Modern Creative Bridal Fair

 

We recently blogged about the fabulous Stacy McCain, and are thrilled to be participating in a bridal fair she's organizing with Dekker Photography on February 26th, featuring a collection of wonderful vendors, including Magnolia Floral Design, Cake Work, Best Beverage Catering, Amy Kuschel,  Got Light?, and Papineau Calligraphy.

The party will be on Thursday the 26th of February from 6-9pm and will be a low-key, intimate affair (unlike many of the large, impersonal bridal fairs out there!). There will be an open bar, delicious catering, live music and beautiful decor. So come on by, have some food and drinks with us and have fun! Tickets are available at

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/55135

Real Wedding: Ted & Angie

We've blogged about Ted and Angie, owners of Poketo, before...they are such a fabulous pair. Last time we saw them, we got to chatting about taco trucks at weddings and it turns out they had one at theirs! We were soooo excited, and then they made our day by sharing these pictures with us...

The ceremony took place on the roof deck of their Los Angeles loft...

San Francisco-based photographer Myleen Hollero did an amazing job capturing portraits of bride & groom and their family and friends...

The infamous taco truck - such a festive, yummy, and cost-effective idea!

Mmmmm....tacos!!

Guests were treated to a tower of mini cupcakes...

...first tasted by the bride and groom, natch!

Congratulations, Ted & Angie!

Photos courtesy of Myleen Hollero.

Stacy McCain Event Planning

Our friend Stacy McCain, an event planner based in San Francisco, just pinged us to let her know about her wonderful new website!  It's so great to see Stacy's fresh, fabulous work all in one place! We especially love this Mexican fiesta she created - love the colors and the mini maracas!

These Mexican paper flowers are gorgeous, too - find similar ones here.

Love this table name and the beautiful, understated table settings...

So many lovely, rustic touches!

Adorable cake and candy bar...

Stacy does everything from weddings to anniversary parties and takes her inspiration from a range of influences, including her international travels.  Speaking of which, the anniversary party above was inspired by the couple's international travels over their 40 years of marriage (so sweet!) -- love the gorgeous Asian details.

She also is very friendly to same-sex couples - like this ultra-modern wedding she created for Mike and Jeff at the San Jose Museum of Art. Stacy's eye for detail is simply wonderful, and she was a wonderful, energetic personality to boot!

Congratulations, Stacy! Check out more of her work here.

Photo credits (from top): Mel Barlow, Alex Johnson, Sasha Gulish, Emily Merrill

Lovely Letterpress

We happened upon these photos of  a charming letterpress wedding invitation suite via Inspired Bride and  (oh so) beautiful paper.  Maddy, bride-to-be and writer of  Inspired Bride, is also a graphic designer and lover of letterpress (we're with you Maddy!).  And, she asked us to print the beautiful stationery she designed.

How sweet is the bird and pretty dotted pattern?

So wonderful that Maddy is lending such a personal touch to her wedding and we're tickled to have helped.  You can read more details about the inspiration behind the stationery here and can visit Maddy's blog for more wedding details.

Mutant Octopi, Puppies, Giraffes!!

We had a great time today hosting a gaggle of hilarious second graders for a valentine making bonanza.  Here we are at the beginning of the session - all seems calm, but it soon descended into crafting chaos!

We worked on the Fuzzy Octopus card from our book, Handmade Hellos.  Above, some very serious crafting commences...

The kids were really creative - here is an octopus that ended up with 22 eyes at the final count...

We loved how creative the kids got!  Here a little girl who decided to go with a fantastic giraffe of her own creation.

A hysterical puppy...

Hilarious mutant octopus...

Aaron does a little printing demonstration for a rapt audience. Thanks to the kids and teachers of Leonard Flynn Elementary School for a great time! Happy Valentine's Day!

Sneak peak: New designs by Joel Dewberry

And now for a sneak peak of our new wedding designs, part deux - Joel Dewberry! Joel is an incredibly talented textile designer and whose fabrics we'd been coveting! When we finally met we instantly connected - we completely identify with his "eclectic modern" philosophy  - it was a match made in heaven! Here's a sneak peak of the results of our collaboration on a new wedding invitation collection...

These designs will be available exclusively on our website in 2 weeks (both letterpress and digital). Check back soon, and check out Joel's amazing fabrics here.

Sneak peak: New designs by EIEIO

We have long been huge fans of Jean Orlebeke over at EIEIO - she's created an amazing range of modern gift wrap designs, which are sold at high-end boutiques (think MoMA design store). She's hands-down one of the most talented designers we know, so we were thrilled when she agreed to collaborate with us on an exclusive collection of wedding invitation designs! Here's a sneak peak...

We're so excited to be working with Jean! This designs will be available in both letterpress and digital formats on our website in the next 2 weeks. Check back for more info, and call us to order in the meantime!

