Eeek! Tomorrow is NOVEMBER!

In the spirit of halloween, I will be taking the day off to carve pumpkins, hang fake cobwebs in my studio and eat enormous amounts of candy.

I wish.

Since the Wedding Expo two weeks ago, things have been moving along at the speed of light. Rush orders, consultations, phone calls, emails. Today will be my big catch up day where I try and squeeze in a week's worth of work into ten hours. One of the most challenging parts of this job is giving myself the freedom to go through the creative process while still hitting every deadline. I have a bunch of projects in the design stage now and am hoping that my cup o' joe will bring me inspiration and motivation.

If any of you are waiting for proposals or proofs, thanks for your patience. I WILL get them to you as fast as I possibly can. Thanks and have a happy halloween!

Plates of perfection

I saw these 5" appetizer plates at CB2 and instantly wanted them. They're cute, they're small, they're affordable...and they fit perfectly with everything else that I'm gravitating towards these days. But I kind of want to display them on a wall instead of eating hors d'oeuvres off them. Is that strange?

Adorable! (but not edible)

I received word about a new company called Le Viette that makes THE cutest dessert towels. Click over to their site and you'll see ordinary towels rolled, folded, and scrunched into Swiss rolls, ice cream sundaes, cakes, etc. The presentation of the towels is absolutely adorable and would make for a creative and fun favor idea.

How early is too early?

I haven't offered a helpful tip in awhile and thought that some of you might appreciate this one. When I first meet with couples, one of the first questions they always ask is, "How early should we mail our invitations?" This is my simple standard answer:

Start with your wedding date and work backwards. Invitations are generally mailed 6-8 weeks prior and RSVP deadlines can be set 4 weeks after your mail date.

These are my not-so-simple disclaimers:

If you're having a destination wedding, you'll probably want to bump up this timeline a bit. The most common scenario for my destination wedding clients is 2-3 months prior...although I've had some clients who mailed their invitations as early as 4-5 months prior. Factor in things like save the date cards, and your timeline may need to be adjusted. (Send invitations on the earlier side if you've opted not to send save the dates.)

And speaking of save the date cards, when should those be mailed? Generally, 8-12 months prior to your wedding is a good time because it allows enough time for your guests to make necessary travel arrangements.

Finally, how early should you order your invitations? Earlier than you think. Unless you're going to buy pre-printed invitation shells and feed them through your laser printer at home, you should seriously start thinking about your invitations about 6-8 months before the wedding. Custom design studios go through a lengthy design/approval process to ensure that you get exactly what you want. It's always good to give their creative minds as much time as possible so they can pencil you into their production schedules before they get swamped with other orders.

Happy planning!

What happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving?

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

A couple of days ago I was meeting with clients when we heard strains of Christmas music being piped in. Was it unexpected? Yes. Was it a bit early in the season? Yes. Did it scare the living daylights out of me? Huge yes.

I love the holidays, but not the stress that normally comes along with it. So I decided to take a stand today...which in reality means I'm simply giving in. I've been listening to my Christmas playlist all morning in hopes of desensitizing myself to any and all restaurant + department store + radio station holiday music that I may hear before Thanksgiving.

So if you call my studio and hear Nat King Cole in the background, don't be scared. And don't hate me.

Designing with paper

Every so often, someone emails me something that completely takes my breath away. Yesterday, was one of those days. I was sent a link to this blog post, which led me to the incredible web site of David Stark (beware, there's sound on the site), which then led me to David's blog that showcases his wonderfully creative designs.

What do I love about David Stark's designs? Could it be the playfulness...or the innovation...or the absolutely ingenius way in which paper is often used as a decorating medium? All of the above, please.

Take this stunning set up that he designed for the re-opening of the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. The entire decor for this 1000+ person gala was created with paper. I would LOVE to do something like this one day!

Les Saisons - online!

I've blogged about Les Saisons before, but I just had to share some exciting news about this awesome company. First, a little background info: Les Saisons not only offers pretty chair covers and luxe linens, it offers the wonderfully artistic stylings of owner and head designer, Naomi Lee. From design to conception, Naomi oversees every detail personally...yes, that includes consulting with your florist to create the perfect tablescape, delivery, set-up and breakdown. Perhaps I'm a little biased because I booked Les Saisons to do my own wedding, but I think Naomi's work speaks for itself...and now you can visit her newly launched web site to view her fabulous work for yourself!

