Shopping on Saturday: Thornwillow Press
by allthebest • 23 May ’09 • Luke Ives Pontifell, shopping, Thornwillow Press • 8 Comments
I have gotten away from my Shopping on Saturday posts, but after a bit of nudging and a few emails, I thought I would bring it back. I have such a soft spot for books, beautiful paper and the written word. I still fondly remember a charming box of stationery that I received as a wedding gift, embossed with my new initials, and a beautiful hand-bound book from my father-in-law. In this day of mostly disposable and intangible communications, it is exciting to find a company that is both purveyors of fine stationery and creator of limited-edition books that are of the highest quality.
For quite sometime I have been hearing about Thornwillow Press, and was thrilled when Peter Pennoyer introduced me to the founder Luke Ives Pontifell. While in New York I had lunch with Peter, Luke and Melissa Morris. Luke’s love and passion for his craft are readily apparent and it was fascinating to hear the story of how it all began.
In 1985, still in high school, Luke founded Thornwillow Press. Inspired by a course in printing and binding, and the old books in his parents’ library, he set out to produce books himself. During his summer vacations from Harvard, Luke would print and bind books, slowly building a small following of collectors. After graduating and with four titles on his list, he found that what had started as a labor of love had evolved into a small business.
In addition to books, Thornwillow Press also designs and manufactures fine paper and stationery. Their team of master engravers and letterpress printers are dedicated to producing superior correspondence papers. Here are a few of my favorites. Also, look for a profile on Luke in the upcoming week.
Seahorse Place Cards
16 engraved heavy flat place cards (2 1/2″x 3 1/2″) in signature Foxglove Yellow Centennial box. $28.00
Walking Crab Antique Roman Fill-in Invitation
10 engraved heavy flat cards (5 1/2″ x 7 1/2″) with 10 tissue-lined envelopes in signature Foxglove Red box. $40
Florida Palm Note cards
10 engraved heavy flat cards (5 1/2″ x 7 1/2″) with 10 tissue-lined envelopes. $45
I am a great lover of stationary and these look superb Ronda – I love the crab, totally adorable. xv
Seahorse and crab are darling. I always enjoy finding beautiful stationary, especially engraved. Good price on these too!
What a fabulous visual treat. Could singlehandedly revive the art of correspondence! Thank you for introducing more people to this terrific company. Their website is especially beautiful!
I still think the hand-written note is ‘all the best’. I have a penchant for fine papers and especially anything letterpress.
Looking forward to a new soup recipe…or salad!
The last one is calling out to me.
Simply stunning.
pve
These are just beautiful. We tend to keep pretty things like this forever so why not send something special.
Beautiful stationery. Being Italian and living in Vancouver I use fast communication most of the time but I still like to write letters to my friends and relatives and it is a pleasure to send and receive them on fine paper for no special occasion.
Fun suggestion. I use fancy stationary as a mat for small photos. Frame them in very simple frames and let the photo and one-of-a-kind orginial mat do the rest.
This theme is great for summer vacation snaps!
Bette