done. The Arab weighs approx. 1400lbs and the Croperette weighs approx. 400lbs. That’s over a tonne combined! Luckily a friend lent us their van and we got the ferry over to Holyhead where we arrived a 6.00am, we drove through the day to London, six hours later we arrived in London and the fun really began…

It took Alan with the help of the seller, and a little help from me, 5 hours to dismantle the two presses and load them into the van, a mammoth task. Unfortunately I wasn’t much help, I literally couldn’t lift most of the parts they were so heavy.

We then drove back to Holyhead through driving rain, missing our ferry, luckily it was only a matter of paying another £10 to transfer our booking to the next sailing, which we just made. 5.30am and we arrived back in Dublin with an hour and a half drive ahead of us back to Kells. We made it back safe and sound, no major hiccups and went straight to bed, completely exhausted from our 30 hour round trip! We did eventually come out of hibernation on Sunday evening and Alan called in the cavalry to help unload the van.

Back to work on Monday morning, I was surrounded by parts and couldn’t wait to get the presses up and running.

On Monday night the studio was a buzz of activity, it took four men as many hours to assemble the two presses and voila they were ready for printing, or so I thought. The presses needed to settle so I spent the next few days oiling them and cleaning them and finally on Monday I began my first print run on our new Cropper press. After a few tweaks and adjustments and one call out from my personal mechanic the press was a go. It runs like a dream and last night I finished the first print run of letterpress wedding stationery on it.

So what about the Arab, well it will take a little longer to get up and running but I’ll keep you posted, watch this space.

I have to say a huge thank you to Alan for all his help, he was a gem, and of course to Tommy for lending us the van and to Ronan, David and Paul for all their help putting the presses back together.

Author: pamela | 2 Comments »

Labels: Farrell & Chase Loves..., Letterpress, Our Travels

Thursday, 5th August 2010

WEDDING STATIONERY TRENDS 2010/2011

There is something very special about receiving beautiful stationery in the post, a very rare occurrence in a world of instant communication, the tactile beauty gives instant recognition that this is something you can really enjoy opening.

Enhancing your wedding style, your wedding stationery should be an extension of your personality and should set a mood for your wedding day. The design, style and colour selected for your stationery will all contribute significantly to this and should be considered carefully…

WEDDING INVITATION BOOKS - Invitation books are a lovely thoughtful way of inviting your guests to your special day. They are like a guidebook, itinerary and invitation all in one. The formal invitation is generally on the front cover or on the first inside page followed by all the information that your guests could possibly need to join you on your wedding day; wedding itinerary, extra celebrations, travel, accommodation, information about the destination, sights, attractions etc. They can be designed to compliment any style. A wonderful invitation solution for any destination wedding!

VINTAGE FLAIR - Antique lace, damask prints, fleur de lis and feminine flowers are increasingly popular and will only become more popular in wedding stationery over the next year. Following fashion trends and interior trends vintage is most definitely in vogue! Choose dusty pinks, sage green, duck egg blue and antique gold to compliment soft white or cream card to truly achieve the vintage look.

LETTERPRESS STATIONERY - Letterpress wedding stationery is hugely popular in the US and is desired by many Irish brides. It ticks all the boxes in wedding stationery trends, printed on a vintage press on 100% cotton paper it follows both the vintage trend and eco trend for the coming years. The cotton paper is handfed through a vintage press impressing the artwork into the soft pillowy paper, one colour at a time resulting in stationery of incredible tactile beauty. Letterpress wedding stationery can be completely customized to compliment your wedding style. Merging old world printing techniques with original creative design the possibilities are endless, and truly beautiful.

OUTDOOR CHIC - A big trend this year is nature-inspired, ethereal feel wedding stationery. Garden party and marquee weddings are becoming ever more popular. Reflect the outdoor location in your wedding stationery by personalising the stationery with florals, birds, butterflies or tree motifs. These accents coupled with vibrant colours will create a beautifully whimsical style which can be continued through all aspects of your wedding.

PURPLE - Purple has been popular for many seasons but it has never been as stylish as it is in the coming year. Purple gives a sense of romance and magic, from grape and aubergine to violet and berry, purple will capture the imagination of guests. For spring and summer wedding choose vibrant purples coupled with sage green or dusty pink for a fresh garden feel. For autumn and winter weddings choose deep purple coupled with antique gold for a very luxurious look.

SEASONAL STYLE - From Ice flakes and bauble in winter and warm tones and falling leaves in the autumn to vibrant floral’s and butterflies in the spring and summer, seasonal wedding stationery is the perfect starting point to begin using the time of year as a theme to style your wedding.

ART DECO - Art Deco trends are on the verge of exploding in the wedding industry! Taking lead from popular bridal gown styling, inspired by 1920’s and 1930’s Hollywood glamour. Art Deco wedding stationery should feature metallics, black or sapphire blues for real elegance. Designs should be classic and chic, featuring silhouettes or geometric patterns.