Photos by Sara Remington.

Freedom to Marry

We're thrilled to be contributing to the upcoming Freedom to Marry fundraiser at Amy Kuschel Bride benefiting Equality of California. It's going to be a great party, organized by I Do! Wedding & Event Design, catered by Joshua Charles, and featuring a show of Amy's 2009 bridal collection. Here are the details - everyone's invited!

Thursday, February 12, 2009 National Freedom to Marry Day 6 - 8 p.m. Amy Kuschel Design Studio 23 Grant Avenue, 5th Floor San Francisco, California

RSVP to Ruby@amykuschel.com (and if you can't make it, make a donation to EQCA!)

Photo credit: Photomischa

Bridesmaids and flower girls at J.Crew

How much are we loving the bridesmaid and flower girl dresses over at J. Crew right now? So much it hurts! I mean, how cute is this little ruffled dress?

And we just can't decide which of these two headbands would be cuter! We're leaning towards the green because it's so much more unexpected for a little girl...

And of course there's this fabulous bow clutch, available in a host of pretty colors!

And our favorite of all - this stunning grey silk dress - love the petal detail at the collar!

The stylists have paired it with these gorgeous yellow strappy heels...

and this fabulous bauble bracelet...

They're rockin' it over there!

And the piece de resistence - this perfect mod little party dress! Perfect for a flower girl fashionista! Way to go, J. Crew!

Valentine's Card Making Party

Last week we hosted a Valentine's card making  party at Chronicle Books' shop on Union Street in San Francisco, featuring a valentine's version of the Owl-y Friend card by Petra Boase, from our book Handmade Hellos.

We had a great turnout - so much fun!

By the end of the night, we had a crazy number of variations on the owl, and lots of happy crafters!

The owls (and some non-owls) were as varied as their makers...

We dubbed this one the "red hot" owl - love the color combo!

And what about these "disco wings"!?

Glitter was one of the more popular supplies...a comedian once called glitter the STD of crafting, and our party proved that out...my the end, it had spread everywhere! Hilarious!

Some crafters were inspired by the Wood You Be Mine? project from the book, by Two Trick Pony, and made their own vignettes (this one uses some cute cardinal wrapping paper from Snow & Graham).

Or how about this hilarious birthday card? The little alien is made from a patterned paper by EIEIO.

Owl with wings and eyes akimbo... Thanks to everyone who attended, and a special shout-out to Christina Loff for organizing. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Target Red Hot Valentine's!

Target has some great Valentine's items featured on their Red Hot Shop this month, including this hilarious mug!

The perfect way to drop a hint to your sweetie if you're angling for an engagement! (who, you?? never...!)

These ruffled knickers are adorable - perfect for some hanky panky!

Also loving this Little Pink  address book from Peter Pauper Press...

The candy stripe pattern on the inside are just too cute!

And would'ya look at that? We're featured this month, too, with our Valentine's card kit, created exclusively for the Red Hot Shop!

Check out all their fabulous Valentine's finds right here!

Flea market finds!

Sunday was the Alameda Flea Market and, as always, we were there in full treasure-hunting mode! This time we spotted some fabulous paper goods and crafting supplies..

Love this vintage wall paper -- we can't wait to use it to line some envelopes! We also found these little paper cups, lined with pleated crepe paper -- such a cute idea for containing favors!

And these buttons and fabric would be so fabulous for crafting projects!

Paper elephants! We can imagine using them as favors or place cards for a baby shower (slip the guest's name in the elephant's trunk!)

A pretty paper fan...so lovely! Ah, the flea is so satisfying!

Elizabeth Dye

We spotted these over at Wedding Bee recently and just fell in love with Portland-based designer Elizabeth Dye's fabulous creations, especially this bolero re-fashioned from a vintage beaded sweater. So genius! Her bridal collection is available at her boutique, The English Dept.

This one's our fave! The perfect way to add drama to a wedding gown, and keep you cozy and chic!

Simple and oh-so-pretty!

Elegant, ethereal, dreamy!  All of these little number are available at the English Dept's etsy shop here. And don't forget to check out Ms. Dye's everyday collection here!

New York Gift Fair

We just wrapped up exhibiting at the NY Gift Fair - it was a little quiet given the economy (crickets..!...tumbleweeds!)...but that's okay because we still got lots of inspiration and made new friends. Plus it's always great to catch up with our fellow designers/small biz owners and the wonderful independent boutiques that carry our cards. There's Chun Yee (intrepid founder of our London office) and Sabrina in our booth...

We were completely smitten with Pikku's new stationery - it's a beautiful combination of pretty, mod design, gorgeous letterpress and hand stitching. That Valerie is so talented - everything she does incorporates pretty textile-inspired details...

