Guest Giveaway: SweetHarvey

Our guest this week is:

Letterpress works by pressing a raised inked surface onto paper to form an image.  It was something I used to think had died out many years ago, until that is I joined Etsy, and found that the letterpress industry is still going strong, & even more so, the letter pressers of Etsy are bringing beautiful modern twists to this age-old traditional printing practice!

Flickr Image © Typoretum

No longer reserved just for Wedding stationary, why not treat yourself to some bespoke stationary, that will impress whoever you gift it to, to find out more about letterpress printing please read here.

We’re joined tonight by a fantastic letterpress designer, Sweet Harvey Designs … Lets Find Out More:

Shop address: www.sweetharvey.etsy.com

Hello Guest Giveaway lovely! Please tell us a little bit about you , who are you, where you’re from!??
Sweet Harvey Letterpress LLC is a small design studio specializing in original illustration, letterpress printing & graphic design. Combining modern illustration & design with vintage printing techniques to create a truly unique product for our clients. My studio is located in my home in Iowa!

Tell us about what you make & your inspiration?
By day I am a freelance illustrator working mostly on commercial illustration projects for print. By night I am the sole operator of a 705lb printing press which allow me to bring my whimsical digital illustrations to life as wonderful paper goods such as greetings, note cards, invitations/announcement and art prints.

What is your favorite item to make/sell ?
Definitely my prints – hands down. My prints require more drawing time and more detail and I love that fact that my art prints might grace the walls of someones home where they can be enjoyed everyday.

Do you have any favorite Etsy items you’ve bought?
My VERY favorite item is my custom apron made by Sassy Aprons – LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it and also love the custom super frilly skirt that I purchased from I am Roses!

Do you have any other websites people can find you?
Feels like I am all over the web. Samples of my illustration & letterpress work can be found at either http://www.brandipowell.com OR http://www.sweetharvey.com.
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetharvey
Blog: http://sweetharvey.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sweetharvey
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sweetharveyletterpress

Whats the best advice you’ve ever been given?
You only live once. I guess that is a saying but it really is something to consider. I earned my first BA in Business and worked in the corporate world for 10 years before bailing on my high paying corporate job to go back to – yes, you got it – Art School! Earned my second BA in Graphic Design & Fine Arts and have been working for myself as a professional artist every since. Risky – yes. Could I have failed – yes. Working my dream job everyday for the rest of my life – priceless…..

Anything else you’d like to say?
Thank you to everyone who has supported my work this past year. Although I have been an illustrator for several years now – Sweet Harvey Letterpress just opened last summer and it was another risk on my part but here I am less than a year later with so many supporters. Thank you.

Some more examples of SweetHarvey’s lovely Letterpress work:

YOU COULD WIN: This Fantastic letterpress ‘Heart Strings’ Art print from SweetHarvey,etsy,com More Details about the prize: Any day is a great day to let someone know how much they move you. Hand drawn illustration. Each print is individually hand printed on one of our antique presses.  5 x 7 image area – 6 x 8 trimmed,  8 x 10 Gray Mat & Backing board INCLUDED.  Printed on Crane’s Lettra White 100% cotton, 110lb stock.  Professionally packaged in clear box or bag with label.  Frame NOT included.

To Enter On Blog:  As the prize is about hearts, why not pick that as our theme this weekend!  All you have to do, to enter, is: Tell us what or who YOU are hearting most today, yes, right now, whats the thing you love ?.. It could be a website you’ve just found ( or an etsy shop you’ve just seen!) it could be a puppy you’ve just walked, we ALL love our families, so please dont mention them, they are a given!  Pick something, that you have experienced today, whats caught your heart TODAY?

…. Good Luck and have fun, Remember if you are new to the blog, it can take upto 12 hours for your post to be checked an authorised… once its given the ok all further posts should appear instantly. So don’t panic…

To Enter on Twitter: We have a $7 GorjussArt Gift Certificate prize available for a twitterer winnerer too ! Just hit the RETWEET button at the top of this blog and your RT will be entered into a draw too ( the winning tweet will be chosen by random.org too!)

Closes: Sunday Night at around 10pm GMT ( gorjuss time is shown on the blog clock!) Winner decided by Random.org. For Facebook readers, comments must be submitted on the actual blog www.gorjussart.co.uk/blog). You can enter as many times as you want on the blog ( but only one entry on twitter) just no back to back posting ( i.e someone should post between your posts!)

Good luck everyone, and a big thank you to SweetHarvey for joining us this weekend and of course her generosity with the prize!