Clever letterpress blog for our modern times

Your event-planning connection in Venice, Italy

Today, I got an email from a client in Venice, Italy who worked with Spiffy Press to design a logo and brand look, business cards in letterpress and a website. Her site www.eve-italia.com is working so well she sent this today…unsolicited testimonial.

Her site launched a little over a month ago. She is an international event-planning company in Venice, Italy, mainly corporate events and private parties, and weddings too. She said:

“Over the past 2 days I’ve had a call from China, Singapore, Manchester and Canada!!  Yes… the site is working and your SEO consulting is amazing.  I will be signing your praises long and loud to anyone who will listen!  And, I’ve been contacted again via the website for what appears to be a GREAT opportunity and precisely the target market & event type I’m hoping to focus on!!  It’s working!!  People are finding me!!  You guys ROCK.”

Yes Spiffy Press is all about letterpress printing still…no worries… for business cards and wedding invitations and stuff….but I am still a graphic designer at  heart and design print materials, logo, websites…and I have some great partners who help me with the development, marketing strategy and writing for web (scroll down on the home page to see the web info). Cause that is not Spiffy’s strength. I’ll stick to all design and letterpress printing, thanks.

Oh yeah, hey Nina thanks again…we think you ROCK too!!

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Little letters

On the topic of typography, here’s an unusual set of letters (and other sculptures) I found on Engadget the other day. Ironically, you can’t use these pencils to write with, although I guess they were down to the nub anyway.

Love the bright colors, recycling aspect, and of course the TYPE! I love type too.

Something fun for a Friday afternoon. TGIF everyone!

Mini tools for mini projects

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The perfect all-occasion greeting card

What a lovely day! The sun feels like it’s shining a little brighter today because someone found us an blogged about Spiffy Press. I love when this happens.

We were recently approached by Greetings Etc, an online publication featuring the latest and greatest in stationery and greeting cards. And they included us on their blog…so I’m passing along this sunny news to you. They feature our Happy Whatever all-occasion greeting card. Check it out even though you already know us for our fun, smarty-pants attitude and modern designs.

Visit their site at www.greetingsmagazine.com

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Hi. I am posting this invite because I love it…or I should say because I still love it. It’s from a fund-raising event held in May 2008.

The high-end event was targeted at dudes with dough who could afford the pricey entry fee at the Playboy Mansion. This was all the inspiration I needed for the garter fastener that had to be undone to open the invite…very interactive, not to mention suggestive, no?

The letterpress invitation was a booklet format, printed on 100% cotton, tree-free paper and sealed up in a transparent envelop. peek a boo!

I hope you enjoy this invite as much as I do. Have a great weekend everyone.

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Hi fans.

Thought I’d post these cute new baby shower invitations I recently designed and printed.  I love to custom design and print any project you can dream up! These use brown and orange to match the new baby’s nursery, with baby blue of course…it’s a boy!

The “It’s a…” text peeks through the inner envelope’s rounded die-cut to reveal the word “Brown” when the invitation is revealed….It’s a Brown! A play on words as the world welcomes Baby Brown. Yes, it’s a boy too but we’re having some fun with a traditional invitation. Blending the couple’s modern ways with the elegance of the event.

The type and lines create beautiful detailing to the touch and eye. I wish I could show you, because letterpress is just more beautiful in person, than a picture.

Enjoy!

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Hi world!

I’m so excited to share the news that we are getting a great response to our That’s what she said card…aka, TWSS card. Today, we were highlighted on Orange Beautiful’s blog. And someone ordered the design because they found us on Twitter. Social media does work! Who knew?!

Just wanted to share this exciting tidbit!

spiffy

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I just found these photos that my friend Sylvia took recently as lighting test shots. As soon as I have time, she’s going to shoot a video of my process to share with you. But, um, that may be a while, cause you know, the to-do list with deadlines never ends.

Anyhow, I saw these pics and it made me love my letterpress all over again. I call her Lucky. She cranks out beautiful business cards, invitations and more. I am printing a baby shower invitation today…will post pix asap. And I did a business stationery suite last week….will post those pix soon too…just gotta take them.