Pikku was also showcasing these lovely silk-screen wood wall calendars. So cute!

Angie and Ted of Poketo were there with their super-nip line of t's, plates, wallets and other delectable collectibles.

Here are some of their new mugs, available righ here.

We also spotted these fab new Orla Kiely journals from Jasper + Black.

Love these kooky dinosaur wall decals from Wall Candy Arts.

Super cool coat hooks from Fluffy Co.

And fabulous hand-made guest books and albums from Rag & Bone Bindery (this one uses Amy Butler fabrics). Gorgeous!!

John Patrick Organic

We're at the New York International Gift Fair this week and one of our favorite finds has been John Patrick Organic, an ultra-chic organic cotton fashion studio created by designer John Patrick. We love these airy dresses from his Spring collection - how fabulous would these be for to wear to a summer wedding (as a bridesmaid or guest!)?

Love these looks!

John was at the show with his lovely assistant Olivia previewing his gorgeous new beach line, Playa Organic.

Elegant flow-y beach lounge wear  organic straw hats, and light striped wool scarves -- on display at their booth at the Gift Show. Makes us want to get on a plane to Cabot!

What we love most, though, is John's passion,  ethic, and super-positive attitude -- he sources from small cotton growers and is completely dedicated to creating chic, lovely clothes; the details and quality are amazing!  We heart him!!!

Official Tooth Fairy Kit

Every once in a while we come across a genius that product that gives us major design envy. Behold! The Official Tooth Fairy Kit!

We love the seriously gorgeous design and all the hilarious little details, including the following filing instructions (the idea of making small children go through ridiculous and unnecessary bureaucracy is so amusing!):

The kit contains one letterpress Certificate of Record for filing with your local Tooth Fairy and one reusable silkscreened cloth deposit bag for your first and all subsequent transactions. The official certificate keeps record of name, age, tooth lost, method of extraction and compensation information.

Available via the Office of the Tooth Fairy (ha!) for the bargain price of $16

via Oh Happy Day!

San Francisco Wedding Fair

Last week we had the pleasure participating in the annual San Francisco Wedding Fair. It was a fabulous event, with delicious food catered by the Four Seasons and a wonderful group of wedding vendors. Above, some of our favorite people: Stacy McCain of Stacy McCain Event Planning, Lisa Neighbors of Blonde Tulip Photography, and Stephanie Watanabe of Atelier Joya.

Good friend and fellow designer Stacy Pancake and her assistant Nicole debuted Stacy's beautiful new, minimalist and gorgeous letterpress wedding invitation collection.

The effervescent Mary Jo Bowling, Editor-in-Chief of the new San Francisco Bride's magazine was there celebrating their inaugural issue!

Floramor Studios  create a series of over-the-top floral displays representing different decades in history (this one is from the 1900's). Love the ostrich feathers!

Event planner Kathy Goodman of Well Rehearsed created a sunny display featuring a yellow parasol and edible cupcake pops!

Showcasing their ultra-modern style was Hartmann Studios furniture rental.

Friend and collaborator Michele Papineau displayed had her impeccable handwriting on display!

And of course, we were there showcasing our wedding invitations, including new designs by Joel Dewberry and EIEIO (stay tuned for more details!).  It was a fun day, and a great resource for Bay Area brides! See everyone again next year!

Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to all for all the wonderful comments!  And, the winner is (drumroll please).....Mandy Murphy who wrote:

I would love to be in the drawing! The new site is awesome! I keep using the personalize option to create invites. I just can’t pick a favorite because i like so many! I hope I’m the lucky winner!!!!

Congratulations Mandy!  Please email info@hellolucky.com for the prize code which you can use toward any custom stationery on our website.

Thanks to everyone for participating - and stay tuned for more opportunities to win fabulous stationery.  You never know when the mood may strike!

One Hundred Smackers Giveaway!

We're in a celebratory mood (new President, new year, new website, etc...) and want to share the love!  So, we're giving away $100 toward any custom stationery product on our website.  Take a gander at our wedding invitations, save the dates and personalized stationery and leave a comment if you are interested in being included in the random drawing. The winner will be announced on Monday!  Good luck!

ISES Top Design

We were thrilled to work with the talented Morgan Doan to create this uber-chic table design for the ISES Top Design competition yesterday. Morgan worked with Blueprint Studio Collection to create the custom-upholstered chairs and table cloth in slate grey.

Hunt Littlefield ceated the gorgeous architectural floral displays, including a stunning orchid chandelier!

We created coordinating letterpress menus in a citrus green and slate grey (using one of our new designs created in collaboration with pattern designer Joel Dewberry), displayed in Japanese book cloth photo frames created by bookbinder Stephanie Haney.

And (drum roll, please!), we won the award for Top Design! Congratulations, Morgan and everyone on the design team!