Author Archives:

Our Very Own Iron Handpress

by Sara McNally | May 9th, 2013

A few weeks ago, we took a road trip to the great white north (Vancouver) and brought home a new member of the Constellation family! Meet Wendy, our Washington-style Reliance iron handpress. She’s from the early 1900′s and in beautiful condition. (And possibly the coolest thing that’s ever been listed on Craigslist!) Her bed size is 16″ x 21″ and we are so excited about printing posters in house! We’re working on Wendy’s inaugural broadside, and will be sure to share it with you soon. Here are some photos of the big move: Continue reading  

In Progress

by Sara McNally | April 22nd, 2013

The other day I was looking through our archive of photos and stumbled upon a folder titled “In Progress.” It had photos of our old studio, our press moves, refurbishing projects, etc. The photos made me feel rather nostalgic. Looking at them reminded me of our beginnings and how exciting (and scary!) every step of this journey has been. I’ve been feeling a bit discouraged, so it was a really sweet encouragement to look back and see how far we’ve come. We’ve made a ton of progress, and continue to forge onward. I didn’t share many of these photos when they were taken, but i’ll share them now. They’re an honest look at the messy side of things, and I really kind of like them right about now!


The epic 619 crack Continue reading  

Welcome, Spring Interns!

by Sara McNally | April 8th, 2013

Hello blog folks! I’m pleased to introduce not one but two fabulous Spring interns to you! We had a huge amount of interest in our Spring internship this year, and were thrilled to snag these lovely Seattle Pacific University students to work with us. Both ladies are majoring in Visual Communication and minoring in Business – which is a rather smart thing I wish i’d done! They’ll be working alongside the rest of the C&Co. team in all things small business (we all wear many hats), as well as working on real world client design projects, learning the letterpress printing process, and working on the new C&Co. wholesale card & gift line and catalog! We’re thrilled to have such energetic and talented ladies in the studio, and it is my pleasure to let them introduce themselves to you here:

Hi, my name is Dorothy! I’m a big fan of adventures outdoors, exploring new coffee shops and climbing rocks (on the amateur level). I’m an avid traveler and when budget allows, I take up every chance I get to explore this rad world we live in. When I grow up, I just want to love people and share life with them. But, you can’t make money off of that so on many summer weekends, you’ll see me rocking my TOMs and documenting nuptials like it’s my job (because it is). I’m also an aspiring designer and a soon-to-be graduate of Seattle Pacific University (!!!).

I’m one of Constellation & Co’s new interns and I’m way excited about it. Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you that I am obsessed with letterpress. There’s a ton for me to learn and grow from the crew here and I’m super thankful for this opportunity.

Greetings. My name is Emily Scott and I am currently in my Junior year at Seattle Pacific University studying Visual Communications. I enjoy long walks on the beach, all-expenses paid vacations, spending sunny afternoons on my yacht, and hanging out with the Beibs. Ok… so the only truth in that last statement is the part about enjoying the beach. I don’t actually have a yacht, and Seattle isn’t actually sunny.

My actual interests include: design, playing the piano, singing, cooking, adventuring outdoors (Northwest really is best), making people laugh, and spending time with friends and family. I dabble in painting and photography and on occasion can be found indoor rock climbing (though my arms protest quite a bit).

I am beyond excited to have received an internship position at Constellation & Co. I am expectant that I will grow as a designer, learn and begin to master the process of working with clients, develop my skills as a printer, and better understand the inner workings of small business. I am confident that the things I learn as an intern will equip me for my post-college career as a designer and to hopefully push me further towards my dream of working with non-profit organizations.

I am blessed to be working alongside Sara and the rest of the team and cannot wait to dive in and start creating!

March Update

by Sara McNally | March 11th, 2013

Hello friends, today I have a brief update for you on life in general. Lots going on, and not enough time to blog (as usual), but you can keep up with me on Instagram or Twitter if you’re so inclined.

I’ve been hard at work on our new card line (yay!), and i’m having a blast. It’s been really necessary to get out from behind the computer to get the creative mojo going. I’ve been doing some copywriting and research from home (with cats), client design work at coffee shops, walking and thinking in the sunshine, and lots of play in the studio. This new line is truly a love letter to life, and I couldn’t be happier with where it’s headed. I don’t want to spoil the big launch, so it’ll stay pretty secret – but I’m excited to show you some strategic sneak peeks as we go along.

It’s been really important lately to keep reminding myself what my priorities are for life and for Constellation. Urgent things pop up, and opportunities present themselves that will completely derail things if I let them. I’m NOT Superwoman, and I can’t do everything. Saying no is really important asset. So i’ve been doing my best to remember where i’m headed, what I want to be doing, and what things are priority one. When my priorities are in order, life really does feel sweeter.

Foil Stamping

by Sara McNally | February 25th, 2013

We picked up this awesome Howard Imprinting Machine a few months ago at our neighborhood “oddities” store, The Belfry. Like everything else in our shop, it has a colorful history. We’ve had a ton of fun since purchasing it – experimenting with different foil and type, doing hot foil stamping on everything we can get our hands on. We finally feel confident enough with our new toy to offer foil stamping to you, our friends & clients!

Here’s a list of things we think are especially awesome with the addition of foil stamping:
Custom stationery with your name or monogram
Envelope return addresses
Place/escort cards for your wedding guests
Foil stamped names on diplomas, certificates, etc.
Custom napkins for weddings with your names, wedding date, location, etc.
Custom napkins for anniversary parties, birthday parties, baby showers, etc. with name, date, age, etc.
One of our art prints, foil stamped with a special message for your loved one

Our imprinting machine uses vintage type, so we’re unable to offer custom imagery or logo printing at the moment. We’re expanding our collection of type, but at the moment we have these options:

Continue reading  

Sure & Steadfast Anchor

by Sara McNally | February 20th, 2013

Hello friends! I printed my first wood engraving last week, and i’m excited to share it with you! To see my progress getting to this point, check out these previous blog posts: Week One and Week Two. I finished the project off by printing it on Magnani’s Pescia, along with some lovely 30 pt. Century Nova Italic lead type that we bought from Jules Faye this summer. (And now it’s about to get real honest up in here – consider yourself warned encouraged to proceed.) Continue reading  

Happy Vday 2013!

by Sara McNally | February 14th, 2013

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! We’ve sent out lots and lots of You & Me prints this year, and I hope each and every one of you enjoy the words of love your sweetie picked out for you! Just in time for Vday shopping, we launched several new options on our Etsy store:


New You & Me prints on Crane’s 100% Cotton Lettra paper, both in Black InkRed Ink


New You & Me prints on 100% Recycled Kraft Paper in Bold Red Ink

Didn’t get one ordered in time? Never fear! Our friends over at Klondike Penny’s have the full collection available for purchase and will be open today from 12:30 – 9 pm!

