Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to print up press kit covers for a friend and former coworker, Jennifer Hohner, of D’Lischka, Petite German Pastries. This print run consisted of black ink on Sundance Felt Natural White card stock. Jen supplied the logo and I had a magnesium letterpress die created. The results were simple and sweet, like the cookies themselves. These cookies are actually hand-crafted petite pastries based on a well-kept German family recipe, passed on to her by her Grandma Lischka. Though petite, they sure are mighty D’Lischka!

Photo credits: t-l Hartono Tai, Long Beach Magazine // b-r Jennifer Hohner.

Earlier this year, I had designed and letterpress printed a set of business cards and gift certificates for Ed and Karen, of San Diego wedding photography studio Atrero Photography, an International Award Winning Wedding Duo.

The front of Ed and Karen’s print collateral required two hits of color and a blind deboss. Their business cards passed through the press a total of 5 times (once for each color/impression, front and back), and they were also printed on 220lb. flourescent white Crane Lettra 100% cotton stock… the thick stuff. Though the Atrero brand features invisible bamboo trees, it feels good to know that no actual trees were harmed in the creation of these business cards and gift certificates.

Speaking of invisible, Ed and Karen pride themselves on taking a ninja like approach to wedding photography: working in the shadows unobtrusively to capture that killer shot. Next time you find yourself wondering if ninjas carried business cards, wonder no more. They do, and they are 100% cotton!

After participating in Paper Stories’ Print Swap and then the Blackbird Letterpress Old Maid Swap, I decided to host a letterpress swap… COASTERS!

I have a handful of participants on the list already, but if you are interested in participating, send an email to info@visualchemist.com with the subject “LOVE & LETTERPRESS.” This will be the best way for me to gather and sort all the emails that come my way.

WHO // Participants must use a letterpress to reproduce their art. This swap is open to all those interested in printing and swapping an original set of luscious cushy letterpress printed coasters.

WHAT // Coasters as art… The coasters must be 4″ square with rounded corners. The theme is “Love and Letterpress.” I will leave the theme of “Love & Letterpress” open to interpretation. Quantity is still TBD.

It’s not necessarily about red hearts and frilly pretty stuff, but more about what your passions, loves and favorite things are. For example, I love typography, so my coaster design will most likely have something to do with being a typophile.

WHEN // In honor of one of my favorite holidays and a trade so near and dear to my heart, I am looking to collect and redistribute these in time for Valentine’s Day 2010. So you have a little less than 2 months to get things going. The mail-in deadline for your printed pieces and shipping fee will be January 31st. This will give me about a week to sort and send out so that all participants receive a nice little Valentine’s Day package to hang or you could use them at your next soiree.

WHERE // I have resources of places where coasters can be purchased, and I will also order and distribute coasters as well. I just need to calculate cost + shipping.

WHY // Because life is like a box of swapped letterpress coasters… you never know what you’re gonna get. And because you love letterpress.

I probably missed a few things, so again, send me an email and I will be sure to get a interest list going to keep everyone updated. I need to work payment details out, but if you add yourself to the interest list, I will make sure to share this information with the swap participants. Please pass the word along to people who may be interested and may not have access to this info. I’ll be posting updates to my blog (http://blog.visualchemist.com) as we go along, or you can follow me on twitter (@visualchemist) for updates as they happen.