round letterpress business cards
behind the scenes, etsy, funky print studio story, letterpress, letterpress business cards, letterpress calling cards, letterpress cards, letterpress stationery, letterpress tags, letterpress wedding invitations, pantone

Letterpress wedding invitations, business cards, custom designs & life lately

There are a lot (looooot!) of things going on at our end lately, so obviously, there’s no more time to update this blog as often as i’d want to. That’s why i kinda took it to Instagram for “live updates”. It’s a lot easier than to plan a whole blog post. And i get to share with you the latest projects we’re working on while we’re actually working on them!

There were so many great projects we took on lately that i’m not sure how i’m going to write a separate blog post for each one… Therefore, this one will be a general introduction for several of them.

We worked on some custom bow tie boxes that we hot foil printed on! This was actually the first hot foil printing project we took and they turned out so cute!! We made some samples with the foil we had available at the time, so we used silver, gold, copper, matte red and a dark brown.

hot foil boxesSince then we actually took on several other hot foil projects and i’m so very excited about this! They turn out so beautiful and elegant that i decided to change my own business cards and make them entirely hot foil!

Then we worked on a set of business cards and tags and we used a unique ink color here; very delicate and subtle and incredibly difficult to recreate actually! :)

letterpress business cards and tagsletterpress business cards and tagsThe above is Gemma’s photo and you can see pictures of her amazing work over here.

We actually hand mixed the ink so that it would get to the hue she was after and we were thrilled that she was happy with the result!

Then we worked on a couple of round business cards and i’m starting to like them more and more (actually we just took on another project involving round business cards!).

round letterpress business cardsround letterpress business cardsI was a bit nervous when we worked on the Arisdot letterpress project. Usually letterpress doesn’t work well with large portions of pressed paper, but they actually turned out great! Not only that, but we took on another similar project with pressed background and that one too turned out great!

After that we took on a custom design project that i totally loved and we were praised for!

custom letterpress business cardsFinally, the last project i’ll introduce to you here is a custom design letterpress wedding invitation. Well actually it’s an engagement invitation to be more precise.

letterpress wedding invitationThese are only a few of the projects we worked on lately, but there are so many others i have to talk about! I decided i have to have a separate blog post for all the hot foil projects we did and another one for all the projects involving edge painting. I absolutely love edge painting!

Hopefully i’ll be able to update this more often!
The Funky Studio team wishes you, as always, a colorful day!

an2

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letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle
behind the scenes, etsy, funky print studio story, letterpress, letterpress cards, letterpress stationery, letterpress tags

[Behind the scenes] Custom letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle

We printed the letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle back in August right after we came back from our vacation. It was definitely a great project to transition back in to working mode!

Since we’re still quite at the beginning of our letterpress journey, each project still brings something new and exciting. This time around, we got to use our gold – copper – light brown ink that sparkles in the sunlight and i’m totally in love with! Also, there was a bit of die-cutting and hole punching as well so that we’d get beautiful and elegant letterpress hang tags to match the style of Lulu & Belle. Moreover, we didn’t use the standard 450gsm card stock, but even thicker 600gsm one. It was a real pleasure working on this project and i was really happy to find that the tags were very well liked!

Here are the short technical details for the custom letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle:

  • 600gsm duplexed Snow White card stock, one side printing, 2 x 6 cm, one ink color – gold / copper / light brown, die cutting (rounded corners), hole punching
letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle
Letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle. Photo by Lulu & Belle
letterpress tags
Letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle. Photo by Lulu & Belle
letterpress tags
Letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belle. Photo by Lulu & Belle

letterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belleletterpress hang tags for Lulu & Belleletterpress tags

I was even happier when i received the first three photos with the letterpress tags actually being used alongside the wonderful Lulu & Belle jewelry. Thank you so much, Sandra!

Lulu & Belle is the place to go when searching for exquisite vintage jewelry. They search the world trying to find the best pieces out there and they restore them to their former glory so that they can be worn and cherished once again. You’ll surely find the perfect gifts for vintage jewelry enthusiasts, but also pieces that can be worn during very special occasions. Check out their website and get ready to be amazed!

The Funky Studio team wishes you, as always, a colorful day!

an2

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letterpress business cards
artist interview, etsy

Interview with Ali of BURNISH + BONE Osteological Taphonomy. Interesting, uncommon, fascinating!

The interview with Ali of BURNISH + BONE Osteological Taphonomy follows the article in which i talked a little about creating her custom letterpress business cards. I promised then i would be back with inside info directly from the crafter herself. Luckily she accepted to share her story and details regarding the not so common activity she does.

BURNISH + BONE is all about cleaning and preserving animal bones, skulls, claws, tusks, teeth and horns for hunters, pet owners, collectors and enthusiasts. This is something that would catch anyone’s attention, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg! Ali’s interview will reveal a bunch of interesting details about this activity, so without further ado, please enjoy the read!

interview BURNISH BONE
“I received some beautiful custom letterpress business cards.”

