Jilly Jack Designs at NSS 2015

Here is proof that I'm set up and ready for the 2015 National Stationery Show at the Javits Center in New York. I'm sharing two huge booth spaces (92362 & 2363) with 13 other letterpress artists in the Ladies of Letterpress group booth. NSS is such an amazing show. The talent and amazing booths at this show never disappoint. I'm glad I'm not a retailer. It must be so overwhelming. The fun begins Sunday morning and goes on until Wednesday. I'll post more pictures later.

Take care,
Jill

NSS 2015 Best New Product Finalist

Our SMALL Collection has been chosen as a finalist in the National Stationery Show's Best New Product Competition for 2015! We are so thrilled to have this card line be recognized as it has special meaning. All these cards were created using vintage metal cuts and lead type from the collection of letterpress items from the late Mr. Small. We love the idea of keeping his collection printing for future generations.

If you're attending the show, please stop by the Ladies of Letterpress booth 2362 to see these little gems in person.

Take care,
Jill

All ready for the NSS 2015!

Whew! It's always crazy around here in the month leading up to the National Stationery Show. We shipped our booth items off yesterday and are taking the time today to pick up the studio and relax a little.

This year Jilly Jack Designs will be part of the Ladies of Letterpress group booth. There are a total of 14 letterpress studios that will be exhibiting in this booth. We've been working super hard to prepare for an awesome show. I am so honored to be in this booth with such amazing talent and can't wait to meet them all. They are from all parts of the states as well as a few from different countries. I wish everyone safe travels with no hiccups!

Our new drink recipe series letterpress prints along side our beer lover and cycling letterpress prints. 

A peek at the SMALL Collection and some of the metal cuts that were used to produce the cards.

This year we will be returning to the show with only letterpress work. Our line includes over 25 letterpress art prints and a new line of 4 bar cards, called the SMALL Collection. This collection is a composed of 18 designs that are created with vintage metal cuts and lead type from a collection of letterpress items that we purchased from the late Mr. Small. He was a local hobby printer who also volunteered as the letterpress printer for the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. We are so proud and honored to keep his collection of type and metal cuts printing for future generations.

If you happen to be going to the National Stationery Show, please come see me. I'll be in booth 2362!

Take care,

Jill

Signage is up!

We are getting closer to our grand opening and things are coming together. Our new building sign is complete and we are thrilled with how it turned out. We would love for you to stop by during our grand opening Saturday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m..

Take care,

Jill

Jilly Jack Designs Grand Opening!

Things are really coming together here in the new studio. We are so excited to announce the grand opening of Jilly Jack Designs Letterpress Lab and Art Studio. Please stop by on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28. We'll pop the doors open at 10.

Our new address is 254 1st Avenue, S. W., Suite F, Carmel, IN 46032, we are in the brightly painted building just East of the Monon Trail and South of Main Street.

This coincides with the Carmel International Arts Fair, which is free, so mark your calendars for a great day of art in the Carmel Arts District.

We will be demonstrating various presses throughout the day. Our letterpress prints and paper goods will be available for purchase and our custom stationery and wedding invitation samples will be on display. We are also lining up some special guest artists to join us, so stay tuned for further details.

I hope to see you!

Take care,
Jill

Sneak Peeks of the new home of Jilly Jack Designs

I thought I'd share a few images of our progress on our new studio space. We will have a grand opening during the Carmel International Art Fair September 27 and 28, details will be posted later.

We can't wait to be officially open and share our love of all things paper and letterpress!

Take care, 

Jill

See Jilly Jack Designs debut offering at surtex 2012, May 20-22. We are proud to be represented by A Fresh Bunch in booth 444. Stop by and see our work as well as fellow AFB member's work. You won't be disappointed!

"Little Book of Letterpress"

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that 2011 will be a stellar year for everyone!

I was fortunate enough to receive this lovely little book for Christmas, Thanks Dave and Jack! I love it! "The Little Book of Lettepress" is written by Charlotte Rivers with a foreword by Yee-Haw Industries and published by Chronicle Books. It gives a quick history of letterpress and its mechanics, with the main body of the book serving as a portfolio of all the current artists in letterpress printing. It's a virtual who's who of all things letterpress. Each page is filled with color photos of projects and brief descriptions of the process and paper used. If you are a letterpress junkie like I am, you'll love this book as well. You can find it on Amazon.com.

Please feel free to share what your favorite gift was!

Take care,
Jill

Jilly Jack Designs, A Fresh Bunch and the 2010 National Stationery Show

Jilly Jack Designs is very proud to be a part of a great group called A Fresh Bunch.  A Fresh Bunch, is a collaborative community of designers, retailers and vendors who are united by a commitment to collaborate and cooperate on creating success for all while embracing what’s new and what’s next in the stationery industry. Retailers can view online showrooms, press room and catalogs, and be part of ongoing conversations.  


