Letterpress is one of the earliest forms of printing text on paper. Circa 1439 Johann Gutenberg was the father of letterpress printing in Europe, but the Chinese had developed similar types of relief printing as early as the 2nd century A.D. The Letterpress printing process is printing in which the raised surface of type and/or images are inked and then pressed against the paper to obtain an image in reverse. Historically this raised surface was movable type (characters cast as individual letter forms in wood or metal) where each letter was placed by hand to form the words and images. Here at elum we use photopolymer plates to create the raised surface. The artwork is created digitally and then we transfer the work to film and use the film to expose the plates. This allows us to create the artwork and typefaces we specifically want.

During the printing process the “plates” are inked and pressed into the paper to create a canyon of space where the ink is then deposited into the bottom of this impression. Only the most skilled and precise process keeps the walls of impression clean and the bottom filled with a thick and even layer of ink. The high contrast of the color and shadow created by the ink filled impression and clean walls gives letterpress its distinct allure and charm. At elum we pride ourselves on our ability to produce the finest example of letterpress printing. Our process is labor intensive and each item is run through the press one at a time. This is a time consuming process which has been forsaken for faster and cheaper processes such as offset and thermograpy printing. We have preserved this traditional way of printing and inherent in our process is the visible craftsmanship, skill, and handmade care that is obvious in every single piece.

Subtext’s Beasts of Burden show opened this weekend, and people turned out in numbers to get a look at some of the amazing customs on display. Many artists and friends of Subtext were in attendance including Tessar Lo, Chris Ryniak, Yoskay Yamamoto, Nate Frizzell, Patrick Ballesteros, N.C. Winters, Haubs, Colby Nichols, Alex Willan, Zakka and Rae from Zakkamono, Angry Woebots, Joel Nakamura, Kirby and Whitney from Rotofuji & more. If you missed the show, and are interested in a piece, check the preview below for availability. Subtext will have a handful of Yokas that will be on display at Subtext for the next week.

View a full preview of the show

Participating artists include: Doktor A, Cameron Tiede, Scribe, Daniel Fleres, N.C. Winters, Abe Lincoln Jr., Bucky Lastard, Kelly Vivanco, Colby Nichols, Angelina Wrona, Scott Altmann, Tessar Lo, Chris Ryniak, Tom Haubrick, Munk One, Josh Kenyon, Patrick Ballesteros, Camilla d’Errico, Alex Willan, Phu!, Dave Chung, Andrew Holder, SatOne, Steve Chanks, N8 Van Dyke, Yoksay Yamamoto, Nate Frizzell, Alisa Ross, Aaron Thomas, & Sita Lawton, & Long Lé from Elum Designs.

She also makes other adorable cookies such as these diamond rings,

as well as a number of lovely sugar decorations which you can apply yourself, such as these adorable song birds.

There are also non-wedding-y treats such as these cool fondant bones.

Wendy also makes beautiful wedding cakes and recently co-authored Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes (Clarkson Potter 2007). View and order her lovely creations or read more about Wendy Kromer here.

I love, love, LOVE the calligraphy of Betsy Dunlap! It is beautiful, quirky and whimsical. Her hand lettering would be so lovely for your wedding invitations, seating cards, or special event. You can contact her here for pricing and custom work.

This is just one of the two massive crates that we had shipped to NY from California. Just to give you a reference as to the size of this, the crate measures 11 feet long by 6 feet wide by 6.5 feet tall. Its big, very big!

Here we are unpacking the crates and laying out some of the walls, you can see the center cabinet wrapped in bubble and shrink wrap.

The rest of these are pictures of the finished booth with all of the product, both new and old, delicately placed on the shelves and displays. Pretty cool!!

Our brand new wood-grain desk won the Best New Product Award at the show in the “Think Green” Desk Accessory category.

I love these Thomas Paul totes. Oversized, bold prints are just my style. They are roomy, durable and stylish. A perfect companion for Farmers’ Market and equally great for the beach! My favorite is Kabuki in black, available for purchase here at Design Public. View the entire collection here.