Share love.

As you all know, we love the artist Freya. We've been carrying her charming prints since we opened and I just can't get enough of them. They are sweet, simple, full of love and care and thought. They melt me, really.

With Valentine's day just around the corner, I thought it might be the right time to once again share these sweet prints. They make absolutely the most lovely, thoughtful and joyous gifts.

Gals, do each other a favor and send your best friend's hubby or significant other a little *hint, hint* on your friend's behalf. They'll both be thankful you did. Or, better yet, just send your special someone in and we'll help them from there!

We can even help you (or your snuggle bunny) order a custom print to make the message even more personal. Include your names, a special date, a child's birth or a message all your own!

(All photos courtesy of Freya)

Farm wedding save the date: design to delivery

We met Elizabeth back in October when she and Danielle, her soon-to-be sister in-law, came in to browse through our wedding albums. Elizabeth flipped through them quicker than anyone else I've seen. She wasn't loving anything because she had a vision for her invitations and we quickly realized that creating something completely custom for her was the way to go.

She and David are getting married in July at David's family's farm in Madison, New Hampshire. Elizabeth is taking full advantage of the beautiful landscape and is incorporating hay bail seating, custom table runners and local, in-season flowers. As we sat and chatted about the scene, her dress, and the colors, Elizabeth was insistent that we go "all out" with the farm theme for their stationery suite. Sam and I were over the moon because we could really be as creative as we wanted. First on the list: the save-the-date. I did some initial sketches:


But, in the end Sam and I decided playing off of farm related words such as hay, flock, coop, udders, etc... would be a fun, different approach:


I quickly went to the computer and began playing with type:




We sent 3 initial looks to Elizabeth and David (my original favorite was #2):



They loved the 3rd, but wanted to expand the content so it was more justified like the 2nd option: And this is the final piece printed:


(Photos above courtesy of Gus & Ruby Letterpress. Photos below courtesy of Emilie Inc Photography.)


I had such fun printing this piece because the colors were so bold and this type-driven design really lends itself well to letterpress. And, while we originally had wanted to incorporate illustrations of the actual farm, we decided we would save that idea for the invitation, which we are currently working on.

I don't want to give away the secrets we have up our sleeve, but take my word for it - the invitation is going to be amazing! Don't worry, we'll post pictures of it when it's done... along with photos of their wedding in July!

Well, that's funny!

Look what arrived in our mail this week. Pretty hilarious, eh? I've been trying to get a hold of Mr. Gus Letterpress myself for some time now. Happy weekend!

Documenting the process.

Planning a wedding, party, shower, or other big celebration is a serious process. From the hundreds of emails with planners, managers, chefs, photographers and florists, the dozens of phone calls, hours of reviewing contracts, inspiration boards and days of driving to and from appointments a lovingly crafted, planned and agonized-over celebration is born!

It takes months to put together a big event and the planning and decision-making can be a huge part of the fun. The friendships you make with vendors, the discoveries you make about your own style, organization and creativity all contribute to the big event and last long after the party has come and gone.

I've always been a planner and I get excited about things long before they are close at hand. Planning and prepping, for me, can be the best part of an event. So, when I recently came across this post in G&R favorite blog, Oh So Beautiful Paper (gee, I wonder why we like this blog?!), I was totally inspired by Jen's (from the haystack needle) idea.

Creating a scrapbook of the whole planning and event is such a wonderful way to document all the hard work, inspiration and creativity that goes into throwing a fabulous bash!

I love the way Jen included swatches of fabric, little hand-written notes and ideas, business cards, photos and ribbons to document her trail of inspiration and planning. It's such an intimate look into the process and I imagine it's a blast for her and her hubby to look back through the album and recount the entire experience, not just the party.

Pretty lovely, don't you think?

(All photos by Charlotte Jenks Lewis via the haystack needle)

Write more letters.

(Brand new letter stationery sets from Smock!)

We've talked about this before, but getting a hand-written letter in the mail is truly one of the best pick-me-ups a gal can receive during the day. The fact that a friend (or lover! *Swoon* A love letter? Yes, please!) took the time to hand write some special thoughts to a friend is just one of the most thoughtful, lovely things one person can do for another.

Some people may argue that letter-writing is dying art, but I can tell you that Gus & Ruby customers disagree (they are the best in many ways!). We've had so many people ask about true letter-writing stationery. So, of course, we are beyond happy to deliver for all you letter-writing paper hounds.

We now have some gorgeous letter writing stationery sets from G&R fave, Smock, and from local-ish (Maine) superstar company, Saturn Press. From patterned and fabulous to sweet and simple, these letter-writing sets are stunning.

(Gorgeous, hand type-set letterpress stationery from Saturn Press)

(All photos courtesy of me, which would explain the sub-par photos of these gorgeous products!)

I'd like to bag it up.

New styles of our most favorite eco-chic, totally compact, hip, durable, carry-all-able bag, Envirosax, are here! The perfect little mid-winter pick me up gift, don't you think?

Come see! Even more styles arriving in the coming weeks.

(All photos courtesy of Envirosax)

Egg-cellent!

Oh Egg Press, you're hilarious. And adorable. And I'm totally loving all the fun new cards we're getting in for Valentine's day! Come by soon for pick-of-the-litter.



(All photos courtesy of Egg Press)