Bookselling

Sidelines Made By Hand
Cynthia Clark -- 8/28/00
Handcrafted cards convince people to send messages the old-fashioned way



Saturn Press, of Swan's Island, Maine, specializes in cards, stationery, albums and bookplates featuring hand-set letterpress type, high-quality materials and distinctive graphic style. Card and note lines include nature and animal-centered series--Menagerie (colorful 1923 illustrations by C.B. Falls), the Kennel Club (with brass dog tags), Cats (1932 illustrations by Zhenya Gay), Birds (realistic 1922 depictions by Elizabeth Colborne), Upcountry Sketches (images and lore from quirky sources) and the Great Outdoors (reminiscent of 1930s WPA poster art); Artist's Series (a mix of diverse styles) and Shakespeare (1930s woodcuts for six of the bard's plays).
Other lines for Saturn include Well Said (celebrated bon mots complemented by vintage images); Yesterday's Mail (nostalgic handmade summer souvenir-style cards embellished with actual leaves, charms and miniature postcards); and the holiday-oriented Grave Tidings (for Halloween) and Season's Greetings (a multitude of turn-of-the-previous-century designs). Grace Notes features a series of 12 new boxed and beribboned correspondence card designs; Tabula Rasa writers' folios of stationery sheets and envelopes come in a selection of 16 different monogram-like images in four colors. Photo albums covered in handmade paper and lace with satin ribbon hold 60 acid-free pages (refills available) and bear one of 12 classic Saturn Press images appropriate to the contents. It's a rare firm that can produce so many equally appealing creations; the people-oriented, labor-intensive craftsmanship behind the scenes shows. Call (207) 526-4000; fax (207) 526-4001.
Wendy Shaft's cards come
from an old-fashioned
letterpress.
Letterpress also dominates the work of Limner Press in Anchorage, Alaska, a small-press publisher of limited editions by Alaskan authors (including Tom Sexton, p t laureate of Alaska in 1997) and Wendy Shaft Art Cards, a line of letterpress stationery items featuring the linoleum-block prints of artist Wendy Shaft. Cards, journals, notepads, address books and magnets display Shaft's colorful, vibrant block prints influenced by her love of animals and nature: bears, dogs, fish (even mermaids) and flowers create a lively presence on the paper. Call/fax (907) 562-2708; e-mail: limner@gci.net.
Fresh Local Cards, of Eden, Md., presents handmade, screen-printed note and photo-frame cards, journals, scrapbooks, photo albums, guest and brag books, recipe books and boxes, and wooden step stools. Lilypads, totable notebooks on a string, come in 33 designs and are also available sans string, but with attached pen for purse or desk. Designs are indeed fresh and lively and boldly graphic. Call (877) 454-5972; fax (410) 546-4040.

Letterpress and
handmade cards
and papers are on
theincrease with
artisan-created,
art-related sidelines.


Vintage photography takes pride of place in the work of Tim Wright, founder of the Wright Card Co., of San Francisco. Turning his longtime hobby of collecting early 20th-century photos into a creative endeavor, Wright began reproducing selected images and attaching them to card stock to create handmade expressions of wit and sentiment. Hand-constructed cards come in blank and greeted versions, gift enclosures, and boxed holiday and thank-you notes; printed greeting cards, which reproduce the image directly on card stock, are also available in many additional images. Fabulous photos and well-written words make for a great line. Call/fax (800) 208-9550.

Products from Yumei (Eastern Arts Connection Inc., Farmington, Conn.) include a full line of fine art and calligraphy brushes, stationery, blank books, bookbinding kits and supplies, and small gifts made by hand in China. Blank books range in size from journals to painting books and albums, featuring a variety of acid-free traditional Chinese handmade papers and covered with fabric. Stationery comes in single sheets and packages as well as note sets sold in silk brocade boxes, which can also be purchased separately to hold gifts, keepsakes or other stationery items. Chinese inks, zodiac and alphabet stamps, and carved stone paperweights are among Yumei's other oriental offerings. Call (860) 674-0128; fax (860) 674-0538; e-mail: yuemei@yuemei.net.

World Paper Inc., of Hawthorne, N.J., creates sumptuous handmade paper and turns it into stunning stationery and blank books of increasing variety year after year. Understated design and sophisticated, sensual materials make the company's expanded line for the millennium a special treat. Stationery sets, boxed cards, journals and albums of differing sizes, and tote bags now come in a bewildering array of gorgeous papers plus
several lines featuring silk, embroidery and mirrored embellishments. All products are created by artisans in Asia and the U.S., using cloth scraps, jute, hemp, grasses, petals and threads--but no trees. Call (800) 385-5911, fax (973) 238-1740.
For the most gorgeous handmade journals and albums for every occasion, Molly West Handbound Books of Emeryville, Calif., can't be beat. This year's selections sport fresh fabric combinations that range from playful baby albums to casual, craftsy journals, and the most elegant and formal wedding or anniversary albums. Particularly captivating are the 2000 baby journal offerings, which combine two different but coordinated fabrics with a band of ribbon trim accentuated with additional embroidered elements in themed designs. Other baby styles now include applique cover images, among them a pudgy white rabbit and a sporty red train engine. Absolutely to die for. Call (510) 653-2830, fax (510) 653-2840.