To certify my love.

For the Los Angeles boutique, Vivier and Bentley, owned by accessory designers Kathryn Bentley and Clare Vivier, we hand-letterpressed over-sized gift certificates for the shop, featuring their signature monogram. Each certificate was printed in deep navy blue on recycled French paper, and ultimately given to the recipient in a kraft paper policy envelope, closed with a string-tie.

Vivier and Bentley also holds a sacred place in our hearts, as they carry a selection of our cards. So next time you're bopping around Silver Lake, be sure to stop in and have your eyes dazzled by all the beautiful bags, jewels, and letterpress love on display. Better yet . . . buy that foxy lady in your life one of these sweet certificates, for heartfelt accoutrement from one of the most soulfully chic boutiques in town.Some of current Thunderwing designs featured at V & B can be viewed here.

Cards on Film.

We've designed business cards for über-talented, Sydney, Australia based fashion photographer, Tim Ashton. Each card was hand-letterpressed on a heavy white cotton stock, and designed with a nod to minimal op-art and old-fashioned trade signage. We chose the blind letterpress printing method due to its accentuation of contrast and light-play . . . qualities inherent in great photography, like Tim's.
Some of Ashton's beautiful work can be seen here, And for those who haven't yet viewed the beautiful process video he filmed about our studio last year, feast your eyes . . .

All beautiful photos: Tim Ashton, naturally.

Cards of a Feather.

As a new year's gift for clients and friends, we designed a card-set in the shape of a feather and Oak leaf, to bring a bit of the beautiful Hudson Valley into the lives of those we adore. We wanted the cards to feel more like figural keepsakes, to be hung as ornaments for the holidays and beyond.

J.B. illustrated both the feather and the leaf in a calligraphic style, rendered initially by hand, then hot stamped onto thick paper in gold and silver metallic foils. We then had the ornaments cut into their given shapes, and bound them together with antique linen string, acquired on our last voyage to Paris.
Each set was enclosed in a legal-sized envelope, stamped on the flap in metallic gold foil with the word "Peace". We displayed the sets at our holiday open studio, and to our joy, they practically flew out the door, just like the hawk feather found in our garden, that inspired the idea in the first place.

Cocktails, Cookies & Cards.

A very merry merci to all those who attended our holiday open studio on Dec. 17th. We had such a blast sharing our latest cards, crafts and spiked cider with everyone, that we've decided to make it an annual event. We're currently scouting locations for our first official pop-up shop, which we plan to open later this year.

Here are some photos of our festive gathering at Thunderwing HQ . . .

Letterpress love and an inspiring new year to all!

Having a Soulful Holiday.

Office Holiday Party.

Please join us for a cozy afternoon of holiday cocktails, one-of-a-kind crafts and hand-letterpressed cards at our 1st open studio soirée!

Saturday, December, 17th
2-5pm

Our studio is located In the beautiful Hamlet of Garrison, NY
(1 hr. North of Manhattan on the Hudson Line from Grand Central).

RSVP: ThunderwingPress@gmail.com

~ J.B. + Nic

Summer Lovers.

Brilliantly simple letterpressed postcards for the Brooklyn record shop Co-Op 87, which stocks limited edition vinyl from the collectible label Mexican Summer, known for their ornately packaged re-issues of vintage experimental rock and electronic vibes, many of which are exclusive to the store.

We distressed their signature logo to give it a '70s Xeroxed-flyer feel. The postcards were letterpressed 4-at-a-time on a single sheet of felted paper, then each sheet was perforated twice. This technique enabled the sheets to be run through the shop's laser printer, after which the cards can be pulled-apart easily for individual distribution.

So be sure to visit the shop when in Bklyn, and if you want to know which dreamy platters to pick up, we highly recommend Honey Devash by Date Palms (pictured above), and Parellelograms by Linda Perhacs . . . both currently in heavy rotation at Thunderwing HQ.

Co-Op 87
Guernsey St.,
Brooklyn 11222

Birds of a Feather . . .

We're thrilled to announce that a special collection of our hand-letterpressed cards are currently available at the beautifully curated Los Angeles boutique, Vivier and Bentley.

