Cartolina app

I feel I have to share one of the guilty pleasures for my iphone (at this point i should point out that i am an app addict!).  It is the Cartolina app which i have now had the pleasure of using for a few months.  Basically it is the ability to send a text message or email encased in a beautiful piece of decorative illustration by the talented artist Fiona Richards.  In her personal statement she writes:

"I have a need to actively interact with vintage design - not just collect it and display it - it's a way for me to play with it and share it with others. Combining my own collections with the exotic curiosities collected by my family years ago has become the root of my designs - ancient patterns, colours, block prints, images and textures combined with contemporary colours and type - this is Cartolina!

Fiona has designed a wonderful range of cards and stationery that is an absolute delight to see and will certainly brighten up your day.  My only problem with the app so far is that not many of my friends have mobile phones with the ability to receive them as picture messages .... roll on new technology!

"I have a need to actively interact with vintage design - not just collect it and display it - it's a way for me to play with it and share it with others. Combining my own collections with the exotic curiosities collected by my family years ago has become the root of my designs - ancient patterns, colours, block prints, images and textures combined with contemporary colours and type - this is Cartolina!"

Letterpress Delights

As the festive season is nearly upon us, i have been browsing to find some letterpress goodies to send through the post to my friends.  I love everything about letterpress, the handmade skill that has gone into designing and making the work; the beautiful papers that it is usually printed on; and the uniqueness of limited edition designs rather than the massed produced work on the high street. 


Today I have been looking at a few old favourites:


Inhaus Press

This is a small letterpress studio in San Francisco run by a pastry chef and an engineer.  What an intriguing combination!

Sycamore Street Press

A perfect sentiment!