This Paper Ship is an illustration, design, and photography studio in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, created by husband-and-wife team Joel and Ashley Selby. Having competed against each other to get BFAs in graphic design at Shepherd University, they eventually discovered they worked best as a team, and launched This Paper Ship in 2009 as a small Etsy shop. Now they work with clients locally and internationally with a wide variety of assignments, from custom hand-crafted wedding invitations, to identity design for a line of artisan chocolate bars, to illustration for a new hip iPhone app. They pride themselves on versatility and their promise to work with clients on any budget, big or small.

Their diverse work combines hand lettering, illustration, graphic design, photography, paper craft, and printmaking; their playful, colorful, and sophisticated work is influenced by Mid-Century illustration, Victorian typography and printing, Swiss design, and photography that tells a story. They maintain a strong commitment to traditional drafting and printing materials while shaping the trends of the contemporary art world.

In 2011, they joined the team at Aeolidia as illustrators and logo designers and are excited to see where it takes them (but are glad that they don’t have to commute all the way to Seattle for work).

Featured on: HOW magazine | Design Sponge | Etsy | Anthology Magazine | Utterly Engaged | Aeolidia | Poolga | Design Work Life | Daily Candy | Weddings Unveiled | Green Wedding Shoes | Wedding Style Guide Magazine (Australia) | Ruffled | Lay Baby Lay | House of Fifty | French Sample Room | GoTriad | Skirt! | Society6 Shop | Cause for Design | Creative Panes

Client list: American Greetings | Marriage Today | DIY Bride | Timelines, Inc. (Photogram on iPhone apps) | Weddingjojo.com | Cincinnati Magazine | And much more!

Find out how to hire us here!