Stephanie Yonce Photography and the ladies at Glint Events put together an amazing team of vendors for this feminine forest wedding inspiration shoot that was featured earlier this week on 100 Layer Cake! The shoot featured an interesting mix of vintage and modern design elements, with our Irving invitation suite helping to set the tone. A 70’s inspired forest ceremony backdrop and soft shades of pink and peach drove the unique color palette, while both modern geometric decorative elements and quirky vintage pieces helped pull the entire look together. Be sure to head over to 100 Layer Cake to see more images from this shoot! 

Photographer: Stephanie Yonce Photography / Venue: Paisley & Jade Showroom / Styling & Design:Glint Events / Florals: The Proper Petal / Hair & Makeup: Avenue 42 Style Studio / Paper: Bella Figura from Sue Corral Ink / Cake: Sweet Fix / Tabletop Décor: Paisley & Jade, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel / Specialty Rentals: Paisley & Jade / Bride’s Dress: BHLDN / Shoes & Accessories:Anthropolgie / Model: Tara Pattengale​

Emery’s family sent these illustrated birth announcements to introduce her to their nearest and dearest. They used personal touches like illustrations of their adorable pups and a cartouche featuring Emery’s monogram to compliment the hand lettering and dainty floral liner. Our charleston shape die cut mimicked the petal pink ribbon border for yet another sweet touch. Special thanks to our friends at The Scarlet Letter!

digital inks: cmyk | lettering/artwork: submitted | paper: duplexed bella smooth cotton white 2-ply | die cut: charleston shape | liner: submitted artwork | envelope: bella cotton white | The Scarlet Letter | customization #32014

We’re back from the 2016 National Stationery Show, where we recently launched our new Flora collection, along with a selection of brand new designs that will be available online soon. We loved having the opportunity to meet with our retailers at both the show and at a special event we held for them at our flagship store in the Upper East Side. Bella Figura calligrapher Sarah Hanna joined us at both the event and in our booth, offering on-the-spot hand calligraphy on keepsake Flora cards. 

We were also thrilled to have two of our invitations honored at the Louie Awards! Our Lark design by Jessica Tierney was chosen as the winner of the “modern printed standard wedding invitation suite” category, while the Adele mailers we sent out for our store’s grand opening events were honored in the “general invitations above $4″category. Many thanks to the Greeting Card Association for honoring our designs! 

We’ll be back soon with a recap on the holographic foil stamped invitations and coasters we printed for the 2016 Paper Party with Oh So Beautiful Paper! 

Earlier this spring we had a blast meeting with New York brides at the Big Fake Wedding! The Big Fake Wedding is a bridal show alternative complete with an emotional vow renewal ceremony, light bites and a dance-party reception. “Wedding guests” are brides- and grooms-to-be who get to truly experience the wedding vendors in action – fun, right?! We customized our Art Paint design by Mariel Mirra for the occasion, and created a colorful, digitally printed suite with gold foil stamped accents to coordinate with the vibrant color palette used for the entire event. Here’s a peek – be sure to visit Ruffled and Black Sheep Bride to see more images from the event!  

PHOTOGRAPHY: 13 ONE PHOTOGRAPHY, AUTHENTIC PHOTO, OLLI STUDIO (shown) | FLORAL + EVENT DESIGN, CEREMONY BACKDROP, TABLE 1: YOU’RE THE BOSS! WEDDINGS + EVENTS | FLORAL + EVENT DESIGN, PERSONAL FLOWERS, TABLES 4, 6, 8: WYLD | FLORAL + EVENT DESIGN, REGISTRATION TABLE, TABLES 3, 7, 11: CAMPBELL EVENTS | FLORAL + EVENT DESIGN, SWEETHEART TABLE, TABLES 5, 9: LVR EVENTS | DAY-OF COORDINATION, TABLE 2 + 10: DEE WEDDINGS | VENUE: SUNSET TERRACE AT CHELSEA PIERS | WEDDING DRESS: PAISLEY BRIDAL | BRIDAL ACCESSORIES: UNTAMED BRIDAL | JEWELRY: COSH NYC | HAIR: PINNED & PROPER | MAKEUP: BEST FACE FORWARD MAKEUP STUDIO | BRIDESMAIDS + GROOMSMEN ACCESSORIES: SYMRIK | MENSWEAR: THE GROOMSMAN SUIT | CATERING: NEUMAN’S KITCHEN | DESSERT BAR: SWEET PISTACHIO PATISSERIE | CAKE SHOOTERS: GOT CAKE! CAKE BAR | DOUGHNUTS: KEYHOLE DOUGHNUTS | DJ + EMCEE: SCRATCH WEDDINGS | BAND: SILVER ARROW BAND | CIRQUE PERFORMANCE: CIRQUE CENTRAL | CUSTOM LOVE SONGS: MELODYWED | RENTALS: PARTY RENTAL LTD. | LIGHTING: UNIVERSAL LIGHT AND SOUND | WEDDING FLATS: TALARIA FLATS | GIFTS + FAVORS: JEFAIS CLUB WEDDING FAVORS | HELICOPTER: WINGS AIR HELICOPTERS | HOTEL: THE WASHINGTON JEFFERSON HOTEL | REGISTRY: HEARTFUL.LY | SPA: SHIMMER MED SPA | INVITATIONS + PROGRAMS: BELLA FIGURA | PAPER ACCENTS: PINEAPPLE STREET DESIGNS | PHOTO BOOTH: PHOTOBOOTH CREATIVE | VIDEOGRAPHY: YAMEAN STUDIOS FILMS | NATIONAL SPARKLING WINE SPONSOR: FERRARI SPARKLING WINE | SPONSORING PARTNER: WEDDINGWIRE