Continue reading  

Happy Birthday Abraham

by Sara McNally | February 12th, 2013

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, a day that I really like to celebrate! In honor of what would have been his 204th birthday (if he was zombie Lincoln), here are some Abe related links & quotes that are pertinent to daily life:


Never let your correspondence fall behind.
-A. Lincoln

Keep your correspondence up to date with our Abe is a Babe or Epic Abe card, and one of these rad new Emancipation Proclamation stamps by the United States Postal Service! Continue reading  

Wood Engraving Class: Week 3

by Sara McNally | February 9th, 2013

Hello friends, here’s my weekly wood engraving class update! I’ve finished the engraving portion of my anchor print but haven’t had a chance to print it yet. It was a busy week with client work, events, etc. This coming week I’ll be setting type to go along with the image and getting it printed. I’ll be sure to share it with you when it’s finished. In the meantime, I started a new engraving during my class time with Carl this week: a sweet baby bear! Continue reading  

Our First Constellation Baby Shower!

by Sara McNally | February 8th, 2013

Hello friends! This weekend I had the pleasure of throwing a baby shower for my best friend (and administrative assistant) Holly! I had a ton of fun organizing the party and pulling together all the details. The idea was to get dressed up and have a fun & classy “mocktail” party for the ladies. I stuck to a palette of classic yellow & gray for the party (the colors Holly chose for the baby’s bedding) so she can use some of the decorations for the baby’s alcove! (More to come on that later, Holly has a fun blog post planned.) Check out my Pinterest inspiration board to see how I started planning, and click “continue reading” for lots of photos of how the party turned out! Continue reading  

Constellation Goes Old School at Klondike Penny’s

by Sara McNally | February 5th, 2013


I have two things for you guys today: 1) an awesome date idea, and 2) some big news!

Klondike Penny’s is an awesome old time photo studio a few blocks away from us in Pioneer Square. I’ve been asking Brad to get old timey photos with me for years, so for my birthday last month he gave me a super sweet “coupon” for a photo adventure! I redeemed my coupon this weekend, and we had so much fun playing dress up in their gold rush era costumes! It was like stepping right into Pioneer Square’s past. Can you imagine me operating a printing press in this dress? Too funny.

I would seriously suggest taking your sweetheart over there for some old timey Valentine’s Day photos! The folks at Klondike Penny’s are super friendly and their costumes are so beautiful. I wanted to wear everything! (Especially the hats!)

Now here’s the extra exciting part: the great folks at Klondike Penny’s are looking to expand the mercantile section of the shop and have given us the opportunity to join them! Their shop is a such a great fit with the era of our presses and the feel of our products that we’ve agreed take them up on the offer! A large selection of our products will be available for retail purchase at Klondike Penny’s just in time for art walk this coming Thursday. If you’re here in Seattle, make sure to come out and buy something for your sweetie!

Wood Engraving Class – Week 2

by Sara McNally | February 1st, 2013

Hello friends! I’m about to run off and do Friday night things, but I wanted to show you my wood engraving progress. I had another lovely morning in Carl’s studio – the natural light was lovely as the sun tried to make it’s way out from behind the clouds.  I had made some progress on clearing out the white background by hand for my “homework,” but today Carl introduced me to the dremel power tool and things went quite quickly from there. It felt like “high stakes” – I might twitch and clear straight through the printing area at any moment! (Thankfully I didn’t.) We made a first proof of my engraving today, which will help for clearing out and doing final touch ups. You can tell I made progress today because of all the “chips” in the photo. I think it looks like confetti – which is perfect because it’s Friday, and a weekend this badly needed is cause for celebration! It was a crazy week for me. How was your week?

While I go have a glass of wine and unwind, here’s a little something for you to do. I would love it if you folks reading the blog would comment – so, the first person to speak up and say hello (or anything for that matter) will receive a free card of their choice from our Etsy store!

Always Learning: Wood Engraving Classes!

by Sara McNally | January 28th, 2013

Hello friends! I had a really wonderful morning, and I want to tell you about it.

For my birthday a few weeks ago, Brad gave me unlimited wood engraving lessons with Carl Montford! Carl is absolutely a master of his craft, and I am honored to call him a friend. He was the “matchmaker” who brought us together with the seller of our first press, and he even helped us move the press into our studio (not an easy task). Carl is an absolute treasure of the letterpress community, and I am so excited to be learning from him!

The photo above is the progress of my first engraving project. I’m working on an anchor image and using a Resingrave block. I learned so much in just the first three hours. It’s so exciting to be learning a new skill from such an amazing artist. Cherish is taking classes as well, so I’ll see if I can get her to share her progress too. I’ll keep you posted as we progress!

What are you learning in this new year? Please comment. :)

Introducing Rosie!

by Sara McNally | January 9th, 2013


Photo by Tonhya Kae Photography

Exciting announcement: we’ve welcomed a sweet new face to our team! Rosie is a talented lettering artist & graphic designer, and has a sunshiny personality that is absolutely infectious! Her business, Songbird Paperie, will be partnering with us to offer hand lettering and calligraphy to our list of services! She’ll also be working with us as a production designer and will be contributing to the blog! Without further ado, i’ll let Rosie tell you a little about herself. Continue reading  

Life Just Snowballs Along

by Sara McNally | January 8th, 2013

Sara here, catching up after a long long loooong end of 2012. I love the hustle and bustle of the holidays and finishing up the year, but being that busy always takes its toll. Brad and I had a wonderful Christmas, but spent most of our vacation time being quite sick. But we’re finally getting back to normal and are back in the office working, planning and getting 2013 in gear! But before we do that, here’s a bit of a December wrap up!

We participated in the local AIGA & AAF Seattle’s Jingle & Mingle Holiday Party as a vendor in their Design Gift Market. It was fun to meet folks and greet shoppers at a new event! (Photo courtesy of the event’s Flickr page.)

We participated in our first winter Crafty Wonderland show in Portland. It was a great turnout, and an amazing show to shop! We did a good chunk of our holiday purchases at the show, as well as at Portland Bazaar (we left Cherish in the booth and ran off to visit!), and Wanderlust (my new favorite store in Portland).

