We would like to extend a special thanks to "Stationery Trends" for choosing us to be featured again in their Spring 2012 issue!
Silhouettes seem to be all the rage right now, (as they are from time to time), so we thought this "suite" should follow "suit!" We offer this collection with several color options and the option to choose the silhouette that best reflects the look of the bride and groom...
The long awaited launch is finally upon us...POTTERY BARN KIDS! To say that I am ecstatic about our private label wall art collection for Pottery Barn Kids is a gross understatement! It is truly a dream come true! For years, I have admired their designs and have decorated my daughter's rooms exclusively with PBK product...so to be able to design a collection for them has been an incredible honor! We hope you enjoy the designs as much as we enjoyed creating them! ~ Abbey
We love free advertising...especially when we are chosen to sit beside a long list of "A-list" Stationery designers!
I have a passion for children's parties! I love how it makes the child light up when they see everything we have created for them! My youngest loves her birthday parties so much that she starts planning the theme for her next birthday party the moment her present party comes to an end! Throughout the year, the theme changes countless times, but we always seem to land on something great a month or two prior to the event. Because I am nuts about their parties and go WAY OVER THE TOP, I often wonder to myself how I am going to afford what they will be expecting on their wedding day! But, luckily my oldest is only 6 and my youngest 4...I have a few years to save up! :)
Anyway, enough about me and on to the details of this year's birthday! Above, we created a collapsible invitation. When closed, it features an illustration of the birthday girl in her smock...when opened, it outlines the details of her party. And, to complete the look, we added a fun tossed envelope liner and address labels!
Because the birthday girl is a budding artist, she displayed some of her own art in a gallery atop an old fireplace mantel. Other decor included two welcome signs, personalized placemats and smocks, candy-filled acrylic paint cans filled with colored chocolates, patterned napkin rings, Happy Birthday pennant flags and so much more!
Activities included: stamping tote bags, coloring inserts to create personalized cups with each child's name and painting wooden letters (each child received the first letter of his/her first name).
The lil' artists in action!
Goodies included pretzel rod/chocolate paintbrushes, paint palette sugar cookies, rainbow-colored twizzlers, colorful cake pops, chocolate-covered double-stuffed oreos, mini gumballs and creative juices...and, let's not forget Sangria for the parents...they needed it...it was pretty chaotic and very MESSY (colorful) party!
The party would not have been complete without the rainbow tiered cake! It was an absolute hit!
Favors included gable boxes filled with mini tubs of playdough + topped off with rolling pins, crayons and markers...these, along with their crafts, were inserted into their decorated tote bags for easy carrying!
This year's "Create + Celebrate Art Party" definitely turned out to be a crowd pleaser! Stay tuned for next year's big event!
As I am uploading the pictures of last weekend's bridal show, I am laughing to myself! I never got around to adding the pictures from the National Stationery Show booth in NYC and that show was career-changing! LOL I will try to get those up soon! But, don't hold your breath...anyone who follows our blog knows that I am sporadic, (at best), at adding posts! :)
Seating Charts are all the rage these days! They come in various sizes, can be mounted on foamcore or framed and can be designed horizontally or vertically. We always do our best to coordinate the design with the rest of the bride's stationery and decor!
Calendar Save-the-dates and Wine bottle labels are also favorites of brides! Visit our Etsy store to order our printable line of Caricature Calendar Save-the-dates, envelope icing and digital stamp designs!
We are obsessed with pinwheels! We love designing new patterns that can be used to create a truly custom look.
A few months back, the Editor in Chief of Stationery Trends, Sarah Schwartz, interviewed me on our "Born" line and our baby business! I really enjoyed answering all of her questions because it forced me to take a good look at our baby business. As a Creative Director of 13 years, my focus is, more times than not, on design, trends and product. This interview really helped me to analyze what new Moms were looking for and what inspired them! In addition to the clip featured above, I'm including the full interview below! Happy reading!
1. What do you have that’s new in this category?
This year at the National Stationery Show we launched, "Born," a semi-custom collection of wall art. The wall art presents a newborn’s given name and birth details (i.e. birth date, time, weight, length) using vivid graphic design and a highly-saturated version of the color palette traditionally associated with baby. There are ten joyful themes, each interpreted for boy and girl and printed on metallic cardstock. Themes include: Animal Alphabet, Baby Barnyard, Deep Sea, Fluttering Friends, Woodland Critters, Buggy Buddies, Look Hoo, Sports Star, Surf’s Up and Wild Safari. Additionally, each is coated with an anti-fading UV protectant and comes in a 14x17-inch, matted frame with a choice of an espresso or white finish. And, what's great about this new collection is that colors and typefaces can be changed to match the baby's nursery and/or the new Mom's unique taste.
