Today we’re excited to share the inspiration behind Ikaty, Bella Figura’s December design of the month {the entire suite is on sale for 20% off through 12/31!}. We chatted with Kamal, the talented designer who created this fashion forward, fabric-inspired invitation, and she filled us in on the background of the gorgeous design that we just can’t get enough of.

The Inspiration Behind Ikaty

“Ikaty” is a modern tribute of my love and fascination for the IKAT pattern, the trend, and how it mirrors a promise of commitment. To see its progression in the past couple of years is compelling to me. It’s been a part of my home since childhood – on pillows, rugs and clothing growing up, but not on paper. “Ikat” is an Indonesian language word, which depending on context, can be the nouns: cord, thread, knot and the finished ikat fabric as well as the verbs “to tie” or “to bind”(ref: Wikpedia). Sounds a little like marriage…

…and I am. I also have 3 wonderful children and try to balance it out as a working mom. This process of dyes and interwoven, complex patterns reflects my work, my marriage, my kids and what’s to come. Each distinct weave can take you into a different path in your life, growing and multiplying until you have created a pattern, a routine, or hopefully a touch of surprise in your life.

Bella Figura calligrapher Debi Zeinert shared this close up look at her amazing work, a video that features her various calligraphy styles. Her elegant calligraphy can be found in her wedding invitation designs, and her calligraphy accents can also be found in other popular Bella designs (such as Loretta Formal and Calligraphy Monogram). In addition to beautiful, hand-calligraphed letterpress stationery and invitations through Bella Figura, Debi is also available for calligraphy addressing through her business, The Blooming Quill. Your envelopes, escort cards, and other wedding day stationery pieces can all be hand-done to match your letterpress printed suite! Check out this video to see Debi in action, and for more details on working with her, visit her website.

We just love when magazines and blogs decide to showcase the beautiful letterpress printing we get to do every day, so today we’re sharing some of the amazing features Bella Figura has been spotted in over the past few months. One of the most recent spotlights was found in the fall 2011 issue of Inside Weddings, where Kamal‘s majestic Bejeweled design sparkled.

A few months back, Brides magazine highlighted our Nouvina design by Heidi, which features modern, whimsical flowers and fun, bold colors.

Stationery Trends also decided to feature one of our invitations this fall — the ever popular Irving invitation (designed by Ben Whitla).

We were also thrilled to see one of our calligraphers, Patricia Mumau of Primele, featured in Martha Stewart Weddings a few months back!

We’d also like to thank Oh So Beautiful Paper, Once Wed, Modernly Wed, Chic Vintage Brides, Wed Haute, If I Must Say So, and I Love You Too for highlighting our work — thank you, thank you!

The Village Invites II has done it again! This Hendrix 2 (by Jessica Hische) letterpress wedding invitation takes the art of subtle beauty to a whole new level.

The color combination of Cream and Sand inks on our 1-ply ivory cotton paper really lets the unique nature of the paper shine through. The hand calligraphy accents only add to the understated elegance of the suite.

inks: cream + sand | fonts: sans capital | calligraphy: patricia mumau harrison hand | paper: ivory 1-ply cotton | invite size: a7

This design won an honorable mention in our Bella Figura design competition for the first half of 2011. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired design submitted by our beloved dealers.

Today we’re exited to introduce our October Design of the Month – Canopy by Ellie Snow. We love this design for it’s fun approach and modern, romantic feel. As our Design of the Month, all custom letterpress invitation orders of our Canopy design placed between now and October 29 will receive 20% off – don’t miss out! (Promotion may not be used on purchases of other designs.)

Meet the Designer – Ellie Snow

Ellie Snow received a BFA in printmaking from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and afterward tried (and hated) about four different career paths before transitioning into her current career path as a freelance graphic designer. In 2008, Ellie launched her design blog, Mint, and got engaged shortly thereafter. After receiving great feedback on the stationery she created for her own wedding, she began designing for other couples. She is now a freelance designer and we’re happy to call her one of our Bella Figura designers!

What is the inspiration behind Canopy?
When I’m designing invitations I love to imagine the wedding and the couple behind them—and in this case, they could be whatever I wanted them to be! So I imagined a small, summer, outdoor wedding surrounded by those beautiful old trees we have in the South. I wanted it to be a little quirky and modern, and sentimental, too.

When did you know you wanted to be a designer? How did you get your start?
I always thought I’d be a graphic designer from the time I was little. Somewhere along the way I decided I wanted to pursue a career in social work, but it only took a year of working for a non-profit for me to realize I needed to be creating things on a daily basis. It’s so energizing! I teamed up with a freelancer to get my start, and once I had a few pieces in my portfolio I was lucky enough to get hired with a small design firm. I was an art major with a concentration in printmaking (letterpress, screen printing, and book making), so graphic design wasn’t such a stretch, even though I didn’t go to school for it.

