Have a drink on us

I remember the first time I designed custom drink tickets. The coordinator had suggested it during the consultation and the couple and I were both delightfully surprised at the suggestion. It kind of went like this:

Coordinator: "Oh, how about custom drink tickets for your guests!"

Couple: "Huh?"

Me: "Huh?"

Followed by a half-second of silence, then:

Couple: "I love that idea!"

Me: "Awesome sauce! I can make little cards that coordinate with the design and color scheme of the invitation! I can even make double cards with a perforation across the middle! They will be so pretty that your guests won't want to turn them in for a drink! Can you possibly understand how excited I am to be designing this new and fantastic piece of stationery??!!"

At least, that's what I thought in my head. I'm sure I said something more along the lines of, "That would be lovely. I can definitely design something like that for you."

Sometimes the paper dork comes out in me...which is essential, I think, in making my clients happy.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

I recently purchased this:

It's a large sheet of paper with various styles of mustaches printed on it. I bought five sheets of it. Yup, five sheets of mustache paper. I haven't decided what to do with it yet, but I'm going to just let the mustaches speak to me. I'm confident that something wonderful - and hairy - will emerge.

A couple months back, my husband and I were in California and we happened into a random shop filled with quirky + trendy things. We saw a bunch of items with mustaches on them and after noticing the puzzled look on my husband's face, I knew it was my duty to school him on the mustache trend. Little did I know that he would use this knowledge against me. To this day, every time we see a mustached something or other, he points to it and says, "Hey, it's a mustache. Did you know those are hot right now?" I'm counting the days until mustaches are groomed from our retail landscape forever! Well, not really. I still dig them and hope they stick around for a little while longer, especially since I just designed this holiday greeting card (my ode to the mustache):

Emi Ink holiday cards are on sale now at The Wedding Cafe.

Right around the corner

I'll be honest, I've been freaked out about the impending holidays ever since I spotted Halloween candies and costumes in the store...in early September. My first instinct was to curl up in a ball and hide under my bed until the first of the year. If not for the lure of fun-size Raisinets and Kit-Kat bars, that's where I would be right now. Instead, I decided to face my fears head on. The first beast I had to slay? My 2013 calendar.

I designed my first calendar last November and have delighted in people thanking me all year for the little bit of sunshine that sits on their desks. (Is it strange that I don't keep one of my own calendars out on display?)

So, onto the 2013 calendar. I spent two months tweaking designs, changing colors, rearranging the order. If the holiday shopping season weren't right around the corner, I could easily spend another two months working on it. That's how it goes when I'm designing something for myself...I'm my own worst client!

I'll have a limited supply of these beauties on sale at The Wedding Cafe in Ward Warehouse, and will also be selling them direct on my new website (that's the second beast I had to slay...more on that later). The calendars are wee little ones that sit on your desk (roughly 3.5" wide by 3.75" tall) and will go for $12.00 each. So, $1.00 per month...pretty good deal, right?

In my kitchen...

I saw this scene next to my coffee maker this morning:

Either my husband has finally cleaned out his car, or there's about to be a Jedi + Droid smackdown in my kitchen.

The Three C's: Chairs, Cupcakes and Chanel

I'm a little late in posting this, but Emi Ink has a few designs featured in the current issue of Hawaii Bride & Groom magazine.

Spring/Summer 2012 edition

First up, the "Unveiled" section which highlights new products:

Chair favor boxes

I really, really love these chair boxes because they can double as favor boxes and escort cards/place cards. 

Custom printed cupcake sleeves

I had to meet photographer, Kris Labang, at his studio to shoot the cupcake sleeves and was worried about the cupcakes not looking "fresh" enough. I made a special trip to purchase the cupcakes the morning of our photo shoot and I took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to choose the flavors. Well, I actually didn't care about the flavors so much as the color of the cake and frosting. So happy with the way the photos turned out.

Another fun feature in the magazine was the "Double Vision" editorial. Vendors were tasked with creating two different tables that were similar in style, but for two different budgets. I had the opportunity to collaborate with an extremely talented group to create a Chanel-inspired set-up.

Double Vision: 1 theme + 2 tables + 2 budgets

The high-end stationery incorporated a classic black/white pattern and pearl accents. 

The look for less: double-matted menu card in pearl white and soft pink with coordinating  place card.

In the midst of chaos...more chaos!

While the "busy season" for stationers cycles a little differently than for other wedding vendors, I barely had time to catch my breath for the entire month of June. I have vague memories of side-stepping packing peanuts on the floor, scheduling client pick-ups and drop-offs, collecting an insane amount of empty Diet Coke cans next to my sink, and wondering what the sun would feel like on my face if I ever had the time to go outside (ok, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but pretty close to it). Added to all that chaotic goodness, was sweet Merri, the event services manager at Ko`olau Ballrooms.

Ko`olau Ballrooms is a venue that's near and dear to my heart because it practically sits in my backyard. It's nestled at the base of the Ko`olau Mountains and that's not an exaggeration. This was my view when I pulled into their parking lot this morning. No photo retouching necessary, it's a gorgeous locale!

So, back to the chaos at hand, Ko`olau Ballrooms has been hosting special tastings for prospective clients. A couple of times a month, guests are invited to visit the venue, learn more about their event services, and are treated to a special tasting menu prepared by the chef. Aside from the delish food, tables are decked out with specialty linen and gorgeous floral centerpieces. I think it's such a fantastic opportunity for engaged couples to get a feel for the venue and start to envision their own special day.

Merri contacted me back in May, and I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the featured stationers for their tastings. While there typically isn't a long lead time for producing their custom printed pieces, I've had fun approaching these jobs as mini design challenges for myself. I typically produce printed menus, tented cards for the buffet table, and place cards for each guest. This is a small sampling of what I've delivered this summer:

Can't wait to find out the theme for August!

Less is more

I just did a quick scan of my studio. The picture above is true-to-size and accurately shows the only free surface space on my three large work tables. And, I guess it's not really free since there's a tiny coil of twine sitting there.

Less is more. Or, in my case, more is less. More work meant less blogging for me in the last six months. I'm so grateful for all the opportunities and wonderful clients that I've been able to work with, but I do miss blogging...dearly. The truth is, I blog for my clients (or potential clients), but I also blog for myself. My entire business represents a creative outlet for me, but it really doesn't involve a whole lot of writing. Occasionally, a bride will ask me for my input on their invitation or program wording, but I try to guide people with a light hand and don't like to impose too much of my personal style on other people.

So, six months went by with tons of work and zero blogging, and then...Nora Ephron passed away. I was a huge fan of hers and devoured everything she wrote. I was in awe of her writing style and loved the way she could paint a scene with so much wit and vivacity (or subtlety).

Anyway, long story short is that Nora's passing sparked a renewed sense of urgency to get back to writing and I decided to revisit my blog again. I never intended to stay away so long, but it feels great to be back.