Carded Optimism

Pleasing to the eye, intriguingly textured, and even a little nostalgia-forming. If the image that springs to mind is that of a sweet holiday treat, you’re getting warm in a hurry. The wordsmiths and graphics wizards of Sycamore Street Press, based in Thomas Edison’s home state of Ohio, specialize in literary soul food cooked on a most unconventional stove, a flatbed letterpress that gives each graphic printed on its greeting cards and prints a textured antique appearance and feel.

From heartwarming cards featuring French felines purring their thanks or artsy elephants trumpeting a birthday greeting to near-the-edges art prints like The Return of the Sea Freak, the team of Kirk and Eva Jorgensen seem far less boxed in to any one genre, and far more squarely in touch with the arrhythmic pulse of vintage printing connoisseurs, than would be possible for any mass manufacturer. That’s another way of saying that these people can take a few chances to make you smile, and they gladly take advantage of that freedom. Frame mats, calendars, even gift tags; the catalog available from Sycamore is a sweet obsession indeed, and well worth the time spent perusing its treasures. To find that card that makes the recipient say “where DID you find this?”, or, simply to browse Kirk and Eva’s eclectic, exceptional work, stop into their shop Sycamore Street Press on Etsy.