Behind the press: making the 2026 Valentine’s collection
Six new designs, three foil colors, one very stressed-out cat (the studio's).
The 2026 Valentine’s collection took us roughly six weeks from sketch to shelf. Here’s a quick look at how a card actually gets made when you do it the slow way.
Week 1: Sketches. Hundreds of them. Pen on tracing paper, never on a screen. The bad ideas have to come out first, otherwise they sneak in later.
Week 2: Type. We pick a typeface (this season: a custom drawn-out variant of Reckless Italic) and set every word by hand. Even the ones that won’t make it.
Week 3: Color & paper. We pulled from a 1970s rose-grower’s catalog this year. Six pinks, two reds, one quiet sage.
Week 4: Press tests. Paper, ink, plate, pressure, repeat. The Heidelberg is moody in February.
Week 5: Foil. Hot rose-gold for the title cards, cool silver for the quiet ones.
Week 6: Trim, sleeve, ship. The cat helps, sort of.
