It started as a discussion on printing over Christmas dinner. A bunch of really creative people (plus me!) talking about art projects. I dream about dough mixers and cookie cutters but they dream about really old letterpress machines and type fonts.
I actually had something to offer to the conversation since I had recently seen a really cool hand letterpress label made for a bakery in Atlanta.
One of the creative types at the table happened to be the director of the book arts program at the University of Alabama. He wanted to get his students involved in a real-life project. And what could be a more attractive subject to students than a bakery?
A group of book-artists-in-training took ownership of the project and designed this label. The "lace" in the background is from a photo of a cake we made for them. My only stipulation was that red -- which has been part of the bakery's identity since we opened in 2006 -- be the only "color" on the label. And they had to use the cake logo.
The "label" ended up as a gift card, with a front and back. The paper is a lovely gray card stock. The inside is blank so customers can write a personal message. It is both functional and beautiful.
And it reflects a beautiful image of the bakery. Classy and elegant. We absolutely love them.
The next step? We plan to use this design for a redesign of our website. And the next time we print sticky labels for our boxes, we'll use this as well.
And that's one of the great things about a small city like Tuscaloosa. It would never be this easy or this fun in New York.
I have now accomplished the five things I wanted to do this year... And it is only April!
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