Fourth Year Studio

Happy New Year to you!!  We are having a hard time believing it is already 2013.  It was disappointing that we were unable to produce a calendar this year but our eyes are on 2014 to have a fresh one by then.  Here in Tennessee, we have had a bit of a warm streak.  I can hear the spring peepers (tiny frogs) starting to sing in the little pond near my home.  I am afraid they will be in for a rude awakening when winter decides to come back but today its warm and I am ready to think about spring.

Margaret and Matt wanted a traditional wedding set that was both modern and clean.  Sometimes this is hard to achieve a fresh look with traditional elements.   We paired an abstraction of their wedding flower, the hydrangea, on a grid of dots for a silhouetted outline.  The result was delicate with just the right balance of negative space.  The light blue balanced out the feminine floral design.  I love how the blue looks on the kraft vs the white.  It appears as though two shades of blue were used.

Their set included event cards for additional events happening that weekend.  It was all bound together with a kraft band printed M & M.  Labels were added for the RSVP and the exterior envelope.  This couple was on a tight budget and they were thrilled at what we were able to produce for them.  In order to save money we did not use our standard cotton paper and we left all the final assembly up to M & M.   It just goes to show that nice design and quality printing doesn’t have to break the bank but you do have to get creative.

Photos by Jessie at 5 Rings

Synde and Tim contacted us as med school students living in Minneapolis who were celebrating their recent Italian engagement!  Sydne grew up on a cattle farm in Wyoming and found herself looking back to her roots when wedding planning.

She describes the beauty of the Big Sky at the ranch.  ”I love the idea of having wooden invitations to echo the gorgeous pine and oak forests around our ranch.  The ranch is in a very rural area that is full of rolling hills, grazing deer, and lots of sky.  There is nothing as beautiful as the night sky in Wyoming.  Tim and I love to lay out in the grass in the summer and ooh and aah at the seemingly endless display.”

The reception was held at Devil’s Tower, a huge natural landform several miles from her family’s ranch where the ceremony took place.  Since the area was rural it was very important to provide way-finding for the guests in the invitation.  We illustrated the map with icons for Devil’s Tower, the Clark Ranch, and the airport.  The wishbone graphic for the Clark Ranch is actually the family brand, how cool is that?!  Down the center of the map was the South Dakota – Wyoming state line.

We incorporated the brides hand-drawn sketch of the antlers throughout the set. She used antlers at the reception as decor.  The main invitation was printed on wood and the rsvp was a letterpress postcard.  A piece of black and white bakers twine tied the wrapped vellum map around the invitation to create a sophisticated, yet rustic wedding invitation for this creative, amazing couple!

Photos by Jessie at 5 Rings

How exciting…our first international client!!  Aimee and Timothy just got married in her backyard in Western Australia.  We incorporated a variety of techniques to achieve an invitation rich in texture.  The earthy hues were reflected in the outback wedding and reception with native vegetation.  The invitation is a sassafras veneer with a laser etched design.  We letter-pressed the rsvp card on 110lb cotton stock and address onto a kraft envelope.  It was all tucked inside a green recycled envelope with a kraft address label to tie it all together.  Although we were working long distance the process was as smooth as can be.  The most challenging aspect was scheduling a Skype video chat due to the 12 hour time difference!   Happy wedding Aimee & Timothy – thanks for trusting us Knoxville girls to get the job done well!

“We received our invitations!!  They are BEAUTIFUL!  I cannot tell you how much I love them!  I have showed a few people and they are so surprised when they find out that the invitation is made of wood!  Thank you so much for all the hard work and effort you put into these invitations.  I can’t wait to send them out!” -Aimee Vander Schaaf

*photos by 5 Rings Photo

David and Lorie came to us in search of a wedding invitation that matched their eclectic style.  They are getting married at the beautiful Bijou Theatre in Knoxville during their church’s Sunday service.  The rich colors and textures of the theatre lead to a steampunk theme that carried its way through their wedding and reception.  It was important that the invitation be rich and intriguing without being overly fussy.  A brown paper bag was used as the outer envelope and sealed with gold striped washi tape.  Each address was typed, by yours truly,  on my Mom’s vintage typewriter and placed on the front.  When opened, a vellum inner envelope was sealed with red wax to introduce another layer of texture and depth.  A subtle lace pattern was pressed into the creamy cotton stock framing the gold letterpress text.  It was so much fun to work with unique techniques on this job for such a fabulous couple – best wishes to you both!!

And a BIG thank you to Jessi at 5 Rings Photos for the amazing photographs. Typing out each address took longer than anticipated but it was worth it to have the typewriter included in these images – totally frame worthy!!

You may remember last week’s post of Casey & Andrew’s invitations.  We had a great time with their invitations and Fourth Year Studio also played a large role in the coordination of their wedding weekend in Charleston and wanted to share just a couple of our favorite photos from the events.  The rehearsal dinner was held at The Palmer House with a low country soiree theme.  Guests wore seersucker and garden party attire while feasting on shrimp & grits, crab cakes, and scallops.

