One of the most time consuming and frustrating parts of doing custom invitation work is mounting one layer on top of the other, keeping the border perfect…for each and every invitation. Over the years we have seen a variety of invitation studios create cardboard jigs that would help the process.  You too could make a [...]

Save the date: Monday, January 17, 4-5pm PST Twitter Chat on Twitter.com…search #Envelopments_011711 Join in on our exciting design trends discussion on Twitter. We’ll be celebrating the start of the 2011 wedding season with our first-ever Twitter Chat. Envelopments designers will be sharing their thoughts on color trends, design styles, and other elements to look [...]

Wow, another year has sped by. So much has happened. So many defining moments! But wait, it’s not over. It’s just the beginning…again. So much to look forward to. So many opportunities. So many friends. So much love. We have a really good feeling about this year…stay tuned. From all of us to all of [...]

Laughing our heads off! That’s how. Full of yummy food! That’s how. All sugared up! That’s how. Exchanging gifts! That’s how…and extremely grateful for each other and our customers. That’s how.

From postage stamps, to stocking stuffers and holiday cards, we’ve got you covered. This year the design department at Envelopments has had holiday bells ringing in their ears since August. Following are a summary of blog posts featuring original ideas and products to brighten up the spirit and mailboxes.

I get so animated by these projects! The challenge was to help communicate how a special microscope lens was attached to a mobile phone camera that could cost effectively take pictures of blood samples by health workers in Uganda then be quickly uploaded to doctors for review. What resulted is this little film that takes [...]

There are so many apps on the market now for the Apple iPhone and iPad it is a bit overwhelming to try to find the killer app. Well, this weekend I stumbled upon one that I want to share. First, as of this post, Adobe Ideas is free. Now that I have your attention let’s [...]

How many of you can relate to this talk by Seth Godin? I bet just about everyone will get a chuckle…whether you are a designer or a customer. Think about the last time you noticed something that you thought…wow, that’s just plain bad design, why in the world would anybody create that. Seth in his [...]

When I was about twelve my uncle taught me a cool trick; showing me how to create my own letter forms and make illustrations just using type. We would use a plain number 10 envelope and cover the entire front of the envelope with various words that came to mind. Little did I realize back [...]

All work and no play makes Mark kind of a boring dad and potentially less effective at work. So what’s a guy to do? Take few days off, head to the beach with family, eat well, play hard, laugh plenty and take naps. Recharging is good for the soul, your spouse, your kids and your [...]

We have seen all sorts of partnerships that have blurred the boundaries of business. Especially in the wedding industry; husband and wives working together or cousins and best friends striking out as entrepreneurs. Even the paper industry has many businesses with their roots in family tradition… such as Crane & Co. or the Flax retail [...]

At first it was hard to imagine we would have enough content to need a search. But sure as time ticks by, the amount and variety of our persistent posts are evolving into a nice story. You can peek into Envelopments and dial in the topics that tingle you. Simply click the “Articles” button at [...]

It’s always nice to be honored by your peers for work well done. We just found out that was the case for us as we were awarded first place in our category (manufacturing) for the Mediabistro Logo Awards. Our new logo, created in collaboration with Sandstrom Partners, was a labor of love. I find the [...]

The other morning on the way to work, we stopped at the International HQ for Hurley, one of the most influential youth brands around. Owned by Nike, they are one of the coolest businesses I have ever visited. I left so invigorated! Our town of Laguna Beach has a beautiful Hurley store that also features [...]

Once again a friend beat me to the new TED talks posted recently. Manfred emailed from Germany where he lives and asked if I had seen the new talk by Marian Banties. I knew I had to look because we have known each other for so long that what he was really saying was… you [...]

Passion must be her middle name. Michelle Rasmussen exudes it when it comes to her Letterpress indulgence. She basically took on an ancient technology and brought it to the desktop for all of us. Her exuberance was witnessed in New York at the National Stationery Show. Lifestyle Crafts was there in full force showing off [...]

My new heroes are so cool. Not sure if they would get my daughters’ stamp of approval for super hero status but here goes…they affected the U.S. Postal Service to release a new postage stamp series. How cool is that! The new 64-cent Butterfly stamp was dedicated May 17th, in conjunction with the Greeting Card [...]

Momentous occasions deserve special attention. Our attention has been split between the National Stationery Show, and the new release of our fantastical product line. While some of us were in NY at the show, others back in the office were getting our new line out to our entire network of Envelopments Dealers/Designers. Rene Showalter of [...]

