Invitation: Heritage Open House

Here is a promotional piece I did for one of my favorite local printers. A couple years ago they had a Fall open house and asked me to design the invitation for it. Being a printer they told me I had free-reign on paper, materials, process, etc.

You better believe I was squealing and jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store.


Embossed cork cover, Eames Canvas paper

I always really loved in the movie Vertigo when Kim Novak runs into the forest and counts the rings on the chopped down tree. From there I was totally inspired by tree rings and loved the way they looked in designs.


yeah, you heard right. EMBOSSED CORK.

From there I thought I would use a wood material for the cover. We explored a few different options but came to embossing a thin sheet of cork. Yes, cork. It's actually material used for cabinet facing. My printer bent over backwards to make this happen.


Embossed Eames Architecture diffused finish 50lb. text weight paper

I used an embossed Eames translucent sheet on the inside. The finish of the paper looks a little bit like onion skin under a microscope.


Envelope: Embossed Suedetex in Sand

We went emboss crazy and even did the envelope. This paper is really cool too - it feels like actual suede.

Even a couple years later this is still one of the best projects I've worked on. This kind of design could translate well to a fall wedding invitation as well.