As 2010 quickly approaches, we wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very happy New Year! Thank you for making 2009 such a fabulous year for all of us at Bella Figura – it has been a pleasure celebrating with you and we look forward to many more happy occasions in 2010. We’re also thrilled to introduce our 2010 collection, created exclusively for us by some of the nation’s most talented and sought after designers and artists. Starting next week, we’ll be sharing lots of details about our new designs and our designers, but for now here is a little peek at just a few of the new letterpress wedding invitation designs that have us so very excited for 2010.

In celebration of 2009, check out some of our favorite customizations of letterpress wedding invitation designs we printed in 2009:

Majorca letterpress save the dates with grommets
Yellow and gray square Dewdrop letterpress wedding invitations
Cartoccio letterpress baby announcements
Pool and pale gray Buttonpom letterpress wedding invitations
My wedding invitations – Keswick in pale gray and mediterranean
Pink and papaya Somersby letterpress wedding invitations
Custom skyline letterpress wedding invitations
Deveril red letterpress wedding invitations

New Calligraphy, one of our new 2009 letterpress wedding invitation designs, has already become a favorite with brides and it’s easy to see why. It’s the perfect blend of classic style paired with a modern edge, which makes it really fun for weddings large and small, whether they be held in a grand ballroom or a funky loft. It’s one of our new favorites, too! We love to see how a simple change in ink color can make it feel so strikingly different so it’s always exciting when we print a new variation.

The original New Calligraphy design uses bold cardinal ink on thick and luxurious 2-ply paper with gorgeous edge painting for a look that is dramatic and truly special.

Classic in striking black ink on white, this invitation is nothing short of posh. It practically sings of a wedding that is completely elegant and refined, a truly sophisticated affair.

This version of New Calligraphy pairs daffodil ink on ivory and just excudes excitement and fun. It’s playful, a bit whimsical and it promises guests an incredible evening of celebration and laughter. If you ask us, that’s the perfect definition of an unforgettable wedding.

We love Seasonal, one of our fun new letterpress wedding invitation designs for 2009 designed for us by Tara Hogan of Ink + Wit. With four interchangeable design motifs, one for each season, couples can match their design to the style and date of their wedding in a really cheerful and unexpected way. The sample depicts “Autumn” and is letterpress printed in Persimmon and French Vanilla inks.

Here you can see each of the four seasonal motifs…

This lovely version of Seasonal that we recently printed features “Spring” printed in Navy and Lime inks and is really fresh and modern in a very cheerful way. How could a guest receive this invitation and not be completely excited to attend this wedding? We just adore how bright and fun this invitation set is and how completely different the look is from the original sample design. This is another of example of how making a design your own can really add a special personalized touch to your letterpress wedding invitations.

We’ve always loved letterpress wedding invitations in 1 color — elegant & sophisticated and, if the ink is right on, it’s just perfect. And the good news, if you’re on a budget: 1-color letterpress is always less expensive than 2-color designs (and keep in mind you can print the invitation in 2 colors, and the accessory pieces in 1 color). Almost all of our 2-color wedding invitation designs can be printed in just 1 ink, but here are our some of our favorite 2009 letterpress invitations featuring just one perfect single color.

1-color designs pictured below, starting in upper right hand corner, going clockwise: Marais // Cartoccio // Urbanity // New Calligraphy // Birds // Sevilla

We love traditional rectangular letterpress invitations, of course, but we’re predicting a twist on the traditional: square and horizontal wedding invitations. Both sizes feel very fresh and stylish to us right now.

square designs pictured below, starting in the upper right, going clockwise // Festoon // Amici // Ella // Irving

horizontal designs pictured below, starting in the upper right, going clockwise // Silhouette // Mimosa // Ericka // Onalisse

What’s going to be hot in the letterpress wedding invitation world for 2009? Well, we looked into our crystal letterpresses and our first prediction is…

Edge painting. What is it? Originally reserved for the finest hand-bound books, edge painting has a rich history in the letterpress world. For centuries, master book binders would gild the edges of books with gold–or paint an actual illustration on the edge of the book’s pages–to show just how precious a particular book was. We’ve put a modern spin on this practice by hand painting the edge of our invitations with our Bella inks. You’ll see the color on the outside edge of the piece, but not on the front or back of the paper. Because the cotton paper we print on is so thick, edge painting can be a great way to highlight a color in your invitation set,or add an entirely new ink. (read more about edge painting wedding invitations here)

designs pictured below, starting in the upper right, going clockwise // Avant with cardinal edging // Festoon with pool edging // Urbanity with silver edging // Irving with fuchsia edging // New Calligraphy with cardinal edging // Birds with navy edging