Today we’re exited to introduce our latest Design of the Month – Cecilia by Jamie Lea Bertsch. We love this design for its vintage textile inspiration and it’s understated romantic elegance. As our Design of the Month, all custom letterpress orders of our Cecilia design placed between now and April 29 will receive 20% off – don’t miss out! This 20% off applies to Cecilia save the dates, thank you cards, coasters, place cards, menus, programs, invitations, and any other piece that uses the Cecilia design. (Please note, the Design of the Month promotion may not be used on purchases of other designs or in combination with any other promotion.)
Meet the Designer – Jamie Lea Bertsch
What is the inspiration behind Cecilia?
Actually, these are the invitations we used for our wedding, so there was a lot of inspiration swirling around them. I named it after my grandmother – Cecilia. The lacy edging was from a handkerchief passed down to me for my wedding, and I paired that with some loose pattern illustrations from other textiles/fabrics in our home. I really wanted to fuse elegant and handmade, so I mixed fonts and rounded corners to keep it casual.
How did you get your start in art and design?
I’ve always enjoyed making things with my hands and the tactile experience. I decided to pursue art and design without any expectations. I didn’t want to anticipate or put pressure on myself to ‘figure it out’ right away. Instead, I eased into things, lightheartedly exploring design, printmaking, fibers, photography and ceramics. Some great opportunities came my way, and since college, I’ve just taken it day by day. Currently I’m pursuing my MFA in fibers, seeing where that leads me. I’ve always believed that things happen for a reason, so I try not to intervene too much with the natural progression of things.
Five art/design tools you couldn’t live without:
Needle/thread, Uni-ball fine tip pens, sketchbook, Sobo glue & scissors
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We were so excited to recently have Brides ask us to create our dream invitation for the upcoming royal wedding. With our Lace letterpress invitations as our inspiration, we wanted to create something girly and a bit dreamy, perfect for a modern day princess celebrating a fairytale wedding. In shades of papaya and persimmon paired with whimsical script, we love this look for a formal yet playful wedding celebration. We envision them enclosed in envelopes with a fabulous liner, gorgeous hand calligraphy and a patchwork of vintage stamps to complete the look. Check out all of the designs on the Brides magazine website and many thanks to our friends at Brides for asking us to contribute!
Founded in early 2010 by sisters Julie and Theresa, Sweet Paper specializes in cute, quaint stylish cards, custom stationery, and unique gifts. Located in La Jolla, California, they create truly stunning letterpress invitations and inspire their clientele with gorgeous, artisan stationery and paper goods at their beautiful storefront location. We are so excited to have them carry the Bella Figura letterpress wedding album!
Q & A with Julie and Theresa of Sweet Paper
What’s your favorite thing to do in your town?
J: Sunday Funday with my husband, kids and sister in my backyard ties with dinner at hip new restaurants sans kids.
T: Enjoying the beach from the sand-free grass in my sisters backyard
What’s your favorite past time or hobby outside of work?
J: Reading anything that has nothing to do with reality. It’s an embarrassing guilty pleasure.
T: Sunday brunch with my sweetie and the crossword puzzle, thrifting, sewing, crafting
Can you share a recent favorite read or find?
J: I recently read The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston, which I enjoyed, but then I always love a good witch story.
T: I have a blog addiction, its hard to pick a favorite. I love before and after day on design*sponge.
An interest, hobby, or something you’re passionate about:
J: Paper!
T: Traveling
Five things you couldn’t live without:
J: My 5 boys, grande triple nonfat mochas, my iPhone, wine and cheese, my sister.
T: A cozy bed, friendship, dance parties, chocolate, my sister.
A while back we featured the gorgeous Tara letterpress invitations that we printed for Joy and Doug’s chic New York City wedding. Today it’s an absolute pleasure to share their beautiful and glamorous celebration! Inspired by the 1930s, the bride wore a stunning vintage Eavis & Brown wedding dress and carried fun personalized details throughout the day. Complete with dancing in the streets of Manhattan, this wedding is a festive celebration of love and a lifetime of memories to come. Many thanks to Joy and Doug for letting us share their beautiful wedding with you and congratulations from all of us here at Bella Figura!
