On The Wire: Designer to Watch, Cara Underwood

Underwood Letterpress’ tagline is “snail mail in style,” but that just scratches the surface of Cara Underwood’s larger mission. “Sending mail is no longer just a means of communication, it’s an art form, so we go all out,” she told me.

With that lofty goal, this California house of letterpress distinguished itself from the pack with playful illustrations, rich color, high quality inks and paper — even adorable vintage stamp sets for dressing envelopes!

What is your Favorite Social Media Outlet & Handle?
We love Insta! I was never personally drawn to social media until Instagram launched. Storytelling through imagery is such a fit for my personality and our brand.

How did you get into stationery & paper design?
I learned to letterpress print while dabbling in bookbinding as an undergraduate student. The area of book arts is such a dynamic medium and I quickly fell in love with the combination of paper construction and printing. I got in to the medium for the paper and printing, but ended up loving design and the process of taking a design from pen and paper to the press … and then in to the hands of fellow snail mail advocates.

What role do you see paper playing in your work?
Paper is everything in our work. We believe that the quality of the paper sets the tone for the product, regardless of the design. The paper has to feel special for the product to be special.

What types of papers are you generally drawn? Which Mohawk paper is your favorite and why?
We love Mohawk’s Superfine smooth paper. It’s the foundation for all of our marketing materials. It’s sturdy and honest while feeling refined and irreplaceable. It shows color impeccably and we’ve always loved how images of our products look and feel on a sheet of Mohawk Superfine.

What recent release of yours best represents your personal style?
We recently released a collection of new greeting cards using copper foil and nude ink. Our line is full of rich color and we absolutely love playing with color, but we were craving something that had some understated interest, and have loved how stores have responded to the new line.

What blogs/books/publications do you find yourself getting lost in?
I ventured in to the world of public policy before returning to design, so I love to keep up on the state of affairs. The Daily Show provides me with a nightly news update and some fantastic — and much needed — comic relief.

Aside from personal interests, I am completely in love with The Parcel Subscription by Parse & Parcel. If you love print and paper, you have to check it out (I wasn’t paid to say that, so trust me here!) Options are boundless when it comes to the process of transferring design to paper. The Parcel exposes us to new ideas by sending quarterly samples of creative print techniques. It’s definitely a good day in the studio when The Parcel arrives.