A Fresh bunch is debuting a great new program at the National Stationery Show (NSS). It's the Print in Store Program, which offers retailers pre-formatted designs for fast in-store printing. Retailers pay a one-time fee to download artwork that they can print as many times as they like. There is a yearly membership fee along with a small download fee, but once you've bought your design, it's yours to print as often as you like.


Visit A Fresh bunch at booth  #2042 for more information and see Print in Store demos at the Fontaine Maury Booth #s 2806-10 today at 10 am and 3 pm.


Please check us out and let me know what you think. We'd love your feedback!

Blog Style Board

This exercise made me think back to some branding exercises we did at the agency where I used to work. If you could visualize your brand, what would it look like? Of course these were done with magazines and the client would clip out and paste on a board, but it's the same principal that I have used. What does Jilly Jack Design and more specifically this blog look like? So this is what I came up with out of materials I had on hand. It's bright, happy, clean colors, texture through materials used in the paper, ribbon and fabric used in the cards and folios. Most of all it is friendly and approachable. So that is what I'll be striving for. As far content goes, I hope to bring more of myself into the blog as well as fun info about our cards and graphic design in general.

I'd love to know how your style or brand board would look? Feel free to share!

Take care,
Jill

Jilly Jack Design Sparkle Card

In honor of blue week, I though I'd share one of our cards from our Light Series. These note cards all feature some sort of light source and convey a message of encouragement, like sparkle. You can view our cards at our site www.jillyjackdesignsllc.com and you can purchase sets at our retail site here. The set includes 10 cards (2 each of 5 designs) with 10 envelopes which are printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper that is FSC certified. The set is contained in a folio made from recycled billboard wraps.

A letter from me

Dear Readers,

First of all, thank you so much for all your support over the
last year.

I just wanted to share a little more about myself and where I'm coming from and why this blog is important to me.

Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved to draw and doodle.
I was always excited in elementary school when one of my “masterpieces” ;–) was selected for art object of the week and was hung in the hallway outside of the principal’s office. I continued in my art focus through college and my career as a graphic designer to ultimately owning my own eco-friendly stationery design and manufacturing business, Jilly Jack Designs.

My stationery reflects my sense of color and design aesthetic. I love bright happy, clean colors and simple shapes. I chose to go into the stationery business because of my love for graphic design and paper plus I’ve always loved writing letters and receiving them. You know that feeling you had as a child when you got something in the mail? That is the feeling I want to keep alive for the next generation. My son Jack loves to get mail. He’s always sad when we get cards in the mail and he doesn't.

In this blog I plan to share more about my stationery business and how it is growing and evolving, as well as my creative process, maybe that will spark your creativity as well. I’ll also be showcasing people, places and things that I find inspiring or just really
like or want.

I welcome all of your comments. Please feel free to share what inspires you. I'd love to hear it!

Here’s to 2010, let’s make it a year full of wonderment and creativity!

–Jill

Parents Magazine

Jilly Jack Designs is so excited to have been included in the Parents Magazine December 2009 issue's Gift Guide. Our Mod Series set in billboard wrap appears with other eco-chic products in their "tree hugger" solutions for gift giving. Be sure to visit Parents Magazine's goodyblog.com starting on December 1, 2009 to enter to win all the gifts from their guide.

Inspired by Sweets

Often people ask me how I come up with the ideas for my cards. And actually my artwork comes from everyday things. I like to depict them in bright, fun, simple designs. My work is very straight forward and to the point. Which is very much like my personality. Friendly, approachable and uncomplicated. When I brainstorm, I like to think about things either current or in the past that were enjoyable and that everyone can relate to. This is where the Sweet series of cards came from. They are the sweets that we loved as children, cupcakes, cake, ice cream cones, popsicles and lollipops created with simple shapes and bright colors with fun sayings from the past.

All images ©Jilly Jack Designs

Feeling Sunny

It's a gloomy day here and I thought we might all benefit from some cheery yellow items.

1. Yellow leather notebook from Hermes. I love the vibrant intensity of the yellow and the texture is amazing.

2. Trollsta sideboard from Ikea. The juxtaposition of the clean lines and the ornate details around the bottom are what make this sideboard great. Not to mention the great Ikea price as well.

3. Bumble Bee Enamel Flower Ring - Black and Yellow from SpiderellaStudio's shop is fun and harkens back to the costume jewelry I used to play with in my mother and grandmother's jewelry boxes.

4. Pod no.2 10x8 print from the polaroidsandpinhole's etsy shop. It amazes me what artists can do with simple materials we often take advantage of or think are passé.

5. Whorled Trapunto Rug from Anthropologie. The rug has great organic yet graphic style and features pimpernel, mallow and anemone blooms.

All images are owned by their respective companies.