We launched the Cosmic Sans project website, and it went viral! We’ve found it all over the place. Here are some of the most exciting places we’ve seen it shared: Quipsologies, The Smithsonian Blog, The Maddow Blog, Design Taxi, and i09. Continue reading  

WA State Sites & Sights

by Sara McNally | November 9th, 2012

A few weeks ago, Brad’s mom & dad came to visit us in Seattle. I was sick as a dog with bronchitis (which I had for over a month, yuck!), but it was still a fun time! I love having out of town friends & family visit us – it gives us the opportunity to explore our beautiful state anew! We took a day trip across Puget Sound to see the sights/sites on Whidbey Island, and drove back across Deception Pass on the way home. It was a drive Brad and I had never taken before, and it blew our minds. I don’t think i’ll ever get over how beautiful fall in Washington is. It’s just…beyond. We recently got a new camera (yay!), so we’ve been documenting a lot more of life. Click “continue reading” for more photos! Continue reading  

Constellation Collections: Miniatures

by Sara McNally | October 8th, 2012

Slowly but surely over the last year, we’ve been collecting miniatures. It wasn’t our intention to collect miniatures, but every time we see one, we kind of can’t resist. This old Pepsi crate is the perfect curio cabinet for our army of smalls! And now that there’s a designated place in the studio for them, there’s an excuse to pick up more when we see them! I don’t know what it is… they just make me giggle! Continue reading  

Newbies Around the Shop

by Sara McNally | October 3rd, 2012

We’ve added some new “friends” to the shop recently, and are excited to show them off!

Jules of Stern & Faye recently sold the print farm and held an estate sale to share the pieces that wouldn’t fit in her new studio with the letterpress community. While it was really sad to be visiting the farm for the last time, we were also really excited to buy a full cabinet of beautiful type and a slant-top work surface (among other goodies). You really can’t beat a letterpress estate sale!

We’re been busy reorganizing the shop and babying our new type, but we’re working on a full catalog of print samples to show you – check back in for updates! Continue reading  

Our 3rd Anniversary Printing Press

by Sara McNally | October 1st, 2012

Last month, Brad and I took a weekend trip to the Olympic Peninsula for our 3rd Anniversary. We had an amazing, restful adventure. In our opinion, that’s the best kind – a little bit of both! We rode the ferry, stayed in a castle, did a cider tasting, made sun prints, ate lots of delicious food, walked on the beach, and did some shopping. Continue reading  

Don’t Miss Cosmic Sans!

by Sara McNally | August 17th, 2012

Cosmic Sans has sprouted legs and taken off running! Submissions are coming in every day, and we are so impressed by what our fellow space lovers are coming up with! This show is going to knock your proverbial socks off. Look at this sneak peek:


Insane, right!? Yes, that is Zoidberg! (Left by Zac Schwiet, right by Lisa Schneller) And that’s just the beginning. We’ve got light sabres, space monkeys, and Gordon Freeman’s crow bar coming your way!

So here’s what you’re going to do.

1) Plan to come to the show. And then do it!

2) Print out this flyer and hang it up somewhere that nerds cool people will see it.

3) RSVP that you’re coming on our Facebook event so we can make enough space snacks for you.

We can’t wait. We’ll see you there!

Our CreativeMornings Talk

by Sara McNally | August 13th, 2012

CreativeMornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series for “creative types.” Each event is free, includes a 20 minute talk & 20 minutes of Q&A, and brings together creative folks to share their work and experiences. CreativeMornings was started in New York City in 2009 by Tina Roth Eisenberg (SwissMiss), to create an “accessible, inspiring morning event for people to meet.” We’re big fans of CreativeMornings – we love attending the Seattle events, and enjoy impromptu CreativeMornings in the office, listening to the wealth of content available from all over the world!

July’s Seattle CreativeMornings was hosted at Maker’s Space, a rad new coworking space in downtown Seattle, and featured a talk by us! (Crazy, right!?) These photos of the event are by the lovely and talented Jenny Linquist.

Continue reading  

Renegade Shopping Summer 2012

by Sara McNally | August 10th, 2012

Renegade was awesome. Sincerely awesome. We got into a ton of mischief while vending – our fellow vendors’ goods were way too rad to resist. Every time one of us took a trip to the bathroom (on the opposite end of the building from our booth), we’d come back with something fun for ourselves or a gift for someone else.


The show sign (I cheered when we drove in!)
and fun new artwork in the studio by Paper Parasol PressHello, Lets Be FriendsOf Hearty Stock

Things we came home with:

We bought an ultra rad tee shirt from Gnome Enterprises for our friends’ son Jackson. His 2nd birthday party was the day we got back from SF, and we were really excited to bring him back such an epic shirt. He’s at the age where he likes to pick what he wears every day, and I’m pretty sure that dinosaurs and robots are the best thing ever when you’re 2.

We got an awesome chicken shaped cutting board from Mac Cutting Boards for my mom’s birthday. My parents had chickens when they moved to Florida but can’t have them at their house here,  so we’re always on the lookout for fun chicken themed things. Continue reading  

Renegade Craft Fair SF Summer 2012!

by Sara McNally | August 9th, 2012

This was our first time as vendors at any Renegade Craft Fair, and let me tell you – we are hooked! The turnout was incredible, the organizers were highly organized and helpful, the vendors were suburb, the shoppers were excited… and we had so much fun. It was such a great show. We can’t stop raving! Here are some photos of the goings-on:

Look at all those happy folks! Continue reading  

Working in Community: Encouragement

by Sara McNally | August 8th, 2012

I read an interview with Dana Tanamachi (chalk artist extraordinaire) recently on the Great Discontent, and I really loved her comments on working in community. If you listened to my Creative Mornings talk (blog post about that coming soon), you know that we believe strongly in collaboration and community. These two quotes really hit the nail right on the head, so I’d like to share them with you.

“When someone sees something in you and they have the courage to speak it out, it changes everything. I learned the other month that the root of ‘encourage’ literally means to put courage into someone. That is what my community does. I’ve learned from them that if you see something special or unique in someone, don’t just think it—tell them. Our words hold a lot of power.”

“Being known and knowing others is so important. To have people who know your story, know what you’re about, know your strengths and weaknesses, and can speak into your life is good. Like I mentioned, there is a current in NY and it’s easy to get swept away—having those people really grounds you. They can remind you of how you’ve changed and grown when you do get discouraged.”

Dana Tanamachi on the Great Discontent

We Heart SF

by Sara McNally | August 7th, 2012

A couple weeks ago (it’s been so busy since we got back!) we spent time in San Francisco for Renegade Craft Fair and a long overdue “just the two of us” vacation. It was our first time in California, so we took a road trip down the coast to see as much as we could.


Photos taken by Brad on an iPhone with VSCO Cam

It was the most wonderful trip. We had lots of adventures, saw the sights, ate tons of great food, did some shopping… SF took really good care of us. Here are some of our favorite things: Continue reading  

Welcome, Cherish!

by Sara McNally | July 12th, 2012

We’ve been busy. Have I said that often enough? Busy. Case and point: we brought on a wonderful employee in March, and I haven’t introduced her yet! Shame on me.

Folks, meet Cherish Prado!

