It’s time to kick off summer in style, so we’re teaming up with Urbanic Paper again this year for another fabulous Summer Social! We’ll be in Venice on Thursday, June 14th for a night of summer fun – join us to make a postcard (and send it!) and enjoy popcorn & snowcones. RSVP by June 12th to make sure you’re counted in for this year’s summer social – don’t wait, this is one shindig you don’t want to miss!
Sneak a peek at this beyond beautiful letterpress Rhon invitation suite submitted to us by our friend Casie at Francis~Orr Corona del Mar in Corona del Mar, California. The color combination of verbena and taupe transforms the look of this set into something almost vintage! And everyone knows yellow represents sunshine and joy! We can’t help but feel this yellow hue helps radiant happiness about the couple’s big day. Our rhon pattern in verbena on the pocketfold’s exterior adds the most elegant touch to this sensational suite! We always enjoy working with Francis~Orr because they submit some of the most creative invitation sets!
inks: verbena + taupe | fonts: smock spencerian + stockton | paper: 2-ply white | printing: letterpress | corner rounding | folio exterior: rhon pattern in verbena | folio interior: payette pattern in taupe | liner: the payette pattern in verbena | invite size: 5.125 x 7.75
There’s no better compliment than when a store asks us to print their own cards. Julie from Sweet Paper in La Jolla, CA used our Pearl design in such a clever way. I think this might be my favorite Christmas card to date! I may have to steal the idea for myself 🙂 Thanks Julie!
inks: dove + grasss + gold | fonts: percy + harrison | paper: 2-ply ivory | printing: letterpress | Christmas card |
Celia at Urbanic came to us for these “day of” pieces for a September wedding. Our Odin design was a perfect fit, especially when designed using the right cartouche and blend of our ocean and peacock inks. Carrying the design over to the table numbers and place cards was a great way to make the motifs stand out at the reception.
inks: peacock + ocean | fonts: cecilia + social | paper: 1-ply white | printing: offset | program with cartouche | program size: #10
Lose your heart in San Francisco with these recently printed custom letterpress wedding invitations designed by Lindsy Aragona, who is just one of our many wonderful in-house designers. This ultramodern and whimsical set was submitted to us by our great friends at Union Street Papery in San Francisco, California (would you have even guessed?). The San Francisco Bay Bridge is letterpressed in our lovely coral ink and the bubbly persona is carried through onto all pieces. They say people go crazy for a great city like San Francisco-and we’re just as crazy for this imaginative set!
inks: coral + peacock | fonts: clementine and stockton | paper: 1-ply ivory bamboo | printing: letterpress | invite size: S8
We’re so happy to be able to share more photos and highlights of our West Coast travels! It was such a treat to be able to visit Sugar Paper when we were in LA – it’s the most adorable stationery boutique with so much style and charm. Chelsea from Sugar Paper gave us the scoop on what’s trending, what they love & how they’re making the world a better place.
Is there a cause or charity your store supports? Tell us all about it:
Sugar Paper donates to a myriad of charities throughout the year. Our clients are very philanthropic and we support their causes through donations. This year, however, we have chosen pediatric cancer as our personal cause. Jamie and I are both new mothers and a close friend recently lost her baby to a rare form of cancer. Her battle was a tough fight and loss of baby Quinn has left a mark on our hearts.
What about your store are you most proud of? What makes you unique?
We’re proud of the Sugar Paper team. The invitation business is driven by deadlines and our days can be very busy. We feel lucky to work with a group of creative people who work extremely hard and make us laugh every day. Laughter seems to make the load lighter.
What do you predict will be the biggest wedding or stationery trend for 2012?
Hottest color palette right now?
If someone is visiting your store, what’s another essential stop in your neighborhood?
If you’re visiting our original location on Ensley Avenue, Clementine Bakery is a MUST. The chocolate chip cookies are gooey in the middle and crisp on the edge – our favorite kind. If you visit our Brentwood Country Mart location, the Mart is a destination in and of itself. Caffe Luxxe serves artisanal coffee and Sweet Rose Creamery makes homemade ice cream that will knock your socks off. The salted caramel is our personal favorite.
A huge thanks goes out to Chelsea for filling us in on everything Sugar Paper – if you’re in LA, be sure to stop in!!
