Something exciting landed in the studio today. 🎉
After a long search, we think we’ve finally found our perfect printing match — a specialist card printer who really understands quality. The proofs are stunning. Rich colours, sharp detail, and the most beautiful premium card stock we’ve worked with.
We’ve been searching for a while for someone who could do justice to our illustrations, and we genuinely think we’ve found them.
And there’s more — a brand new card range is on its way. Dog and Cat Tails is coming soon, and we can’t wait to share it with you. 🐾
#DesignSmithStudio #StationeryDesign #IllustratorLife @theimagingcentre
Unpacking a delivery of new stock is always exciting! We don’t always know what we’re going to get so today I’m taking you with me. This is a big delivery and I didn’t even open it all! This will give you an idea though of the restock we usually get from @designsmithstudio .
#norfolklife #norfolkliving #smallbusinessowner #smallbusinesssupportingsmallbusiness #love
We always love seeing our work ‘in the wild’ so big thanks to @pauljalevy for sharing these pictures of our cards and tea towels @nationaltrust Knole Park bookshop in Kent! #carddesign #inthewild #bookstagram #designsmith
These have been a long time coming.
The Tolkien book spines are finally finished — a set of illustrated spines we’ve been quietly working on in the background, in the gaps between everything else life decided to throw at the same time.
The past few weeks have been a lot. Building work, big decisions about the direction of the business, and some personal things that took more time and energy than we expected. Nothing dramatic to share — just the kind of season that quietly takes it out of you, and makes finishing something feel genuinely meaningful.
So this one matters a little more than usual.
The plan is to turn these into a card, and potentially a print further down the line. One of those big decisions was around how we approach card production going forward — so it may take a little longer to reach you than we’d like, but we want to get it right.
More on that soon. For now — they’re done, and we’re really proud of them.
#tolkien #bookillustration #greetingscards
Weeks 4 & 5 of the studio conversion — a little stop-start, but we’re getting there 🧱
First fix electrics done, final insulation layer in, plasterboard up, and the plastering is finished inside. The roof has started too. And this week? We bought our first test paint pots. That’s the moment it started to feel real. It’s still a building site, but we can finally see the space for what it’s going to be. More soon 🎨
#DesignSmithStudio #StationeryDesign #IllustratorLife #HandmadeStationery #SmallCreativeBusiness
One of our favourite days in the diary — a stock drop at @convergeframlingham in Suffolk. Over 40 East Anglian makers under one roof, open seven days a week, and apparently 15 million people visit Suffolk every year. We’re quietly hoping most of them find their way through the door.
If you’re in or near Framlingham, it’s genuinely worth a visit. Go and give them your support.
#Framlingham #Suffolk #IndependentShops #ShopIndependent #shopsmall
The Slow Post opened at the end of last week and we already have our first subscribers. Thank you — it means more than you might think.
Small independent studios like ours thrive on the kind of support that’s steady rather than occasional. A subscription is exactly that — a quiet vote of confidence that helps us plan, make, and keep doing what we love. So if you’ve subscribed, know that it genuinely makes a difference.
If you’ve been thinking about it, the first 25 subscribers receive a mini stamp set in their first pack — six gummed, hand-perforated decorative stamps, chosen just for them. Five handpicked Design Smith cards through your letterbox, every other month. We do the choosing. You do the writing.
Link in bio.
#theslowpost #cardsubscription #sendmoreletters #stationerylove #designsmith
The Slow Post is open.
Every two months, five handpicked Design Smith cards arrive through your letterbox — chosen to give you something worth sending, or keeping. At £3.50 each in the shop, that’s £17.50 worth of cards for £12. No fuss, no algorithm, just good post.
The first 25 subscribers also receive a mini stamp set in their first pack — six gummed, hand-perforated decorative stamps, chosen just for them.
£12 bi-monthly. £60 for a full year. Link in bio.
#theslowpost #cardsubscription #sendmoreletters #stationerylove #designsmith
Work in progress on our newest stamp set — The Right Words. Thirty stamps in the making, and we’re about three quarters of the way through. Phrases for letters, parcels, celebrations, and the moments when you just need to say something properly. There’s something quite liberating about working on a set like this — no brief, no deadline, just the right words and a blank sheet of stamp paper. A few of the designs are already earmarking themselves for the card range too, which feels like a happy accident.
More soon. 🖊️
#stampset #papergoods #workinprogress
Weeks 2-3 of the garage conversion have been completed. It’s starting to take shape, it’s been a rollercoaster of thoughts - now the wall insulation is in, it feels much more light and spacious. Site inspector Ozzy is keeping an eye on progress! Next week, the first phase of electrics! #excitingtimes #garageconversion #newstudio #designsmith
We swapped our old business card for something with a bit more to say. Our new postcard tells you a little about us, how we make our illustrations, and where to find us online — and it goes into every order we send out. In a world of emails and notifications, there’s something we love about a bit of paper arriving through your door. We hope you like it. 🖊️
#DesignSmithStudio #StationeryDesign #IllustratorLife #SmallBusiness #HandDrawn
Small but considered. That’s always been the idea. Our mini stamp sets are now available — five stamps per set, hand-illustrated and hand-perforated, each one a little piece of the Design Smith world. Available only from us, direct. Not for postage. Very much for keeping.
Find them at the link in bio. 🖤 #designsmith #cinderellastamps #stationery #stampcollector
