Make your own greeting cards with letterpress printing
By Vivian Lai
Many people love to send greeting cards to their loved ones on special occasions and during holiday seasons but we all know how difficult it can be to find a personalised card. And without a creative mind or great drawing skills, creating your own can be easier said than done. Fear not, Ditto Ditto, one of the very few local card design studios, can help you.
At Ditto Ditto, you can try your hand at card making with the help of professional artists. Don’t worry if you can’t draw very well because at this workshop, you can create a personalised card using techniques such as letterpress, which makes use of raised letters to create impressions on paper.
If you thought letterpress moulds can only form mundane and repetitive patterns, think again. In fact, there can be a lot of variations in designs produced using this traditional equipment. “They are very sensitive! Different texture, thickness and malleability of the papers or even humidity can affect the outcome.” says Nicole Chan, who founded the company in 2012. “I really like these characteristics rather than considering them as its limitations. These limitations are why I think they’re beautiful!”
Chan, an art graduate, designs all the cards and calendars in the store herself with the hope of sharing the trivia of our routine daily lives. The post-80s local artist worked as graphic designer in a local design company for about five years but failed to find the inspiration for her artwork. So, with encouragement from her sister, Chan decided to open her own studio and design greetings cards.
Chan applies different techniques in her products, ranging from hand-drawing to offset printing, from silver plating to letterpress printing. But the one she uses most frequently is letterpress. To show its distinctive features, Chan designed a collection of cards depicting the Hong Kong landscape, such as morning on the Peak and night in Aberdeen. Chan wants to send a message to the world through her detailed sketches – slow down and appreciate the minutiae of daily life. “Knowing that people are inspired by the effort we put in the artworks is the reason I love handicrafts,” says Chan with a satisfied smile.
Eager to share her enthusiasm for the arts with the public, Chan also co-organises different workshops with other local artists. “The main purpose of having these workshops is not for money, but for the public to be aware of us and understand more about the skills and beauty of letterpress printing,” she adds.
Participants can design cards for different purposes in the workshops, but they must correspond to the theme set by Chan and the cost for each workshop is around HK$100.
If you are interested in joining the workshops or would like to make a customised order, check out Ditto Ditto at 4a, 24 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, or call 3678 9881. Latest collections and other stationery are also available at Eslite (Causeway Bay) and Kapok (Central PMQ). For more details, visit www.dittoditto.net.
Edited by Rachel Cheung
