Wedding Stationery - Sam and Amy

More wedding invitation inspiration for you, and one we've been meaning to post for some time now.
This wedding stationery suite was designed with a vintage/butterfly theme in mind, with a very classic look and colours to match the bridesmaids dresses.

Included were two invitations, day and evening - both printed in thermography on Fine wove oyster board, 640gsm for the day invites and 480gsm for the evening.
Each invite had a bevel painted edge in teal to match the text and came with paper lined v-flap envelopes to match.
Also included in this suite were menus, order of service booklets and a table plan.

Happy birthday to us.

Well, unbelievably it's been a year since we opened our doors here on Walcot Street. It's certainly flown by quicker than we thought it would, the sign of a good busy first year no doubt.

We have hopefully brought joy to the people of Bath and our fans elsewhere, perhaps boosting the love for stationery even more.
There has been a couple of new arrivals here since we opened, two big mechanical ones and some other more decorative ones - and more to come!

Back in August we took in two lonely old Heidelberg platens, now working hard for us in our temporary studios outside of Bath, they truly are a couple of little beauties.
We've also made a few tweaks to the shop, a new colour scheme for the outside, a new display and a few more product lines. With more to come very soon!

A big thank you to all those who have supported us and helped us so far - here's to an even busier second year!

A bounty of beautiful cakes baked by the amazing Margaret Hill, 

and beautiful vintage crockery supplied by the oh so lovely Bristol Vintage.

 Our new colours for the outside of our shop, hopefully a much bolder look - it needed it.

The hard working boys back at our temporary studio.

Our ever increasing range of wonderful Rifle Paper stock (top), Exacompta FAF pads - for the classy note taker, our recent array of vintage Parker 51 fountain pens and the latest range of correspondence card designs from Rachel O'Reilly. 

New range hopefully coming in the new year!

Our recent display venture, inspired by old padded pin boards. An idea we thought would be good to help customers see and feel more of our samples. We will change around the samples regularly. 

Another new little display unit, an old bottle crate we sanded down and now use to display our gift wrap.

Wedding stationery - Sarah and Matthew

A beautiful wedding suite we created for a delightful couple, including wedding invitations, order of service booklets and a table plan for a classic, traditional wedding. 

The invitation was die-stamped with an engraved copper plate in two colours. The monogram was die stamped in metallic gold, followed by maroon die-stamped text, with a matching hand painted bevel edge, emphasized by the extra thick 700gsm board, and delicate tissue lined envelopes. 

We also produced the order of service booklet and a very grand looking table plan. Well it had to be to match such a grand venue, Bath Abbey. 

Stationery pictures (top) by Benkin.

Wedding day pictures (bottom) courtesy of David McGirr.

Win a wedding reminder!

Time is running out for all you would-be brides to win your dream wedding! 

Tickets for the Snapdragon Weddings Charity Raffle have been selling fast, raising lots of money for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Bath's RUH. Fear not though! We at Meticulous Ink still have tickets available to purchase in store until 19th October.

Raffle tickets cost £5 each and for this you could win your entire wedding. Kerry Heathcote, Director of Snapdragon Weddings has organised this incredible prize to raise money for an amazing charity, that has helped her and so many others:

 “I really wanted to do something to raise some money for the NICU, as my own little girl was born prematurely and needed NICU care. I know what a fantastic job the doctors and nurses in NICU do and I really hope we can raise a lot of money towards equipment for them."

Kerry has done a wonderful job and thought of every detail to create the perfect wedding - even the childcare! She herself will be coordinating the wedding for the winner, making it even easier for the lucky bride and groom.

If you can't make it to the store, you can now purchase raffle tickets online: www.justgiving.com/winawedding

For all the prize details visit www.snapdragonweddings.co.uk/raffle

The winning ticket will be drawn on 22nd October at the Autumn Charity Ball, which you can also purchase tickets for through the snapdragon website, www.snapdragonevents.co.uk.

Invitation - Matthew's 3rd Birthday.

A very enjoyable circus themed 3rd birthday party invitation we designed and printed recently.

This was printed in full colour high quality digital, with a plate sunk border. We mounted the board to give a finished weight of 680gsm, then added a beautiful bright blue bevel painted edge to link in with the bright blue text. As well as a matching envelope lining to complete a fun and exciting invitation.

Photography by Benkin.

New arrivals - Heidelberg heaven

Well it's been a little while since we last blogged anything, and I can now show part of the reason why...

After travelling the country looking for the perfect press, I finally found what I was looking for. Missing a few extras but still running magnificently, I decided to take the plunge and took it.
Unfortunately, not everything went as smoothly as I was hoping. About 3 miles from where the press was to be delivered, the palette upon which the press was strapped to cracked, causing the machine to topple onto it's side. A horrific sight, as you can see (1).

