Our first Smock Real Party feature is particularly near and dear to my heart because the party was none other than my very own bridal shower! Hosted last month by my incredible bridesmaids, we shared an amazing day of great food, even greater friends and amazing sunshine. What more could a girl ask for? And to be perfectly honest, the lovely women in my life far surpassed any expectations I could have had and then some. It was a truly wonderful and memorable day.
I will admit that it was a bit awkward for me to be banished from helping with shower preparations. I am very much hands on when it comes to social occasions and being on board to help with baking, cooking and logistics, but this time I wasn’t allowed to know anything aside from where and when to be. Upon arriving a few minutes before the other guests, the first thing I noticed were huge trays of cupcakes and tons of white roses. Two of my favorite things in life? Cupcakes and white roses. I knew right then and there it was going to be a great day.
And the food! There was such a spread of food it makes me smile just thinking about all the effort that went into creating this feast. (I am told it involved color-coded spreadsheets and the aide of Google Docs to bring it all together!) Lots of fresh fruit and miniature sandwiches, bruschetta and caprese skewers, pasta salad and cheesecake, it was sincerely the best food I’ve had since the last of the holiday cookies were eaten up this winter.
I absolutely adored the favors the girls dreamed up for all of the guests – tiny flowering plants potted in petite little terra cotta pots. During the party they served as added decor and afterward each guest had a little plant to take home to their garden. It was such a fabulous idea! Truly, no detail was forgotten. From fresh mimosas as guests arrived to little slips of paper at each seat asking each guest to impart a bit of a wisdom, it was such a special time for me to spend with the women closest to me prior to our wedding in July. Even my favorite colors, foods and flowers and my love for monograms were taken into consideration for a day that was infused with incredibly thoughtful personal details. It is certainly a day I will long remember – thank you to all of the ladies who made such an incredible day possible!
Do you have an upcoming event? A great birthday party or anniversary celebration? Email hello@smockpaper.com and we’d love to feature it on our Smock blog!
Kansas City Spaces calls Smock “the write stuff.” They continue, “Let’s face it: despite the increasing popularity of e-vites and bulk e-mail “letters,” some of us still send out real letters, cards, moving notices, graduation information….and didn’t your mother teach you about responding to gifts? No e-mails please. Thankfully, to the rescue of us traditionalists comes Smock letterpress stationery, a truly gorgeous line of papers sustainbly printed on bamboo….but the best thing for you? The cards look absolutely beautiful.”
Other cool Smock mentions….
Instyle Wedding’s styleschool blog picks the Kurai letterpress wedding invitation as a “luxury green” choice.
Brides.com features Smock’s Engadine menu in a showcase of creative menu options. Brides writes: “Imagine a wind-powered stationer that uses vegetable-based inks; recycles, reuses or composts all waste; and donates to a variety of environmental causes. That’s Smock Stationary and they do all of the above plus more. As the first and only print shop to offer letterpress printing on luxurious bamboo paper, what could be better for the responsible bride and groom? Bamboo is one of the best renewable resources in the world and, as a paper, is soft, thick and textured, like a fabric.”
Other Smock blog mentions: Coochicoos features the Liony fill-in party invitations // Sprig features the Derby letterpress notecard // Paper Crave features Smock’s new line of letterpress greeting cards // Casasugar showcases our Ellie letterpress notes //Style At Home’s Natural Chic blog//Working Everyday Woman // Bella Signature Design // brönette // The Nest’s bangels & clay blog // Oh So Beautiful Paper // cardobserver //
In addition to doing pro bono printing for the environmental organizations and causes that we love, we also donate our letterpress stationery and invitations to worthy events that are working to protect the planet. We were so happy to help out the Waterkeeper Alliance for two silent eco-auctions these past few months – we donated custom letterpress stationery and helped raise over $1,000 for this great nonprofit, which works internationally to keep water clean. Enjoy the pictures (taken by Bill Marsh Photography from the Lake Louise event). Pictures of the Deer Valley event can be found here (go to gallery then photos)
Both celebrity ski events looked amazing and inspiring – so many good looking people coming together to enjoy the outdoors and help the planet (and it’s true, we had fun celebrity spotting too)! But our hearts flip-flopped when we get to see the pics from the Fairmont Lake Louise event. Lake Louise is one of the most gorgeous places on the planet to us. Harold (my husband and co-owner of Smock) and I honeymooned in the Canadian Rockies (staying at the Lake Louise hostel of course!), but we’ve returned every other year or so during the fall to hike, be inspired by the mountains there, and stalk the lobby of the beautiful Fairmont Lake Louise. We named our now 2-year-old son Jasper after Jasper National Park (a bit north of Lake Louise), and we’ve taken Jasper to Lake Louise and the surrounding mountains the last two Septembers. If you need a place to remind you of why this world is good, climb into a few mountain passes around Lake Louise.
Carrie, who coordinates the auctions, was so kind to send us write-ups about the two events.
Each December, more than two hundred celebrities and corporate leaders come together for the Waterkeeper Gala at Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest to show their support for one of the most serious environmental issue of our time: CLEAN WATER. This exciting event hosts luminaries from the worlds of film, philanthropy, business, television and Olympic sport and features Live and Silent Auctions that deliver on the latest lifestyle, fashion, home, luxury and eco-conscious living trends. This year, Smock was a featured partner in Skifest’s first-ever EcoAuction and our custom bamboo letterpress stationery set inspired a bidding war between an eco-entrepreneur and an anonymous bidder. Celebrities including Larry David, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Gavin Rossdale, Gwen Stefani, Matthew Modine, Gloria Reuben, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt joined environmental leader and founder of Waterkeeper Alliance Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to raise over $500,000 to support Waterkeeper’s fight for everyone’s right to clean water. The entire weekend of events, including the auctions, was featured in a full hour CBS Sports presentation, which continues to air throughout the winter.
After the success of Smock’s custom bamboo letterpress stationery lot at Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest, Waterkeeper invited Smock to participate in their Canadian Ski Fundraiser – the Fairmont Lake Louise Celebrity Sports Invitational. This hotly-anticipated event draws together more than 600 celebrities, sports stars, philanthropists and corporate leaders to enjoy a wintersports weekend in the Canadian Rockies benefiting Waterkeeper Alliance. Smock was once again featured in the Silent Auction at a gala that played host to celebrities including Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, John McEnroe, Marcia Gay Harden, Joe Pantoliano, Melissa Rivers, Alan Thicke and Jonathan Silverman.
Nevis is one of our hot letterpress invitation designs right now (perfect for fall or winter weddings!)–we loved seeing it as a birthday party invitation too, and the striped patterning on the back is pitch-on perfect. It’s such a classic, sophisticated design with an edge of cool. Sent to us by William Ernest Brown in Beverly Hills, California.
