About This Stamp
With a timeless stamp design that evokes old-world elegance, the You’re Invited • For All Occasions stamp issuance give hosts a variety of choices with which to decorate their envelopes. The stamp art, featuring the words “You’re Invited” in calligraphy, is available in panes of lavender, red, blue, and gold for invitations to weddings, birthdays, showers, graduations, holiday get-togethers, and any other occasion when an elegant stamp is just right. A similarly designed stamp with the calligraphy treated in gold foil is available at the two-ounce rate for heavier wedding invitations that have enclosures.
Reflecting on invitations and stamps served as a starting point for art director Antonio Alcalá, who was encouraged to develop some designs for the stamp project that didn’t involve flowers. After trying several different approaches, Alcalá decided to explore using calligraphy. “I thought it could make for an attractive solution that pairs well with the visual sensibility of many invitations — calligraphed names and addresses,” Alcalá says.
While researching calligraphers, Alcalá found Nina Tran, an artist and instructor based in Los Angeles, California. Tran had extensive experience with a style he thought might be appropriate for the stamp.
“When Antonio Alcalá reached out to me with his idea of how my art might fit the project, he sent a few screen shots of work he liked, and my brain started to draft ideas before I got to my sketchpad,” says Tran. “After a few back-and-forth modifications, we were able to get to a design that we liked. Aside from the minor tweaks, the final artwork did not change much from our original ideas.”
In the end, Tran opted to use the Copperplate style of lettering to create the stamp design’s central imagery. Copperplate, a style of penmanship closely related to English Roundhand, was widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries by master calligraphers who engraved the eponymous script on copper plates. “Although there are endless variations, Copperplate is generally known for its formality and elegance, which makes it a popular style to use for wedding invitations, name cards, and other formal occasions,” says Tran.
“I am grateful and thrilled beyond measure to have this opportunity. It’s a great honor to have my work represent calligraphy as an art and the calligraphy and lettering community at large,” adds Tran.
The You’re Invited • For All Occasions stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps in panes of 10 stamps. Forever stamps will always be equal to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Calligrapher
Nina Tran
Nina Tran is a calligrapher and calligraphy instructor based in Southern California.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Tran became interested in art at an early age. Her grandfather taught her to draw and how to see objects as simple shapes, a skill that has played a big role in her ability to isolate forms such as letters and break them down into basic components.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1991, Tran graduated with a B.A. in biology from California State University, Northridge, then worked in an art shop, married, and focused on raising her three children. Realizing she needed to be a part of something outside of her home world, Tran picked up a calligraphy pen to help a friend make signage for her wedding. The rest, as they say, is history.
Tran has received professional training and guidance from skilled calligraphy mentors, instructors, and peers. In addition to her lettering work, she has taught prolifically for calligraphy guilds and institutions across North America, Asia, and Europe, including major organizations such as the Society for Calligraphy, and the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting.
Prominent publications featuring Tran’s work include Calligraphy Crush Magazine, the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society’s the Edge Magazine, UPPERCASE Magazine, and The Speedball Textbook. She has also done calligraphic work for Dolce & Gabbana, Brunello Cucinelli, La Prairie, a variety of calligraphy guilds and organizations, and private individuals.
When she’s not working from her studio in Van Nuys, California, Tran enjoys reading, sketching, photography, and long walks in nature. She can also be found volunteering at the Los Angeles County Scroll Office and participating in regional calligraphy events and conferences.
Tran created the calligraphy for three 2027 stamps: With Love, You're Invited • For All Occasions, and You're Invited • Wedding Edition, a two-ounce stamp.