My husband and I had a small hand in helping to bring the Les Saisons web site to fruition, but with gorgeous photos like the ones above, highlighting the true artistry behind Les Saisons' designs was a piece of cake. It would be cool to see before and after shots, but it's pretty obvious that the right linen treatment can turn any venue from ordinary to extraordinary.

Love, love, love it!

Sign o' the times

So, I had this craft project on the back burner for five months, blogged about it three months ago, and finally finished it a week ago. I had been wanting to create a new sign for my booth but was forced to push the project aside in favor of more pressing deadlines. With a few coats of paint and a handful of mega-sized Swarovski crystals, I created a sign that I'm finally happy with. It's definitely a lot nicer than my old vinyl banner, although I do need to handle it with kid gloves.

Expo fun

What a weekend! A big mahalo to all of you that stopped by my booth at the Wedding Expo. I had a lot of fun chatting about your upcoming weddings...some of them are RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

I added a handful of new designs to my display which I hope to get up on my web site very soon. I'm already scheduling consultations with brides/grooms that I met during the show, so if you'd like to set something up before the busy holiday season kicks in, I'd love to hear from you.

Birthday wishes

I have to take time out to wish a dear friend of mine a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We've been friends for ages...I can no longer count on my fingers and toes how many years we've known each other. It's been THAT long.

What a wonderful thing it is to have celebrated so many of life's biggest milestones with a girlfriend who's known you since you were 12.

L, hope you have a fabulous day!

Wedding Expo this weekend!

We've been working hard in prepping for this weekend's Wedding Expo at the Hawaii Convention Center. Come visit us and check out Emi Ink's newest designs!

Dates

October 17-18, 2008

Times

Friday: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Fashion Show@ 7:30 p.m.)
Saturday: 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Fashion Show @ 2:30 p.m.)

Tickets

$7.00 at-the-door

JAPAN: the sights

Timing is everything and despite the fact that my visit to Japan was post-summer and pre-fall, I did get the tiniest taste of the changing of the seasons.


Someday I'd like to return at the height of cherry blossom season or during the Sapporo Snow Festival, but who am I to complain when I was able to enjoy Japan in full color:


and in black and white:

JAPAN: the food

Since I can't possibly sum up my adventures in Japan in a single paragraph, I'm tackling it in sections. First up, the food (of course).

As expected, traveling through Japan was a gastronomic delight. During our stay in Kyoto, I fell in love with kaiseki once again. Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese meal that consists of multiple courses made from the freshest seasonal ingredients. Flavor aside, each dish is a feast for the eyes. Every color, every texture, every bowl, plate and garnish is selected with great care. In short, the meticulous way in which the food is presented makes the meal almost too pretty to eat. But failure to do so would mean missing out on the wonderfully layered flavors with each course. True to form, the kaiseki-style dinner that was served in our Kyoto ryokan (Japanese inn), definitely did not disappoint!

On the second leg of our trip, we headed north to Hokkaido and were greeted with cool, brisk weather...perfect conditions for a bowl of hot ramen (or two!). Friends of ours had already clued us in on the rich, creamy dairy products found in Sapporo so we also filled up on ice cream (and lots of it). A quick visit to the Sapporo Beer Factory was the perfect respite after a long day of sightseeing and allowed us to scientifically perform side-by-side taste testing of Sapporo's finest brews. A night of all-you-can-eat lamb (and beer) was the perfect way to cap off our first day in the city.

The third and final leg of our trip was spent in Okinawa. As most tourists do, we stayed in Naha and walked along the famous Kokusai-dori. This street, lined heavily with souvenir shops and restaurants, reminded me a lot of International Marketplace in Waikiki...that is, until I saw the snakes. Just a block away from our hotel, we saw rows and rows of habu snakes sitting pretty in their jars of awamori. Awamori is an Okinawan liquor made from distilled rice and the habu is a venomous snake believed to have medicinal purposes. Put those two things together, and you've got a big jar o' awamori (also referred to as habu sake). If my brother had not ordered awamori with his dinner on our first evening, I probably wouldn't have tried it. But I did...and it's not the drink for me.

