[Alissa Walker & Keith Scharwath] Our Los Angeles studio doesn’t have a name or its own letterhead, but it’s unique because it’s occupied by two people who live together and happen to do complementary things: Alissa is a design writer and Keith is a graphic artist and art director. So we don’t necessarily work together, it’s more like we work alongside each other. It’s nice to have someone just over your shoulder to ask how to phrase something or get feedback on color choices from someone who understands what you’re talking about. We are definitely inspired and influenced by what the other person is working on. Sometimes we update our Twitter accounts about the same things simultaneously.

Drawing inspiration from their collection of 19th and 20th century wood and metal type, borders, ornaments and printing presses, Smart & Wiley crafts fine contemporary print goods with a wink and a nod to the past.

[Pam Williams] Gulp! We admit it. We have been spending way too many hours (this year!) perusing Lisa Congdon’s A Collection a Day. We finally caught up with the talented creator of this ambitious year-long project to ask a few questions — like where’d you find those amazing vintage paper coasters?

[Sharon Werner] It’s been 20 years and three studio spaces since the start of Werner Design Werks, but oddly the description of our office hasn’t really changed: A scuffed-up brick building with no real style, in a decidedly not posh neighborhood, with little clue from the exterior that this is a design studio.

[Alyson Kuhn] I don’t really think of myself as a collector. I have some ephemera and a fair bit of old correspondence, but most of my papery supplies have been acquired to be used … sometime between immediately and eventually. I recently invited my friends Max (who’s 8) and Benji (who’s 5-1/2) to come over and make birthday cards for their father. Max asked if I would be able to buy suitable paper and pens.