First of all, thank you all for your kind words during my difficult times.  I can't believe how lucky I am.  :)

Here's a new idea I'm starting, it's called "Hello, Inspiration!"  I've been traveling a lot lately and seeing new things and places.  So I invited local bloggers to point me to businesses that I should visit and introduce to my blog audiences.

My first guest blogger is Courtney from one of my favorite design bloggers, Design Work Life; as well as Heart vs. Heart.  Located in New York, I knew she'll point me to some cool places to visit.  One of the places she listed was Greenwich Letterpress.  It is such a cute and charming store filled with "mouth watering" goodies and an in-house custom stationary design service.

GREENWICH LETTERPRESS

39 Christopher St
(between 4 St & 4th St)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 989-7464

www.greenwichletterpress.com

Here's a cute little interview I did with one of the creative owners, Beth Salvini.  *Thanks, Beth, for taking the time to talk to me and welcomed me to your store!*

1) What is your background?  And what is the history of your shop?

My sister Amy and I own the shop. I have a background in painting and Amy in graphic design. Both of us found ourselves living in New York at the same time and looking for a career change. We come from a family of printers, our grandfather, father, and great uncles all ran print shops. (Our father still does). We were not however looking to take over the family business. Amy was inspired by an article that our Mom clipped out about a woman doing letterpress wedding invitations in California. The idea of keeping the family tradition alive and incorporating her aesthetics into an artisanal print shop seemed like the perfect union. Once I decided to partner with Amy the original idea expanded into a retail shop as well as our own product line. Now almost four years later Amy is in charge of our custom letterpress work, I buy for and run our retail space, and together we design our card line.

2) Where do you find your inspiration?

Pop culture! On my days off I tend to stay home and work in my studio with episodes of Twin Peaks on. Lately I've been on my bicycle a lot which has been very inspiring. I can't speak for my sister, but judging by her designs I think nature in the form of The Museum of Natural History or The Bronx Zoo.

3) What do you love about your business?

I think we both love that its ours. Being your own boss isn't a golden ticket, but at the end of the day it puts a lot of issues in perspective.

4) Other than wedding invites, any fun ideas Greenwich Letterpress can do
for wedding couples?

We are going to start offering a wedding cake topper that can be customized by a great company in North Carolina. We are toying with the idea of table numbers and a few other top secret ideas. When time permits I think we are headed in that direction. Stay tuned.

5) What's your favorite lunch spot?  (Gotta throw that in, right?  hehe)

When we need delivery in a pinch, Gobo. When we have fake lunch meetings, Blue Ribbon Sushi. ha ha ha.