Ann’s custom letterpress social stationery cards were a Christmas gift, ordered through our flagship store in New York City. We printed in cherry ink and added our juniper patterned liner in cherry, papaya and hazel.

letterpress ink: cherry | font: nib | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply | envelope: bella cotton white pointed flap | liner: juniper pattern in cherry + papaya + hazel | Bella Figura NYC | customization #31369

Earlier this year, we partnered with the team at Zimmerman to create save the dates and invitations for their annual Together Dinner. The Together Dinner is an intimate celebration centered around community and empowerment that’s hosted each year by Jessica Zimmerman. To help kick off the event, we created digitally printed save the dates featuring our Josephine design by Ellie Snow. For the letterpress invitations and menus, we incorporated custom, hand-drawn artwork from Meredith Mejerle into the design. Here’s a peek at the stationery suite and the event, which was featured recently by Cottage Hill! 

Host and Floral Design by Jessica Zimmerman | Rentals by Party Time Rental & Events | Chairs from Hanks Event Rentals | Flatware by Southern Events Rentals | Calligraphy by Brown Linen Design | Food by PattiCakes | Invitation Suite by Bella Figura | Hand drawn ivy print by Meredith Mejerle | Images scanned by Indie Film Lab | Dream Big Darling card from The Social Type | Planner and bath bomb by Belle and Blush | Ribbon by Silk and Willow | Fresh floral donation by Florabundance | Photography byLauren Kinsey | Lighting by CWP Productions

Using a custom motif inspired by their mountain top venue, Katie and Jeffrey customized our Austin Traditional design to set the stage for their Park City wedding. Prussian Blue ink was used throughout the suite, bringing a cool sophistication to the clean, modern typography.  Many thanks to our friends at Shindig Paperie for helping us bring Katie and Jeffrey’s ski resort wedding invitations to life!

letterpress ink: prussian blue | font: didot | paper: bella cotton white 2-ply + 1-ply | envelope: bella cotton white | liner: classic color pattern in prussian blue | Shindig Paperie | customization #30575

Our Leigha Spring design was the inspiration for Cherisse and Raymond’s rose wedding invitations. Our friends at di’zain loft limited worked with the couple to make some changes to the design – like adding Sarah Hanna’s hand calligraphy, changing the motif to a rose from our library and using tawny matte foil to highlight their cards and envelope liner. They used a well known Scottish phrase on their thank you cards, wishing their guests a long and healthy life.

letterpress ink: espresso | foil stamping: tawny matte | font: moravia | hand calligraphy: napa style | paper: bella cotton white 2-ply + 1-ply | envelope: bella cotton white | foil stamped liner: sullivan stripe pattern in tawny matte | di’zain loft limited | customization #28520

Isabella and her family worked with our friends at Dear Emily to create these neon Bat Mitzvah invitations based on our Avery design. Day-glo and hot pink inks combined to create a 3D effect on highlighted text, while charcoal ink added balance to the details. Hot pink edge painting on all cards and a sweet polka envelope liner added to the vibrant feel of the ensemble.

letterpress inks: hot pink + day-glo + charcoal | fonts: valuco + gotham + grace | paper: bella cotton white 2-ply + 1-ply | edge painting: hot pink | envelope: bella cotton white | liner: sweet polka pattern | | Dear Emily | customization #30565