**Be like Sugar Paper and support research for pediatric cancer by visiting any of the following foundations:
During our West Coast travels, Lindsy and I had the chance to stop in and visit lots of our LA dealers – we were thrilled to be able to stop in to the shops and meet our lovely retailers in person! Today we’re highlighting some images of two of the stores we visited during our trip – we’ll start with Presence Studio City, a stationery and gift shop in Studio City. Presence offers a carefully curated selection of unique gifts – including some gorgeous hardcover books, one-of-a-kind jewelry, home decor, fragrant candles, and more.
We chatted with Kaila from Presence – she was kind enough to tell us more about this sweet boutique!
What about the store are you most proud of?
We try to showcase unique yet affordable gifts that people won’t find anywhere else. We also pride ourselves on our customer service – many of our stationery and gift customers come back on return visits because they were so happy with their experience.
What’s the hottest color palette right now?
We’ve been seeing a lot of blues right now – cool tones of blue paired with silver, lots of navy, some turquoise here and there too. Blue is definitely a popular color right now.
One of our other stops in LA was to Landis Gifts & Stationery – a shop that truly has something special for everyone. Located on Larchmont Boulevard – an area that got its start in the early 1920’s – the shop is nestled into one of the most historic areas in LA and is surrounded by a wonderful mix of boutiques and restaurants.
Edie shared some thoughts about some of our latest products – check out her interview with Lindsy!
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While we were in Los Angeles for the Urbanic Summer Social, Lindsy and I made time to stop in and visit some of our lovely West Coast Smock retailers. One of our first stops was to Christie, located in beautiful Manhattan Beach. The shop carries a gorgeous range of unique gifts and cards, and there’s a great area set up to view albums and order custom stationery.
Here, Lindsy shows Kim and Mara the new album from our sister company and BFF, Bella Figura.
The ladies at Christie were also kind enough to share with us what they love most about the shop.
What about your store are you most proud of? What makes Christie unique?
We’re most proud of the fact that we’ve been in business for 26 years – we started out as a small card and gift shop in a smaller space down the street, and about 4 years later we moved into a larger space, where we were able to start offering custom printing to our clients. Our shop is located in a really cute little beach community, and our clients think we work in the happiest place on earth (and we agree!). People come a long way to see us here, and many of our clients say it’s like coming to Cheers – where everybody knows your name. We’ve printed birth announcements, Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations and wedding invitations all for the same kids – we’ve seen a lot of our clients grow up.
What are some of the hottest trends you’re seeing lately?
We’ve seen a lot of navy and pink together these days, and monograms are still really big – we’re seeing monograms everywhere! We’ve also noticed that a lot of our brides are loving hand calligraphy for their envelopes – it adds such a nice touch to any invitation set.
If you’re ever in Manhattan Beach, we highly recommend stopping in to see everything that Christie has to offer!
As owners of The Enchanted Florist, a whimsical, flower lover’s dream come true, Lance and Kim Williams opened the most charming stationery boutique in Burbank, California – An Open Invitation. This inviting space is nestled right next store to their flower shop, so visiting is certainly a treat!
About two years ago, I met the cutest couple ever at the National Stationery Show – guess who!? They both had the warmest personalities and a great love story! I was hooked! Lance and Kim had actually met and fell in love while working in the flower business together – adorable, right? And they just so happened to be overly intrigued by Smock – even better! They wanted to be Smock dealers right away and the rest is history.
Our adventurous trip out west in June lead us right to this enchanted world of flowers and stationery created by the Williams’. Surrounded by the scent of orchids, the textures of fine papers and sweet-as-pie gifts – I didn’t want to leave! You won’t want to either!
Be sure to stop by – the invitation is always open!
by Lindsy Aragona
On our recent trip to California, Lindsy and I had the pleasure of stopping by PS Paper – an adorable paper boutique in San Anselmo, California. The store recently relocated, and their new location is super sweet. PS Paper specializes in custom stationery and lovely gifts – they have an incredible selection of pretty paper goods.
While visiting PS Paper, we had the chance to meet with Johanna and her friendly dog Nyack – a loveable stray who was found (and adopted!) on a hiking trip a few years back.
We were thrilled to hear the story behind all of the beautiful paper cranes hanging in the storefront window, and Johanna was kind enough to tell us all about it – check out the video below!
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