We love.... making your letterpress wedding invitations and marriage certificates!!!
Well, I guess the story goes way... back to the 80's when I (Elecia) was a little girl and fell in love with calligraphy back when I was about seven years old. My art teacher pulled out one of those calligraphy markers and scrolled our names on scraps of paper. I asked , "How do you DO that???" She must have been a very modest woman because her answer was that it was the pen. Can you imagine my disappointment when I urged my Nana to purchase one, and I tried it out?? My sloppy seven year old penmanship, even with my attempts of loops and swirls, just didn't cut it....
Many many many trips to the art supply store and kits upon kits with instructions I had it down early into my double digit years. I addressed envelopes for loved ones parties and scrolled the names of our guests on place cards for holidays.
Calligraphy got pushed to the wayside for many years once it was time to graduate high school. I attended the University of Rhode Island where I majored in Textiles Merchandising & Design, with a minor in Fine Arts. My favorite classes were Color Theory, Color Science and Print Making. All of which I use the skills I learned every single day.
In 2009 I started Dancing Pen with the main focus being hand calligraphy addressing for wedding invitations. Can you say TEDIOUS?!? I always requested a sample of their wedding invitations, and I still remember the day that I first felt a letterpress invitation in my hand. I was IN LOVE! Here was something that combined my loves: typography and the tactile feel of fabric with the cotton paper. I made it my mission to learn how to do letterpress. I found my late 1800's Chandler and Price letterpress for a squeal of a deal at $200. The 1200 beast sat sadly alone in my garage for about almost year. I moved to Texas and insisted on bringing her with me (that added $1200 to the moving cost haha). It was in texas that I dug in my heels and taught myself how to print on this mammoth machine.
I find it so empowering that letterpress back in the day was a "man's job", and people would have to go through a multi year apprenticeship to learn the trade. On days where I am frustrated I remind myself that I learned this in solitude (with the help of Google and forums).
And here we are over 15 years later going stronger than ever! Stay tuned, I am working to create a FULL line of letterpress greeting cards I hope to wholesale to boutiques!