Continue reading  


SVC Shop Crawl 2012

by Sara McNally | July 11th, 2012

Last weekend we had an amazing time touring a selection of print shops in the School of Visual Concepts‘ letterpress community. It was so lovely to spend a day talking shop with other people as crazy enthusiastic about letterpress as we are! It was our first time being a stop on the crawl, and we were honored to have everyone stop by. I love having a shop full of people! Below are some photos of the day, and more photos are available here.


The lock-up for our shop crawl keepsake

Continue reading  

Renegade Craft Fair!

by Sara McNally | July 10th, 2012

I can’t tell you how excited we are for this. We’ll be booth #34, and are looking forward to meeting new friends in San Francisco! Brad and I have never been to California (lame, I know), so we’re making a vacation of it. We’ll be road tripping down the coast, doing Renegade, and then spending the week after exploring San Francisco. If you’re a local, please comment with all the fun things we must see! We seriously can’t wait.

Introducing: “Organically Yours”

by Sara McNally | June 29th, 2012

We are proud to introduce Organically Yours, a series of letterpress greeting cards with corresponding seed packets, produced in collaboration with Seattle Seed Company! Sander, the owner of Seattle Seed Co., contacted us awhile back about some printing work, and it didn’t take us long to realize our companies were made to collaborate!

Continue reading  

Cosmic Sans

by Sara McNally | June 21st, 2012

Something magical happened on Twitter today. A nerdy joke that my husband has been snickering about for awhile was released into the wild, and it grew wings.

So here’s the idea: Cosmic Sans, a series of 26 sci-fi and/or space themed letterforms, designed by 26 designers. Each letterform must be inspired by “the cosmic” and a riff on Comic Sans. (“Riff” here meaning it must be sans serif, and in some way traceable back to Comic Sans, but NOT ugly. Points for good design.) Each designer will produce a letterform, and a 12″ x 12″ art piece featuring the letterform. All 26 pieces will be printed (handmade printing methods encouraged, but not required), hung in a Seattle gallery show, and showcased in an online gallery for posterity.

Are you cosmic enough to join? (Please do!) Comments on this blog post will be the official registration for the series. Include your name, portfolio site (so we can get to know you), and which letter you’d like to do. Open to all, but we will jury the final 26 pieces for the show (if we get a crazy turnout). Are you excited? We are!

Due date and additional info on the gallery show when we have all 26 letters accounted for!

Vintage Finds: My Bike

by Sara McNally | June 19th, 2012

Summer has slowly made its way to Seattle, and for the first time since I was little, the warm weather means bike rides! A couple months ago (when spring was here and we were eagerly awaiting summer), we found the sweetest blue bike in the basement of an estate sale in our neighborhood. I had an instant crush on this bike. It’s everything a bike should be! We initially walked away from the house (we certainly hadn’t budgeted to get me a bike, nor did we bring enough cash), but I was really sad to leave it behind. I just kept thinking about the two of us riding bikes all summer…and it was too sweet a thought to give up! Brad (who loves me a ton) negotiated the seller down to a somewhat manageable price, and we took my new/old bike home! Continue reading  

Hey, Cool! Print Jobs!

by Sara McNally | June 18th, 2012

So, we’ve gone back and forth on how we feel about print-only jobs. We love working with the talented designers in our city, but tend to get too busy too fast. But some cool things have been falling into place lately – new person, new press, more space…more info forthcoming! In light of these new circumstance, we’ve started taking on new print-only jobs on a limited basis.

Interested in having us print your design work? We’re getting ready to take on more print-only jobs: but for time & energy purposes, we want to choose our clients carefully. In order to best educate our designer clients on the magical world of letterpress printing, we will be offering one-day workshops (monthly or every other month, depending on interest) that will be a prerequisite for printing with us. Each workshop (for graphic designers only) will cover all the quirky specifics of design for letterpress printing, including: what works well for letterpress, how to prepare your files, color separations, printing press capabilities, do’s & don’ts, and more! The cost of the class will be $50, which we will credit back to your first print job with us. If you’re interested in taking the workshop, e-mail us (hello AT constellationco DOT com) and we will reply with additional info. The first workshop will be in August!

Note: These workshops will be on how to design for letterpress, not on how to print yourself. If you’re interested in learning how to print, check out the awesome classes at the School of Visual Concepts.

Too many words, not enough pictures? Check out these kick-arse print-only jobs we’ve done lately…these folks are rock stars!


Jen & Mike’s Save the Dates, Designed by Mike, the groom!

Continue reading  

Where ya been, Sara?

by Sara McNally | June 15th, 2012

So, things got a bit insane around here after my St. Louis trip. While I was gone, work ground to a halt for a week and has been backed up ever since (nearly a month!) No complaints here, busy = business! We’ve been on press every day for weeks, and have quite a few new client projects in the works. We’ve hired a lovely and talented printmaker named Cherish to help out around the shop (official introduction soon) and assigned the beautiful and organized Holly to answering e-mails and setting up client meetings (she also makes wreaths). With our powers combined, work has continued on in a rapid pace and won’t stop next time i’m out of town! (Which will be in July for Renegade Craft Fair & San Francisco adventure, which i’m currently planning and very excited about!)

Crazy busy Sara tends to mean no blog entries. But I’ve got lots of updates planning and coming soon! In the meantime, here’s a greatest hits line-up of our recent design/print work:


Tiny Newspaper for the ’57 Biscayne Open House

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Happy Mother’s Day!

by Sara McNally | May 13th, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day to all the best moms ever out there, especially our awesome moms, Suzi & Gail!

This is the first mother’s day in years that i’ve gotten to spend with my mom, which is really exciting. I love having family nearby – it wasn’t something we ever thought would happen, and we are so blessed to have them! Family is awesome.

Speaking of family, I’ll be out of the office Wednesday through Friday for my cousin’s wedding. (Remember Liz & Andrew?) Andrew and I have always been close (we’re only a few months apart in age) and he was a groomsman in our wedding, so it means a lot to me to be there as a bridesmaid when he ties the knot! My mom, sister and I are making the trip to St. Louis together (and leaving the boys at home to work), so it will be a girl’s getaway. I’m definitely looking forward to the time away and seeing extended family that I haven’t seen since our wedding. Should be a great time! I’ll be back on the blog (and answering e-mails again) once i’m back on the 20th.