I failed to mention the massive amounts of snack foods we consumed during our trip, mostly because we are still consuming them (and feeling a little guilty about our sweet indulgences). I also didn't write about our favorite vending machines. Perhaps another day when I'm dreaming about Japanese food.

Spring green = happy

My studio is currently buried under this pretty washi paper:

From invitations to menu cards to programs to escort cards, I've been working with this cheery spring green cherry blossom print for a few months now, and it's been lovely eye candy in the midst of looming deadlines, rush requests, and neverending emails that make up my daily routine.

My client has been equally as lovely and sweet so I can't wait to show her the last piece of her wedding stationery set, the thank you cards. I haven't had a chance to update my client gallery yet, but will do it soon so you can see this pretty paper "in action!"

Anpanman

I've yet to blog about my recent trip to Japan in part because I still need a little time to decompress. There are two types of vacations people take: one full of rest and relaxation or one full of non-stop activity. Ours was the latter with little time to rest our weary limbs.

But our high-octane vacay did manage to rejuvenate me (mentally, at least!) and left me with a renewed sense of inspiration and motivation. Unexpectedly, I also discovered my latest muse: Anpanman.



Anpanman has nothing to do with weddings, or paper, or anything remotely related to my daily life. He's a popular Japanese anime character whose head is made of bread and filled with sweetened red bean paste. He's your basic superhero that flys, battles the bad guys, and feeds poor hungry souls by breaking off pieces of his edible face.

*I'll pause here while you take that all in.*

I love bread. I love sweet an. I love that kids in Japan look up to a superhero born in a bakery.

More of my vacation highlights to come!

Modern textiles

Have you heard of the Marimekko brand? Marimekko is a Finnish textile and clothing design company whose collection of fabrics leaves me speechless. The prints and colors run the gamut from soft and subtle to bold and exuberant. If I could wallpaper my entire studio with a different Marimekko fabric each week, I would.

Coincidentally, as I settled in to write today's post, I popped over to The Honolulu Advertiser's Daily Dish blog (as I do every morning), and spotted a Marimekko print in one of Catherine Toth's photos (see beautiful wall hanging in second pic). No doubt, you'll come across more of these cool modern textiles if you keep an eye out for them!

Take note

For a couple of years now, I've been creating small batches of stationery items for craft fairs and for personal gifts for family and friends. At the same time, I've been amassing a huge collection of imported papers. To my husband's dismay, I don't always have a specific purpose in mind when purchasing paper. I guess I'm just a sucker for vibrant colors and pretty prints.

But my ever-growing paper collection came in handy recently when I decided to create a small collection of notecards that will be sold at The Wedding Cafe. After having designed wedding stationery for three years, it's my first step into retail. Perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit when I say "step"...it's more like I'm dipping my baby toe into the shallow end of the retail world while wearing water wings. It's a start.

All of the notecards are made with imported paper (most from handmade paper) and are paired with pretty metallic envelopes. Half of my collection is accented with Swarovski crystals for a little extra sparkle, while the other half is au naturel. Some of the papers are no longer available for purchase so handing over my completed cards meant saying goodbye to some of my all-time favorite prints. Well, that just gives me a good excuse to look for more paper, doesn't it?

Happy news

Almost every bride I meet with comes prepared with carefully chosen tear sheets from Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle Weddings, Hawaii Bride & Groom...the list goes on and on. If you're looking for a fabulous online resource for your fantasy wedding, look no further than Style Me Pretty. Not to sound like a commercial, but this web site is everything you want and more. I had a "healthy" obsession with this site when I was planning my own wedding, and couldn't get enough of the gorgeous photos and creative ideas.


A special feature at Style Me Pretty is their Little Black Book that includes a select list of vendors from each of the 50 states. Emi Ink joined the ranks of these top vendors recently and I couldn't be happier! A big thank you to cakelava for the lovely referral!


Another bit of happy news is that this blog has been added to Delightful Blogs under the Weddings + Marriage category. If you're not yet a blogaholic like I am, a visit to Delightful Blogs might just be the perfect pastime for you.