Enjoy my beautiful Lucky in the meantime.

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Orange ya glad? That's it. Just hope you're glad.

Time flies and I can’t believe I haven’t posted all week…hope everyone had a great Fourth of July weekend.

I’ve been busy printing stationery and note cards for Declare It! Can’t wait to photograph the suite and add it to the stationery site.

Realize this isn’t the most exciting post….so here’s a joke, hope it makes you smile or turn orange. Knock knock….who’s there….Orange…Orange who?….Orange you glad you know Spiffy Press? I know it’s the oldest one in the book.

Back to the press and have a great day!

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Yep, that’s exactly what she said. You can prove it with this month’s Card O’ The  Month design!

See, I told you that's what she said.

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Congratulations to K. Kwok of Arcadia, CA, our May letterpress giveaway winner!

You too can win a mixed set of letterpress cards by simply signing up. Couldn’t be easier!

See you on the site.

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Happy Friday to you.

Just found this new URL shortener from www.trick.ly.com. It not only shortens a URL so it’s tweet worthy, but there’s an option to include a clue. If someone can figure out the clue, then they can get to the URL

TRY IT NOW. Get our clue and we’ll send you a FREE greeting card – that’s like us sending you five bucks. Sweet.

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In Brussels….let’s go! Saw this blog about the new Pantone Hotel. Seven color palettes available in sleek modern rooms. Mmmm…I want to go now. So the next time you’re in Brussels and need a shot of color. Stay here, then let me know how it was.

Sweet colorful dreams

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And today I will stress the “to toe” part. As I was taking my tennis shoes (or sneakers if you’re from Chicago) out of the washer, I saw my S-P-I-F-F-Y name on the back and was reminded how much I love to customize things so they feel like they are uniquely mine.

My spiffy feet

The same goes for note cards (100% custom designed for you or a great gift for a friend), greeting cards (mix and match  your own box of cards) and invitations (the ultimate wedding invite designed just for you…tell a bride).

Make them all your own. It feels good to be an individual, even in a small way. Have a Spiffy day!

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If you’re in Chicago, you gotta visit Orange Beautiful this weekend for the launch of their new store at 4658 North Damon Street. They are selling Spiffy Press greeting cards and a lot of other cool stuff made by local and independent artists. Doors open at 9am Saturday for their first day of business.

If you go, tell me about it. I’ll be jealous but I’d love to hear from someone who was there!

Orange Beautiful opens in Chicago this Saturday!

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Saw this article in the LA Times yesterday and have to say I was pretty excited to read the news! More type options for web pages. Party. I design web pages and one of the obstacles is the lack of font selection, compared to print, greeting card, wedding invitation design, etc…but not any more. I can only imagine how much these font houses charge for web use, but at least it’s a start. For a guy who loves type, this is groundbreaking news.

Just chill and sign up to win free letterpress cards and Card O' the Month club

High five to you if you too are a type-loving geek who dreams of the day when there are free fonts-a-plenty on the web. One can dream.

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Hi there and Happy Tuesday.

Do you love nerds too?

I just realized I took this photo a few months ago while at Wurstkuche. If you haven’t been to this downtown LA hotspot, go….now. It’s a great way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon drinking beer and dining on homemade, gourmet sausages and Belgian fries. Mmmm, makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Anyhow, they have a very relaxed dining area, benches, long tables and brown paper “tableclothes.” A few beers into someone’s afternoon and they become an instant artist. When we took over the spot, here was this great bit o’ artwork. Perfect spot for a nerd like me.

If you like this, you’ll love my Card O’ The Month designs. I just know it.

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C. Wood of Weston, CT is Spiffy Press’ April letterpress winner! Woo hoo! You too can sign up to win free letterpress cards each month. It’s super easy and you may be next month’s winner.

Just chill and sign up to win free letterpress cards and Card O' the Month club

And while we’re talking about April, chill out and take a look at our Card O’ the Month!

