Junk mail reincarnated -- into pretty personalized stationery

Chicago's Tweedle Press will turn your unwanted junk mail into gorgeous stationery and business cards.

Fri, Mar 05 2010 at 12:39 PM EST

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Photos courtesy of Tweedle Press

Wish you could magically turn all that ugly junk mail you don’t want into gorgeous, letterpress stationery you need? You now can — almost magically — through a cute Chicago letterpress company called Tweedle Press.

That’s right — Pack up the junk mail and other paper in your recycling bin, mail it off to the Windy City, and you’ll get back beautifully-designed, 100% post-consumer (that consumer would be you!) recycled content letterpress stationery and business cards — tinted in the shade of your choice, flecked with flower petals of your desire, and printed with veggie-based inks via a hand-cranked press!

I know — it sounds too good to be true — but Tweedle Press’ owner Nina Interlandi Bell makes it possible through her personal recycling service. This is one serious green letterpress expert — with a quirky, whimsical style — whose website details all her many eco-friendly practices — down to her human-powered presses.

Of course, reincarnating your discarded paper goods doesn’t come cheap — but Tweedle Press’ prices aren’t any higher than those of most boutique letterpress companies, which don’t offer an added personalized recycling service. A 50-sheet set of personalized letterpress stationery (with envelopes) handcrafted from your junk mail costs $260, while a similarly-made set of 100 letterpress business cards can be yours for $210. Just want pretty paper sans the printing and design work? For $47, you can turn 8 to 10 ounces of unwanted junk mail into 10 gorgeous sheets to use as you please.

Since shipping paper does have a sizable carbon footprint, Tweedle Press’ service is most eco-friendly for Windy City residents. That said, keep in mind that the paper you put in the recycling bin in Los Angeles isn’t recycled in L.A. — or even in California. The stuff all gets shipped across the ocean to China, to be shipped back as new recycled goods to be sold as slightly eco-friendlier paper products at a store near you. Recycled is a lot greener than buying new — but it’s not without its own carbon footprint.

That’s why we should all be reducing our junk mail as much as possible! Whittled down your junk mail enough that you don’t have paper to recycle? Tweedle Press also offers readymade letterpress cards, stationery, coasters, and bookmarks — like the ones pictured above — made with 100% recycled, 30% post-consumer paper.

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