Door Designs (the Norwegian way)

Hey everyone! It's Joy. I have been in Norway over 3 weeks already and have been in the city of Trondheim for a week and a half. Trondheim is a city about the size of Sioux Falls, SD (where Spark is located) and I'm loving the new experiences and the people I'm meeting.

One great thing I have noticed while around town is the incredible doors. My co-workers told me those doors are famous because some of them are over 200 years old and all have unique designs and colors to showcase the building they provide entrance for. I have been meaning to blog about this for a week now, but the weather has been too cold and rainy for picture taking. I have only covered a very few doors here so I may need to post a second blog about doors.

Hope you enjoy the varying designs and colors. It may not be letterpress, but hey, its from Norway!

Happening Now - New KSBA Press

Check out our new/old KSBA press being moved into our shop. We purchased it as well as another Windmill from Harold's Printing in Brookings, SD. Jim is beaming like an expectant father and Valerie is remembering the days when our children could ride their bikes in the shop (no longer possible!).

Stop by Spark for FREE Paper, Envelopes, Cards & More

Stop by Spark today and tomorrow for FREE paper, envelopes, cards and more! If you love paper, sending notes or scrapbooking - don't miss out!

We are cleaning our shelves and making room for new projects. We are open today until 5:30 PM and Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

Directions to Spark:

Take the Western Avenue exit north from Hwy 229. Take a left on 50th street, you'll see Shopping News and Hebron Tile company on the corner. Drive past the brick yard (just over a block) and take a left into our area. We are located in the blue warehouse building in the back. Just look for the bright orange door! Don't be shy, come on in!

Ink, ink and more ink

We currently offer 50 standard inks with our letterpress love custom stationery. We buy our inks from Preferred Ink Products in St. Paul, Minnesota. Our inks are predominantly oil-based, however we occasionally use a rubber-based black ink as it can stay on press longer. Our oil-based inks are no less environmentally-friendly compared to soy-based inks, see our article from 2008...

http://sparkstationery.blogspot.com/2008/10/ink-soy-vs-oil-vs-rubber.html

We are working on a sample guide of our standard inks for clients printing with us on a wholesale basis (business to business). If you have any questions about our inks or wish to obtain samples for an upcoming project, please contact us at spark@letterpresslove.com

What's up at Spark...

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of two new presses at Spark – another Windmill and a KSBA Cylinder. One of our friends in the world of letterpress is closing his shop after many, many years in business. On a recent trip to see the equipment we are purchasing, we were so lucky just to meet this man and be inspired by him. Some people have such a passion for letterpress printing and the business of printing that you can't put it into words. He probably could have talked to us into the wee hours of the morning, but we had our kids with so our time was a cut a bit short. Seeing his Linotype and knowing it might be scrapped just hurts my head and my heart. Seeing all of the other things that may or may not find a new home, well, that was just hard to see as well. We wish him all the best, and we hope he will take comfort in knowing that some of his equipment has a safe new home at Spark!

Happy Retirement Pat Leary of Harold's Printing!

The Linotype
Our New KSBA Cylinder

Free Letterpress Love for the Summer

We’re all about sparking your interest in letterpress, and what better way to do that than by sharing some free letterpress love.

Free Envelopes with Your Order

Any order of 75 envelopes or more will receive 25 envelopes at no additional charge. This offer may be used only once in an order.

Free Belly Bands with Pocket Folds

Our pocketfolds (a.k.a. envelopment, pouch, folder that holds your wedding invite and insert cards) come with a string and button closure that we just love. But, if that's not your thing, then just ask us to skip the string and button and swap for a belly band wrap instead! The belly band wrap literally wraps around the pocketfold to hold close. All of the wedding love designs feature belly band wrap options.

Here's how it works. When you purchase...

Unprinted Pocketfolds, receive an unprinted belly band wrap. One Color Letterpress or Two Color Letterpress Pocketfolds, receive an unprinted or 1 color belly band wrap.

Upgrades do not apply with this special offer. Belly bands cannot be swapped for any other item.

Offers end July 31, 2010. These special offers do not apply to orders placed before June 2, 2010.

Joy's Adventures in Norway!

Our own Joy is currently traveling through Norway this month before she starts with Spark as a full-time employee later this Summer. We encourage you to follow Joy's blog http://joysofadventures.blogspot.com/ as she will be updating with amazing pics and travel log. Have fun, Joy!