Where did the name of your studio come from?

The name of our studio came from my last name, Parrott. It is a unique last name and pronounced just like the bird, but the extra "t" on the end throws a lot of people off. When I first began, I was doing a lot of custom design work and gocco printing, so "Parrott Design Studio" seemed more appropriate. Now I wish it was "Parrott Press" or something along those lines because, while I create all the designs for our line, we do not do much custom work anymore. But I actually find a lot of people refer to us as "Parrott"...and that is fine with me!

Who is on your team, and how did you come together?

I have had a wonderful, ever-changing cast of team members since hiring my first intern in 2012. Currently I have a part-time Studio and Wholesale Manager, Ariel, who corresponds with all our wholesale accounts, packs, ships, and bills their orders, packs up all our online retail orders, and packages all of our products, as well as tons of other tiny important details. I still do all the design and printing of each product, as well as corresponding with the limited number of custom clients we take on each year.

How did you get into design and letterpress printing?

The studio began with the idea of creating hand printed stationery that I could give as gifts to family and friends. I have always considered myself a creative person who loves to make things. After years in non-profit marketing and event planning (which had its creative moments), I had to get back to using my hands. I started printing cards on my Gocco and opened a shop in 2007. Later that Fall I took my first letterpress course at AS220, a local arts non-profit. I took an course at Rhode Island School of Design in early 2008 around the same time I found my first press. Neither class taught on the same press I bought, so I essentially taught myself how to use it and spent almost every night for the next year experimenting on it. For nearly three years I worked my day job, and took my time to really learn the art of letterpress and build my business doing wedding invitations and building a line of greeting cards. In 2010 I left my day job to pursue my studio work full time and debuted my wholesale line at the 2013 National Stationery Show.

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

I design and print stationery that I love, want to give, and brings a little more happy to the world! A lot of cards are created from a personal experience. One of our most popular cards that says, "I am so glad you found me" was inspired by how my husband I met (he found me online!).

What kind of press(es) do you use?

My everyday press is a Golding Jobber No. 6. We have another Golding Jobber that I purchased earlier this year that is waiting for some love!

Which press was used to print the Nicely Noted cards?

Your Nicely Noted card was printed on our Golding Jobber No. 6. It runs on a motor, but each card is hand-fed onto the press one at a time, one color at a time. So your card went through the press three times!