Crafty and counting…

by Sara McNally | May 7th, 2012

Here’s the scoop: Crafty Wonderland is this weekend in Portland, and we are so excited! I checked out a bunch of our fellow vendors, and blew several hours of my morning… these folks are a-maz-ing! You don’t want to miss this one. Here’s a run down of the booths i’m most excited to check out:

Things I want:
Beautiful, feminine jewelry from Amy Wing
Gorgeous textiles from Anna Joyce
Nerdy goodness from Betty Turbo (I’ve gotta get me some of those Buffy cards!)
I feel like my summer needs feather earrings from Bird Crap Featherwear
I love these cut paper shadowboxes from Bird Mafia Cut Paper Design
How amazing are these mounted trophy magnets by bishoplennonart?
The pillow pincushions by Chet & Dot are too cute for words. Makes me want to take up sewing!
Tiny felted mushrooms in bottlecaps? Yes please! Gonna have to stop by House of Moss.
I simply can’t wait to see Wee Green Spot‘s sweet terrariums in person! (Been crushing on them for awhile.)

Things Hubby’s Gonna Want:
Ultra nerdy accessories by Pixel Party
Felted Star Wars Mobiles? OMG. Sheep Creek has too many cute things for words.
I don’t know what Beard Balm is for, but my hubby’s got a beard so i’m sure we’ll find out! Looking forward to dropping by Man’s Face Stuff.

Familiar Faces:
I’ve got a Berkley Illustration print hung above my desk, and I can’t wait to see more!
We’ve got Mary Kate McDevitt’s Abe print hung up in the studio – a very sweet reminder, even on rainy days. Can’t wait to see what she’s been up to!
I totally stalked the gorgeous hats by Humperdinck His and Hers Haberdashery at the last Urban Craft Uprising, and can’t wait to see them again!

Framed: 1934 Needlecraft Magazine Cover

by Sara McNally | May 1st, 2012

We’ve been on a bit of an estate sale shopping spree lately. (Cheapest shopping spree ever, but still a spree.) In the name of Constellation & Co. Vintage, we’ve been pairing lonely antique frames with unlikely ephemera to make beautiful framed art. It’s been fun, and we’ve got more to come! The only downside is… we’re having trouble parting with our creations.

This lovely damsel is from a 1934 issue of Needlecraft Magazine we discovered at an estate sale in our neighborhood. I’m in love with her blouse. Perfect summer fashion, straight from the 30′s. I can’t get over how lovely she is. More fun framed ephemera to come – but for now, this one is ours!

We’re in the Seattle Times!

by Sara McNally | April 30th, 2012

We were so excited to zip down to our local bookstore and pick up Sunday’s paper – because look, it’s us! (Well, it’s our logo, Josephine the printing machine, and Sara…sweeping.) The Seattle Times has been in touch with us and our studio mates since before the big move, and it’s great to see the story finally come out.

If you missed the ink and newsprint version, you can read the article online here. There are also several more photos and an audio clip here. Continue reading  

You Need a Wreath!

by Sara McNally | April 18th, 2012

My best friend Holly (seriously she’s my BFF) has opened her own Etsy store, making handmade custom wreaths. She brought a bunch of them to the studio yesterday to photograph, and they are gorgeous! Every wreath is totally one-of-a-kind, with each flower made of different textiles, including vintage fabric & lace! Holly offers ready-made wreaths AND completely custom wreaths, to perfectly fit your desires and decor.

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Updates: New Stores! Upcoming Events! Etcetera!

by Sara McNally | April 17th, 2012

We have been busy bees over here at Constellation & Co. (Hence the blog silence. “Update blog” is on my Teux Deux every day, but it tends to get neglected for other tasks.) But here I am, and here are some highlights.

Visit our new stores!

Our card & gift items are available for purchase in several new stores! It’s been a great month since we launched our wholesale catalog, and we’ve enjoyed seeing orders coming in from lovely shops in fun cities.


McNally Jackson Books, NYC

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Saint Patty’s Day Inspiration Board

by Sara McNally | March 17th, 2012

In honor of the great holiday that is upon us (and the sudden appearance of Spring green in Seattle), I present to you: two green things that I like.

I really like this Mini Textured Felted Wool Bundle from Purl Soho. They die several fabrics the same color for a unified palette that you can use in all kinds of fun crafty projects. I would love to make a quilt like this. (When I learn how to quilt.) I also really like this sweet terrarium by weegreenspot on Etsy. It’s inspired by the Irish landscape, and even has a “wee” felted sheep. It’s way too cute. My desk would love to have it.

If it would ever stop raining, i’d take some pictures of the Spring-y goodness that is happening all over our fair city right now. But, alas: the rain pours on. At least it’s good for all those daffodils that are blooming!

Vintage Finds: ‘Prentice Rubber Type Set

by Sara McNally | March 15th, 2012

While in Michigan last month, Brad and I picked up this ‘Prentice Rubber Type Set at an antique store. As you see, at one point it cost 35 cents – we paid more than that, but not a whole lot more! The antique stores in Michigan had totally different pricing than we’re used to. Certain items (furniture, glassware, etc.) were priced quite high, but ephemera-type items (books, paper goods, and this beauty) were priced much lower than what you’d find in Seattle. (It was good news for us, of course!) I was so excited when we found this, and i’m thrilled to share it with you now! Continue reading  

A Constellation Catalog

by Sara McNally | March 13th, 2012

Last week, we launched our first full wholesale catalog. And let me tell you, it was more certainly a labor of love! Our goal was to send it out in January, but I caught a case of the “it’s not ready yet!” panic. While I would have loved to get it out sooner, I’m really pleased with how it came out. Hopefully it’s worth the wait! Continue reading  

Pep

by Sara McNally | March 2nd, 2012

Some days, you just need a pep talk. Small business can be a lonely business if you let it. It’s easy to get caught up in the hard work and long hours, and forget to let people in. Sure, I love design and paper and ink and printing. But those are just things.

The most rewarding part of my job are the relationships I’ve built and the people I get to bring into this space. I love having friends, interns, students and family here to share, chat and help out. Continue reading  

In Honor…

by Sara McNally | February 15th, 2012

Today, Brad’s grandfather passed away.

Hank was a collector, a lover of old things. He and his wife spent a lot of time together at garage sales and estate sales, finding treasures. Hank was really good at Wii Bowling. (This past Thanksgiving, we had so much fun playing with him – and he beat us almost every time.) Hank is man who leaves behind a legacy – kids, grandkids, and a sweet great-granddaughter that will miss him dearly.

When Hank and his wife moved out of their family home last year, they shared some of their treasures with their kids and grandkids. The stately eagle that hangs in our studio was once hung in their kitchen for many years. Continue reading  

Happy Lincoln Day!

by Sara McNally | February 12th, 2012

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s 203rd birthday! We’re big Abe fans over here at Constellation & Co. So in honor of the big guy’s big day, here are a few Lincoln themed activities for your celebration and enjoyment.

