The final product: EG's 2011 Holiday Cards!

This year, the EG team wanted to show our clients and friends just how much we genuinely care with our 2011 holiday cards. There seemed to be no better way to prove our appreciation than to craft each card by hand. So, armed with a Master Printer letterpress, some handmade seeded paper from Porridge Papers, a grommeter and a few bottles of wine, we got to work.

Taylor, a copywriter, and Kelsey, an art director teamed up to conquer the task. Their goal was to create a beautiful, heart-felt card with a fresh message that truly reflected our agency’s values. After many brainstorming meetings, the two finally settled on the card’s greeting, “Grow Merry.”

To really bring this message home, they chose to print the greeting on “seeded paper.” This particular stock contains tiny seeds that are pressed into the paper when it is produced, so when the paper is planted in the ground, it will sprout wildflowers.

We contacted the fine folks at Porridge Papers in Lincoln, Nebraska, who supplied us with the handmade seeded paper. The thick, “ecotan-colored” paper arrived pre-cut into 4×6 postcards.

After creating the card’s design, Kelsey shipped it off to Boxcar Press, a major pre-press and platemaking shop for letterpress printers. When the custom letterpress plates finally arrived from Boxcar, it was time to break out the press.

Kelsey mixes green and yellow inks to create EG's signature green color.

Once five o’clock rolled around, two weeks before Christmas, the team converted the south side of the office into a letterpress studio. Kelsey, owner of the press and the agency’s letterpress aficionado, mixed green and yellow inks together until the perfect “EG green” was achieved. The green ink was then rolled onto the plastic plate and the card was placed facedown on the press. Once the card was perfectly aligned, a steady-hand was needed to physically roll the press over the card.

The two inked and pressed through many, many hours, episodes of Parks and Recreation and glasses of wine…

A few glasses of wine and several episodes of Parks & Rec really helped to pass the long nights on the letterpress.

When they finally finished letterpressing the cards, it was time to grommet them, which was done using a very handy tool called a “Crop-A-Dile.” After grommeting, the card’s tag was attached using a ball chain.

Nearing completion, the two-piece cards were inserted into handprinted black envelopes and stamped with a bronze “Genuine EG” rubber stamp.

Taking over the office with holiday cheer!

Kathy, another art director, designed the custom EG postage stamp, and the cards were finally ready to be mailed.

It turns out that hand-printing 250 cards is quite the task, but in the end…it was all worth it!

From all of us at EG Integrated, cheers to a genuinely fresh new year!