Alkemi Kombucha Artisanal Black Letterpress Business Cards (Magical)

 

Chef Lisa Bower has been busy creating the most spectacular flavored Kombucha recipes ever, which will be available to the public soon. (Lucky me — she let me have some raspberry from a recent batch, and it was so delicious, I must have more, asap!) Her meticulous branding strategy included business cards that made people’s mouths water as much as the Kombucha does, and we just delivered these.

We are in love with these black, two-ply (very thick) cards that bear the logo (a foxy fox or her Shiba Inu foxy dog?), stamped in black gloss foil, and whose tail encircles the alchemical symbol for gold, in gold foil (of course), along with the business name, also in gold foil. These visual puns show up in many places in her concept, and all add up to rich, rich, rich beauty, and something magical too.

Alkemi Business Card Back

The backs have all her contact information in gold foil, but in the subtle black gloss foil, black-on-black, the slogan, “Time reveals truth,” leaves another mystery to ponder. Or at least drops a little tidbit of wisdom as the final fillip. With alchemy, there’s no end to the surprises.

We are eager to find Lisa’s amazing product on the shelves of local bars and restaurants, aren’t you? And we are proud that she chose Studio Z Mendocino to complete the business cards of her dreams. Here’s what she wrote me after receiving the prototypes: “THANK YOU  THANK YOU  THANK YOU!!!!  You rocked my world with the cards today…they are exactly how I envisioned the graphic representation of my product and the energy I wish to convey with my business concept…  Happy smiles!”

Oh, did I mention that Lisa and I “got each other” the minute we met? Yes, it was a great pleasure to work with such a creative and positive client. One of the great perks of my work! That seems magical, too.

 

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Carsten Mol: Denmark Photographer’s Breathtaking Business Cards from Studio Z Mendocino

Carsten Mol Photography Business Cards

Danish photographer Carsten Mol found Studio Z Mendocino online and contacted me about a year ago. He wanted to have some really special business cards, and, of course, that is what we do here. We instantly felt a rapport, even though separated by many miles and much water and emailed enthusiastically about what he had in mind, ideas I had for the design and materials, colors, possibilities and his dreams. It was sort of like meeting an old friend I didn’t know yet. Carsten was rebranding and got back to me after several months when his website was completed, as he promised he would.

Edge painting put the icing on the cake

His website was the inspiration for the design we finally landed on. go see: Carsten’s website

The backs are equally yummy

When the cards arrived to Denmark, this is how Carsten started his blog post about them: “Today I got my brand new Business card! And what can I say more than, I just love them!!!! They are small pieces of art.” The nice things he said about working with me almost made me cry! He immediately sent me these wonderful shots he took of them and I feel proud to post them here today.

The first cards we have done for someone in Denmark!

I often say, “I love the modern world!” and, really, I mean it. Never before have we been able to do business in this way, to connect with like-minded people in any corner of the world and relate to each other, feel into others’ lives in this marvelous way, affect each other and even affect each others’ friends and colleagues and, of course, clients, most importantly. It really seems like some sort of miracle, a miracle we take for granted every day, that allows unprecedented communication and relationship to occur regardless of geographical location.

Thank you, Carsten, for reaching across the ocean from Scandinavia to the USA, to California, to Mendocino County, to my little office at Studio Z Mendocino, and to my heart. It’s a beautiful miracle to know you.

 

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ProTalent Sports Group — Global Athlete Representation AWESOME (no, really) New Business Cards

ProTalent Thick Black Business cards with three foils and green edge painting

ProTalent Sports Group’s Sean Bertrand came to Studio Z Mendocino almost a year ago, inquiring about our deluxe, super-thick black business cards. Christopher and Sean work with big league baseball teams internationally, matchmaking players and teams, and they wanted a card that really stood out from the pack. Sean, having seen someone’s card we did knew down to his knees that we were the right printers to do their cards. There was, however, a small snafu.

Chris’s business card backs

They had had a designer working on the cards but somehow something had fallen between the cracks and the design firm was no longer in business. They had a sort of half-done idea but needed it completed and made into a file I could use as a letterpress printer. No Problem! I redid the design using some of the original elements (the shields), changing up the typeface, and laying out the backs. All of this took some negotiating and time, but, by and by, we did arrive at THE design everyone agreed was IT.

