Pancake & Franks, run by Stacy Pancake, makes superb recycled letterpress greeting cards in San Francisco, CA. Given that we like both letterpress and small companies that strive for sustainability, our interest is natural. Also natural is our love of old fashioned correspondence. A box set from Pancake & Franks will gear you up for several birthdays, thank yous, and perhaps the odd “I Love You.”

View all box set options after the jump. (For added enjoyment, some of our favorite P&F greeting cards are tossed in too).

We’re old fashioned guys. So, despite an increasingly digital world we still believe in letterhead. And, we still believe in the power of handwritten notes.

Stationery Design Now! proves that graphic designers haven’t forgotten about those things either. The book, published by Taschen, reviews over 200 corporate stationery projects. An essay offering historic insight into the importance and the roll of stationery is provided by by Jay Rutherford, Professor for Visual Communication at Bauhaus University Weimar. Together with contemporary materials, the background context helps promote a contemporary climate of celebration in regard to paper goods.

Get it if you love stationery, typography, or are undertaking your own branding project.

Select page views after the jump.

Polaroid love is everywhere these days. PAFA, in Philadelphia, has a winning exhibition of Warhol’s Polaroid’s up at the moment. Several brands have used the medium in social marketing pushes. And, now, wise folks have employed the aesthetic for a set of note cards.

These stem from the “From the Love of Light” project and include 20 cards, each with a different image. Jenifer Altman, photographer, is responsible for the selections. UO has them. (via Retro to Go).

More looks after the jump.

Despite a stated love for staplers amongst some of our readership (MW, that’s you), paper clips find work at Selectism’s mid-Atlantic HQ. The Skrepkus paper clip elegantly incorporates three sizes into a single tool, minimizing desk clutter and dressing up shoddy manuscripts. Art. Lebedev studio is responsible for the design. The firm aims to “find the most simple, elegant and convenient solution to any problem without losing the purport.” Here, the ideal is achieved. (via Daily Icon).

Partnering with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction has mined the institutions vast archives to produce a great set of note cards. They draw from two distinct sets of material – the HSP Holiday collection for 2 cards and the Civil War archive for the remaining three. Included with the set are recycled craft envelopes. This is the first of a series of collaborative efforts between Art in the Age and the HSP all with the hope of providing a fresh perspective on the Society’s holdings.

View more after the jump.

Wallpaper* brings word on new notlets by Giles Deacon for luxury leather goods maker, Smythson. “His latest creation is a set of correspondence cards for stalwarts of the stationery scene, Smythson. Giles has penned five signed couture sketches, sold in a pack of ten…It mightn’t be a Giles dress but it’s still a charming way to say thank you.”