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Tiny coast

Do you love tilt-shift photography? I do. I recently found this tilt-shift video site on StumbleUpon. I haven’t tried a video myself, but there is a handy iPhone app I have called called TiltShift Generator if you’re interested in shrinking the world around you. Try it, you’ll be hooked.

Just like fonts and color, this photography just makes me smile. I know, I’m a a nerd.

Tiny beer on the table

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Orange and Spiffy. True Love always.

I found the perfect orange place this weekend.  Where there’s orange everywhere. Literally, everywhere. You may have seen this already, but I haven’t, the California Poppy Reserve. As a native Californian, I’m a bit ashamed that I’ve never driven to the Antelope Valley to see the orange hills.

Here are some of the pix I took, but they just don’t do it justice. You need to see them in person, which I highly recommend. You know me! I love orange!

Enjoy the orange!

Poppies everywhere!

Literally, everywhere.

Me and the orange

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The world on my shelf

Saw this NY Times story and thought it was kind of cute and a bit odd. I guess I thought it was mostly cute because I am sharing it with you. It’s the reasons these ladies claim for doing this that seem odd. Just decorate your house with modern furniture already. IKEA is there for a reason.

Ok, onto the cute part. I used to collect miniature everything. My dad would either find mini items or make them. If you’re wondering, no, I never had a dollhouse. However, I still collect miniature landmarks…have 56 in total. I just like tiny things I guess.

The cool part of these houses is the modern furniture. Now, there’s a new twist on an old hobby. You know me. I love modern…big or small.

Where else can Milan, London and Singapore sit side by side?

Rome and NYC all in one place

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There's always room to be clever

Today, this Stumble Upon article caught my eye because it used the word “clever” to describe the topic…so I checked it out. These are clever, some more than others, but all are fun and show that there’s always a new way to advertise something. Geez Louise, there’s just no escaping it. May as well have a laugh along the way.

I heart clever designs and try to incorporate new thinking or a twist on an accepted norm in all of my work. It’s really just more fun that way.

While you’re at the Spiffy Press blog or site, please take a moment to Digg, Share or Stumble something you like. And you can always sign up to win free letterpress cards, a whopping $25 value that we give away each month!

Thanks.

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Cinco in charge at Spiffy Press

The day comes when a dog has to take charge. Today is my day. Hi, I’m Cinco. Scott’s dog. I am the self-proclaimed Spiffy Press mascot.

Scott is skiing at some place they call Mammoth so he’s out of the office for a couple days. And that means his office is alllll miiiineee. Sweet.

While he’s out (thought he’d never leave), I am taking my chance to say hello and tell you of my plans, big plans! I think he should ditch this text thing and make letterpress greeting cards about me! Right? Don’t you agree?

I am charming, sweet, cuddly and energetic. I love chasing the ball and am generally easy to please. I make a great office mate, just ask Scott. Alright I gotta run, there’s a bird outside that’s got my name on it. TGIF to you and don’t forget to hug your dog today

ps. Write to me and I’ll write back. I am amazing that way.

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One of our followers, Amy Nelson-Koorstad, from Fullerton, CA sent us this tip about an article in this month’s Real Simple magazine. Thanks for info Amy! Who knew that there’d be a nice little write up by author and filmmaker, Amy Krous Rosenthal about writing thank-you notes.

I first have to thank Ms. Rosenthal because she so elegantly puts into words all the reasons I believe this is important, and she did it all in a handy-dandy THANKS acronym. I have to retype this since there’s no web link on Real Simple’s site (or at least I couldn’t find one). If you are an avid Real Simple reader, go to the April edition, page 220 (part of the “If you’re going to stop and smell a flower, make it a gardenia” article).

Amy succinctly gives these reasons to write thank-you notes:

Think so? Do so. Once the tiniest glimmer of “I should write a thank-you note” enters your mind, honor it. Sure, you can rationalize why you don’t need to, but then you’re just seizing an opportunity to hone your already sharp rationalizing skills.

Hygiene. I put thank-you notes in a category I call “interpersonal hygiene.” Do it out of common courtesy. Don’t do it all and you kinda stink.