Thinner black paper, edge painted

Then, Sean did not want the super-super thick cards we are used to doing. He wanted cards that were about half as thick as our Museum Mount paper. So, a quest ensued, which also took a bit of doing but was very instructive for me and allowed me to find a thinner paper (also less expensive) that we like to work with. Eventually we did find a thickness and quality that everyone agreed was IT. To make the edge painting really do what it’s intended to do, paper needs to have some heft so the edges are not lost. This paper lets the edge painting shine without taking up major space in pocket or wallet (or chewing tobacco pouch).

Gloss foil shield background, silver foil and grass-green foil

In the final analysis, these amazing business cards were worth the time and challenges that brought them into existence. Their impact cannot be measured nor can it be denied. They are certifiably Awesome, with three gleaming foils and green edges that evoke baseball fields and dreams, substantial paper with just the right heft, deep impression, and a moxie-filled attitude.

Sean’s back

Thanks, Sean, for coming to Studio Z and for being an awesome player agent. The whole process was made fun by working with you on this project that came out so very beautifully.

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Excuse Me While I Gush: Shelley Deneau Photography Letterpress Business Cards with Holographic Foil

Holographic foil shimmers as the light or angle change.

Shelley Deneau, a photographer from Chesapeake, Virginia, found Studio Z Mendocino online, fell in love with a few things she found on this blog, and called me. She already had a logo, which she emailed to me and my brain immediately set to work on what would make it sing even more than it did in its original form, blue and brown inks. Shelley was incredibly eager to play, so when i suggested using a blue-green Holorgraphic foil for the sea gulls and the type of her name, she was intrigued enough to want to know more. I sent her some samples in the mail and she took a deep breath and said, “nnnnnYES!”

She also did not want the cards to be as thick as our usual 600 gram Lettra, so instead we opted for Lettra that’s half as thick, but still has the gorgeous fluff and texture. This was our outcome, and they are so amazing. It’s hard to capture in one shot the “dance” of light as the angle or intensity changes, bringing even more liveliness to the marvelous artwork.

Shelley Deneau Business Cards

The light dances against birds and Shelley’s logotype

Shelley was so easy to work with, and so fun, that it feels like I have a new-found friend back East. I am totally crazy about how these cards came out and so, I understand, is Shelley. Here is what she wrote to me when the parcel arrived: “OMG!!!!! I absolutely love them!  I love the seagulls changing color with the tilt!  You are incredible!  The best! Thank you!  ~Shelley”

Now THAT was a great email to wake up to. Thank YOU Shelley, for entrusting this key piece of your business to us. We love to make you happy! It makes US happy!!

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Tokyo Luxe — Luxury Concierge Services — A Stunning Black Letterpress Business Card With Edge Painting

A stunning business card carries the day when networking in Hong Kong, or anywhere

 

The backs of the cards are as gorgeous as the fronts. Almost!

Nami Lee, CEO and Founder of Tokyo Luxe, recently contacted me about doing business cards for her Luxury Concierge Services in Japan. She came with most of her logo completed — the design just needed a little fine tuning to adapt it for letterpress techniques. Because Nami wanted something that would stop traffic, we decided to print them on our super-thickest black museum mount paper with three foils: black gloss foil for the “T”, metallic silver foil and metallic gold foil. Then, after some consideration, I’m happy to report that Nami decided to go for the boldness of salmon colored edge painting.

Closeup of edge painting

 

When the cards were finally delivered to her in Tokyo, Nami immediately filled up her purse with them and flew out to network in Hong Kong. She emailed me that she has never had such reactions to a business card before. She says she is so happy we met each other online…one more miracle of modern life…she found this blog, called me, and the rest is history.

 

Tokyo Luxe black business cards with three gleaming foil colors on super-thick black paper

The finished cards have a vibration of something like jewelry, something at once timeless, unique, and somehow managing to seem contemporary yet also classic. Incredibly thick, luxurious paper foil stamped in gleaming metals, and flicked with the understated-but-ever-so-THERE salmon color along the edges are a force of marketing to be reckoned with. You will not be forgotten when you leave behind something this amazing and beautiful.

This is the photo Nami sent to me from Hong Kong:

Photo Nami took when her business cards were delivered to her in Tokyo

 

 

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Bob and Dawn Davis Photography and Design — Letterpress, Die Cut Business Cards from Studio Z Mendocino

Some of the most respected and talented, not to mention insanely good looking and darling, photographers and teachers in the industry, Bob and Dawn Davis had Studio Z Mendocino make up their latest iteration of business cards. The brand and design was already established but we needed to do some modifications on the design to make it really work as a letterpress piece of art — to make it swing and to make it sing…The backs, especially, needed an update, which, between Dawn and me, came out much nore interestingly than what they’d had before. It took a good deal of negotiation and trial and error to get to this place. Sometimes the limitations of letterpress printing are hard to understand, but having worked in this medium for over 35 years, it seems I can spot trouble coming and head it off at the pass. Sometimes it takes massive amounts of creativity to make a design really work, and sometimes it’s a cinch. This already beautiful branding just needed some fine tuning and the WoW factor swung into the stratosphere.

