{Photo by Alexandra, Aerialist Press}

An August bride recently told me she was considering Aerialist Press, for affordable letterpress invitations. Affordable?! I was intrigued.

I scheduled a visit with Alexandra and Craig, the lovely couple behind Aerialist Press, in their chic studio in Emeryville (just down the street from Pixar).

As I entered their studio, to my right was a wall adorned with beautiful invitation suites and Bun, their huggable pet bunny, kept guard at the door.

{Bun, the cute bunny}

As I inspected their work, they shared with me how they had been doing letterpress for only a year and a half — basically since they had begun planning for their own “vineyard-feathers-and-twigs” wedding on a budget at Sattui Winery. Alexandra had taken letterpress classes in college and she fell in love with the art. She and Craig share artistic license and Craig handles the heavy machinery — two presses (one’s named Roxie!) dating from the early 19th century.

One of the designs they shared with me was inspired by a vintage fabric swatch their client had given them. Aerialist Press digitally rendered the floral shapes of the fabric and created the plate. The result is beautiful.

So, there really is such a thing as affordable and beautiful letterpress thanks to Aerialist Press. Their house invitation designs start at $225 (for 50 one-color) or $325 (for 50 two-color) and up to $325 (for 250 one-color) or $425 (250 two-color). Digitally printed envelopes start at $0.75 per envelope or else $1.00 for letterpress treatment.

Visit their website to see more of their awesome work and pricing.

The Aerialist Press
1514 Park Avenue
Emeryville, CA 94608
{by appointment only}