When the gals at Bridal Bubbly first talked about doing a month of giveaways to celebrate our blog relaunch, one thing we all agreed was super important was only teaming up with vendors that we genuinely love, whose prizes we'd be excited to win ourselves. Today's giveaway sponsor certainly fits the bill.
Lucky Duck Press is a Brooklyn based letterpress print shop that does wedding invitations, birth announcements, social stationary and more. The company is one of Martha Stewart's favorite Etsy vendors, and it's not hard to see why.
Lucky Duck Press founder and all around printing guru Patrick B. was nice enough to give some company history and offer advice to Bridal Bubbly readers.
How did you develop your business?
In 1901 my great-grandfather started a little printing business in the northwest corner of Connecticut called The Sterling Press. Over the years his print shop evolved, and his primary business developed into the printing of names on cotton tape to sew into clothing for identification at camp, boarding school, or the like (around the mid-1920s he renamed it The Sterling Name Tape Company). As technology advanced, so did his printing methods, and by the late 1950s/early 1960s all of his foot-powered presses had been put in basement storage at the shop.
Several decades later, around 2003, -- with my father and brother now at the helm of Sterling -- I liberated a couple of the old presses as well as several cases of metal type and Lucky Duck Press was born!
Where do you get your inspiration?
I get quite a bit of inspiration from printed matter of the early 20th century. It was a time when even the most mundane pieces, such as an invoice or a train schedule, had an elegant and carefully considered design.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I try to keep my designs simple and elegant. Some of the historical work that inspires me is great as a starting point but can be a little too decorative for a contemporary audience. I try to take cues from those designs and bring them into the 21st century.
What one thing in your business (tool, device, etc.) could you not live without?
I could not live without my great-grandfather's Pearl Old Style foot-powered printing press. It was built in 1889 and still prints beautifully!
What trends do you see in color, texture or detailing?
Certainly there has been a surge in popularity in imagery from the natural world. I'm seeing quite a lot of plant, flower and bird imagery - less in the form of complete patterns and more in simple elements and silhouettes. I have also seen a lot of interest in designs that are straightforward and traditional in layout and text alignment, but use an image to really personalize it. Artwork reflecting a couples' home or wedding location is proving popular, one example is my Brooklyn Bridge design. I have had recent requests to modify that for another iconic bridge, and have worked on designs incorporating city
skylines, sketches of lake-side lodges and ornate front gates, to name a few.
In terms of wording, I am seeing couples move away from tradition a bit. For example, many more couples are inviting guests themselves rather than on behalf of their parents.
What colors do you love?
I am a big fan of a nice chocolate brown. It's more fun than black but is still a strong base to support a second, brighter color. Lately, I've seen a lot of interest in orange, purple, and sage green. Those particular colors happen to complement deep brown nicely but also stand alone or against other more muted colors, such as grey, in a vibrant way.
Those four colors, as well as the perennially popular various shades of blue, work well with many types of designs but are especially pleasing with the nature-influenced imagery.
What is one piece of advice you'd give a bride or groom?
While there are a number of practical pieces of advice I would give, (such as to remember that each couple/family only needs one invitation, leave enough time to carefully proofread, etc) the most important advice I would give is to be sure that you click personally with your designer/printer (and all of your vendors, for that matter). Getting all the parts in place for a perfect wedding takes much more work than a single person or even a couple can give do. You will need to delegate and trust the people you're working with, and, if you don't get along, you won't be able to do so comfortably and it will add another layer of concern to what should be a fun, happy planning time.
Thanks Patrick for the great advice! And a big thank you for today's giveaway-- a certificate for 15% off any letterpress printed item - either stock items, semi-custom items from the Lucky Duck Etsy shop, or even fully custom designed items. The discount is not related to wedding related items, so be sure to share this opportunity with anyone you know who loves beautiful paper!
To enter to win the certificate, email us at weddings@engagingaffairs.com with Lucky Duck Press in the subject line. Good luck!
How to contact Lucky Duck Press:
Website: http://www.luckyduckletterpress.com/index.htm
Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/luckyduckletterpress
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-NY/Lucky-Duck-Press/355328948575
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