1. Tell us something about yourself as a person and also as an artist and a crafter.

I love a good story, especially a good mystery. I think that’s why I like bones — they leave so much to the imagination, you can’t help but create stories around them. Likewise, artifacts of the past invariably teach us about our history, but also our present, and maybe our future. Preserving those moments and stories and learnings to share with other people so that they may feel and learn in their own ways is what really motivates me as an artist and craftsperson.

2. How did you start your business and how did you choose to create the particular items that you make? How did you first get interested in this field?

My business started as hobby that I learned for myself as a young person. When I was a teenager, my grandfather gave me a bear skull from a hunting expedition of his. I was delighted! However, after some time, I noticed it started to discolour and decay. I was desperate to preserve the thing, and so I taught myself how. Long story short, I fell in love with the process and kept doing it more and more. I guess I found a bit of niche market of people who dig it as much as I do.

3. Can you share a little inside info on the actual process of getting the skulls and bones to a finished sellable product? Basically the short version of the journey they go through from the time they get to you and until they leave your studio.

This usually depends on the state that I receive the specimen. If it is still fleshy, it lives outside for a while in a special box to let nature’s little critters clean it up as much as possible for me. This can sometimes take three months given the “freshness” of the skull. Once I think it’s had enough, I bring it in for a lot of soaking in different solutions of environmentally-friendly agents to degrease the bone from the inside out. Once the skull is nearly transparent, I leave it to dry in the sun for a period of time to whiten. Then I start detailing it; gluing the teeth back in, etc. As well as applying several protective finishes to the final product to give it a nice lustre and to protect it from water damage. No paint, no bleach, no varnish. Ick.

interview BURNISH BONE
“that’s why I like bones — they leave so much to the imagination, you can’t help but create stories around them.”

4. What would you say are the main aspects that characterize your work?

Water. Soap. and Glue. My studio always has this funky, sweaty, fresh laundry smell.

5. As an artist, crafter and seller, what were the biggest struggles you had to deal with in the past, but also at present?

The traditions we hold for the dead are very firmly sequestered in people’s minds, and getting people to open up to new perspectives of memorializing the deceased are challenging in their delicate and emotional nature.

6. What is the accomplishment you’re most proud of regarding your work?

Simply providing people with a new way to share and remember their stories and memories, and allowing them to proudly display the remains of their fallen animal brothers, rather than stowing them away in a dusty urn is a reward. For me, it’s like giving breath to the dead.

7. What are your plans for the future of your business?

I would like to have more retail stock for collectors to balance my commission-based work.

8. What did you purchase from Funky Box Studio and / or Funky Print Studio?

I received some beautiful custom letterpress business cards.

9. How did you come by FBS / FPS? (recommendation, google search, etsy etc.)

I saw them on Etsy and thought, “Romania? Cool!”

10. Please tell us your general opinion on the purchased items.

So so so impressed. Really, they are precisely what I wanted. Service, quality… everything, five stars. Top notch.

11. Also, what did you think of your interaction with FBS / FPS from a customer service point of view?

Communicating with Andreea was like talking with my best friend. I could tell she was genuinely concerned about the outcome of my business cards, and wanted to make sure I was 100% happy. And she did :) I am 120% happy!

interview BURNISH BONE
Double sided letterpress business cards BURNISH + BONE

Check out further details on Ali’s website.

The Funky Studio team wishes you, as always, a colorful day!

an2

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double sided letterpress business cards
behind the scenes, etsy, funky print studio story, letterpress, letterpress business cards

[Behind the scenes] Custom letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM

After publishing the interview with Femke, the artist behind Dutch Origin Design by FEM, it’s time i talked a little about the whole creation process of her custom letterpress business cards.

As mentioned in the interview, these business cards were the very first that Charlotte (our Heidelberg Tiegel letterpress printing machine) and us ever made. We officially opened Funky Print Studio and this website on the 1st of March, but we actually got our printing machine at some point at the end of last year. That was when Femke contacted us initially only looking for personalized hang tags and boxes. Well one thing led to another and the initial order was upgraded with some simple and elegant double sided printed letterpress business cards.

It was a bit of a challenge since it was our very first time printing on our Heidelberg, but the letterpress business cards turned out beautiful!

Short technical details of the custom letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM:

– 450gsm Snow White card stock, double sided printing, 8.5 x 5.5cm, black ink

polymer plate for custom letterpress business cards
Polymer plate

It was late at night, there was no light and i kept taking photos with my phone… hence the photo quality. However, i didn’t want to miss any moment of Charlotte’s first custom letterpress business cards.

custom letterpress business cards
Double sided letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM
custom letterpress business cards
Double sided letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM
custom letterpress business cards
Double sided letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM
custom letterpress business cards
Double sided letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM
custom letterpress business cards
Double sided letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM
custom letterpress business cards
Double sided letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM
custom letterpress business cards
Double sided letterpress business cards for Dutch Origin Design by FEM

Femke is an incredibly talented artist and crafter and you can find out more about her story in her interview that she was kind enough to do. Also, visit Femke’s website to see her creations!

The Funky Studio team wishes you, as always, a colorful day!

an2

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