Send a fellow Lincoln-lover our “Abe’s a Babe” mini card (better late than never!),
Buy some Abe swag from this Abe Treasury on Etsy,
Listen out this great song by Sufjan Stevens that mentions our favorite 16th president and his epic “great emancipator”-ness,
Or listen to this mediocre and slightly bizarre song that is actually about Abe Lincoln’s Birthday
And while we’re at it, here’s a Civil War era song about how Jeff Davis tore down the government and Abe built a better one…

(We found the printer’s block above awhile back, and absolutely had to bring it home with us. I would most certainly shop there.)

Constellation & Beth

by Sara McNally | February 8th, 2012

In an exciting turn of events, my parents and sister moved from Florida to Washington State a little over a month ago. They’ve been coming to help out in the studio about once a week since they arrived, and it’s been so much fun to share our space and our life with them. This past week, my sister spent the night with Brad and I, and came in to work with me the next day. Jenny was in the studio taking product photos that day as well, and captured some pretty wonderful “Beth moments.” Continue reading  

Introducing: Constellation & Co. Vintage!

by Sara McNally | February 6th, 2012


Photograph of Aunt Helen

For some time now, we’ve been spending our Saturday mornings digging through estate sales, browsing off the beaten path antique stores and finding lovely vintage things. Our favorite things to discover and collect are ephemeral items: books, photos, advertising, letters, pamphlets, playbills, board games, etc. Most of these items (from the 1800′s all the way up the 1960′s) were letterpress printed, just like how Constellation & Co.’s products are printed now. This knowledge gives us a special affinity for these pieces of paper and ink history. Some of these items have found a special place in our home and studio. But more often than not, we find something, fall in love with it, and then realize we have no room for it. That’s where our new venture comes in! Continue reading  

Snow Week!

by Sara McNally | January 23rd, 2012

Last week we had the rare pleasure/challenge of a LOT of snow. Seattle rarely gets much snow (the first year we lived here, it didn’t snow at all), so when it does, it’s exciting. It’s also dangerous, as we have lots of hills and very few snow plows. But those two elements (fun + danger) equal a stay at home snow week! We worked from home as much as possible – although most things I do aren’t really portable, so there was lots of time to enjoy reading, knitting, cat snuggling and snowy walks. Continue reading  

Welcome, 2012.

by Sara McNally | January 2nd, 2012

Well, we’ve wrapped up the old year. The holidays have passed, and i’m feeling reflective.

I spent this New Year’s Eve (and the week before it) curled up with a box of tissues, a bottle of NyQuil, and a bad attitude. Brad had this week off work, so we had lots of adventures planned for this last week of 2011. Unfortunately, my stupid cold made us miss out on most of them. It was a bummer. I hate being sick, and I hate missing out on quality adventure time. But adventures aside, Brad caught up on some painting projects at home (goodbye ugly flesh colored accent walls!), and I caught up on a lot of rest and television.

I’ve always loved New Year’s Eve. It’s such an ideal time to draw lines in the sand – to look back on the year before and make plans for the year to come. It’s a reboot, a clean slate. It’s always fresh and ripe with all the things that are possible in a new year. And it’s a sweet time to look back at the joys and lessons of the last year. In honor of that, here’s a bit of both. Continue reading  

Safety First!

by Sara McNally | December 16th, 2011

The following is an excerpt from the 1953 edition of Platen Press Operation by George J. Mills.
(More information on the book can be found here.)

Quotes from the book are italic and the other comments are my interjections/self-reminders.

The platen press is as dangerous or as safe as the operator makes it. Student operators should follow common sense safety practices until each becomes a habit. Continue reading  

Urban Craft Uprising – Winter Show 2011

by Sara McNally | December 8th, 2011

We made it back from our Florida trip just in time to set up for the Urban Craft Uprising winter show! We did the summer show this year, so we assumed that we knew what to expect. But instead… holy 10,000 people, Batman! Our expectations were far exceeded – the amount of people in attendance was astounding, and we were busy all day, both days. We really had a great weekend. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came out to see us!

For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are some photos of our booth (taken by our stellar intern, Jenny).

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Grand Opening!

by Sara McNally | December 1st, 2011

Today I’m excited to bring you photos and info about the Grand Opening we had a few weeks ago! Our amazing intern Jenny took all of the photos and wrote the following post. Enjoy!

Jenny the intern here. A few weeks ago the ’57 Biscayne residents opened their doors to the public for the first time. It was quite the party, with lots of wine, cheese, friends, and Carmelita (our landlady and fellow studio-mate’s dog).


Taking a Break

by Sara McNally | November 14th, 2011

Hello friends. Just wanted to let you know that we’ll be out of town / out of office from November 16th – 30th. We’re looking forward to some time off, seeing our wonderful families and enjoying some summer weather in November. Our fabulous intern Jenny will drop in soon to give you the low down on our recent grand opening, so check back in for that! Continue reading  

Everything needs a sweater.

by Sara McNally | November 9th, 2011

Now that our office and print shop have been united in our new studio, I’ve been making a pot of french press coffee every morning when I get in. Since I drink coffee super slow, the pot tends to get cold. (There’s a microwave down the hall, but one gets tired of going back and forth.) The solution to this age old problem? A french press sweater.

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Grand Opening!

by Sara McNally | October 28th, 2011

We’re moved in, getting settled, and soon we’ll both open AND grand!

Join us in celebrating the grand opening of our new home in Pioneer Square! You don’t miss out on this special night of open studios, demonstrations (we’ll be printing keepsakes to take home!), refreshments, and art for your viewing pleasure (and for sale!) Bring your friends!

Come see our new digs at:
110 Cherry Street, 2nd Floor, Seattle

On: November 12, 2012
From: Six to Ten p.m.

Visit ’57 Biscayne online at: 57biscayne.com

We’ll also be printing letterpress postcard invitations – if you’d like one to arrive in your mailbox, e-mail your address to: hello[at]constellationco.com.

Then & Now

by Sara McNally | October 24th, 2011

Brad and I wandered into our favorite Pioneer Square antique store, Fairlook Antiques, on lunch break the other day. We knew better. We knew it was dangerous. But we did it anyway. And, as usual, we walked out with goodies.

We were really excited to find this Seattle postcard (left), showing the view up Cherry Street from 1st Avenue. The first building on the left is our new building! I took this iPhone photo (right) from approximately the same spot. I love seeing how little has changed! Continue reading  

Sick

by Sara McNally | October 18th, 2011

Last week, I spent several days at home, sick in bed. It’s not surprising that I got sick… Stress + Long Days + Change of Temperature = Sick Sara. I’m finally back at work, but i’m still sniffly and hoarse. So, in light of that, here are things that make me feel cozy when i’m sick. I’ll get back to serious topics when I can stop carrying a box of tissues around with me. (By the way, these are the best thing to ever happen to noses.)

