Lucky Horse Press is a design studio that specializes in handmade letterpress and silkscreened stationery. Founded by Michele, Lucky Horse Press offers custom work in addition to her fabulously sweet stationery line. This line features a range of color palettes, from the muted brights (it’s a thing) to neons. Michele took some time to answer a few questions about her smile-inducing cards.
Q: What are the origins of the name Lucky Horse Press?
I named my company Lucky Horse Press after a story my dad told me about when I was a baby. He was waiting tables at a Hawaiian themed restaurant (my debut catalog cover features an actual tiki cocktail glass from that job as an ode to this story) and working hard to provide for his family. One day he decided on a whim to turn his luck around. He drove up to the racetracks someplace upstate and bet on a horse named Philip’s Daughter. What makes this story even more special is that my dad’s name is Philip. He had always said that when I was born it was fate that brought me to him. Philip’s Daughter actually won the race and my dad won his bets. This story always made me feel happy because I like to think that my spirit was with the horse that day. Lucky Horse Press was created to perpetuate a cycle of happiness that begins with a good sentiment that gets passed on.
Q: What do you enjoy most about the process of letterpress? How about silkscreening? Do you have a preference between the two?
I like letterpress because it almost always requires the use of a machine that may look cold and intimidating but has the capacity to deliver soft colors and delicate details. I like the way ink can be used in silkscreening because letterpress inks tend to be on the transparent side, while silkscreening inks are more versatile, in that they can be made sheer or opaque. While I am more comfortable with letterpress, silkscreening also challenges me to develop a more creative process or approach.
Q: Please tell me about one of the best pieces of mail/cards you have received, and what made it special to you.
I received a postcard sized etched print of a sailboat with a message on the other side from an old college friend. It was art and a message that captured my life in that very moment in time. Because I moved around so much, the print only exists in my memory but I am glad it still lives there.
Q: I’m loving the muted (yet bright) color palette you’ve used for ice pops, melon bowl, birthday balloons and thank you flowers. Where do you draw your colour inspiration from?
Thank you! I love the translucency of certain things when they are shown before light, such as leaves and grass under the sun, the ocean, candy, jellyfish, quartz…the list goes on.
Q: I see you’ll be at Renegade Craft Fair Pop Up in June. What else does summer have in store for you?
Summer is keeping me quite busy! I am going to practice silkscreening large-scale prints and do what I love to do most which is lazing around and snacking. Most of all, I’d like to spend more time with people and in places where I feel happiest and maybe even antiquing in the countryside—something I haven’t done in a long time.