The ever-glamorous Peacock Full invitation design by Kamal makes for an amazing peacock birthday invitation! Let the invitation set the tone for a golden celebration complete with champagne, luxe decor and lots of sparkle. We love the idea of making the guest of honor’s name stand out with hand calligraphy accents in gold foil. Love this look? Save on this design (and every design in Kamal’s collection!) throughout the month of October.
peacock full customization | letterpress ink: black | foil stamping: gold matte | fonts: moravia + statham | calligraphy accents: victoria calligraphy accents by Sarah Hanna | paper: white | invite size: F-8 | liner: vintage river pattern in black + antique gold | original design by Kamal | customization by in-house designer Racheal Bumbolo
photo credits: champagne, sweet treats, dress
Courtney and Evan fell for our Fugue foil stamped wedding invitations and didn’t stray far from the original. They opted to keep the lavish, double foil look but personalized it by switching to our ultra modern #10 size card and adding hand calligraphy from Sarah Hanna. The end result is bold and edgy and a perfect compliment to their Washington, DC museum wedding.
Fugue, along with all of designer Kamal’s designs, are on sale through the month of October!
foil stamping: gold matte + silver shine | font: sans capitals | paper: bella cotton ivory 1-ply + 2-ply | hand calligraphy accents: callaway style | Dandelion Patch | customization #18862
Mercedes and Paul chose our popular Joie de Vivre invitation to set the tone for their Brooklyn wedding at Smack Mellon Studio. Their invitations featured gold matte foil and Prussian blue ink on our ivory paper. The bride wore a sparkling gold gown from BHLDN that was reminiscent of the invitations, and dogwood branches with hanging votive candles helped transform the raw space for a look that was both modern and romantic. To see more photos from this real wedding, visit Style Me Pretty!
Photography: Hugh Forte Photography | Floral Design: Bespoke Only | Wedding Dress: BHLDN | Invitations: Bella Figura | Reception Venue: Smack Mellon Studio | Catering: Blue Smoke | Hair: Jessie Riley | DJ: Play Something Good | Event Planning & Design: Bespoke Only | Groom’s Attire: Hackett London | Ice Cream Truck: Coolhaus | Makeup: Nam Vo | Rentals: Bridge Furniture & Props
This whimsical customization of Glamorous Blooms is as eye catching as the original. The use of sophisticated copper foil and calligraphy accents by Debi Zeinert make it a stunning statement piece that your guests will be sure to treasure! Love this design? All of designer Kamal’s inspired designs are on sale through the end of October!
glamorous blooms customization | foil stamping: copper shine | font: moravia | paper: white | invite size: F-8 | liner: diego pattern in umber and fawn | hand calligraphy accents: revolution | original design by Kamal |customization by in-house designer Jessica Tierney
couple, reception and bridal party
During the month of October we’re featuring Kamal as our Designer of the Month! Kamal’s collection of glamorous designs will be on sale for 10% off from now through October 31 – and you can save an additional 10% if you order 6 printed pieces or more! Kamal’s designs are daring yet fun, and like the rest of our 300+ designs, they’re all completely customizable – you can change the inks, fonts, and more to make them your own. Order any of Kamal’s designs for your wedding invitations, save the dates, party invitations, or even holiday cards! We’ll be sharing more inspiration featuring Kamal’s designs throughout the month, but here’s a peek at some of her collection – take a look.
Left to right: Frolic, Glamorous Blooms, Celeste, Fugue, and Bejeweled.
Stipple features letterpress printing in sea-side ink and gold shine foil stamping.
Glamorous Blooms features gold matte and gold shine foil on our ivory paper.
Floret features letterpress printing in aquamarine and marigold inks.
Bejeweled shows off antique gold and fuchsia letterpress inks on our ivory paper.
Peacock Full features aubergine and Prussian blue inks on our ivory paper.
