As invitation designers we are continuously in the habit of falling in love. A new font makes us swoon; a new pattern can cause our heart to skip a beat, while new colors and textures can make us tipsy. We daydream of pairing stock with type, color and texture. We are hunters and gatherers, always [...]

As this new school year churned into full gear, and a new teacher stands at the helm of my 10-year-old’s education, I am not ashamed to say that I took no time at all to play the “Paper Card”. You know, when you completely endear yourself to your child’s teacher from the get-go, with piles [...]

Testing 1-2-3, like all good science, every hypothesis needs some testing out.  Assumptions can get us in a lot of trouble.   Ever get caught thinking,  just because you effectively printed on a similar stock that you could also print on the one your client just fell in love with? Raise your hands….yeah, me too. [...]

Some print processes are more consistent than others. It’s important if you are making your living from both designing and printing that you understand as much of the print process that you are using as possible. You also need to understand the different print processes that are available to you outside of your own doors. [...]

We often receive calls from our customers asking for an ink color match to the 230+ different cardstocks in our line. Usually they are just looking for a quick answer so they can get on to the deadlines in front of them. But both color and printing is a much more complex topic and a [...]

So, What was my imaginary friend thinking?! As we prepared to design our current Martha Stewart Ad, I (again) went looking for inspiration. Often, I will look for photos of random brides, locations, floral arrangements, table décor and assorted ephemera, and then piece them together to give me a person, place and theme to connect [...]

Anyone with kids knows how quickly doodles, scribbles and things they made at school accumulate. It is a daily windfall in my house and much like my mother, I have a hard time parting with even the smallest and goofiest ones. I have file drawers and portfolio cases filled in the house and my garage [...]

As the hours of daylight shorten and pumpkins replace summer fruits, the drum beat of fourth quarter looms large, fast and louder by the day. Those of us who heed its call begin to brace ourselves for what is to come. As designers, it is necessary to be ahead of the pack. So… we set [...]

Today, I received a question from Lindsay A. Burns, of The Paper Company in Holly Springs, North Carolina. She wanted to know what color palettes are trending for weddings in 2011. I decided to share my answer to her with all of you…

Every year, my daughter’s school has an art auction (so you can buy your own child’s art), a brilliant parental shake down, that helps keep the coffers full for the school’s art program which we have loved and nurtured over the years. It’s a lively event, with food, wine and live music in a hip [...]

No one warned me about the occupational hazards of design. I find it almost impossible these days to look at color without thinking about which stocks in our line match (or what might be missing – I’m still looking for that perfect, elusive yellow). I can no longer dreamily look at housewares catalogs or fashion [...]

Summertime conjures up childhood memories, when we lived in Long Island, NY. Where summer vacation held the promise of long lazy afternoons that stretched into evening bar-b-ques and the promise of dazzling firefly shows lighting up our backyard. Every summer we spent our evenings catching them and keeping them in jars only to find them [...]

Kenley has been bugging us for some time for anything yellow. Elizabeth wanted teal and a wicked green pattern and, “oh yeah, can we get that one in a 100% post consumer recycled stock?” Margaret wanted a tone on tone poppy color with an elegant charcoal and ecru cardstock envelope. Grace and Keith were looking [...]

This week the Design Department has been burning midnight oil to pull together finishing touches on our color concepts and portfolio samples. Much like having elves in the office, our staff goes home at night only to be greeted in the morning by a conference table filled with the prior night’s Design Jam. Finished invitations [...]

This year’s color stories beg for a variety of black and white patterns. Coincidentally, my daughter decided months ago she wanted a black and white themed birthday party for her ninth. Last fall, when she volunteered to help fill in the little tiny boxes on the new checkerboard pattern Mark was designing; little did we [...]

I was just re-reading the many comments left for me on my first post “My Mother’s Papers” Thank you to all for such kind words, your own sweet memories and lovely sentiments. I think my mother would have been surprised to know that what she left behind (a bit apologetically, as I believe she feared [...]

So I’ve been sitting for weeks in front of our vast array of colored paper and card stocks, working to determine what we will photograph and what we will produce into portfolio samples, my mind is racing. I haven’t been home for dinner in a week. I sputter between fits of inspiration and desperation while [...]

Recently, my 12 year old daughter mentioned to me how she loved the sound of the paper in her class notebook. Not the new crisp and pristine sheets, but the ones filled with her notes, class assignments, scribbles, and names of boys she thinks are cute. She said to me, “I love the sound it [...]