Fugu Fugu Press prints up vintage style

At the very top of the San Gabriel Mountains lives a couple named Ken and Shino Charlson. From the outside, their house is like any other. A dog, Morgan, generally lies out in the sun, lazing the day away.

 

But, inside the house, down in the garage, doodle-ridden greeting cards are strewn across worktables. In the corner, lie three antique letterpresses.

Shino Charlson and her husband Ken Charlson are one of the power couples of the greeting-card world. The couple, one part a creative thinker and one part business acumen, creates cards inspired by a fusion of midcentury modern, Scandinavian and Japanese art styles, combined with the distinctive style of the Heidelberg and Chandler & Price letterpresses.

The husband-and-wife duo said they always knew they wanted to start their own company, but the decision to enter the greeting-card business came about organically. When Shino Charlson helped a friend in the industry out for a period, she found that she not only enjoyed it, but also that she had a knack for it.

“There was nothing else like it,” Ken Charlson said. “[Shino and her friends] had the perfect combination of elements — they were hard workers, really creative people who came up with really cute designs, and they were doing it with the letterpress.”

The Charlsons attribute part of their success to the look of their cards, created by the unique imprint the letterpress’ leave behind when they print onto the paper.  The Mad Men-style art appeals to those who want their cards to have a more vintage look.

Ken Charlson described the mid-century modern look, as well as the Scandinavian “design ethos” that Ken and Shino Charlson are inspired by, as having “light airiness to it with a clear purpose.”

They try to loosely incorporate the idiosyncrasies of this type of art and transcribe it into their work.

“It’s helped shape what [we] think looks cool,” Ken Charlson said.

To create their signature cards, the Charlsons use two types of letterpresses — the Chandler & Price and the Heidelberg hand-driven machines, which reside in their garage studio.

Shino Charlson’s designs, which are the focal points of the cards, are what make them truly stand out.

Surprisingly, Shino Charlson said that her favorite designs aren’t Fugu Fugu’s bestsellers, such as “Birthday Tiger,” which shows a picture of a one-tiger marching band celebrating with a drum, or “Birthday Gift Boy,” which depicts a baby waiting to meet the world. Her favorite designs are displayed on “Birthday Candle,” which shows a candle eager to make someone’s birthday wish come true, and “V-day Undie,” which is a more realistic cartoon of a girl on Valentine’s Day.

Over the years, not only has the couple’s business grown, but so has their relationship as well.

“[Fugu Fugu Press] has definitely made it stronger,” said Shino Charlson. “With this, I have to tell him everything on my mind or stuff doesn’t get done. So communication is a requirement.”

For the husband and wife duo, work isn’t work at all. Being creative-minded individuals, they both thrive off of the artistic freedom they get through their business.

In college, Ken Charlson was a music major. He still plays piano four nights a week at the Hotel Bel Air and gives piano lessons when he can. Ken However, it is the combination of his creative and business-minded brain, as well as a passion for old-style letterpresses that make him a perfect foil to Shino’s artistic ideas.

Shino Charlson said art has always been intertwined in her life.  Before the card-making business, she was doing illustrations for children’s books and editorial illustrations for publications such as LA Weekly and The Wall Street Journal. Now, she’s completely involved in Fugu Fugu Press, constantly thinking up designs for their biannual card releases.

“You get inspired by little things, and you don’t really know until you’re sitting at the desk on the computer and you start designing,” Shino Charlson said.

Though free time is scarce for the Charlson’s, they love to go to their friends’ art galleries when they can, especially since it’s one way Shino  Charlson gains inspiration.

“Most of our friends are in creative industries, so talking to them about it, not even looking at their stuff, inspires us, and then looking at their stuff inspires us more,” said Shino Charlson.

On the printing side, Ken Charlson loves when they can see other shops and compare ideas.

“It will just open a new door on how to solve a problem that we’ve seen,” said Ken Charlson. “It’s always fun to see other [print] shops, and see how they do things.”

So far, the duo must be doing something right. Their signature cards have drawn a loyal following. Shino Charlson said that she is excited to continue drawing inspiration from the world around her for future Fugu Fugu designs.

“You don’t know what sticks in your brain and comes out days, months later,” she said.