"Congratulations" to Nicole & John on their recent wedding at Shadowbrook Restaurant in Capitola, California. The photographs by The Memory Journalists are amazing. I swear, looking at the photos, I can smell the salty ocean air. Check out the entire sneak peek here and see the work of Nicole's fabulous wedding day vendors. Yours truly, Blooms by Martha Andrews, Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts, Shadowbrook Restaurant, Sheffield Mulitmedia and of course The Memory Journalists.

Being a close friend of mine does carry it's paper benefits. :) My wedding gift to Nicole was her invitation suite. We did a paper boxed invitation set to really wow her intimate gathering of guests. Colors were muted in a palette of sage, chocolate and caramel. Papers were a combination of matte sage invitation box, matte sage & chocolate matte papers and touches of soft champagne & ivory metallics.

Not to mention ... Carissa with Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts used inspiration from the invitations to design their cake. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! :)

Cheers to Nicole & John!

» Read More...

I get lots of inquires about what products I offer that are a little more "green".  Which has lead me, in recent months, to research my suppliers and take steps here at the studio to make greener choices.  Some findings from my research is detailed below.

Paper - all the paper products I use consist, at a minimum, of 30% post consumer fiber and the two classic papers I use most often are now available at 100% post consumer fiber.  The same paper mill that manufactures the fine papers using 100% post consumer fiber has contracted to convert wood and fiber waste into steam energy to power its largest fine paper mill. Here at the studio, I recycle all my paper scraps that are smaller than 3x2 and keep scraps larger than 3x2 for giveaway swatch samples.

Printing - is all together a different monster.  While there are more eco-friendly options like soy based inks, waterless printing and vegetable oil based inks they tend to be pricey and not all together accessible everywhere and/or pertinent to every printing situation.  Where offset and digital printing still remain in high demand (due to their cost effectiveness) - I am elated to see that my letterpress suppliers offer soy based ink options are nearly the same as the traditional petroleum basked ink rates.  

All of my printing suppliers recycle 100% of their paper waste.  One printing supplier is in the works to convert the print shop to run on 100% wind generated energy.  A large step in reducing printing impacts on the environment is to simply print less.  That is where design can come into play - can you get all the information you need into less printed pieces?  Then do it.  No need to print more - just to print more.

Embellishments - Midori, the ribbon manufacturer I use has taken green throughout the organization.  Many employees bike or carpool to work, participate in a project to conserve 20 acres of conifer forest in the Pacific Northwest, electronic newsletters and marketing programs and many, many, more eco-efforts.

What I was surprised to see is that none of my suppliers are ignoring the environment or their impact on it.  Where changes, however small, can me made they've been done and larger projects, however daunting they may seem, are being scoped out and planned for.

While I love email and electronic messaging I would never want to see a day where there is no paper - just save

those paper moments for when they really count. 

Photo courtesy of: The Memory Journalists 

» Read More...

The long awaited launch of my new website ... yeehoo!  It's finally up!  I'm really pleased with the design and navigation and hope that you find it just as user friendly.  The color scheme is quite a change from the last site, but much more in line with my design philosophy overall.  I like to keep things warm & simple - then play with vibrant pops of color.  It is by all means a work in progress.  I have tons of gallery images still to post and am working on the numerous resource documents for "the library".  I'll have updates to post weekly, here on the blog, to notify everyone of site updates.

A little about what's new - the greatest change to the site is what I call "the library" - I wanted to create a resource page with design samples, paper selections, fonts, wording, you name it.  My intention is for "the library" to help jump start the creative process by allowing clients to browse and inform themselves with the available materials, embellishments and design elements at their leisure.  

Quality photography was extremely important to me this go round with my site.  I really wanted to show the texture and depth of my designs - as well as the sparkle in the crystals/papers as best as I could.  A lot of the photos I took myself - since I love the art of photography.  There are a great number of photos that my good friends at The Memory Journalists shot for me.  I am so grateful for their creative eye and attention to detail.  See some of their work above and throughout the website.

It's 235am and I need to wrap it up for the night.  TTFN.

» Read More...