Alternate ideas. Have fun with it! A traditional card works fabulously, but if that’s feeling boring, reach for a sheet of sandpaper (“Thanks for helping me through a rough time”), write a haiku (“Thaiku very much”), or try one of my favorites: a miniature note sent via the World’s Smallest Postal Service).

Nice, nicer, nicest. A quick thank-you via text or Facebook is at the low end of the nice spectrum. A chunky e-mail is nicer. Mailed letter is way nicest. I think the genral rule of thumb could be: The more ephemeral the medium, the less meaningful it is.

Keeping score. People will sometimes claim they don’t want a thank-you note—”they just want to be sure you received the gift.” Let me translate for you: “Yes, a thank-you note would have meant a lot.”

Special. It feels good to receive a special note.

I really enjoyed Amy’s candid and fun way to explain the importance of thank-you notes. I especially liked the Alternate ideas, which I believe can apply to any type of note. For example, yesterday my wife went to a baby shower and gave the WTF! card. Now, admittedly this takes a ballsy person to send any day of the week, but a baby shower? Inside she wrote in big letters, WHAT TINY FUN! An unexpected greeting … that got a lot of laughs!

Thanks again to Amy and Amy. I only wish I had both of their addresses to send them a thank-you note!

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The perfect all-occasion greeting card

Hi friends and leprechauns.

I thought today would be the ideal time to remind you that the three-month, single-card Card O’ The Month Club is only $17! (Price includes shipping … a little bit o’ gold at the end of the rainbow, no?)

That’s right, you get three completely unique designs delivered to your door for three months. If you’re inspired, you can order sets of cards each month and sign up for six or twelve months too. We aim to please.

Here are the January and February designs … March is still a secret, but will be coming in the next week. Sign up now to receive a great surprise in your mailbox – cleverly designed, modern greeting cards.

I’m off for some green beer. Hope you are too.

Totally rad card, like, ya know

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Hi there. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted something … guess I’ve been a bit of a slacker on that front.  I have a good reason though, I’ve been busy designing exciting, custom wedding invitations (can’t wait to show you and add them to the site when they are done) and web sites! Yes, Spiffy Press is developing websites (scroll down on the home page to see what that’s all about and we’ll post them when they are ready).

Today, as I was reading Seth Godin’s Blog I ran across this tidbit he posted, and I couldn’t agree more so am reposting. Yes, writing hand-written thank you notes is better than watching TV!

Something to think about next time to plop down on the couch. Have a great week!

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Type is all around us...lucky us!

Have you seen Logorama? I hadn’t even heard of it until it won an Oscar last night. Woke up this morning and looked into it to see what it was about in more detail and was pleasantly surprised to read that it was originally inspired a typography-centric video! No wonder I liked what I saw on TV. I love type! And it’s just always interesting to see an outsider’s view of American consumerism. This one looks like eye candy too!

Type is a great design tool that is often overlooked in favor of pictures and graphics. But don’t overlook type … it offers a huge range of personalities and styles. And when combined with colors, size, cropping, proportion, type offers endless creative opportunities. For wedding invites, business cards, greeting cards, etc. It’s playful and fun or traditional and formal. Oh, I could go on and on about how versatile and fun designing with type is. Like, I said I’m a fan of type. Go type!

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A friend forwarded this video to me today. I’m sure you’ve heard this song, I could swear it’s in a bunch of ads…but I really like it and have been listening to it over and over so thought I’d send this link to the video and other songs.

TGIF everyone. Hope your weekend is full of good music

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I’ve been meaning to add this initial note card and custom-designed note card, similar to the Mario Lopez note card, to my site, but time has a way of getting by me. For now, here they are on ye old blog.

You may have seen Dr. Dorian on Extra. The custom card was ordered for him as a gift. Both make an extra special, personalized gift for any occasion. I really enjoyed making the custom boxes too. Thought they were a nice finishing touch. Hope you agree.

Fun with packaging!