Fisherman Sweater and Camp Socks from J. Crew Continue reading  

Working Hard or Hardly Working

by Sara McNally | October 7th, 2011

In many ways we’ve been working much much harder than usual (late nights, long days, lots of manual labor): hence, the working hard. But in the midst of that, we haven’t been doing the work we typically do: hence, the hardly working. Soon the new studio will be in order and we’ll be back to printing – but for now, here’s an update on what we’ve been doing in the meantime.

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Fall-o-up

by Sara McNally | October 3rd, 2011

A few weeks ago, I blogged about our “first day of fall” party, and I wanted to follow up with some info about how our baking & crafts went!

I wanted a fall wreath for our front door, since this is our first season with an actual (non-apartment) front door. But I wanted it to be somewhat year-round friendly – less pressure for other new wreaths! Although, after making this one, I’m ready to make more. This one took me just the afternoon to make, and it was so fun! I originally saw this type of wreath here, and used this tutorial to make the flowers. I liked this yellow (been digging it lately – just made a scarf in this color too),  but wanted to break it up with some cream. I made several different types of flowers, and switched up the size as well. I’m really happy with how it came out, and it makes our front door so cozy! Continue reading  

Logistics

by Sara McNally | September 26th, 2011

Well friends, it’s the last week of September, and our last week at 619 Western. It’s going to be a crazy one, so there will be some “radio silence” on the blog. Here’s what we’ve got going on:

We spent our Sunday scrubbing and preparing the floors of the new studio. Monday & Tuesday evenings will be stain & clear coat.

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Well, hello Fall!

by Sara McNally | September 23rd, 2011

Happy official first day of Fall! After a lovely few weeks of Indian Summer, Fall has arrived in Seattle. No colorful leaves yet, but the crisp air and cooler temperatures have me thinking about pumpkin, cider, and getting cozy by a fire. I’ve been collecting pumpkin-y dessert recipes and craft ideas for today’s First Day of Fall party with my best friend. Today will be a nice break from the crazy amount of busy we’ve got going on right now. And we’re hoping to keep the fun going with a series of Friday afternoon baking & crafting sessions throughout the Fall. In honor of today’s “holiday,” here are a few favorites from my Fall themed Pinterest board.

Pumpkin Scones from The Shoebox Kitchen
Saxton Cider Packaging
via Designworklife
Fall Felt Wreath
from Little Things Bring Smiles

Welcome, Jenny!

by Sara McNally | September 21st, 2011

Our fabulous new intern, Jenny Linquist, started with us this past week. And let me tell you, I am excited to have her!

You may remember her as the artist of “The Artist & The Engineer.” She and her husband Mike were possibly our favorite clients ever. They were excited and interested in the process, trusted our expertise, and let us imagine and play and experiment. We were really happy with the results, and they were too. It was so lovely to work with them, and we were super honored to attend their wedding. Speaking of their wedding… please do yourself a favor and take a gander at their wedding photos. Too sweet for words.

Jenny will be keeping up a blog of her internship, which you should definitely follow. She’s a talented photographer, a super creative human being, and i’m excited to see what we create together!

Dress the Printer!

by Sara McNally | September 19th, 2011

Recently Seattle was listed as #6 worst dressed city in the world. And you know, I kind of get it. Seattle’s really laid back about work dress codes, and comfort is #1 for most people. We really love our plaid shirts and windbreakers here. (And I won’t even mention the outfits that can be spotted in especially hipster areas or on the Microsoft campus. They’re shocking.) Personally, I spend most of my time doing an inky, greasy job. While printing, I live in old band tee shirts, hoodies, stained/torn jeans, and sneakers that have seen better days. I’m definitely a fashion offender. It just doesn’t seem important to get “dolled up” to stand in front of my press. She doesn’t judge.

HOWEVER… I really do appreciate fashion. I love wearing simple, classic, well made clothes. It’s an issue of time and effort. Most days, it just doesn’t happen – i’m up and gone and onto the next thing. But on select non-print days, or days with client meetings, I really enjoying dressing up. It doesn’t happen often enough. (And it’s probably time to start acting like the owner of a growing business. Down with grunge.)

So, in honor of cleaning up Seattle’s fashion reputation, here’s a new segment of the blog called “Dress the Printer!” As a child, I loved playing paper dolls – meticulously cutting them out and carefully choosing their outfits. This is kind of like that. When i’ve chosen a particularly non-grungy outfit, i’ll document it (for posterity!) and share my shopping sources. Hopefully it will be fun for you and inspire me to fashion success! Let’s get Seattle off that list… who’s with me?

Pencil Skirt and Sweater from the Gap Outlet
Boots by Clarks (last season)
Necklace by Yellow Owl Workshop
Iphone Case by Tech Candy

We’re Fab, too!

by Sara McNally | September 16th, 2011

We’re big fans of Fab (as you can tell from our gushy blog entry a few weeks ago). So, we’re proud and excited to announce that we’ll be a featured seller on Fab this coming week, September 20-23! (We’re super excited. Seriously.) We’ll be offering two of our letterpress art prints and several of our boxed card sets at a huge savings! Make sure you check out the sale and stock up!

If you still haven’t heard: Fab.com is “design online.” The Fab.com website offers daily design inspirations and sales 70% off retail. Membership is free but by invitation only. Members receive exclusive access to daily curated design sales featuring the world’s leading designers and manufacturers. And you can join by clicking here!

New Studio Location

by Sara McNally | September 8th, 2011


Photo from an article on the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerence

Constellation & Co. has officially found a new home! We will soon be moving with several other SixNineteen artists to another historic building in Pioneer Square. Our new studio will be located on the 2nd floor of 110 Cherry Street, on the corner of 1st and Cherry. The new floor of studio spaces will be named “57 Biscayne,” a clever and timely nod to a line of Joni Mitchell song lyrics. 57 Biscayne also has available studio spaces, if you’re looking. Join us!

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Labor Day

by Sara McNally | September 5th, 2011

Happy Labor Day, friends. Enjoy the long weekend, and wave goodbye to summer as it slips away. This summer has been a crazy season of ups and downs and planning and changes. With all that’s gone on, we’re about ready to say goodbye to our warm, sunny friend and embrace his cooler, more mellow brother. Once we finally finish our moves (home and studio – I’m tired just thinking about it), i’ll be settling in behind my press and welcoming the fall.

This one-of-a-kind letterpress print is available for purchase on our interactive online gallery.

Here’s to all of us.

by Sara McNally | September 2nd, 2011

Bear with me for a moment, It’s going to get sentimental up in here.