The fine print: this offer is exclusive to designs by Kamal and does not apply towards the purchase of other designs. Orders must be placed by 11:59pm Eastern on October 31, 2014 in order to receive this offer.
Our annual letterpress sample sale is on! From now through September 30, all of our letterpress wedding invitation samples are on sale for just $1 each – and we’ll plant a tree with American Forests for every sample purchased!
Ordering is easy: simply click on your favorite designs, then click the “order an invitation sample” button on the right side of the page. After you’ve selected all of the samples you’d like to purchase, click on the shopping cart in the upper right-hand corner of your screen and “proceed to checkout”. If you’d like to see even more trees planted during our sale, select the “plant a tree” option during checkout and we’ll match your tree donation!
**The fine print: supplies may be limited. Samples are sent via USPS unless upgraded shipping is selected. Samples purchased during sale period are not eligible for sample refund when stationery order is placed (but your donation is going to a really great cause!). Please allow 2 business days for turn-around. Sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, September 30, 2014.
Our Amons calligraphy wedding invitations by Elizabeth Hardin can be found in the Fall 2014 issue of Occasions: Weddings magazine! The shoot was produced by Molly McKinley Designs and photographed by Rustic White, and we love the breezy, beachy look that this talented team put together at Caspersen Beach. Here are a few photos from the issue, but be sure to pick one up today for even more beautiful wedding inspiration!
Photography: Rustic White | Design: Molly McKinley Designs | Florals + chairs: FH Weddings & Events | Linens: Nuage Designs | Dress: Malindy Elene | Hair + makeup: Michele Renee The Studio | Jewerly: BHLDN
Paige and Jon Mark customized our Anais design in a romantic color palette of gold matte foil and desert ink for their modern Nashville wedding at The Bridge Building. The couple paired their invitations with our jute envelopes for a rustic meets glam look, and the gold baker’s twine and white calligraphy addressing by Jenna Rainey made for beautiful finishing touches. Featured recently on Green Wedding Shoes, we love that the bride (a creative director) drew inspiration for the colors, textures, and overall design elements from a cactus! The couple’s advice to those currently planning a wedding? “Keep your guests in mind. You want them to enjoy the night just as much as you do!”
photography: Taylor Lord // venue: The Bridge Building Nashville, Tennessee // event design: Jessica Sloane // event planner: Leah Kutil with The Bridge Building // florals + flower crowns: Melissa Broadwell of Vintage Florals // wedding dress: BHLDN ‘Laverne’ Gown // hairpieces: veil by Veiled Beauty // earrings + reception belt: BHLDN // shoes: BHLDN // bridesmaid dresses: various vendors chosen by bridesmaids // hair + makeup: Elaina Karras of Lucy Pop Salon andAmanda Gros // groom suit: Indochino // videography: Anchor Heart Films // paper goods: (the bride) Paige Foley Design and Bella Figura // calligraphy: Jenna Rainey // catering: Infinity Restaurant Group // cake: Dessert Designs // music: Party of Five // welcome boxes/favors: Kaldi’s Coffee // chalkboard artist: (the bride) Paige Foley Design // linens + chairs: Liberty Party Rental
Today we’re back with another post from Courtney Jentzen, our September Designer of the Month. Courtney’s taking us on a tour of her neighborhood in Brooklyn — take a look!
We’re love calling Brooklyn our home. It’s tough to imagine Swiss Cottage Designs being anywhere else. Our studio is located in Carroll Gardens, a little neighborhood that’s nestled between Cobble Hill, Gowanus, and Red Hook. It’s not tough to find a beautiful block to walk down – the neighborhood is known for its tree lined streets and historic brownstones – or a great new restaurant or shop to check out. While we do love to explore the neighborhood, we also have our tried and true spots that it’s tough to beat.
Smith Canteen is a great little coffee shop with awesome baked goods, sandwiches, and the best lemonade around in my humble lemonade loving opinion.
