Case study · Business cards · Maison Cas Rares
Maison Cas Rares ↗A cabinet of curiosities, in a pocket
Gold foil beetles and a gold foil-stamped edge on charcoal grey uncoated stock, with tone-on-tone black ink.
The idea
Maison Cas Rares is a décor, curiosities and furniture boutique on Place du Châtelet in Orléans, open since 2018. It sells rare and unusual objects in a warm, dense, cabinet-of-curiosities setting.
Two rules
- 01Illustration in foil, not ink. The beetles were stamped in gold foil, with black line detail held inside the foil areas so the drawing survives.
- 02Contact details that recede. Tone-on-tone black ink on charcoal grey uncoated stock, with a gold foil-stamped edge tying the two faces together.
Why it works
Only the gold catches light: the beetles, the name and the edge. Everything else stays dark, so the card behaves like one of the shop's own objects.
Start from these materials
Same paper, foil and finish, locked in — nothing of Maison Cas Rares's artwork comes with it.
Questions
- Can detailed illustrations be foil stamped?
- Yes, within limits. Keep lines above about 0.25mm and leave space between them so the foil does not bridge. Very fine detail is better left in ink inside the foil shape.
- What is tone-on-tone printing?
- Printing an ink very close to the paper colour, so the type shows as a slight change in sheen or depth rather than as contrast.
- How was this gold edge made?
- Gold foil was stamped onto the trimmed edge. It is not edge paint, and the metallic surface catches light differently from a painted edge.