In the custom area of my business, showers and parties for newborns are becoming bigger and better in every way! It seems that ideas are limitless....and the more ideas my clients have, the more custom-designed stationery items they need. Now, not only is there a need for a simple invite, there is a need for a one-of-a-kind invite with all the bells and whistles one could desire. Custom envelope icing, insert cards and envelope liners are becoming the norm. But, that's just the beginning! Hostesses/new moms are now asking for silverware wraps, cupcake wrappers and toppers, custom designed games, labels for apothecary jars, special designs for unique favors, escort cards, signage, banners, diaper cakes...and the list goes on! Baby events are becoming more like weddings every day!
2. What prompted you to introduce it?
A few years back, when my daughters were born, I created the first sets of "Born" wall art to hang over their cribs, (now, their beds). Since then, just about everyone I knew who was expecting, and/or knew someone who was expecting, wanted one to coordinate with their nurseries. Because they seemed to be in such high demand, I started offering them to my custom clients. It turned out that past brides that were now becoming Mommies and MOBs looking for a special shower gift for their expecting daughters were scarfing them up. So, I figured, why not create a collection that would be on-trend and meet the needs of both boy and girl...and thus, "Born" was officially born!
My custom baby business, on the other hand, was fueled by more and more clients coming to me with unique ideas on how to set their showers/Sip & Sees apart from others they had attended. I love when someone gives me a unique concept to run with. It really allows me to be creative and think out of the box and it provides my clients with a party that is uniquely their own!
3. How does it play off of what is going on culturally in areas from home décor to fashion to pop culture?
Every year, I trend shop in the US and abroad. I think it is incredibly important to see what colors, icons and patterns are hot, not only in the area of baby, but also in the area of home decor and fashion! I am constantly researching, making lists and redefining what I would like my collections to include for the following year. Knowing what individuals are responding to is extremely important when you are trying to develop a line, which will hopefully inspire the public.
I also believe that baby showers/parties and the design of a child's nursery are becoming grander because we have more access to view parties and nurseries of the rich and famous! With TV/print coverage, blogs galore and reality TV madness, the general public has a front row seat to the most amazing showers and nurseries money can buy. It's only natural that we are all inspired by this and want our own version of something that FABULOUS!
4. If you were a retailer, how would you promote it?
In this day and age, I think seeing is believing! The more instant gratification you can provide your clients, the better! Because of this, I believe that you now not only need a storefront or a website, you need to be a master marketer, merchandiser and social networker. Creating a blog and inspiring clients with new design/shower concepts will show them that you have your finger on the pulse of the latest and greatest. Your blog can be used to show new product in its new home (i.e. personalized wall art in a newborn's nursery) and feature real showers that you have helped design/build from the ground up! And, of course in store, you not only need to merchandise your new product properly and be a great salesperson, you also need to create marketing material that will drive your potential clients to your site, blog and social networking sites! If you provide your customers with ideas that they can hold onto, they will remember to keep coming back for more!
5. Is there anything else about your new releases or the category itself that you would like to share with Stationery Trends readers?
I believe that the category of baby will continue to grow and get more and more exciting! I look forward to growing my product offering and adding more styles to our "Born" collection year over year. It's actually my favorite category because it allows for the most imagination. Babies are so magical, so what I design for them must be equally as whimsical/magical! I count myself blessed to have such amazing daughters, nieces, nephews and clients who inspire me on a regular basis!
Over the past year, about 85% of our custom work has had a shade of purple incorporated into the design! To say that I was sick of purple was a gross understatement, until...I had a design-savvy bride come in with a purple/24K gold/red color palette! I was so intrigued by this palette...I guess it just goes to show you that you have to have the right color palette to inspire!
It took some time, but we've finally launched our ETSY shop! We couldn't be more thrilled! The first stationery items offered are printable calendar save-the-dates with a twist! Each of the save-the-dates are 11x17" in size and feature caricatures of the bride and groom. Choose from 12 bride and groom combinations...and, colors, fonts and frames are all customizable. Change the colors of the eye, hair and clothes to make them resemble the bride and groom!
And, what's great about these save-the-dates is that they mail without an envelope! They fold down and can be wrapped with envelope icing (wrapping address labels)...these printable labels are also available for purchase from our store. And, if that's not enough, we also offer matching postage stamp designs! These come as a digital file and can be uploaded to the postage creator of your choice.
We hope you enjoy viewing our newest line!
These save-the-dates will definitely set the tone for your memorable event!
Save $$$ by doing without the envelope! Envelope Icing makes the perfect statement and is all that's needed to keep the save-the-date folded on its journey through the mail!
What's great about these stamps is that they can be used for anything! Use them for any type of correspondence!
Which couple looks the most like you and your significant other? If you can't find one above, we offer further customization for an additional fee.
Check out our colors! Mix and match to make your design uniquely your own!
That's easy enough, right!
Last, but not least, "Outdoor Elegance" is one of my personal faves! The charm of the outdoors and the sophistication of a momentous event come together in this one-of-a-kind suite!