Initial note cards, personalized for you

Custom-made and custom-boxed note cards

Packed and ready to go

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Totally rad card, like, ya know

Like I’m totally listening to great 80s music, ya know? And, it like reminds me of like this totally rad card design.

No really, I’m recording a ton of music from my friend Doug who was kind enough to lend me his superior 80s album collection last year and it reminds me of Spiffy Press’ Totally card. A great card for any occassion for your forty-something friends like me who totally overused the word totally for a decade.

Barf me out, gag me with a chainsaw, grody to the max and all that. At least I crack myself up.

ps. Bonus for reading my blog is this fantastic photo of my big hair so you get to crack up too!

DJ Scott's home base

It came from the 80s

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Your mom's always wanted a tattoo, right?

Signing up pays off! Thanks to Nydia Cepeda, a fan in Boston, MA, for signing up to win Spiffy Press’ free monthly letterpress giveaway! She will receive a free box of mixed greeting cards.

What are you waiting for? Sign up today!

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Your small business' best friend.

Your small business needs to get going, right?!  We are a small business too and understand your needs, like a new logo, biz cards and website that don’t break the bank.

I’ve designed websites over the years and I now have additional experts to help you strategize your site, research keywords, write your SEO copy and build your site. If you’d like to maintain your own site after it’s up and running, we can train you too.

These folks have 10-20 years each of marketing strategy, message and communications development experience and web development know-how.

Our turnkey package is perfect for your small businesses. Our clients span many industries: landscape architecture, legal, communications, health and event planning. We can help you too!

Contact us for an estimate or call 626-676-5342. See you on the web!

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Hi brides who are dealing with budgets. It’s me Scott at Spiffy Press.

Maybe you have already seen this bridal survey from The Knot, maybe you haven’t.  I’ve included the regional differences. For some reason this struck me as terribly interesting. More interesting than the regular budget stuff, although that’s included in the survey too.

Here’s a related article from Salon.com about brides managing weddings on reduced budgets. I couldn’t agree more that this is an opportunity to get creative, not discouraged. Spiffy Press can work with you to create an invitation that sets the right tone, makes a memorable keepsake and stays within your budget. We are creative and proud of it

Onto our regional differences:

• New York City has the oldest brides and grooms, with average ages of 31 and 33. Respectively, Utah has the youngest, with average ages of 25 (bride) and 27 (groom).
• Iowa and Nebraska couples have the largest weddings, with more than 200 guests.
• Hawaii, Maine, and North Carolina have the most casual weddings. Connecticut, South Florida, Chicago, Detroit, and New York City (and surrounding areas) have the most formal (black tie).
• Central Pennsylvania has the lowest average wedding budget ($20,653), reflecting an 18% drop over 2007. Long Island, NY has the highest average wedding budget ($56,823), followed by New York City which rang in at $52,904 (an intriguing 5% drop-off compared to 2007). Las Vegas, Nevada, weddings experienced the highest jump in overall bridal spend at 19%.
• The top 10 “most expensive” places to get married are: Long Island, New York; New York City; Northern New Jersey; Hudson Valley, New York; Chicago; Connecticut; Los Angeles; South Florida; Rhode Island; and Orange County, California.

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Customize your news based on your selection of pictures. Check out this LA Times link

It all comes together in the Times. The Los Angeles Times. Do you remember that jingle?

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The perfect all-occasion greeting card

Yesterday, I posted my February Card O’ The Month design. And just in case you haven’t seen it (I know you check each day), here it is. Happy Whatever! The perfect all-occasion card to suit your every need

Join the Card O’ The Month Club and get a new card design each month in individual or boxed set options. A surprise sent to you each month! A little bit o’ sunshine.

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Ok, this Slate article on the state of hand-writing today caught my eye because it’s exactly the reason we sell a Tween set of note cards … kids today just don’t learn to write. It’s not their fault; they just aren’t teaching it in school as diligently as they used to. Kids learn to type and text (hence the Lingo set), and they learn to print, but they don’t learn to write in cursive. It’s a dying art. For those of us who had to learn cursive writing in second grade, it’s hard to believe that this subject has largely been removed from grammar school curriculums.