Luckily a quick minded driver stopped the thing from smashing onto the road, however it took us a little while to get the machine sorted, but has since been redelivered and sits safely on our studio floors.
Shortly after obtaining our first Heidelberg we managed to acquire another, slightly more well equipped version. Heidelberg platens are highly versatile, allowing us to die cut, print, fold, score and even make packaging all from one machine! They both now sit happily in our temporary studios outside of Bath.

Let the printing commence!

1. The heart wrenching arrival of our first Heidelberg, a bad day. 2. But it's safe re-delivery and collection soon calmed my inky nerves. 3. Our second press collected in person this time, and therefore all in one piece. 4. Our first press safely housed in our studios, waiting it's oily companion.   

The presses, all clean and ready to perform wonders on paper. Pictures by Benkin Photography.

Change of Address Cards - Liz Kingston.

It's amazing how effective just one colour can be, especially when accompanied by a nice deep impression and matching lined envelopes.

We printed and designed these change of address cards recently for one of our clients, and we were more than happy with the result.

Printed in dark pink on the ever effective Somerset Satin stock - a real winner when it comes to a good bite. Excellently typeset using Minion small caps (with old style figures), and a lovely woodtype ornament to give the card just that little something extra. 

As with every order we do, we do our upmost to package and present your stationery to a very high standard, here you can see every stage we take in meticulously packing your order.  

To discuss your stationery needs please call Meticulous Ink on 01225 333 004, or email info@meticulousink.com

Rifle Paper Co.

We are extremely proud to be one of the UK's larger stockists of Rifle Paper goods, so much so I thought I'd post a few pictures and a little info on the designer in tribute to our latest Rifle stock replenishment, visit us in Bath to see the goods and more!

Anna Bond is a highly talented illustrator and stationery designer from Winter Park, Florida. There she co-runs Rifle Paper Co with her husband Nathan, and their excellent team.
Her designs are really something else, and I can but almost wet myself with excitement when each Rifle order gets to us. Her faultless grasp of colour and composition really are an inspiration and I can't help a small amount of jealousy seep through from the overall spectacular originality and beauty of each item. If I could I would buy them all myself, but don't worry I won't.

The pictures say it all...

Be sure to check her blog for updates and inspirations.

Rifle 2012 calenders coming in November. More on those here and here.

Friday finds; Ilustrator Peter P. Plasencia

As illustrators and fans of illustration, I couldn't resist posting a few of Peter P. Plasencia's work after stumbling across a few pictures on ffffound. I'm so inspired by these pieces, taken from illustrations from futurist author Jules Verne's book The Man Who Invented the Future. I will have to admit, probably quite ashamedly so that I have never read any of Jules Verne's work. But now, and perhaps due to the inspirational images seen here, I think I will have to take a dip into some of his work (suggestions are welcome)!

Plasencia's use of perspective, composition and tone is fantastic, excellent inspiration for any illustrator who wants to achieve good depth and structure in their work.

Via Wardomatic and ffffound.

Wedding inspiration - Rumana and Devan

I am excited to finally be able to show you a beautiful letterpress invitation suite designed and printed here at Meticulous Ink for Rumana and Devan's Asian wedding. A joining of two cultures inspired the mendhi design at the top of the invitation, with the text kept simple. 

An added sparkle with a Swarovski crystal made the perfect finishing touch. 

The invitations were letterpress printed onto soft Somerset 100% cotton board, along with 

matching reply cards and return envelopes, all held together with a personalised wrap and tissue lined envelopes. 

The bride looked absolutely stunning on the big day, with a change of outfits for the evening celebrations. We hope you too will be inspired and wish the happy couple all the best.

Letterpress stationery suite, designed and printed by Meticulous Ink 

33 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BN. 01225 333 004

Charity wedding raffle.

Having agreed to recently take part in a very exciting stationery donation, it was only fair for us to let all you brides and grooms to be know about this amazing competition.

We have donated an entire stationery suite worth £1,247 to this charity wedding raffle, the raffle itself is raising money for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for premature babies at Bath's Royal United Hospital, through the Forever Friends charity. The Forever Friends charity raises funds for state of the art medical equipment and facilities over and above that provided by the NHS.

The wedding is worth in total over £20,000 and included in the first prize winnings is the venue at Bailbrook House, reception decor, photography, coordination, traditional stationery(ahem), videography, dress, bridesmaid dresses, evening entertainment, flowers, rings, prop hire, cake, childcare and hair and make up.

Our contribution to the first prize is the wedding stationery. This includes 50 letterpress day invitations, 50 letterpress evening invitations, 100 reply cards and 100 information sheets. We will be selling raffle tickets at Meticulous Ink H.Q. from the end of June, and the raffle itself will take place at Bailbrook House, Bath on the 22nd of October. We will also be keeping you all updated on this competition and blog with lot's more examples of the kind of thing we will be donating. Keep those peepers peeled!

For much more information please visit Snapdragon Weddings site here.

Here are some pictures to whet your appetites.