{Photo by Bella Figura.}
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Located in beautiful Toronto, Paper & Poste is a unique invitation and custom design studio specializing in letterpress invitations and creative stationery design. We are honored to call them Bella Figura retailers! For veteran paper geeks Heather Sauer and Beckee McCann, it has always been about the paper. At their other gig at The Paper Place, an innocent conversation about offering custom design planted a seed. That seed took root and grew into Paper & Poste, a private by appointment studio where they combine innovative design with a love of tradition.
Having assisted customers for years in all aspects of designing their own stationery, they found one thing was universal – the desire for something unique. Together they put together a collection of the most beautiful and memorable stationery available. Outside of work, they moonlight as a crochet enthusiast (Heather) and as a designer for her boyfriend’s metal band (Beckee). Find them at Paper & Poste.
Over the next few weeks our esteemed lead client coordinator Tiffany is going to be sharing wedding inspiration from the movies. Today, an unexpected source of absolutely beautiful wedding colors – Jaws!
One of the very few movies I cannot pass by if it’s on television – I will drop everything and watch it in it’s entirety. This color palette is sophisticated and ocean-like, proving inspiration can come from unexpected places!
{Photo from The Independent.}
These custom, art deco inspired letterpress invitations were designed by the bride, Brenna, who paid us the great pleasure of working with her on printing her wedding invitations. We printed them at a custom size so Brenna could then adhere them to a black backer, paired perfectly with black lined envelopes. They were printed in black on our ivory cotton paper. Check out Brenna’s blog Bomb’s Away for more of her super cool style.
{Photos by Bomb’s Away.}
We love this bold and modern customization of our Lush letterpress invitations. They were printed in daffodil and charcoal inks and paired with a bright colorful liner in our simple geometric pattern in garden. We love seeing how a design can be transformed with color and this is a perfect example!
This stunning customization of our Jolie letterpress invitations was printed in navy ink and blind deboss for an incredibly elegant and sophisticated look. Printed on our luxurious 2-ply cotton paper, it takes on a dramatic feel and the horizontal orientation adds an extra chic touch to this design.
It’s a great pleasure to welcome Lanie List, proprietress of Lovely Bridal, as guest contributor to our blog today! Lovely is a one of a kind bridal boutique located in New York City’s West Village neighborhood, offering an exclusive collection of bridal designs from a carefully curated group of independent (and highly talented) designers. Today Lanie is sharing a bit of wedding style inspiration, pairing fabulous dresses (all available at Lovely) with coordinating letterpress invitations. We love the idea of allowing your dress to set the tone for your celebration, be it short or long, formal or casual. Here are Lanie’s picks…
“Nicole Miller is a New Yorker through and through (even her gowns are made in NYC), which is reflected in her sleek and chic styling. This long and lean dress is sophisticated and modern, just like the skyline in the Charmed New York letterpress invitations.”
“Anne Barge designs classic and modern gowns, with clean lines that pair perfectly with Harbor Beach. We can already envision a beautiful Nantucket wedding, where the bride can gracefully slip a seashell in her pocket of this La Fleur dress as a memento of her wedding day at the beach!”
“David Fielden, a new designer at Lovely, creates gowns fit for a Hollywood starlet in a vintage film. The peacock motif always harkens back to the extravagant parties of the roaring 20s, and would fit perfectly for a vintage glam wedding. Even the detail in the peacock feathers on the Peacock Full letterpress suite has the same beautiful texture that the lace in this gown creates on the bride.”
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Over the next few weeks our esteemed lead client coordinator Tiffany is going to be sharing wedding inspiration from the movies. Today, a childhood favorite of many – Sound of Music!
Any film that can make you feel like a child 30 years after seeing it for the first time is pure magic. This photo gives me chills, as much for the utterly gorgeous colors as for the utterly gorgeous Captain Von Trapp. The perfect Sound of Music wedding color palette is soft and elegant in shades of taupe, antique gold, french vanilla, celadon, and sea mist.
{Photo from Cinema Blend.}
This customization of our Majorca letterpress invitations feels particularly regal printed in this sophisticated color combination of antique gold and wine. The design was adapted to a horizontal orientation and paired with pretty script for an elegant feel.