Tada…we’ve showered up, powdered our noses, the lights are on and the 2010 National Stationery Show is open for business. If you are an exhibitor like us…congratulations and good luck, you made it happen! If you are an attendee looking for the best paper products for your customers, wear your sneakers…there is a lot to [...]

Well, not so live, kinda tired as a matter of fact…but very excited. Arrived late last night from California, got a few hours sleep and then spent the day setting up our booth for the National Stationery Show. Its always an amazing transformation to see the exhibit floor come to life in the few days [...]

Here we go again…it’s almost show time! It is an honor to travel to New York for the National Stationery Show (NSS) with our staff. They are soooo ready, willing and able to present the Envelopments brand and products. Yes, our company makes incredible products but it is the relationships with our customers that make [...]

I love waking into our offices and seeing a bunch of design students gathered around our conference table. That just happened here at Envelopments. Our good friend and paper aficionado, Rachelle, had one of her classes drop in for a session with our design department. Rachelle teaches a number of different classes at different venues. [...]

Did you know that Envelopments has created its own graphics collections? The variety of print patterns we have developed demanded they have matching graphics. So now your Envelopments Dealer/Designer can integrate the variety of Envelopments patterned stocks with coordinating graphics. We call these collections EOA, which is short for Envelopments Original Artwork. You’ll call it [...]

I like to ask this question…”Do you know who Buckminster Fuller is?” The response is usually a blank stare. But, every once in a while a huge grin will reveal another “Bucky-ite.” My brush with Bucky came through a mentor who had worked with him. We spent many hours of deep design and philosophical discussions [...]

Your mission – Define your moment no matter the event, cause célèbre, or time of year. Our mission – Provide a premium designers palette of mix and match colors, shapes and sizes. Their mission – Get you what you need from Envelopments and service you to the max. You have a need…wrap up your message [...]

If I was a woman, I imagine I might draw an analogy to the last nine months of getting our new line ready to that of pregnancy…lots of excitement as we go through the gestation of growing something new; the reality hitting of how this will change our lives; a true labor of love as [...]

My partners have promised to shoot each other if they get old and gray and are still going to the National Stationery Show…I guess that’s why they color their hair and still giggle like teenagers. They started going with their retailer parents, as they put it, “a reallllly lonnnnng time ago.” I’ve been going every [...]

What a coincidence! Two blogs postings went up today showing the same Envelopments patterned stocks with very different solutions for invitations. Our Repousse is a beautiful flower pattern available in a variety of stocks and inks. Kristy Rice of Rice Ink featured an Alice in Wonderland wedding ensemble which included the invitation and table cards. [...]

Recently we were asked by the lovely blog, Brooklyn Bride, a number of questions about our aesthetics and how they relate to our studio, for their featured studio tours. We are truly honored to participate as we have so much to share about our workplace. Proud would be a good word to start with. By [...]

I have just returned from a visit to Heidelberg Georgia. Nope, that’s not a city in the beautiful state of Georgia where you can get a good German beer. It’s the U.S. facility for the famous German brand of printing technologies, Heidelberg. We were graciously invited to their Print Media Demonstration Center to see what’s [...]

Deborah and I live in Laguna Beach, a few miles down the road from our offices. We are both from the area and love that we get to raise our children here. Our girls go by Zoe and Sofia Hefter-Smith. Deborah has kept her maiden name, as have I. Getting our wedding together took years. [...]

When we can, we love to give back to our community. Otis College of Art and Design was a recipient of some of our stocks, resulting in students producing a number of very cool projects…

We’re really proud of our yummy new logo and how our brand has grown to envelop selection, solutions, service and quality. After 14 years of using our original logo it was time for a logo makeover! The Envelopments design team collaborated with Sandstrom Partners to find just the right solution that would fill a smörgåsbord [...]

Today’s gift was meeting Jesús.  I loved taking the time this morning to sit and chat with him.  His story is so cool. He is retired yet by no means tired.  His energy comes through his big hands guided by a calm patience…

Inspiration comes from many places.  Sometimes from where we least expect it. I am a big fan of the TED talks and can count on being turned onto a new idea and motivated by incredible people, projects and concepts.  My friends and I are always pointing out an interesting talk to each other. Rachelle recently [...]

A few miles inland from the shores of southern California, we sit engulfed by our bamboo garden. We’ve been asked to share who we are, what we do and where do we do it. As our blog evolves we invite you to get to know us, our staff and our network of Envelopments Dealers and [...]