Letterpress, art, design > about us

Practice Happiness

We're Bumblebee Press. We help you revel in the little things

These days go fast. You’ve got no time to be trapped in a dizzying aisle of mass-market cards.

OR. Overpriced, bland stationery that just gets the job done. Where’s the joy in that?

You want to let friends and family know how much you care. Because you do. But life is busy, and sometimes things fall through the cracks. Especially time for yourself.

We serve up letterpress & artisan stationery

Made with luxurious papers, coaxing old-world machinery into feats of modern design for discerning and not at all stuffy stationery enthusiasts

so that you can

bring things into your world that make your heart leap
get inspired to take time for yourself
create tiny practices of gratitude
have stationery on hand when inspiration strikes
practice happiness. Because those moments add up

You have important things to do. Like making someone's day

Starting with yours. Our wheels are always turning to make that easier and more fun.

I’m Julie Franklin and I founded Bumblebee Press to create things that are

beautiful & useful
for big hearted people

Over the past few decades, I’ve created, designed, and letterpress printed countless of thousands of projects for friends and clients who have become friends.

Personal stationery for A-list celebrities. Original art and decor for Ethan Allen, The Conran Shop, Sundance, + along with stationery for hundreds of retailers, designers, and boutique stores around the globe. Fun fact: my framed pressed botanicals appeared on Friends.

EVERY project that graces our door gets our full attention, inspiration, and dedication. We like it that way.

Let's get your good ideas out into this world

We opened our doors with a simple mission that still holds true:

Create beautiful things and nurture the relationships in which we engage

We’re a huge fan of simplicity and the highest quality of materials.

We’ve always held firm that joy in the process is critical in creating beautiful work.

Our vendors are our partners, and our clients, our muses —inspiring us to create new things and to do what we love.

We're happy you're here

Making things is fun and better when it’s shared.

Our vision is this:

Create a business that leverages and shares the power of wonder, sustainability, and compassion on an individual, community, and global level.

Some have asked…

How on earth did you get into this?

Mmm. I’d say luck. I left my job in NYC to work on a family project back in Georgia. So I was out of work and very soon, flat broke. I know. Doesn’t sound lucky. But if I hadn’t had to fish for my supper… this card-carrying introvert would’ve never started selling that first collection of stationery.

Bumblebee Press began as a botanical press almost three decades ago with a chance “walk in the field” with my botanist cousin. She collected specimens for research. And I fell head over heels for the pressed botanicals that came out of her presses. The curves, the colors, the realness of it all. I made my own presses and started collecting botanicals. Weeds, cultivated favorites, you name it. These became stationery and works on paper.

Not long after, circa early 90s, someone handed me their letterpress card in NYC. I was spellbound. Mind. Blown. [*!]

Fairy dust all over the place

I put that card in a file when I got back to the shop [we were in full swing as a botanical press by then] and I’d pull it out every once in a while just to hold it. Look at it. How was it possible that a piece of paper could make me so happy? I bought my first press, a 1920s Chandler & Price Craftsman, from “Wild Bill” and I’ve never looked back.

pounds of letterpress equipment

lessons learned

yoga classes to balance it all

You could say I've gotten my 10,000 hours in

And I’d say wonder is the bedrock of our company. It’s gotten us far; we’re keeping it. (And you’re invited.)

Julie Franklin is the CEO and founder of Bumblebee Press, serving stationery enthusiasts to get their happy paper fixes and upscale retailers to bring creative products to market.

She’s worked with major brands to design and produce original collections including Ethan Allen, The Conran Shop, and Sundance Catalog. She’s been featured in Better Homes and Garden, CNN, House Beautiful, and more. Julie lives in Atlanta with her family, including their dog Finnegan, and Bean, the cat that graciously adopted them.

Come on in

Take your shoes off, grab a cup of tea. We won’t make you get ink on your hands or sit in a yoga pose (yet!) but we will dish up some delectable stationery love for you.

1

Find something you love

Grab a free resource, check out our subscription box, or window shop the collections

2

Bring a li'l joy into your world.

Make it easy to take time for yourself and connect with others

3

Smile

Because your butterfly effect of making the world better one small moment at a time… has already started.

Whatcha waiting for? Jump in

Get Peaceful, Write Notes

This simple how-to guide will erase blank-page self-doubt so you can get those well-wishes of yours posted and sent.

I want to start a thank-you note gratitude practice