T he mission of Penships is to promote the gift, the art, and the impact of personal correspondence with artisanal stationery designed in a 19th-century letterpress studio.
The Gift
A letter ferries the gift of intimate connection, self-expression, and meaningful intention. On handcrafted stationery, your gift becomes a treasure for the beneficiary.
Its merit lies in its sincerity.
Time spent over time saved.
Keepsake over landfill.
Personal message over mass broadcast.
Small package over grand gesture.
Human-eye over AI.
Quality over quantity.
The Art
Artistic letterpress stitches graphic design principles with decorative art aesthetics. Typography is infused with ornament, and line art is united with storytelling. The soft paper emerges from the inked mouth of a clenched clamshell with a pillowy tactile feel highlighting intricate detail.
Artistic Printing
Artistic printing was a style of commercial art during the late 1800s. The introduction of moveable ornament and decorative art for letterpress laid the foundation for 20th-century graphic design.
Letterpress
A coordinated ensemble of form, pressure, ink, and paper; the art of letterpress spans seven centuries. Mechanized by the printing press in the 15th-century, it enabled mass-production for the first time.
Slow Print
The rebel to commercialization, slow print is a reduced scale production over its mass-produced counterpart. Handcrafted in small quantities, artwork is limited to a specific number of original prints per design.
The Impact
A letter is joy, intimacy, and friendship en route. Writing a letter signals a commitment of your presence in another's life, often for forever, even if it's temporary. Receiving a personally written letter puts the ‘special’ back in delivery and connects us in spirit while we’re apart.
The Printcess
Hello, I'm Dana Aubrey - a Letterpress Artist & Stationery Designer.
Designing stationery with antique tools is a labour of love. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts era of letterpress, I’m an artistic designer exploring her graphic design roots and love for personal correspondence.
I’m excited to share the soul-quenching experience of snail mail through an exceptional line of handcrafted stationery. The means to that end, I found the moment I met letterpress. As a lifelong letter writer and reciprocal collector of personal correspondence, I’ve journeyed into the heartwood of this well-travelled snail mail collection for inspiration.
Drawn to simple beauty and the complicated process it often takes to get there; I aspire to spark lasting human connections through the authenticity of the ink and paper connection. Without hesitation, bordering on drunken delight, I seek here to highlight its beautiful nature.
The Studio
Made to Last
Penships is produced in a low-tech, human-powered private press shop. The limitations require a make-do and mend approach, which informs a beautifully unique result.
It’s furnished with an 1890s desktop press named Alphonsie, a 1940s guillotine paper cutter, and a stray collection of graphic art from early 20th-century letterpress. Layouts are hand-crafted on the Victorian writing desk of my great-great-grandfather, a Danish sea captain named Boy.
In this space, I embrace rarity, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and technological tools that were made to last.
The Stockists
Penships stationery is proudly made and available locally in Huntsville, Canada, at the following artisanal markets. I invite you to contact me directly for purchasing inquiries outside the Muskoka region.
Coles Art Market
Muskoka North Good Food Co-op
1-14 Main Street E
Huntsville, Ontario
www.colesart.ca
1 Crescent Road
Huntsville, Ontario
www.muskokanorthfood.com
Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful – but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.”
— Design House Stockholm