Friday finds - Antique stationery items

These splendid items were bestowed upon us by some relatives to offload some unwanted but un-throwawayable beauties.

I've always enjoyed the look of older pencil cases, such as these two cardboard cases, beautifully designed in a straightforward bold and almost austere fashion. We like it though, it talks volumes of the kind of design we love and always try to take inspiration from.

My favourite piece in this array of goods is the 'Weldon Roberts Eraser'. I love the design of this, and it's odd style too. Many of these pieces came from a relative who was an engineer during the 50's I think so perhaps this eraser is specific to engineering? Are we wrong to think this? Anyone?

Also along the line of engineering I'm almost certain these tiny rulers were used for that purpose. Well only because one has 'engine divided' on it. Also one has 1552 carved into it, surely not from the year 1552 is it?

Also included here is a pen nib box, pencil refills and some very old pattern binders which we presume were used for clothes pattern assembly. I must confess our knowledge on these items is restricted so if anyone can shed any light or interesting details about them we'd love to hear! 

Ridiculous vintage cakes.

We had to blog about this, just after looking through some inspiration for a circus themed birthday invite we are doing and came across this.
Not only is it the most dazzlingly simple cake decoration it is also strangely satisfying, and perhaps even slightly unsettling. We now have the urge to make one or two of these splendid vintage cakes!

                                                               Via www.modernkiddo.com

Friday Finds - Book embroidery by Jillian Tamaki

A virtual find today, and one we are extremely excited about.
We stumbled upon this through a tweet from @CrankyPressman - an openly stern and old fashioned letterpress print shop and bindery in Chicago, Illinois. They have a fantastic website and blog and take pride in 'breaking their backs to make you look good'. Great stuff.

The tweet linked to a blog posted back in March this year, but we just had to blog about this after stumbling upon it today.
Jillian Tamaki is an illustrator and cartoonist based in Brooklyn, NY. She teaches Art at the School of Visual Arts there and illustrates for magazines, books, newspapers and websites. She has also had a few books of her personal work published, including her debut publication with the always fantastic Drawn and Quarterly.

These pieces are particularly magnificent. They are not going to be sold as embroidered books(I don't think), but as high quality printed and embossed covers of these penguin classics. Not sure if they are available over here, but we're almost certain it would be worth the trip to pick one up!

More from Jillian on here blog and website.

Stationery by Rachel O'Reilly

We have the utmost pleasure in revealing the new line of letterpress correspondence cards designed for us by Miss Rachel O'Reilly. 
There are 5 new sets available, and as she puts it - "The motifs illustrate some of my favourite things; Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, The Ubiquitous Little-Red-Number, Jet Setting, Playing Your Cards Right (or keeping them close to your chest!!), and no range would be complete without the Cherry On Top!"
Rachel is a very talented designer, and also a fantastic jazz singer! More from Rachel here, and also to hear her dulcet tones listen here.


Each set includes 8 beautiful letterpress correspondence cards on a soft 100% cotton board. They also include matching deckle edge envelopes in red and a light dusty blue, 4 of each colour in a pack. 




Available now in store, or call or e-mail to order; 
info@meticulousink.com • 01225 333 004.


Etsy shop coming soon!

Friday finds - Wayzgoose finds

First of all, apologies for the lack of blogging lately. We've been very busy here and have struggled to find time for posting due to all the printing work we've had on. Recent printing work blog coming soon!

Last week I visited a Wayzgoose in Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds. Originally a Wayzgoose was an event marking the start of the season of working by candlelight, where entertainmant was put on by a master-printer for workmen around August.

It then later transformed into a yearly festival held by printing establishment employees. Now a Wayzgoose is a day for printers guilds to show and sell their work and/or equipment. Exciting stuff, well for me anyway.

The annual Wayzgoose in Chipping Campden is held by the Oxford Printers Guild and showcased a variety of the letterpress worlds finest printing presses and most important figures.

Lousia Hare/First Folio Cards 

I first met Lousia Hare, a lady who we have dealt with regularly before as we stock her fantastic letterpress Shakespeare greeting cards. She runs a Heidelberg using blocks and type to create these wonderful letterpress cards.













I then met Alan Brignull. Alan works mainly with Adanas to create beautiful letterpress prints. Especially stamps. He told me he usually has an old stamp dispensing machine with which he usually has these stamps available for purchase, a lovely idea, shame I couldn't see it though.
Alan runs Hedgehog press, Adanaland and also prints his 'Rambling Urchin' postcard keepsakes. More here.

Alan Brignull/The Hedgehog Press

I then managed to meet Graham Moss from Incline Press who I had come across from seeing his beautiful jam and marmalade labels. He runs workshops and sells beautifully printed books from his studio in Oldham.

Graham Moss/Incline Press

It always amazes me the size of the letterpress world in the UK, lovely people for a great resurging industry.

A lovely day - and if you haven't visited Chipping Campden before - I recommend it, fascinating place.