In January of 2008, Brad and I came to Seattle for the first time with our friends Ron & Jesse. We were all really good friends, hanging out in Sarasota and working on design projects together. I can’t recall what initially inspired to spend our winter break in the Northwest – but I’m so glad we did! We walked up and down the city, took a lot of pictures, and didn’t want to leave. We only spent 2 days in Seattle (before heading down to Portland and other parts of Oregon), but those 2 days were enough. We fell in love. Continue reading  

Wayzgoose 2011

by Sara McNally | August 30th, 2011

This weekend we participated in the 10th annual Wayzgoose event at the School of Visual Concepts. (For general Wayzgoose info/history, check out our previous blog post.) SVC is a great school with relevant classes on web topics, digital media, advertising, etc., as well as a full print shop, offering letterpress classes each quarter. (The best of both worlds, I’d say!) SVC is also the host of the Seattle Wayzgoose, and has been for 10 years!

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New Studio Inspiration

by Sara McNally | August 29th, 2011

With all the 619 hullabaloo, we’ve been excited to put it behind us and start planning for the new studio. We’ve found the space (details coming soon, I promise!), and we’ll be moving sometime before October 1st (as soon as the new space is ready). We’ve got a plan brewing for the new studio that takes into account the style of the building, the additional space (Yes, it’s going to be bigger!), and our aesthetic desires. We love our current studio and had so much fun designing the space, painting, decorating, etc. – but we’re even more excited to take what we learned on that “project” and improve upon it. Here’s some of the photos we’ve been gathering on Pinterest for inspiration.

DIY Built-in Shelving from The Brick House, Metal Truss Work Table from West Elm, Architect’s Boom Sconce from Restoration Hardware

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Home Inspiration

by Sara McNally | August 26th, 2011

We’re moving soon from our 1 bedroom apartment (in a noisy downtown neighborhood) to a 2 bedroom duplex (in a cute, quiet residential neighborhood).  We’re excited to start making our new place a home! Our new place is painted all white, with neutral colored carpet and white cabinets. We’re really digging the shades of gray lately, and are planning to keep things clean, classic and neutral with pops of color that we can change with the seasons. (We’re not actually in the market to buy new furniture right now, but a girl can dream! And some of the small touches (shower curtain, kitchen towels, etc.) can make a big difference!) Here’s some of the home inspiration we’ve been collecting on Pinterest lately.

Tea towels from Olive Manna, Duvet from Dwell Studio, Hand Towel from West Elm

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Elevated Envelope

by Sara McNally | August 22nd, 2011

Tara, a local letterpress printer and owner of Ephemera, put together a super fun envelope exchange called “The Elevated Envelope.” The theme was “summer,” and the envelopes had to be mostly handmade and definitely creative. We decided to join in the fun, and signed up (before the giant move fiasco came to be). With all that’s going on, the deadline snuck up on me (why does this always happen to the fun stuff!?), so we put together a pretty restrained envelope. Had I more time,  it would have been much more elaborate – but instead of what i’d initially planned, I went with a theme that is the the theme of my life lately… Summer Time Flies! (And hey, sometimes restraint isn’t a bad thing.)

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Print Jobs 2

by Sara McNally | August 19th, 2011

We really enjoy working with the talented designers in our city to produce great print pieces. However, our business & equipment are really not set up as a “job shop” or full service print shop. We’re a small operation, and it’s become more and more important for us to be specific about the kind of work we want to be doing. Otherwise, we say yes to everything and have time for nothing. (And trust me, that’s my tendency! I hate to turn down work, and I love to overfill my plate.) We’ve decided to narrow our focus – We will still be printing for designers in our network, but on a more limited basis. This shift will give us more time to pursue the things that we love: offering high quality, full service design & letterpress packages for weddings, business stationery, baby announcements, etc., as well as expanding our line of letterpress cards and gifts.

We are so thankful that local designers have used us for their letterpress projects. Here are a few of the great client projects that we’ve gotten to print lately.

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Coming Soon!

by Sara McNally | August 17th, 2011

We are excited to announce that we’ll have a table in the letterpress marketplace for the 2011 Seattle Wayzgoose! We’ll be in good company with 20+ vendors, offering their best letterpress goodies for perusal and purchase.

Wayzgoose is a tradition in the printing world that goes back to the days of working by candlelight. Each year on or around St. Bartholomew’s Day (the 24th of August), a wayzgoose would be given by the master printer to mark the end of summer and the start of the darker winter season of working by candlelight.

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The Dream

by Sara McNally | August 8th, 2011

The Dream is a series of 24 letterpress prints sized 5 1/2 inches square. Each print is one of a kind – only one final print of each piece exists, and each one is signed and framed. Brad and I designed and printed this series in collaboration, using our collection of wood type and vintage printer’s blocks, along with original linoleum carvings. It was one of the first major print projects we took on together, and we had so much fun dreaming them up (puns!) and putting them together.

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A Constellation Summer

by Sara McNally | August 2nd, 2011

Hey Everybody, my name is Sarah and I’ve been interning at Constellation & Co. all summer long. I am a graphic design student at Ringling College of Art + Design, which is how I know Sara and Brad. They were graduating while I entered the school! I had contacted Constellation because I was interested in branding and I love working with typography, and Constellation has done a lot of beautiful work that I am impressed by. I have never had an internship before nor have I done much “real world” client work before either, so I was really excited to work for a studio and dip into the creative world.

Sarah at the Constellation table for Seattle Square Market

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A Blog About Blogs

by Sara McNally | July 25th, 2011

I really love blogs. I’ve been inspired, motivated, and educated by great blogs and bloggers for several years now. My Google Reader feed is quite long, but I can’t bring myself to narrow my blogs down – there’s something new, interesting, and exciting on each one! I’ve had several personal blogs over the years, but (like my diaries & journals from childhood), I tend to get busy and stop writing. (But not this time! I really do love to share my thoughts here, and hope to keep up the current pace!) Here’s a list of some of my favorite blogs – written by talented, interesting people who don’t give up!


Wedding Inspiration
Style Me Pretty
, Ruffled*, Snippet & Ink, 100 Layer Cake

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619 Western

by Sara McNally | July 20th, 2011

Constellation & Co. moved into the 619 Western Artist’s building in January of 2011 – 101 years after the building was built in Pioneer Square.

619 was built in 1910 during an economic boom after the Alaskan gold rush. The building was used as a multipurpose warehouse and was the site of light manufacturing. Fishing nets, coffee beans and tavern punch cards are a few of the products that have been stored & made on the premises. In the late 1970′s, the first artists moved their studios into the building. Currently, more than 100 artists have studios in all six stories of this historic building. For more information on 619′s history, please visit the official 619 site.


The first Thursday of every month, the 619 Building is open for the Pioneer Square Art Walk which brings crowds of art lovers to the neighborhood. The 619 building has long been considered the epicenter of this monthly event, with the largest concentration of artists’ studios and gallery spaces in one building.

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