I highly recommend popping into Black Gold…just know that you’ll be in there awhile. Despite the window reading “records”, Black Gold is more of an infinitely intriguing curiosity cabinet, full of vintage taxidermy, jewelry, art, and yes, records. Plus, they serve coffee! Definitely one of my favorite neighborhood spots.
Ted & Honey is a cute little cafe that serves both breakfast and lunch. It’s right on the corner of a tiny but beautiful park, so grabbing something to go is never a bad option.
The Farmacy is an old school soda fountain, complete with egg creams and employees in those little paper hats. Their ice cream floats are not for the feint of heart. If I don’t think I can conquer one mid-day, I usually go for a blueberry soda.
Mazzola might be our favorite of all (but don’t tell the others) The ladies behind the counter are always so sweet. You really can’t go wrong with iced tea and a few mini muffins…and maybe some crumb cake, a croissant, bear claw, and a cinnamon bun, just in case. We’ve tried them all.
We don’t trust our Swiss Cottage shipments to just anyone. When it comes to shipping, Omar, at Cobble Hill Variety, is our guy. We pay him a visit just about every day – sometimes twice a day during our big production pushes. Even though he’s a few blocks down the street, he’s a very important part of the Swiss Cottage team. I don’t know what we’d do without him.
And lastly, let’s not forget about one of New York’s weird treasures, bodega cats. Mars is one of my favorite bodega cats, not just in the neighborhood but in all of Brooklyn- that is kind of a big deal. You can usually spot him sleeping behind the plants at Martinez Grocery on Court Street. If you don’t see him at first, look closer! He’ll usually come out from hiding to say hello and ask for a few ear scratches.
Thanks for taking a journey around around our little hood! If you’re ever in the area, be sure to drop us a line to say hello!
Hello from Brooklyn! I’m Courtney from Swiss Cottage Designs and I’m so excited to be a part of the Bella Figura family. I love the unique styles and print methods Bella Figura offers to their brides. I am certainly looking forward to the 2015 release, it’s going to be a good one full of new treats (especially from us!) Thanks for having us on the blog!
This blog post is a peek into our life here in Brooklyn. I founded Swiss Cottage Designs in 2009 after working in the design industry for 4 years. While those years were filled with amazing professional experiences, I always knew I wanted to work for myself. Thus, SCD was born! We specialize in illustration, invitations and custom branding. In the last 5 years we’ve had the pleasure of working with brands such as Warby Parker, Crown Publishing, and of course, Bella Figura! As well as many, many wonderful couples and planners. I feel so lucky to be in such an amazing and inspiring industry.
We’re located in Carroll Gardens, a Brooklyn neighborhood of tree lined streets, historic brownstones and about a million places to grab tasty treats (it’s kind of a problem, really.) We have a home studio which means the neighborhood becomes sort of like a co-worker. We have two huge windows in our office that look out onto the street. I love glancing over to watch the neighborhood pass by our windows. I see the seasons change all from the comfort of my little desk. While the space is small, we’ve made it work for us with clever organization and about $800.00 worth of IKEA storage boxes. I love the freedom that working out of my home provides, and while it’s not for everyone, it certainly works for me.
I have tried to make the space a place where I feel calm and really want to spend time in. Because, if I’m being honest, I’m in here a lot! I have a large inspiration board above my desk that I’m constantly tinkering with; adding and subtracting new bits and pieces. I’ve reached capacity on wall space as each open spot is filled with pieces of art to inspire me throughout the day.
A day typical day (if there is such a thing) around the studio consists of lots and lots of emails, drawing, scanning, painting, designing, packaging, eagerly awaiting shipments from the printer, opening said shipments with bated breath, more emails, drawing, packaging and of course illicit amounts of coffee and tea. Running a business is the most incredible experience yet can be just as equally frustrating! There are days when the printer jams all your envelopes, a FedEx package goes missing and a press run comes back wrong and you just want to phone it in. Then you have days that are better than anything you could have imagined. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
