[Alyson Kuhn] Earlier this week, we featured birch veneer recipe cards and gift garnishes from In Haus Press. Writing about these whet our appetite for other food-themed gifts and supplies on Felt & Wire Shop. Herewith an array of tasty items to delight the eye and inspire social niceties.
All the paper goods presented today are offset printed, running the production gamut from basic black to full-blown color. The Haute Cuisine Recipe Cards (above) from Inkadinkadoodle present eight images from Food and Drink: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth Century Sources (Dover Publications). Set includes two of each design; back of the card is ruled. I love the idea of pairing a relatively simple recipe with an intricate illustration. Look how the edge of the humble peanut butter cookie below mimics the decorative base of the pièce montée.
Peter Good’s Food Cycle is jaunty and juicy, just the thing to accompany or acknowledge a gift of preserves — or to invite fortunate friends for a fresh fruit salad, or wish someone bonbon voyage.
Angela Liguori of Carta Studio in Boston and graphic designer Silvana Amato in Rome cooked up a truly gorgeous homage to Italian provender, The Fruits, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy. The original text, written in 1614 by Giacomo Castelvetro, presents the author’s recommendations for enjoying (including washing and seasoning) an entire year’s edible harvest. Liguori and Amato publish artist’s books, cards and calendars under the imprint Edizioni Almenodue. Almenodue means “at least two,” a nod to the fact that all of their projects are highly collaborative.
Key collaborators on this project are illustrator Rita Ravaioli and printer Stefania Paradiso. (We cannot help but observe that all of these women’s names, both first and last, end with a vowel!) The little volume (5 x 7 in. and about 1/2-in. thick) presents spring; subsequent seasons may follow. The full text appears in both Italian and English (translation by Gillian Riley).
Liguori, who learned her craft at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, hand-bound the edition of 80. Copies have been acquired for the special collections of several university libraries across the U.S. — as well as for private collections.
Liguori and Amato have also created a series of fill-in invitations. Liguori binds the printed front to a second page with red linen thread.
Look at the multitude of motifs. No. 112 Colapasta (colander, in the middle column below) seems a grand way to invite someone over for spaghetti. What with their perpetual calendaring, you can also use one of these to extend an open invitation or present a gift certificate.
Jan Cummings Good’s watercolor illustration of corn is mouthwatering. What a lovely card for a barbecue or Thanksgiving — or a kernel of news.
And we conclude with this revelation from Egg2Cake. Note that this reversal of dessert fortune, so to speak, only works if you have plural desserts — which we generally recommend.