The boutique is owned by Kathryn Bentley (designer of Dream Collective and her namesake jewelry line), and Clare Vivier (creator of the now-iconic leather handbag line). We're proud to have our work featured alongside such talent and exquisite craftsmanship.

Vivier and Bentley:
1404 Micheltorena, Silverlake, CA 90026
Monday—Saturday
323.665.2476

Photos: Lizzie + Moira Brandt

Tracy + Stephen, Part Two: Electric Boogaloo.

Our friends, Stephen & Tracy, are so in love that they needed two ceremonies to fully celebrate their cosmic connection . . . one on the beach in Malibu, California (previously mused about here), and one for close family on Stephen’s beloved aunt & uncle’s farm in Indiana.

Based on their wish to have an old-time romantic look for the ceremony, and the fact that they were wed in a cozy rural setting, we designed an invitation inspired by antique ephemeral pamphlets found in country general stores. All our design cues stemmed from turn-of-the-century Farmer's Almanacs, so we utilized typefaces and decorative elements found in our collection of Victorian books.

The 6-page custom-designed invitations were printed on soft vanilla-colored paper, with the cover a thicker weight paperstock, and each booklet was bound with a linen string. For the RSVP card, we perforated the back page of the book to make a detachable postcard that could be sent back to the bride & groom.

For the save the dates, we designed and letterpressed postcards inspired by antique flower-seed packets, each printed in chocolate brown ink on recycled kraft paper.

Wedding portrait: Courtney Brooke

Addressing the situation.

Let it be known that we also love to address the invitations we design in hand-drawn calligraphy, done with old-fashioned quill & ink, of course. And though our script-style is less than traditional, it is nonetheless whimsical and romantic. Here are some examples of recent projects we have covered in our fancy graffiti . . .

Love in Bloom.

For lovely newlyweds and childhood sweethearts, Heather & Alex, we created a chic custom-designed black-and-white letterpressed invitation suite, as classically elegant as the couple themselves. Heather writes for the Huffington Post as well as her own lifestyle blog, LA In Bloom, and Alex is a social media consultant, but together they own the Los Angeles art gallery, Taylor De Cordoba. Inspired and inspiring, their lives are full of dreamy West Coast road trips, a posse of talented friends, and creative homemade meals in their boho garden. Given their cozy lifestyle, we wanted to infuse the design with subtle style cues taken from the things they love . . . rustic California architecture, the beauty of Mexican florals, mid-century pottery, hiking in Ojai, handcrafted art, and the exquisiteness of fine food.

We designed six pieces for the suite, including; a hand-lettepressed postcard save-the-date, folded invitation tied with black silk-satin ribbon, RSVP postcard, place-cards signed in hand-calligraphy (by yours truly), table numbers, and menus.

Special attention was paid to the creation of the letters used in their monogram, along with each digit of their table numbers, as we custom illustrated each specimen using fragments of a vintage floral pattern found in a book on rare antique wood typography.

Congrats, lovelies!

Photo: Photo of Taylor & De Cordoba by Nancy Neil for Martha Stewart Weddings

So Stoned.

If the fifteen year old Nic had been told that one day he'd be designing personal stationery as a birthday gift for Pearl Jam's, Stone Gossard, he wouldn't have believed his luck. So essentially, in Nic's rock 'n roll soul, this design project is the fulfillment of a longtime dream.

Stone's stationery suite was a gift from his lovely lady, and we were inspired by photos she'd shared with us of the beautiful nature surrounding his lake-side home, as well as his collection of classic mid-century decor. She also told us a story about how Stone had become enamored with a gnarled piece of driftwood that had washed up near the house, which now sits atop a rustic table. So, using a turn-of-the-century woodcut as inspiration, we designed a custom driftwood icon, that we paired with a strong and classic serif typeface, for an elegantly minimal vibe.


It was very important to Stone that each element be crafted using sustainable materials, so we hand-letterpressed the deckle edged cream stock, stone grey note cards, and the kraft envelopes bearing his return address, on 100% Recycled papers, in deep brown ink. We also created custom gift wrapping for the suite, using natural hand-made papers embedded with dried ferns and leaves, and then tied each package with jute, using stones we found around our cottage as fasteners.

