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November 21, 2007

Modern Letter Project: Holiday Card Guide!

[This will be our last post before a little turkey-and-cranberry sauce filled holiday break. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever you are. We're so thankful for everyone participating in the Modern Letter Project thus far--you've made it so fun for us and we look forward to the months to come! We'll be back next Monday with more posts and lots of holiday letter-writing fun.]

By this point it should come as no surprise that we're total suckers for holiday cards. We love buying those pretty pretty cards with the pop-out ornaments, and the delicately hand letter-pressed gems that have become must-buys during the holiday season. We feel if there's one time a year to go nuts with snail mail, it's definitely the holidays. Here are twelve of our favorite holiday card picks to kick off this chilly season:

(Left: City Sidewalks (1); Right: Pancake & Franks (2))

1. City Sidewalks Greeting Card from Peculiar Pair Press: These gorgeous ivory cards are perfect for us city-dwellers sending our urban cheer out into the world. Letterpressed in red and pewter on ivory cards, cards are $4.00 each and available at Luxe Paperie.

2. Pancake & Franks holiday collection: As much as we love print and pattern, we also love the simplicity of clean lines. Pancake & Franks’ holiday cards offer a strong, modern pop of color – through the sparseness of antlers, winter fruits, peppermint candies, or outlines of holly. Their cards are printed on 100% recycled paper, prices vary.

(Top left: Lisa Congdon (3); Top right: Eggpress (4); Bottom left: Alice Stevenson (5); Bottom right: port2port (6))

3. Lisa Congdon’s work has long been a favorite of ours and it’s no surprise that we love her limited edition holiday cards with original drawings on vintage papers. These “happy holidays” inscribed cards come in a set of 8 for $16.00.

4. Eggpress's 2007 Holiday Collection is full of color and whimsy--another longtime favorite. This year the collection includes offset printed holiday cards screaming “joy,” “noel,” and “peace and love,” with icy blues and cheery reds and strong use of patterns. Their letterpress cards—we love the “cheersplosion!” and “candycane crosscut joy” which use cutouts to invite you right inside the card.

5. Alice Stevenson’s floral cards are great for the holidays—or really—any time of year. Intricate layers of flowers create an explosion of color that we just adore. Her cards are printed on recycled board and sold via Art Angels, a Norwich-based publisher of greeting cards featuring artwork by contemporary British artists.

6. port2port holiday cards: What can we say about Maria’s cards that haven’t already been said? We’ll quote her new collection, celebrate her pine letterpress printed card set and let it speak for itself. “On my mind this season is the daydream of slowing down time during the holidays … noticing a simple snowfall or a few branches of frosted pine while bustling about … just lingering … breathing it all in. It’s merrymaking time. Salute!” $28.00 for a set of 8 cards. [see our interview with port2port]

(Left two: Two Trick Pony (7); Right: Night Owl (8))

7. Two Trick Pony: Hand screenprinted, co-modern stationery that is just gor-geous. We’re loving the clean lines, modern fonts, and bright colors.

8. Night Owl Paper Goods: In clear reusable packaging and packed along with chartreuse envelopes, lines and motion take over these “holiday cards,” inscribed with that distinction on their fronts.

(Left two: Carrot & Stick (9); Right: Lizard Press (10))

9. Carrot & Stick Press: Dare to dream in prints and patterns. With repeating patterns of everything from candy canes and polka dots to lobsters and flamingos, Carrot & Stick Press is a perfect bit of cheer for the holidays or any other occasion. $16 for a pack of 8 cards.

10. Lizard Press, Notes to Grow On: Possibly our favorite cards this holiday season (or for any season), these “Notes to Grow on,” with peppermint seeds enclosed, perfectly blend form and function. The reds and greens scream of holidays, and a small packet of seeds (also with letterpressed packaging) are enclosed in the card featuring illustrations from Albert Schramm’s “Der Bilderschmuck der Fruhdrucke.” Available for $4.50 apiece.

(Left two: Moontree Letterpress (11); Right: Palindrome Press (12))

11. Moontree Letterpress' Brooklyn Cards are one of our favorites this year--especially if you live in this beloved borough like many of our project participants do. With the soft silhouette of the Brooklyn Bridge to behold in these hand letter-pressed cards, recipients will be reminded of a winter city skyline these holidays. $9.00 for a pack of 6 cards. [See our interview with Rebecca of Moontree Letterpress]

12. Palindrome's Holiday Card set pops with the color of bright red cardinals on a wintry day. We saw this collection and just fell in love with those birch trees. A must have! $18.00 for a pack of 6 cards.