This truly is like the cherry on top! We had no idea we still have a chance to get into Dwell Magazine, the coveted magazine for architecture and design. It's been a few years since our home was completed in August of 2013 and as time passed, we were able to slowly acquire furniture and fixtures we wanted and were able to dial in the house to our liking. Living in the space made us aware of how we were using spaces and how the flow felt as we made it into our home. Our house is like an evolving work in progress always and we haven't even touched the landscaping our outdoor spaces yet.

Our living room in print in Dwell Magazine, Jul/Aug issue

The article talks about our journey of building a custom home during a recession. We started this project while we were still in our late 20s. What were we thinking? At the start we were brimming with ambition but as construction goes we were scraping by after we saw a good chunk of savings poured into concrete and casings. We didn't even have framing to show for yet! We were dragging to the "half a decade saga" as Dwell mentioned and took a year off during that time. During that year, we lived abroad in Munich, Germany. Richard was working on designs BMWi cars, an almost top secret project at the time, and I honed my printing skills in the motherland of printing. The time away from LA helped us to recoup finances and allowed to step away from a project we were deep into. We got married 2 months after moving back to LA and even have wedding photos of us in front of our construction site.

Editorial spread of the article 

While telling our story during the interview for this article, it made me nostalgic. Like any challenge overcome, it's that much sweeter in hindsight. Goodbye to the days of panic floods whenever it rained, frantically getting dressed because of construction workers stomping the grounds at 7:30am, a makeshift kitchen, intermittent periods with no water, annoyed and angry neighbors, endless dust, stressful inspections and stacks of invoices. I can go on and on.

It felt good writing a note to mom to insert into a copy of Dwell then sending it off in the mail. We heard back from her as soon as she got it. 

In case you don't get Dwell in print, the folks over at the magazine were polite to send us a digital version of the article.
Check out the link below to see the article and for more photos.

Special Thank You to
Michael Friberg for the photos and spending the entire day with us from first to last light
Jessica Comingore for house styling the night before until 10:30p
DevCon Construction for building our home and putting up with us
 

Click here for the full PDF of the editorial spread

 

A wedding invitation is usually the first decision a couple makes that so publicly reflects their taste and the tenor of their wedding. At best, invitations should infer a sense of elegance and originality. At worst, they can look like a mere afterthought.

- Vera Wang

We did it all!

I love it when a bride is just as excited about paper as I am!

For Kyly and Ryan wedding in Johannesburg, South Africa, one of the few personal touches that could fit into a luggage was the wedding paper.  Earlier in the year, we designed and printed their wedding invitations far in advance for their guests to attend this once-in-a-lifetime safari wedding. As the wedding weekend neared we worked on various pieces to make each guest's experience extra special for making the long trip.

Throughout the design process, I kept the palette neutral in a "safari chic" style. To add texture, we played with different papers and mixed letterpress printed pieces with digital flat prints.  Each guest received a special note handwritten by the bride and groom upon their arrival on letterpressed stationery enclosed with a wax seal. The personal touches, all ideas from the bride, really made each guest feel the warmest welcome.

Keep scrolling to see paper details from rehearsal dinner, wedding program + menu and even down to the napkins.

This is a first for so much paper to go quite the distance from Los Angeles to Johannesburg.
I'm so honored to have been a huge part of their wedding in a paper kind of way. Thank you Kyly and Ryan!

Design, printing and calligraphy by Presshaus LA

Wax sealed

Pressed quote on envelope flap

Custom letterpress printed stationery

Foil stamped detail on natural napkins

Wedding menu + place card

Wedding dinner menu + place card

Wedding program (letterpress)  / front and back

Rehearsal dinner paper setup

My beloved friends at Individual Medley, a lifestyle store located just minutes from the studio, spent the afternoon with me to print a run of their hand-carved Thank You card. They watched  the process of letterpress printing from start to finish from cutting paper,  press setup,  inking and proofing.  The block was carved by Annika Bushman exclusively for IM and I was asked to see if it was at all possible to print with it on the press. Of course it will work! It's type high at .918 (nerdy printer talk).

Click below for more images + a Q&A.

Danke schön Monica + Crystal @ Individual Medley and to Stephanie for the amazing photos

Last month right before Thanksgiving break we stepped out of the usual studio to be a part of an even hosted by MINI. They created a 2-day event at the Millwick in Downtown LA celebrating craftsmen as a part of the premiere for the all-new MINI Clubman.

Showcasing the craft of letterpress printing without bringing our 1400 pound press, we brought as much of our studio to the event. We packed up our ink, aprons, samples of letterpress printing, wood and metal type and even managed to lift our 100 year old and over 100 pound tabletop press.

We printed a few printed pieces including a postcard showing the different generations of MINI Clubmans and a tiny card for a luggage tag. Guests of the event we sending postcards directly from the event just to say a little hello via snail mail. By the end of event, we had a tall stack of postcards ready to be stamped and mailed out.

Big thanks to MINI and Campos Creative for having be a part of this!! We're so honored!
Check out more photos on the MINI website.