The day you drop all those beautiful envelopes into the postbox you will be sending your guests the first impression they will get of you special day. Your wedding stationery should create a real sense of anticipation and excitement for your wedding day!

Author: pamela | Add your Comment »

Labels: Letterpress, Wedding, Wedding Stationery, Wedding Style + Trends

Friday, 15th January 2010

WHAT IS LETTERPRESS?

I am asked by clients and fellow designers so often to explain the letterpress printing process that I decided why not create a blog post, so here goes…

Letterpress is a very old printing method which has seen a huge revival in the US and UK in recent years, fine artists and designers like myself  have embraced this old technique to create unique, luxuriously tactile stationery. At Farrell & Chase we are introducing this beautiful printing technique to a new generation in Ireland. When it comes to stationery, there’s simply nothing that compares to the unique, luxurious quality of letterpress.

Letterpress is a historic printing method dating from the mid 1400’s. Today, after centuries of change and technological advances in printing methods, the processes and craft of letterpress printing have remained virtually unchanged…

Each Farrell & Chase letterpress stationery cards begin with a spark of creativity. Once complete the design is then made into printing plates, one for each colour. The printing plate is the essence of the letterpress. A letterpress plate has a raised surface that presses into the paper, leaving behind a slight indentation. The plate is mounted onto the platen of the printing press, next we ink the press with our water-soluble rubber-based inks which come in a rainbow of colours.

We print all of our designs on 100% cotton paper. Chosen for it’s pillowy texture and thickness, our cotton paper has the added benefit of being eco-friendly. We hand feed the luxurious cotton paper through our vintage Adana press impressing the artwork into the soft cotton paper, one colour at a time. The result, stationery of incredible tactile beauty.

Finally, we inspect and count each piece before packaging in brown paper tied up with string ready for delivery or collection. Your stationery is a unique work of art, the culmination of hours of craft and creativity.

Because our printing is done on an antique printing press, each piece that we print will be subtly unique. Small variations in inking, color, impression and position are to be expected. These small variations are part of what makes letterpress beautiful.

Author: pamela | Add your Comment »

Labels: Letterpress, Letterpress Stationery, Wedding Stationery

Thursday, 12th November 2009

WEDDING STATIONERY SPECIAL OFFER

Our Christmas gift to you…

We would like to offer all our readers 10% DISCOUNT off all wedding stationery orders placed in November and December plus FREE PLACE CARDS.

For the couple who wants to stand out from the crowd! We will help you to make the perfect first impression for your wedding. Whatever your wedding style, we will bring it to life with wonderful details, dramatic and whimsical, making your wedding stationery truly personal…

We can customise any of our beautiful designs to compliment your wedding style,with a choice of ink colours, envelope colours and personalised wording. You can view our full collection, estimate prices and order samples here.

Please do not hesitate to contact us on 087 686 9220 or email pamela@farrellandchase.com with any queries.

Author: pamela | Add your Comment »

Labels: Letterpress, Letterpress Stationery, Wedding, Wedding Stationery

Friday, 6th November 2009

LETTERPRESS CHRISTMAS STATIONERY

Our letterpress Christmas cards, gift tags and hanging “Dear Santa” Christmas lists have arrived…

The moment you send a Christmas card it’s Christmas! Get into the spirit with our unique letterpress Christmas cards and don’t forget to send them before the 19th December, for deliveries within Ireland, or before the 5th December, for deliveries further afield, to make sure they arrive in time. You can check the full postal Christmas timetable here.

Write your Christmas wish list on our “Dear Santa” hanging cards and hang them on your Christmas tree ready for Santa to see when he come down the chimney!

Top a gift or a table with our Christmas tags, the perfect festive finishing touch.

We also have special mixed Christmas stationery packs…

Christmas Lucky Dip Pack = 6 Christmas Cards + 6 Christmas Tags

Christmas Surprise Pack = 12 Christmas Cards + 12 Christmas Tags + 2 Hanging “Dear Santa” Wish Lists + A Complimentary Letterpress Christmas Surprise!

You can browse or purchase our Christmas stationery in our stationery shop here.

Merry Christmas!

Author: pamela | Add your Comment »

Labels: Letterpress, Letterpress Stationery

Monday, 15th June 2009

IRISH DESIGN SHOP EXCLUSIVE

Our new card collection designed exclusively for Irish Design Shop is now available to purchase on the Irish Design Shop website…

Printed on recycled card stock coupled with recycled envelopes and packaged in bio-degradable packaging - we try to do our bit for the environment!

I hope you like them, we’d love to hear your feedback.

Author: pamela | 2 Comments »

Labels: Design + Interiors, Letterpress, Letterpress Stationery

Friday, 13th February 2009

INSPIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2009

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Labels: Letterpress, Letterpress Stationery, Press, Wedding Stationery