The following day the wedding was held at St Luke’s Chapel with reception at the Old Exchange.  We letterpressed the program cover and tied all the pages together into a booklet with silk ribbon,  By day the Old Exchange is a museum and by night a perfect reception venue. It is located right downtown and has loads of character.  Guests enjoyed a tour of the dungeon during cocktail hour and then danced the evening away.  Casey changed half way through the reception into a short dress that matched the style of her bridesmaids with an amazing hair piece.  We enjoyed having the opportunity to work with such a wonderful couple in one of our favorite cities.  Congratulations to Casey & Andrew!

*Photos courtesy of The Connellys

Casey and Andrew met while studying abroad, independently in Spain.  After returning back to the University of Tennessee they continued to date and travel together.  On the Fourth of July, Casey and Andrew tied the knot in Charleston, South Carolina.  It was a true destination wedding that offered a weekend full of fun gatherings for all the out of town guests. Fourth Year Studio provided event design and advice throughout the planning process and was onsite for the weekend as event coordinators.

Of course, the most fun we had was with their invitation design.  It paid tribute to historic Charleston while reflecting the glamour of the bride’s style.  Each event had a spot on the rsvp postcard to indicate which event the guest was planning to attend.  Four – two color letterpress pages were sewn together with a thin cotton fabric cover.  Casey & Andrew’s names were layered on a letterpress live oak image.  The live oak is a traditional low country icon and can be found throughout the city. Gray and coral tones complimented each other nicely and were tied together by the coral thread that held all four pieces together.  The last page was the perforated reply postcard.   Several of their guests loved the invitation so much they declined to tear off and mail back the rsvp but instead called in with their reply.

*photos by Dixie Pixel

We went to architecture school with Michael and were thrilled when he and Stephanie got engaged. They are truly the sweetest, quirky couple we know. After Michael had designed their save the dates they thought it would be less stressful to let us help with their invitations. Their ceremony was held at The Lily Barn in East Tennessee. We used a hand drawn sketch of the ground line at the venue. The path outlines their figures, creates a pond, and illustrates the cantilevered barn that the venue is famous for. Abstracted yellow lilies are scattered around them as they stand beside the barn with their small dogs. The accordion fold invite uses the text as a graphic element while overlapping the yellow and gray letterpress layers. A small yellow envelope encloses a vellum map of the wedding and reception site. The 110lb cotton paper was printed, folded, and sealed into a gray envelope with a simple, modern address label. Fourth Year Studio designed and letterpress printed a fan as their program.  It was the perfect way to share ceremony information with the guests at an outdoor summer wedding.  One of Stephanie’s bridesmaids made the wedding cake and used the silhouettes from the invitation as the cake topper – so cute!!  Thank you to the talented Julie Roberts for sharing some photos from the wedding day.  Check out more of their amazing photographs here.

We have been fortunate to work with this wonderful couple, Andrew and Casey, who are having a destination wedding in Charleston, South Carolina this July.  Fourth Year Studio is working with them on their invitations as well as event coordination and design for their wedding weekend.  4th of July weekend is going to be such a fun time to gather with their friends and family to share the energy and excitement of the city for their big day.

Their save the dates weave the story of their relationship.  They met while studying abroad in Spain and have been traveling around the world ever since.  It just makes perfect sense that they are traveling to get married in one of their favorite cities.

The postcards were digitally flat printed with a matte finish.  Custom stamps with their silhouettes tie the design together and incorporate the peach tone that is carried through additional wedding details.   Attentive guests will notice the silhouettes next appearance at the reception.   We will be letter press printing their full invitations next week so please check back to see how lovely the entire set will be.

Last month a pair of our friends asked us to print letterpress bookmarks as wedding favors for their chic New Year’s Day wedding. Ashley and Erik studied Architecture at the University of Tennessee during the same period Emily and I were in school.  They were each top of their class, are positively brilliant, and without a doubt perfect for each other.

After we received the file from Ashley we got started. The design was simple and elegant with a quote from Lebbeus Woods.  It was a great job for us novice printers to tackle.  Our intent was to laser cut delrin to make the plate in a similar fashion as our business cards but the font was so small it would have been risky. We opted for a magnesium plate to keep everything crisp.  During this process the image is chemically etched into a magnesium plate and then mounted onto a piece of wood to get the type to registration height. At first glance the text on the plate looked far to small to print clearly but after inking up the machine it turned out to leave a beautiful impression on the Crane Lettra 100% cotton paper.  Although the tone was not as solid as one could achieve with other printing techniques the salty effect added a depth of color and texture in the areas of the solid black circles.

Not only was the mag-plate the best choice for printing this job but it is was also beautiful.  I included the plate as part of their wedding gift and I hope it is something they treasure.

Congratulations Erik & Ashley!  We are incredibly happy for you both and wish you a marriage full of love and happiness, thank you for including us in your wedding day.

Now I just need a good architectural design book to pair with my bookmark.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, it certainly feels like winter with all the snow these days.  Receiving one of these postcards may help you shake off the winter chill and look ahead to warmer days. Maxi & Seth are getting married this spring. They love cycling and he actually proposed as they were on a tandem bicycle ride.  Their wedding will be modern with a vintage undertone and and take place in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains.  The invitations needed to be thoughtful and enticing.  After the design was complete we sent it off to be printed on a 2-ply wood veneer. They turned out wonderfully and I have been assured that the postal service can mail wooden postcards without a hitch. Would you like to find one of these striking postcards in your mailbox?