OsloPress

Every now and then we get the opportunity to work on projects that are completely non-wedding related. If you look at our current website, you may assume that weddings are all we do; but please don’t let it fool you! We will gladly take on projects for non-wedding related events.

Below are photos from such a project that we worked on last fall. The ABC store in Banner Elk, North Carolina was recently expanded and remodeled. To celebrate the occasion, a ribbon cutting ceremony was planned. We were happy to take on the invitation project which soon turned into a full custom design job. Even the logo was especially created for the event. As a nod to the moonshining roots that exist in the region, an old fashioned still was incorporated into the logo along with some blue peaks in the background to represent the Blue Ridge Mountains. It may be difficult to see in the photos, but this was actually a three color job. Two shades of chocolate along with blue were letterpress printed on ecru cotton paper to give a warm, rustic feel.

Below are some photos of the ABC store following the renovation project.  If you’ve ever had the pleasure of entering a typical North Carolina ABC store then you will definitely know how dramatic the change was!

Photo Credits - All images of the ABC store courtesy of the High Country Municipal ABC Store of Banner Elk, NC

Last summer, we had  a couple come to us and request that their invitations reflect the scenery of their wedding location by including a single large pine tree.  Always happy to take on the challenge of a custom job, I was eager to accommodate their wishes.  Honestly, I was a bit surprised that this was the first time a pine tree had been requested by a client (you know, given all that wood you see on our website!).

Before I began working on the new illustration, I searched around a little bit online in order to study photos of actual pine trees.  It wasn’t long before I realized I didn’t have to look very hard at all though.  Here in North Carolina, there never seems to be a lack of pine trees.  Just a quick glance out of a window around here will reveal quite a few nearby.  Really, they are everywhere and so are their needles; but it’s okay because their silhouettes against the setting sun are quite a lovely sight.

To further enhance the woodsy feel of the invitation set, the couple chose to use walnut wood for the invite.  A warm chocolate brown ink was used for the text and a pop of color was added by the use of olive ink.  To wrap it all up and create a cohesive feel,  ecru cotton paper was  selected for the paper elements.

Curious about our custom design process? Just send us an e-mail or visit our process page for more details.

Just thought I would share a peak at some custom invites that we recently finished and shipped off.  At the request of the bride, I created this illustration for her upcoming fall wedding.  This project actually began with save the dates – where a smaller but similar leaf illustration made an appearance.  I then developed the idea further once it was time to work on the invites.   A little later on I will be able to share more, but for now, here are some closeups:

Apparently, I have had my fill of the summer heat because this warm combination of colors is making me more than ready for fall.

What you see:  laser engraved walnut veneer,  letterpress on ecru paper

Just thought I would share a little peak into my process when working on a new illustration.  First, I tend to do some quick sketching followed by research.  By research I mean I usually gather some inspiring photos and colors, as well as look through some of my old sketches and not so neatly place them around my drawing board.  Following this stage, I do more quick sketching until I start feeling the direction I want to go in.  Then, depending on my mood and the style I am going for, I either create some cleaner drawings by hand which I then clean up using the computer, or I create the illustration directly on the computer.

Here are a few images as well as initial sketches and ideas from a recent custom design project.  I’m really excited about the finished illustration, so I will try and post some photos of the finished project in the future.

and the credit goes to:  top left image of the yummy crinkly taffeta gown by Nicole Miller (via Brides.com), all other images by me

Just a little peek at a custom job we created for a couple during the fall of last year.  The bride came to us already knowing she wanted to use a particular typeface – Shelley Allegro.  She was also interested in a monogram but thought she would possibly like to incorporate some other details.  Well, several ideas were tossed around, but at the end of the day, they decided to keep it sweet and simple:

In the top photo you can see a portion of the reply card, followed by the envelope flaps in the second photo.  Not in need of a return address, they chose to use only their initials and wedding date on the outer envelope.  Each paper item in the set was letterpress printed in chocolate ink on ecru cotton paper, creating a rich warm feel.

I know, I know… we kept hinting, right?  Well, they are finally here…  4 new designs have just been added to our collection.  Here’s a little peek; but for more views be sure to visit our collection page and visit their individual pages.

Along with the addition of the new designs, the website received a little facelift.  You will now find more information about our wood invitations as well as letterpress invites in case you are interested.   We have also broken our Process page up a bit and updated some information in hopes of making it more easy to navigate.  There is even a Kudos page that we can update with testimonials and press coverage.  It’s a start, at least.  Eventually we would like to add photos of other products, such as place cards, menus, table numbers, etc.  But these things take time…  something we seem to be forever lacking around here!

Please let us know if you run into any problems in navigation or catch any errors.  But mostly – enjoy!

For quite some time now we have been planning to update the website with new designs.  However, we are very much behind schedule and here it is…  the middle of October already!  We really didn’t take into account that the summer would be jam-packed with working on clients’ jobs – leaving little time for anything else.  Fortunately though, just as the temperature outside is finally cooling down a bit, I think we can work in the time to update the website.  I won’t give any specific dates as we wouldn’t want to get any hopes up.  But soon… I promise!  Until then, I think another sneak peek is way overdue:

Here you can see a little envelope detail in action – teal ink on pearl white cotton paper with a combination of Lily Wang and Arabic typefaces.  Enjoy!

If you were to look out of our studio window right now and spot all of the green leaves on the trees, you would never guess it is officially fall.  It has been a hot and sticky summer here, but it seems to finally be cooling down a bit.  Let’s hope those pretty fall colors will be on their way soon.

Until then, this photo above will just have to hold me over.  At the request of a recent couple I was working with, I created this motif based on aspen trees for their invitations.  Also incorporated throughout the set, were the pair of aspen leaves that can be seen in the background.  Perfect for fall, they chose to combine copper ink and ecru cotton paper.  Not seen in this photo are the actual invitations, which were made out of walnut. In addition to the invitations, we also created some table cards and place cards – all out of walnut as well.

Nicole and Taylor were recently married in Aspen, Colorado – so congratulations to the happy couple!

As mentioned in the last post, I will try and upload several sneak peek images of the new designs that are on their way. Above you see a sample utilizing a combination of spring green and chocolate inks, maple wood, and crisp white cotton paper. The selected typefaces are Bolivar and Trajan – a combination I find elegant with  just a touch of attitude.

I would like to mention that this motif was created at the request of a bride. We felt it would be a perfect addition to our catalog, so we are keeping it around.

Enjoy!