Letterpress Business Cards - Cambie Design

A few months ago, I had the supreme pleasure of whipping up some custom business cards for a great friend of mine. She left to go out east for the summer, working her creative design magic on a wonderful hostel, Skerwink Hostel, in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. The hostel is geared at a younger crowd but that didn't mean the owners wanted juvenile interiors. They commissioned Cambie Design to bring together a look that was thoughtful and whimsical while staying true to its coastal location.
I have been watching the projects develop all summer - you can check them out here! It's been such a treat to see Camille's creativity keep growing. She constantly surprises me with her fresh and clever ideas.

The blind impression

Hand-mixed ink

The inspiration

But back to the beginning of June. I worked on the cards above one night, literally between work and getting ready to leave town for one week. It was a bit of a rush job because I wanted the plates (for the printing) to be on their way for processing before my vacation so I could come back and print them on the last day I had off before Camille left town. After some brain-storming we ended up landing on the idea of doing a blind (no ink) impression on one side and her contact info on the other side, done in a pale grey, which was actually inspired by an Essie nailcolour we both bought at the same time in different  cities (weird, right?). I spent an afternoon printing them over at Snap & Tumble's lovely studio. I think they came out beautifully. Simple, chic and I like to think quite special.

Camille tweaked the backs with hand-applied watercolour. She's that good!

Sweet Inspirations

My husband is a musician. 
He loves music, makes music, analyzes music and must be in close proximity to music most of the time. I remember when we first started dating, I went to see one of his shows and he covered one of my favourite songs (smooth moves, eh?). It has been really great to be around someone who is so passionate about his craft. He constantly wants to get better, write more and just be able to perform. He's exposed me to a ton of music I never knew and I've learned a lot about subjects I would have never thought about before as he's also trained in theatre. He is the only person who has heard me/made me sing like I mean it, though I won't admit it. 
A couple of years ago he won a Singer/Songwriter competition at Maxwell's Music House and was asked back this year to serve as a judge. I thought to make him a few little business cards just in case he wanted to "network."
I picked up some printed paper - it looks almost like wood veneer, doesn't it? - and went at it with the typewriter. I like their simplicity and I think the paper added just enough interest. 
He liked them too!


Chris is playing tonight if anyone is in the Waterloo, Ontario area and I'm getting set to get spoiled with some live music. I'm very lucky sometimes!

Handmade Suite Henry

This past Saturday, I had the immense pleasure of attending the Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup. It was a night of good food, good conversation and a lot of "so that's you! I've been wondering what you'd be like." This is what happens when online communities get together in 3D! It was really great to get to know some people I've read before and to meet other new bloggers.


It did occur to me earlier in the week (umm, like Thursday) that I might need tangible cards to hand out with my blog information. So knowing that there was no way I could get anything printed (anywhere) in two and a half days, I picked up some nice and heavy cardstock and decided to tackle them by hand and typewriter. Word to the wise, never never convince yourself that using an exacto knife to cut paper will be accurate or worth the time. You'll spend so much time correcting slightly slanted lines and slowly eat away at perfectly good cards. 


I used my Suite Henry stamps for the front of the cards and my trusty typewriter to jot down my information on the back. At first, I was just going to do a simple, suitehenry stamp on the front and call it a day but out of imperfections came inspiration. After a few botched attempts, I started to stamp repeatedly on the front of the cards and produced a really chaotic, graphic look. I'm a sucker for repetition and bold design so this was right up my alley. Each card was different and original.
My humble efforts were rewarded when they were well-received by the lovely group on Saturday. Bonus points to all the people who noticed the quality of the paper. I think I found some new friends ;)






P.S. that last shot is of a vintage bag I found years ago that conveniently had a card holder. I could keep my purse closed while leaving the pockette out, keeping the cards accessible - which helped as I tried to juggle a drink, hors d'oeuvres and shaking hands.