When sending a thank-you note, I want my stationery to reflect my level of gratitude; I want something special. And having been the recipient of the kindness of others often, I am direly in need of new letterhead for notes! So, I went with my colleague Rebecca Robertson to the famed letterpress shop, Mrs. John L. Strong.
At this a store of this caliber, one needs an appointment with a letterhead consultant to work through the process of customizing a look. Here are some pictures from my time at the store, sifting through samples and choosing the particulars of my own. I can't wait for these to come in!
1 Arriving at the Madison Avenue storefront. Mrs. John L. Strong first opened a woman's dress shop before transitioning into a letterpress business.
2 I love the crisp, elegant packaging on these boxes. Calendar cards would make great gifts–the holiday season is upon us!
3 Upstairs we perused the most incredible displays of note cards and envelopes in Mrs. John L. Strong's famous color range.
4 The inside of every envelope is hand-lined. I love the attention to detail.
5 Boxes of these cards are made for gifting. Other themes included Social Butterfly, Engaged, and Welcome Baby (The Goddess was my favorite).
6 Mrs. John L. Strong makes these incredible paper seal stickers in all different colors and icons.
7 Surely this reminds you of someone you know? We laughed at how everyone needs a set of these for when party guests don't behave.
8 I am in thank-you-note Heaven.
9 This treasure-chest houses some of the more notable client stationery from the company's repertoire, including some of the most famous actors, politicians, and businesses of the 21st century.
10 Decorating & Home Editor Rebecca Robertson and I perused all options, selecting a few favorites to begin with before settling down to discuss my design.
11 First, we flipped through pages and pages of exquisite artwork that can be applied with your name or initials.
12 These four-leaf clovers captivated me on my last visit, but I'm looking for something new this time.
13 Some of the cards Rebecca and I were inspired by; I'm always attracted to intuitive architectural lettering.
14 I recognized this house emblem!
15 It's Martha's, a New England showhouse that she restored and presented!
16 Our contact at Mrs. John L. Strong, the lovely and spirited Barbara, who guided us through the consultation. I knew I was in the right place when she brought me a Coca-Cola.
17 Colors! I loved this part. I ended up with far less bright colors than these, though we went through a great number of greens.
18 Good thing we allotted ample time for this process! So many decisions to be made...
19 Citrus, Aloe, Aspen and Envy Greens, in the tissue-paper lining.
20 This is serious business, choosing colors to represent yourself. The strength of this stationary is all in the details. The colors, paper weight and luster, typeface and placement are all carefully embellished to make a card that represents each customer, simply and elegantly.
21 Mrs. John L. Strong is conveniently located next door to my favorite place in the world (Hermès), so we were able to enjoy their beacon and flags fluttering out the window.
22 But it was fun! Barbara was a tremendous host.
23 Now I'm checking out the selection of fonts; I tend towards modern, sans-serif lettering.
24 My two favorites, Medium and Heavy Gothic.
25 Here I'm looking over a selection of cards in these fonts to help me narrow down my creative juices.
26 Barbara rifles through the color deck to choose an ink that they will hand mix for my letterhead.
27 Some of my favorite brown and gray ink options.
28 The final product! A soft gray envelope lining, with two varied gray inks for the typing and the double border (recall the Gucci card I loved). After all, there's a Martha Stewart paint called Sharkey Gray!
29 This card had me mesmerized. It was incredibly thick, with a black beveled border, heavy gothic type, and a patent shiny black envelope lining. Statement-making.
30 Dear Barbara and I made such a great team picking out the perfect stationery details! Can't wait until they arrive...
Kevin Sharkey 
From: Becky in Kzoo | 11/9/11 at 7:54 am
As usual, Kevin, absolutely beautiful. I hope you'll post a pic of your stationery when it arrives. Thanks so much for sharing. You're the best!
From: Rowaida Flayhan | 11/10/11 at 11:09 pm
Your choice was amazing, classical and very elegant. I love the displays of the note cards and the envelopes, beautiful assorted colors.