Bartleby’s Letterpress Emporium

We just had our wedding invitations printed at Bartleby’s, and I can’t say enough good things about the business. Their prices are so reasonable for letterpress, and for such quality work! We got a really good feeling about the owner (Marty) right away and she was a pleasure to work with throughout the entire process– responsive, flexible, and thoughtful. She has a very calming presence, too, which is so nice when coping with all the stress of wedding planning.
Marty took our description of what we wanted and turned it into a reality, doing all the design work for us (since we have zero talent in that area). And she’s fast! Her turn-​around time was incredibly quick in both the design and printing phases.
We love the way our invitations turned out, and would definitely recommend Bartleby’s to others. They have a really cool selection of letterpress greeting cards for sale in the shop, too!

You may not notice it. On the inside it is oddly picturesque to what I imagine a letterpress would feel like. On the outside it is a tan building with framed dusty windows. I like the windows. On the corner of Oak and SE 13^th, which is just at the end of the block from the Red & Black on 12^th and some salon on 13^th and Stark, there is Bartleby’s Letterpress Emporium. You walk in and this little shop has quite a bit set up in a very small space. There is a table/​desk set up where I often see a little boy working on something. Surrounding the table/​desk are stands loaded with greeting cards of all sorts. All these beautiful little cards with beautiful, unusual, quirky, delicate prints. There is a shelf filled with old books. Pens and paper, stamps, stickers, buttons… yeah it’s a little, old, creeky, well kept shop that has some contraption, a printing kind, I can only guess. My first visit here I came in to find the girl riding it. I should say it looked like she was riding it maybe in my mind, because she may have just been turning the wheel for all I can remember. Pretty girls cranking big machines are hot. Anyhow my knowledge on the letterpress is zilch. But they do it there: P.
There is something so unassuming about this place which is just another reason I heart Bartleby’s.

As the one wedding item that has been delivered, I can honestly saw that Bartleby’s is hands down a fantastic wedding invitation vendor. I met with Marty (the owner) after feeling a little deflated after getting price quotes from other letterpress stores. I knew that I wanted letterpress invites, but was starting to think it wasn’t going to happen.
Marty was able to give me a price that was literally less then half of what other stores in Portland were charging. I got 100 invitations and 100 (back flap pressed return address) envelopes for $ 340 (I also paid $ 40 for a custom ink color to make it $ 380). Her paper options are not as vast as others (you can also bring your own for a discount on the printing), but the paper I chose was think and beautiful, just perfect for the letterpress.
We produced a digital file of what we wanted and it came out perfectly letterpressed… one week later. It took one week for my invitations! We were quoted 4 – 6 weeks, so it was exciting to get them so quickly.
Not only is Marty professional, but she produces wonderful letterpress. I would recommend her for any of your wedding or non wedding needs.

I keep finding letterpress shops all over this beautiful city of ours and I absolutely love them. I stumbled upon this little gem last weekend after seeing a sandwich board sign peeking out from the corner near Stark and followed the sounds…
They have a sweet selection of their own pressed cards plus many other local artists and all the supplies to make your own books and other paper goods. Looked like a pretty straightforward ordering system for custom orders of invitations, announcements, and the like. The gal working (proprietor?) was very friendly and we shared a chuckle over some cutesy-​tootsie pencil sharpeners and various author pins at the counter.
Add to list of superior paper goods suppliers in town. Viva la letterpress!