Off to re-live the idealistic '90s, while watching all the rare footage in Cameron Crowe's new documentary, Pearl Jam Twenty, which, from what we hear, is awesome.

Fair Share.

Last weekend, after returning from a month-long European inspiration-vacation, we flew into DC to pick-up our beloved Pug (who was staying with family), and on the drive home to NY, we pulled-over for snacks on the New Jersey Turnpike, and I was surprised to see the October issue of Vanity Fair on the magazine rack, alongside pine-tree scented air-fresheners and Garden State souvenirs.

Even more surprising was flipping through the Fanfair section, and reading our name listed as stationer of choice to über-chic blogger/fashion photographer duo, Garance Doré and Scott Schuman = zut alors! And to be listed alongside Smythson of Bond Street truly made our hearts skip a beat.

So, merci, Garance & Scott! We're beyond honored to be admired by such discerning (and lovely) eyes.

Thunderwing in Bloom.

We're thrilled that one of our newest custom designs is currently being featured on writer/art gallerist/style icon Heather Taylor's beautiful blog, LA in Bloom. Heather is offering a 12-piece set of the special "thank you" cards in an exclusive give-a-way, so be sure to check her site for further details.

The design of the cards was a manifestation of our obsession with rare vintage typography, as well as our love of antique arrows. We created romantic customized type, which we hand-letterpressed using our antique Chandler & Price press, on Holyoke 100% cotton paper, printed in metallic gold ink.

So to those hoping to win a set . . . we wish you bonne chance!

Voyage d'amour.

For the Autumn marriage of Chisato & Alex, a lovely, jet-setting Manhattan-based duo, we created a seven-piece invitation suite inspired by their love of travel, Machine Age design, and antique paper ephemera.

The invitation elements were housed in hand-made boxes inspired by antique cigar packaging and vintage valises. Each box was covered in recycled butcher-paper, hot-stamped in metallic silver foil with the date and location of their nuptials, then sealed closed with an Art Deco luggage label-inspired sticker.

We wanted each guest to feel as if they were opening a luxe steamer trunk, custom packed for their magical one-night voyage . . . filled with precious accoutrement, each piece crafted of a different paper or fabric, for a uniquely tactile experience.Inside each box, guests received;

~ A folded invitation printed in silver and gold metallic inks, held in a glassine envelope tied with striped baker's twine, and stamped with a custom-made wax seal featuring a '30s jetliner and the couples names.

~ RSVP postcard inspired by vintage Par Avion envelopes, letterpressed, and die-cut into the shape of a luggage tag.

~ Letterpressed envelope holding several blank pages of vintage stationery, for each guest to cover in an art piece and/or memory they'd like to share with the couple, which we will later group together to be hand-bound into a custom guestbook.

~ New York City souvenir postcard, featuring a gorgeous scenic watercolor on the front, painted by genius NY-based artist, Christopher Young, along with letterpressed vintage typography in gold ink on the back.

~ Cotton handkerchief silkscreened with a custom-designed map to the wedding location (The Foundry, Long Island City, NY), also designed by Christopher Young (photos to be included shortly).

Invites were sent to guests in a recycled-paper-padded envelope, hand-stamped with the couples return address.

This elaborate suite was one of the most inspiring projects we've created thus far, aided by clients as enthusiastic and open-minded as Chisato + Alex. They dared us to go overboard, and we always adore a good challenge. We wish them bon voyage on the endless sea of love.

Cool Whip.

For Sweet Gwendoline, an apparel brand based on a character from John Willie's naughty 1950s comic strips, we created a sinister logotype and brand identity, incorporating customized fetish-inspired type, as well as Willie's original illustrations.

Sweet Gwendoline was also regularly featured in Willie's infamous underground magazine, Bizarre (compiled and re-published by Taschen in 2005), and was considered to be the most famous bondage pin-up next to Bettie Page, throughout the 1950s.

For the business cards, we used two printing processes: jet-black offset lithography on matte paper, along with shiny-black thermography for the bodice . . . resulting in a texture resembling black patent-leather, of course.