We printed them on super-lux, super-thick 600 gram Cranes Lettra in two colors, a smoky blue and a warm gray, then die cut them outside the front inside rule. Deep impression and beautiful materials and infinite skill and care made everyone so happy about these amazing business cards. Especially the adorably cute and talented couple who gets to pass them out!

See more of their own comments on their blog.

 

 

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Platinum Soirees: Black Square Business Cards with Silver & Royal Blue Foil for New York City Event Planner

This is the business card we produced for New York City event company, Platinum Soirees. Nacole Powers designed the logo herself and wanted the major wow factor of a matte black, ultra-thick card with platinum and royal blue foils. I had adapt here existing logo into a two-color image that would work for letterpress. As you probably know, not every design is letterpress-friendly. The original design was not specifically created for this techniques; drop shadows had been applied to make it look like letterpress (kind of). Instead, Nacole got the real thing and no drop shadows were needed. The deep impression of letterpress achieves a little shadow around each image and letter — very beautiful, don’t you think? The registration of the two foils was extremely minute and required a great deal of skill to print properly.

The outcome, as you can see, is nothing short of spectacular. The message is clear, from the name of the company itself, to the execution of the intricate design, choice of paper and colors, the shape and the treatment: this is luxury, this is beauty, this is attention to minute detail and it adds up to a big communication.

 

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Gerald Carvalho’s Golden Mean Business Cards, Designed by Ross Tanner, Printed by Studio Z Mendocino

Super intensely talented photographer Gerald Carvalho did everything right. He hired Ross Tanner at Flosites to design his new brand. He hired Studio Z Mendocino to print them. A triple whammy of beauty-making folk. And now he says, “I love these cards so much that I hardly hand them over to any random people until I absolutely love them LOL “

The golden color of his iconic “G” logo on the front is echoed along the sides with identical golden (not metallic) edge painting. We used, of course, Cranes 600 gram Lettra for the thickest, richest “hand.” Deep impression and impeccable typography convey a sense of Gerald’s artistic skill and attention to detail. These photos alone bear out his talent.

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Wedding Photographer Susan Stripling: Ultra Less-Is-More Business Cards and Stationery by Studio Z Mendocino

Susan Stripling is a wedding photographer whose astonishingly beautiful images, skill, inspired imagination and devotion to the craft have landed her in the midst of some of the most amazing nuptials ever. She just had Studio Z Mendocino do her new business cards and stationery. Susan has photographed weddings throughout the US, the Caribbean, South America, Finland, France, and the Bahamas. She’s been published in Inside Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Bride and Bloom, Modern Bride, The Knot, Professional Photographer Magazine, The New York Times Style section, Rangerfinder Magazine, Capture Magazine, Elegant Bride, in Trade Publications for Nikon USA, and Town and Country Weddings. Susan’s teaching career has developed as well; she has been seen at past Digital Wedding Forum conventions, gives private and group workshops throughout the USA, and has spoken at WPPI. Busy Susan, had Infinet Design devise her double-S monogram and we foil stamped it in gold onto her lux stationery wardrobe: business cards on very thickest Cranes Lettra 600 gram cover stock, and script cards in the same ultra-thick paper (think thank you notes, quick messages accompanying samples, etc., etc.) that fit into spectacular Cranes number ten envelopes with rather monumental square flaps. This is the blockbuster envelope we love to stuff:

Here is the script card:

Because it is foiled in a single color, with the monogram/logo on the front of the business card and only the website address on the back, overall costs were kept to a minimum, but the finished pieces carry all the gorgeousness and panache anyone could possibly desire.

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Maas Modern: Sleek, Sexy, Ultra-Moderne Black Business Cards With Gold Foil for Interior Designer

Dallas interior designer Sheryl Maas is best known for her perfect, inspired interiors, sleek lines, stylish furnishings and polished, contemporary combinations. She is one of Dallas’s top designers for both residential and commercial properties. We helped her decide on the name Maas Modern and designed her new logo, which, of course is very chic and simple and less-is-more, with sans serif font letterpressed in gold foil on super-thick black paper.

 

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