Best of both worlds. Text message in blank note cards you write in. With a pen. Remember how?

This reminds me that I recently had a good friend tell me that kids don’t write because they don’t want to get stamps!

If you purchase a Tween set of note cards by Friday, Feb 26, we’ll include a book of Forever stamps for free as an incentive to get your kids to write. Our hand-writing is one of the marks we leave behind that lets our personality peek through. You can’t get that from typing. Everyone looks the same in a typed note or email (or blog). Hand-written notes aren’t as efficient as email for sure, but for special occasion and when you want someone to cherish your words, hand write a note. it has staying power.

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A man and his letterpress are not soon parted

If there’s one thing I love, it’s type! I was delighted this morning when I saw Seth Godin’s blog explaining that the word cliché comes from the craft of typsetting … and stereotype too. Here’s his blog with a short explanation if you’re interested.

Little did he know when he was inventing movable type, Gutenburg was changing our language too! The best inventions usually do.

Working at the letterpress in my garage connects me with this old-world invention by using it to create modern designs that are relevant and meaningful in our world today. This was my inspiration for the Text Lingo cards; use an old western-style font to set modern texting acronyms. You can have the best of both worlds.

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HB2ME!

Today is my birthday!  And the best gift I got was shipping my first order of greeting cards (Text Lingo and THKS sets) to Kate’s Paperie on the East Coast. Thanks to all who have sent bday wishes my way. I appreciate it and love hearing from you!

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I recently got the sweetest letter from a good friend. It was completely unexpected and included the kindest words. In the note, my friend said, “I should really get some note cards from your site, cuz these blank cards from the craft store aren’t cuttin’ in.” Oh so true!

Spiffy's Blue Note blank note card, customize with your initial

Maybe you are in the same boat. You love sending personal notes for no reason to brighten someone’s day, but you need to add a little style to how you do it to really make a memorable statement. Our Initial Note Cards are the perfect anecdote for sharing your thoughts without overpowering your message.

They help you stand out in a good way!

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Running along PCH, it does't get any better!

California Dreaming, Surf City Marathon, Huntington Beach, CA

26.2 in 4:09!

Hello letterpress and running fans! Yesterday, I ran the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, Ca. Wow! What a lovely day…it just doesn’t get any better in So Cal.

I ran those 26.2 miles in 4:09! A huge accomplishment for me and a 20-minute improvement over my first marathon. Here are a few pix of the incredibly lovely day along the California Coast.

After my first marathon, the innagural Pasadena, CA marathon, I came home and letterpressed 5oo party invitations and 100 wedding invitations! I’m not quite sure how I did it. I know I couldn’t have done that yesterday. Obviously, when a bride and event planner have a deadline, they mean it. And I’ll make that deadline no matter what … even if I have to stand for 12 hours after running a marathon.

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Hugs and kisses

For kicks, I thought I’d Google “letterpress” and see what came up. At the top of the list was this Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterpress_printing so I thought, let’s take a quick historical sidestep.

The entry is pretty dry but I always enjoy thinking about Gutenberg and moveable type because it’s an often-overlooked invention that changed our lives. I say overlooked because I usually hear people cite the the invention of electricity first. I mean I guess that’s important.

With his printing press and moveable type, many industries were born and a journey toward education and reading began for the masses. A brief bio of Johannes Gutenberg from About.com follows.

If he were here today, for Valentine’s I’d send him an XOXO card to say thanks. Hugs and kisses Johannes!

Johannes Gutenberg was a German goldsmith and inventor best known for the Gutenberg press, an innovative printing machine that used movable type. Gutenberg was born between 1394 and 1400 and died in 1468.

In 1438, Gutenberg began a business arrangement with Andreas Dritzehn, who funded his experiments in printing. In 1450, Gutenberg began a second arrangement with German businessman Johannes Fust. Fust lent Gutenberg the money to start a printing business and build a large Gutenberg Press, their printing projects included the now famous Gutenberg Bible. On September 30, 1452, Johann Guttenberg’s Bible was published, becoming the first book to be published in volume.

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