Wedding stationery is our passion here at Gus & Ruby Letterpress! We believe that every part of planning a wedding should be a joyous, celebratory experience. We started out focusing on and specializing in custom wedding invitation design and printing – all printed by hand on our antique letterpress and foil presses. Gus & Ruby Letterpress is a custom design and letterpress print shop with two brick & mortar paper boutiques – one in Portsmouth, NH and one in Portland, ME. Please tell us about Gus & Ruby Letterpress. It’s hard, though! There are no days off in owning your own business it can be really taxing and draining to not be able to “turn off” work when you get home or on the weekends. Even in our most tumultuous times, we’ve found that – looking back – those lessons opened new doors for us or set us on another path that we might not have gone down. The biggest lesson we’ve learned and are still learning is to roll with the punches a bit and not panic at every bump and shift. Starting a business is never a smooth road! We’ve had many challenges and struggles along the way from retail real estate woes (lease negotiations and finding the perfect space is never easy!), staffing (finding and keeping awesome employees is tough but is the KEY to running a great shop for us), and inventory management (getting the right order volumes, frequency and mix is a constantly-moving target). Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? Samantha and Whitney feel like the luckiest girls in the world to work in such a creative, supportive, and passionate industry and communities. They continue to do their in-house design and printing – still on antique presses – in their print studio housed in a historic mill building in Dover, NH. In July 2010 the girls, pups and all of their followers moved to the current double-the-size flagship location in the heart-of-it-all on Congress Street in Portsmouth and in August 2017 they opened their second location in the heart of the Old Port on Exchange Street in Portland, ME. In August 2009 the Gus & Ruby Letterpress paper boutique opened for business in Portsmouth, NH in a tiny, slightly off-the-beaten-path space on Market Street. Offering custom design and letterpress printing done on a case-by-case basis, they built a small following of fellow paper hounds and realized that, perhaps, they were on to something. In December 2008, the girls opened the virtual doors to their custom design and letterpress printing business. Combining Samantha’s entrepreneurial aspirations and Whitney’s desire to continue in the steps of her father and grandfather in the printing industry, they realized a shared dream to own a paper boutique and design studio could become a reality. And while they shared a biting sense of humor and an eye for good creative, it was their wily pups, Gus and Ruby that truly fostered a lasting friendship.ĭuring their late-afternoon jaunts with the dogs, the girls discovered a mutual passion for design, letterpress and all things paper. The girls met while working for a small advertising agency: Samantha managing accounts and Whitney designing. They will work with you to find the best plan for your style and budget.Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Finigan.įounders and partners-in-crime, Samantha and Whitney Swaffield, discovered early on that they were cut from the same cloth. Those on a budget also have many options with flat printed invitations. With an emphasis on quality craftsmanship, the luxurious finish and gorgeous look of letterpress stationery is the perfect choice for any occasion. Gus & Ruby Letterpress custom work is done on an antique Chandler & Price press circa 1896 that was once owned by Whitney’s grandfather who was also a print maker. Each card or envelope is hand-fed through a press one sheet at a time. It’s a centuries-old technique in which raised-plate metal cuts are inked and pressed into cotton paper. The pair of women have built one of the most well known and creative shops in Northern New England.įor those who may not know, letterpress is a unique style of print making. Owners, Samantha Finigan and Whitney Swaffield, shared a vision to open a traditional print shop and their dogs, “Gus” and “Ruby” became instant friends. Your guests will know as soon as they open the mail – that this is a wedding that can’t be missed. and look – these gals can make it happen. They create wedding invitations (or any sort of announcement) that reflects a couple’s unique personality and vision for their big day. But the bread and butter of their business is custom design. They have a brick and mortar retail space that offers beautiful stationery, paper products and gifts for the home and office.
#GUS AND RUBY LETTERPRESS FULL#
Gus and Ruby is a full service stationery boutique and letterpress print shop located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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