new look for the new year!

Hi friends!
We've been largely silent for the past year working away while we redesigned our line of urban paper goods. We're mostly there and almost everything is posted in the shop (there are some placeholder images that should be replaced by the end of the week if the printing gods shine on us!).

L-R: Futura Happy Holidays card, 2019 Holiday card in gold, Peace&Love Holiday card

We're looking forward to starting things off with a sale, our annual sale. We'll post the coupon code here (and pretty much everywhere) on Friday, but for now, take a look at some of our new cards and prints!

L-R: So Much Better Together Valentine card, Happy Birthday Baby card, Best Birthday Wishes card in neon orange.

We've added a bunch of new birthday, valentine and holiday cards (and some prints too!) as well as redesigned some old favorites.

L-R: Redesigned Felix Chevrolet card, Redesigned Harbor/Century Freeway card, Redesigned Randy's Donuts card

We'll also be doing a few shows around Los Angeles this winter, we'll let you the final lineup next week.

L-R: Futura Happy Birthday card, pink ink in the studio, Be Mine Valentine? card in neon pink

Until then, have a great holiday weekend with your friends and family.

Best,
Rosemary+Robin

first big steps

Robin setting up the rollers.

We took some first big steps this weekend. After taking some time to learn how our new press works, we took the plunge on Sunday and pulled our first prints!

L-R: our workspace, locking up the letterpress heart in order to print.

It might not look like much, but it's taken us a little over two years to get to this heart, our first print on the Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress.

L-R: Our bottleneck press in our living room in Koreatown, in our booth at Artisanal LA in November of 2013.

We started working together on a line of paper goods, just over two years ago. In that time, we started by printing with our fingers, moved on to printing with a spoon and a baren, then built our bottle jack press. We relaunched as Ink+Smog Editions a year ago in March. We only dreamed at that point, of having a dedicated print shop and mechanized press. 

L-R: our very first print on the Heidelberg Windmill, Rosemary holding our first print and bursting into happy tears.

A lot of work and time and effort has gone into that little heart. So much so, that moments after we first realized that we'd successfully made our first print, Rosemary was so happy, she burst into tears. The future seems so bright right now, and we couldn't have gotten here, without all of the love and support we've gotten from our friends, our family and our followers. We are so appreciative. And we can't wait to work our fingers to the bone. Thank you.

Best,

Rosemary+Robin

5, 4, 3, 2, 1…LIFT OFF! Our Kickstarter has launched!

As many of you know, we recently had some really great news to share about the direction Ink+Smog Editions will be taking in the new year. Well, we are very excited to announce the launch of our Kickstarter campaign! 

We hope you'll come take a look at our project, we have some pretty sweet rewards to share! If you believe in what we're trying to do but can't contribute financially, the best thing you can do is share our project with your friends, family and followers on social media, every little bit helps! 

Thank you so much for all of the kind words and amazing encouragement we've received since we announced our expansion plans back in October. It's been absolutely amazing, and we feel truly lucky! And speaking about being grateful, we couldn't have launched this project without some amazing help from our friends at Half Cut Tea. If you haven't heard about them yet, go check them out now. Their work is amazing!

We're going to be at Renegade LA this weekend at Booth #129 if you want to stop by and say hi. We're so excited about all the changes, and can't wait to share them!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inkandsmogeditions/ink-smog-editions-a-letterpress-print-shop

where to find us this winter

Ink+Smog Editions is going through some major changes right now, but if you're going to be in L.A. this winter, come say hi, we'd love to see you! 

Unique LA Holiday Show // December 7+8 // California Market Center 110 E. 9th st. DTLA
Table # 114

Eastside Handmade // December 7 12-5pm // Hosted by Shopclass in Highland Park

Renegade Holiday Show // December 14+15 //  Los Angeles State Historic Park

We're literally in the middle of moving into our new studio right now, and our new equipment is about to start it's cross-country journey, so we'll probably have lots to talk about during these great holiday shows. We're really excited about all the changes and can't wait to share them! 

Also, we'll be launching our Kickstarter campaign in a matter of days. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated. If you can't contribute financially, please share our project on your social media, every little bit helps!

Hoping to see you soon!
Rosemary+Robin

where to find us this fall

If you're going to be in Los Angeles or San Francisco this fall, come say hi! We'd love to see you!

ARTISANAL LA: October 12-13 (11am-6pm) LA Mart: 1933 South Broadway, DTLA 90007

L.A. SALT: November 3 (12am-5pm) The Pehrspace: 325 Glendale Blvd., LA CA 90026

WEST COAST CRAFT: November 16-17 (10am-6pm) Fort Mason Center: 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco CA 94123

We'll be launching our 2013 Holiday collection and some new Bay Area themed cards at these events, and listing them in the shop very soon!  And we're working on some dates for December that we should be able to announce very soon. We're also bursting at the seams to share some extra special news with you, so stay tuned!

Fall has been up and down here in L.A. so far, lots of warm sunny days and cool nights but the Santa Ana winds have just blown into town, so it's about to turn very hot and dry. 

Rosemary+Robin

we've joined the mohawk paper family!

L-R: pink magnolia tree in bloom down the street, our new name and logo, re-orgazining our tests and proofs, our new paper cutter.

Spring is here and change is in the air! We've been doing a lot of cleaning up and re-arranging. As a result, you may have noticed that we've been making a lot of changes around here lately. Some of those changes have been small (we have some new work configurations, new tools and storage solutions, yay!) and some of those changes have been pretty big (hey, we have a new name!). But we've also been implementing some other changes that you may not be aware of, chief among those has been changing out our ink and paper. We are now using Mohawk paper! 

L-R: Our new Johnny's Pastrami cards printed on Mohawk Superfine, new packages of Mohawk paper, Johnny's Pastrami drying.

Mohawk started off as the Mohawk and Hudson Paper Company in upstate New York where the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers meet. It was purchased by Frank Gilbert in 1866 and renamed the Frank Gilbert Paper Company. They filed for bankruptcy in 1930 and relaunched a year later by George E. O'Connor as the Mohawk Papermakers Inc. Asides from a short stint during the early 1970s, the company has stayed in the O'Connor family ever since. They are now headquartered in Cohoes, NY.

All images from Introducing Luxe, by Moo video.

Mohawk uses renewable energy, recycles and uses sustainable sourcing practices. In 2003, they became the only paper mill and one of the first large-scale production facilities in the U.S. to offset emissions from electric power generation with the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) issued by wind farms. Today, 100% of the electricity used in Mohawk’s operations is matched with RECs.

Mohawk makes beautiful paper, it's used by a lot of artists and printers. It's also used by Moo to make the Luxe business cards that we LOVE (as we speak, we are somewhat patiently awaiting the arrival of new Luxe cards with our brand new logo!). So far, we love working with Mohawk Superfine and Mohawk Vellum papers. They're both so easy to work with an incredibly luscious touch! We also really like the idea that Simon Dardick, Rosemary's father used to print on Mohawk paper from time to time when Véhicule Press still used to do their own printing. It kind of brings things full circle in a nice way. We've made some other big changes, but more about those later!

a rose by any other name...

That's right, we've changed our name! We are now Ink+Smog Editions! We are so excited about our name change, we hope you like it too! 

For the moment, our designs remain the same, with some really fun new additions coming soon! Our focus will be expanding as well, no longer only inspired by the city of Los Angeles. We're really looking forward to getting to work on this new project! We'll be changing our public profiles over the next few days, can't wait to spread the new name (and our new logo!). 


See you soon!
Rosemary+Robin