We’re holding two special events at the Bella Figura Flagship Store later this month! Join us on Saturday, May 14th from 2-6pm to meet calligrapher Ted Clausen, sip champagne, and enjoy sweet treats from Madison Lee’s Cakes! We’ll be debuting our new Flora Collection, and Ted will be offering on-the-spot calligraphy, so you’ll have the chance to have your name or favorite phrase calligraphed on a keepsake card! Check out some of Ted’s beautiful work below for a preview of the cards. We’re also hosting a trunk show with Designer of the Month Brenda Fox and Client Coordinator Sarah Sadler on Wednesday, May 18th. In addition to sips and sweets, we’re offering a trunk show special at both events: buy 75 invitation sets or more and get 25 free! 

We love Ted’s story on how he got started in calligraphy:

 One of my earliest memories is of walking into my first grade classroom and seeing the letters of the alphabet hung above the blackboard, and thinking to myself  ‘Oh, BOY, do we get to do THAT now!’ I was ecstatic! Throughout grade school my handwriting grade was the most important mark for me. I loved writing and everything about it. I studied other people’s handwriting and borrowed letters from them: I would take your ‘m’, his ‘w’, her ‘y’ and do them over and over until I liked them, and then change them to make them mine. I have been addicted to letters ever since.

When I was in high school a friend showed me a gift she had received from her brother: a series of Zen Buddhist stories written out in hand italic calligraphy. I remember asking her ‘What kind of printing press did your brother use to make this?’. She replied, ‘No, he wrote them out by hand’. Within two days I was on the phone to her brother’s teacher, the legendary Lloyd Reynolds in Portland, Oregon, to find out how I could learn to do ‘that fancy writing’.

I spent a number of years studying with a long list of impressive and generous teachers, including Lloyd Reynolds, Herman Zapf, J. Savaren, D. Dehn, and Donald Jackson, scribe to Her Majesty the Queen. I studied typeface design in this country and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland. I worked for a number of years designing type before ultimately deciding to leave the ‘constructed letter’ in favor of the handwritten one. And that’s where I still am, still learning, still liking your ‘M’ better than mine, and still loving the act of watching that pen dance across the paper.

The store is located at 1031 Lexington Avenue (at 74th Street) in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We hope to see you at the events — RSVP on Facebook today! 

Allison and Ben sent these adorable letterpress birth announcements welcoming their son Benjamin.  They worked with our friends at Charlotte’s, Inc. to choose a custom color that complimented Benjamin’s photo that we then used to print their announcement text and their sweet country gingham liner.

letterpress ink: pms 277 digital printing: cmyk | font: garamond | paper: bella smooth cotton white 1-ply | envelope: bella cotton white | digital liner: country gingham pattern in pms 277 | Charlotte’s, Inc. | customization #30125

We are thrilled to finally be sharing a sneak peek at our new Flora Collection! These floral patterns were created earlier this spring in collaboration with Kate Ignatowski and Photosynthesis Floral Design, and will be available in stores and online very soon. We paired these pretty new patterns with some of our existing invitation designs to give you an idea of some of the new possibilities — take a look! 

Our die-cut Elliotte calligraphy wedding invitations by Elizabeth Hardin feature olive letterpress ink on our white cotton paper and pair beautifully with our soft yellow and white Flora pattern #8. 

The modern Belperron design by Kelle McCarter is printed in classic black ink and includes oversized hand calligraphy accents— we love how it looks with the dramatic, deep purple Flora liner #46. 

The soft gray color palette on one of our best-selling designs, Colette, pairs perfectly with Flora pattern #2.

These new Flora patterns pair nicely with our ivory paper, too! Leyton, a modern classic by Amy Graham Stigler from our 2016 collection, is printed in tawny matte foil on our ivory paper — we matched it up with Flora pattern #10 for an English garden feel. 

We paired Splash, a modern letterpress wedding invitation from our 2016 collection, with Flora pattern #7. 

Hadley, another new suite from Amy Graham Stigler, looks stunning next to the deep purple roses in Flora pattern #9. 

The playful calligraphy accents from Elizabeth Hardin on our Madison Chic suite complement the light, feminine flowers in Flora pattern #3.  ​

And last but not least – how pretty is our light peach ink next to Flora pattern #13?! We love the Southern charm of our Calligraphy Monogram design next to this soft peach rose!