If you were an ice cream flavor, what would you be?
I’d have to say vanilla, but with lots of toppings. The toppings are the best part!

What’s your favorite PMS shade?
I love a bright red-orange these days, so I’m going to go with 172.

What other designers/illustrators do you admire?
I’m really into Olle Eksell‘s work right now.

{Artwork by Olle Eksell.}

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Maybe Italy. I think Italian is the most beautiful language, and the idea of having fresh food markets always within walking distance sounds heavenly.

What five things on/in your desk could you not live without?
My laptop, of course! And I always have scissors, a good pen, scrap paper, and a ruler within reach.

What’s the most memorable vacation you’ve ever taken?
My now-husband and I spent three and a half months backpacking around Thailand. We briefly visited Laos and Malaysia, too. Kind people, incredibly delicious food, and such gorgeous scenery!

Can you share a favorite childhood memory?
North Carolina doesn’t get much snow, but in 1989 my hometown was “buried” under 15″ of snow. 15″ isn’t a lot of course, but because it was so windy the snow piled up to 8 feet in some places. At the time I was probably 3 feet tall, making it especially magical! I remember people sledding on whatever they could find – trash can lids, plastic bags… needless to say we don’t keep sleds around in North Carolina!

What’s something about you that no one would ever guess?
Even though I spend about 10 hours each day on the computer and am a constant blogger, I love the idea of unplugging completely. No cell phone, no computer, no television…just good books, home cooked meals, and lots of time outdoors. Sounds nice, right?

Today we’re exited to introduce you to July’s Design of the Month – Hendrix by Jessica Hische. It’s pretty, playful and a touch whimsical, and one of our favorites from our 2010 collection. We think it’s perfect for a garden party wedding or an outdoor celebration under the stars. As our Design of the Month, all orders of our Hendrix design over $1000 placed between now and August 15 will receive free letterpress thank you notes – don’t miss out! (Flat thank you notes, letterpress printed to match your invitations with unprinted envelopes.)

Meet the Designer – Jessica Hische
In honor of our Design of the Month, we thought a little Q & A session with the talent behind the design was in order. Brooklyn-based Jessica Hische is an incredibly inspiring designer, typographer and illustrator. In addition to her amazing art prints and Buttermilk, her first typeface of which we just can’t get enough, we are obsessed with her blog and her Daily Drop Cap project. Without further ado, meet Jessica Hische.

What was the inspiration behind Hendrix?
My friend, illustrator John Hendrix, had a baby girl and commissioned me to design his baby announcement, which I letterpressed for he and his wife in exchange for one of his original drawings. The Hendrix wedding invitation design takes elements from the original announcement and tweaks it and expands it to a full wedding suite. Everyone loved the original design so much I was so happy to be able to share it with others!

When did you know you wanted to be a designer? How did you get your start?
I actually didn’t know what graphic design was until I was in college. I always knew I wanted to do something art related, I just didn’t really know exactly what that was until I took my first design class in my sophomore year at Tyler School of Art. I loved that design isn’t really self-expressionistic — it is about solving problems and doing what is appropriate for a client / project.

{Jessica notes, “I love breakfast.”}

If you were an ice cream flavor, what would you be?
This is a tough one! I think the closest one might be Ginger, but if “Almond Croissant” was an ice cream flavor I’d be that.

What’s your favorite PMS shade?
PMS Warm Red U or something a bit more orangey.

What’s the most memorable vacation you’ve ever taken?
I was invited to speak at the Semi-Permanent Conference in Sydney this year and went a week prior to vacation with my boyfriend. It was the most fun vacation I’ve ever been on. All we did was eat amazing food, drink amazing coffee and get our pictures taken with koalas.

What other designers/illustrators do you admire?
I’m surrounded by so many awesome illustrators and designers its hard to name a few. The community in New York and the online community of illustrators and designers never ceases to keep me motivated and inspired. I of course admire Louise Fili, who taught me so much about design. And Chris Ware, his work is amazing in every way.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Anywhere close to a large body of water and within an hour of a major airport. If I were going to settle somewhere permanently, it would just need to be a place that made traveling easy and in my dream life I would live on a lake.

What five things on/in your desk could you not live without?
computer, mouse, extra monitor (for netflixing and all the distracting windows (email, email, twitter, gchat, etc), mechanical pencil, coffee

Can you share a favorite childhood memory?
I grew up in north-east Pennsylvania so my favorite memories probably revolve around Autumn and Halloween. I loved going to pumpkin patches and ESPECIALLY loved sucking down dozens of flavored honey sticks. Also corn mazes. And haunted hay rides. Good lord I love Autumn.

What’s something about you that no one would ever guess?
This is a hard one since I’m such an internet oversharer! I guess maybe that I am a closet Taylor Swift fan (the songs are so catchy!)

Thanks, Jessica! For everyone else, we hope you’ll check out Jessica’s gorgeous letterpress wedding invitation designs exclusively for Bella Figura – Hendrix and Weber.