A stationer's studio, for the party you are throwing for someone else.

Why this exists

Most showers are thrown by someone who did not ask to be a designer. A maid of honour with a full-time job. A mother who has done this before and would like it to go well. She could send a group text, and everyone would still come. She is here because she wants the day to feel considered, and because she would like to be taken care of a little while she takes care of everyone else.

We started this studio because the alternatives were a party aisle or a week of late nights in a design tool, with a different font on every piece. Neither is what a good stationer would have offered her. A good stationer would have asked a few questions, shown her three directions, and then made sure that everything, down to the napkin under the glass, agreed with everything else.

Why it looks the way it does

We take our cues from engraved stationery and the older rules of etiquette, not because they are old, but because they are kind. They tell a guest what to expect, they put the honoree's name where it belongs, and they never shout. That is why the type is a garamond, why the ampersand is drawn with a quill, and why nothing on this site asks you to hurry.

The three directions we draft for you are drafted by tools, and we say so plainly on the terms page. What we do not leave to a tool is taste. Every template, palette and pairing was chosen by a person, and every order is read by one before it goes anywhere near a press.

How we work

Design, then proof, then a second look, then print. Once you have chosen a direction and adjusted the details, we prepare a proof of the actual artwork at size and send it to you with a short note. Nothing is printed until you have approved it. After you have, someone on our side reads it once more, checking names, dates, spelling and colour, before it is released to our press partners. If we catch something, we write to you first.

Printing takes about three weeks from the moment you approve your proof. That is enough time for everything to be done properly and none of it to be rushed. Digital pieces are ready the moment you approve them. When a printed suite leaves our care it is sorted by use, tissue-wrapped, and sent by tracked carrier, with a note on the order to set the table.

A real person

There is a person behind this studio, and a small number of people behind the presses. If something arrives wrong, or reads wrong, or you simply have a question the help pages do not answer, write to us. We answer within a business day, and we would rather hear from you early than late.