your letterpress by joie studio

gorgeous multi-panel invite

my crush on letterpress is well established and one of my splurges for h|h's makeover was to have my lovely new logo dispatched to miemiko to be letterpressed. the design, which was already gorgeous in the digital previews sent by my designer (aloha john!), became even more charming once pressed into paper . . . the girly tagline typeface became a bit more ooh la la while all the little design details popped even more after its inky impression.

you can imagine my delight when tina from la-based joie studio recently wrote in with news of her latest project catering to diy brides and grooms as well as letterpress devotees armed with a design but lacking a printing press. the just launched your letterpress happily aims to make letterpress more accessible and puts tina's expertise and machinery at your disposal to produce already crafted designs made by you or your designer.

simply send along your print-ready specs over for review and, once approved, tina will handle all the details from ordering plates to custom mixing inks and pressing your invites. she'll even send along a video of your project in the midst of its creation and your letterpress plates as a keepsake upon completion.

invites designed by shop toast

monogram coasters

the menu includes flat and folded invites, save-the-dates, rsvp's, custom stationery and business cards. pricing is competitive with semi-custom digitally printed invitations, and tina also offers design services for an additional charge if you happen to be lacking a layout.

in other news, joie studio's etsy shop has reopened with a handful of new offerings including monogrammed coasters for your summer soirées and alphabet prints for your little ones.

were you lucky enough to send out letterpress invites for your wedding?

and the winners are . . .

emma from washington d.c. and carly from nyc! the two lucky lovelies will be among the handful of peeps enjoying joie studio's limited edition 2010 luxe letterpress calendars perched atop their desktops this year.

thank you to everyone who entered and for all the wishes for a happy new year! as expected, many readers coveted joie's fabulous calendars and, alas, i suspect that they are sold out for the year as tina only planned a small run since this was her first holiday with her little one.

my apologies for the delay in posting the winner list. i have been completely distracted by a project which will hopefully be revealed by month's end so posting on h|h will be intermittent until then. in the meantime, please click over to the official facebook page or twitter where sales will be posted until life settles down (fyi: you should still be able to take a peek even if you do not have a fb or twitter account).

happy weekend to you all!

{many mahalos tina!}

joie studio new year giveaway

hau'oli makahiki hou! hope everyone enjoyed the loveliest of holidays and happened to catch a peek of the brilliant blue moon floating high up in the sky last night before the first decade of the millennium slipped into the history books.

i had a chance to visit with tina from joie studio while scooping up xmas gifting during uniqueLA a few weeks ago, and she kindly sent me on my way with a new year's surprise just for the h|h 'ohana. two lucky readers will be absolutely delighted to greet each new month throughout 2010 with joie's super limited edition luxe letterpress calendar (retail: $20) plus a handful of coasters rocking a letterpressed pineapple design.

only 125 calendars rolled through joie's presses for 2010 so make a wish and follow the fine print below on how to enter:

• email your name & current hometown to: aloha [at] hapahale [dot] com by mon, jan 4th
• please put joie studio 2010 giveaway in the subject
• one entry per person/household

winner will be announced next tuesday.

good luck!

{update: winner list posted}

introducing: sleep under stars

sweet birthday lei

i happened upon the sleep under stars etsy shop last week and found myself instantly charmed by the delightful paper goods line with a sweet hint of the islands. kate, the mililani girl (now based in the bay area) who launched the eco-friendly stationery last month, is a former magazine designer and based the playful designs found throughout the collection on her own watercolors and sketches (occasionally, a hand painted detail will find its way onto a card for an unexpected note of whimsy).

sleep under stars' extended 'ohana is filled with cuddly creatures reminiscent of childhood companions who, although stuffed, are always ready for a good adventure. her sweet duo, papoose and whalephanty (a hapa whale/elephant), enjoy the little delights of life in hawaii from stringing lei to popping firecrackers to scooping up crack seed at the neighborhood sweet shop.

and, readers still on the lookout for winter greetings will be happy to become acquainted with their friends who are known to merrily slip on long johns to throw snowballs, wrangle xmas trees, and partake in other festive fare.

firecracker new year + li hing mui

hawaii buttons + shooting the curl

handpainted skies

also, take note that many of the card designs can be customized with hawaiian greetings, and one of a kind artwork crafted just for you may also be commissioned.

meet more of the sleep under stars 'ohana, including hula loving honeygirl, over in the etsy shop where you can add a little more wonder to your world via buttons, bookplates, and gift tags.

and, remember to mention h|h at checkout to receive a complimentary set of three hawaii bookplates with your order!

• secret code: hapahale (enter in notes to seller)
• expires: fri, jan 1st

happy hale*days 09: mele roundup

big storms seem to be pounding both sides of the pacific today so cozy up with a toasty mug of cocoa and enjoy a little roundup of merry finds from hawaii and beyond designed to delight your december with the xmas spirit!

1 - heather brown's charming peace bird ($20/set) is a budget-friendly way to share a peek of the local artist's work.

2 - tina from joie studio tipped me off on these mele kalikimaka wishes ($16.50/set) by fugu fugu press, pasadena letterpress friends who swoon for a permanent island holiday.

3 - dress up your bulletin board with xmas magnets ($2 each) featuring kat uno designs' adorable reindeer, cheery santas, and sweetly snarky gingerbread (available at alliway).

4 - 100% recycled notes printed with soy-based inks is just one reason why my favorite peeps found norie & lee's sweet surfing buddies ($9/set) in their mailbox last year.

5 - vertallee letterpress wraps xmas lights around balmy palm trees to send faraway friends wishes for a hot holiday ($16/set)

6 - bvik ink from san diego offers up a swell santa ($20/set) letterpressed with folksy charm.

7 - seaworthy silhouettes compose portland-based kapuanani designs' carefully constructed xmas tree cards ($12/set) printed with aloha on 100% recycled cards.

8 - mele kalikimaka stickers ($12/set) by kauai's simply embellish can be customized to adorn gifts or holiday cards.

9 - nix the paper wrap and give cheer ($10) via chewing the cud's reusable eco-friendly furoshiki wraps printed on organic cotton.

10 - hand appliquéd pineapples add an island pop to arcadia home's felt tree skirt ($180).

11 - dimmalimm's hibiscus slip-on coasters ($24/set) i.d. wine glasses and protect your tabletops with a hint of tropical cheer during holiday bashes.