Sonam (our summer intern from the graphic design dept. at UT) is now back at school trucking along in pursuing her own stationery dreams. We miss her! One of the projects on which Sonam contributed during her time with us was a pet project of mine: the cappuccino cafe signage at my home church, Fellowship. Check out the entire progression below…

Sonam!

We  began by looking at the current situation. You can see here how bland and poorly executed the signage has been—it’s definitely in dire need of a freshening up:

Current Cappuccino Cart Signage

Yowzers! Yes, folks. It’s really this bad. Sonam and I discussed the environment, the purpose of the signs, the direction in which people will be walking, etc.  We decided that we needed to do something warm and inviting, something that felt professional and sophisticated, but still helped create an inviting atmosphere.

Initial Concept

A long while back, this was the concept that I created. However, I think it may have been a little too “vintage” of a look for the church lobby. Taking some time off the project, when Sonam arrived I knew this was the perfect job for us to tackle together.

Each of us created two final logos to submit. I love them all!

The above was Sonam’s first design—warm golden yellow with an illustrated steaming coffee cup was a great solution. I love her subtle highlight around the mug.

This one was my first design… sort of the “liquid highway” theme. I tried to give it a sort of utilitarian, strong, bold graphic, but soften it with the curved edge of the frame.

Sonam’s next design has a definite “coffee house” sort of feel. The warm mocha and olive palette with a painterly mug makes me think of an inviting mug and a soft couch to sink into.

The folks at Fellowship liked them all. After much consideration, the church has decided to move forward with this design:

I think this will be a great solution… it’s a nice color palette to warm up the forest-green lobby. The pope of red will be a nice contrast, but the mixture of chocolate tones soften the mood.

Thanks for all your help, Sonam! And best of luck to you in school.

I saw pumpkins for sale at a local farm stand yesterday and it gave me pause. Pumpkins already? Yes. I know that I spied kitschy Halloween decor already proudly displayed at Cracker Barrel recently. And believe it or not, while you regular folks are still slapping on sunscreen and drinking Mai Tais by the pool {I want that ‘regular’ life, please}, folks in the stationery industry are running around like chickens with our heads cut off, screaming, “Holiday! Holiday! Holiday is upon us!”—because it is.

August and September are like time warps for us stationery folks. It is indeed 90 degrees outside, but I have stores calling daily about picking up our holiday line and it almost always ends with, “How soon can I have that?”

2010 is a big year for The Happy Envelope. First, our new site will be launching this September, including features such as uploading and seeing your photo within a chosen design as well as altering text on a chosen design to “preview” it before a designer proofs it. The price points are super reasonable—around $1.60 per piece for 100—totally affordable, but unlike [-ahem-] some other online companies, we never skimp on size or paper quality. Plus, we offer complete customization on every product. Want it in blue? No problem. Want to use two pictures instead of just one? We’ll make it happen. Our wish is your command… all for the same price as the “box template” product that is offered elsewhere. Okay, um… I’ll step off my soapbox now.

Additionally, our studio is moving to downtown Knoxville {until we officially sign a lease, the place is yet to be named!}. But it’s going to be really, really cool. Hopefully we’ll be in by October… keep your eyes peeled for more on this.

In the meantime, we’ve been working hard on our Holiday collection. Take a peek!

Wheat, dark orange and olive color combo... so fun!

Before I forget: photo credits will be at the bottom of this post. Be sure to visit these photographer’s sites if you want to peruse some good stuff. Keep in mind, the actual product photography (ie printed announcement) was taken by yours truly—I won’t blame any of it on them!

Updated but still classic

A modern take on scripture

Whimsical way to include a family monogram

Some of these are designs that have been in our “storehouse” for a while and we’ve taken them out, dusted them off and freshened them up for a new lease on life. Some are from our website debut last year. Then some of them are brand new for 2010—hot off the presses!

Sage green firecracker design

Linking circles in cornflower blue

The two designs above were created by Sonam, our University of Tennessee graphic design intern. She created about 6 complete holiday designs, all of which will be available this fall online. I like the one above because it’s a nice way to incorporate multiple pics if you just can’t make up your mind!

Classic red

Scallop = Sweet

Candy cane stripes are always festive

And in case you’re the type of person that really wants something traditional, classic or downright preppy-conservative… we even have stuff for you, my friend!

Classic Framed Pics

As mentioned earlier—the site should launch in September, so keep checking. I know that we’ll be offering a discount for our grand opening (launch). Make a commitment to get at least one item off your to-do list EARLY this year. Think of how thankful you’ll be come Thanksgiving if your holiday card is already finished.

As promised, here are links to our photographers. Check them out.

503 Photography

Angela Acker Photography

Smitten Photography

Meggie Velasco Photography

Ashley Hoskins Photography

The invitation was out, Carole was still totally unaware, and the guests were trickling in. Let’s get this party started! {See 40 Years Later: Part 1 for the full story}

The bar is open!

Delightful spread of meats + cheeses

The charcuterie table was outstanding. Robust cured meats and a variety of cheeses with crackers, olives, oils and spreads were all beautifully displayed as guests first arrived on the back porch. Additionally, the bar was open when guests arrived so that everyone could get a snack in their tummy and a drink on their tongue before Carole arrives. {Party planning hint: THINK about the guests! If you are planning a wedding, for example, make sure that your guests will have light food and drink as soon as they arrive at the reception. This ensures that no matter how long it takes the bride and groom to arrive, the party-goers will be content. Nothing makes folks crankier than waiting around on an empty stomach}.

Add a little color!

The floral arrangement was actually purchased by Carole—she thought that we were having a family-only, very small gathering to celebrate their 40th anniversary. She is indeed the hostess with the mostess and already had flowers arranged. I just stole them from the venue she was expecting to arrive at and brought them to the “real” party. No reason to waste perfectly delightful flowers!

Green, pink and white blooms

Canvas print pulls it all together

Ty and I decided to print parts of the invitation onto a canvas as a gift. This was a great way to pull everything together at the party as well as provide a conversation piece. Plus, Carole hadn’t seen the invite yet, so it was fun to show her on a large scale.

View of the patio

Once Tom and Carole arrived, dinner was served— homemade barbecue ribs and homemade sausage. Additionally, there was a basil watermelon salad that was to die for and fresh home-grown tomatoes. For dessert was a warm blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream—delish!

The honored guests playing the Newlywed Game

The Newlywed Game was a blast! It’s always fun to hear stories about life before kids, their years in the Philippines with the military, dental school in Memphis, life with young children and SURPRISE!—third child Chase. Funny, funny stories brought additional life to the party.

Fire pit for Smores

As the party was winding down, folks were able to head over to the fire pit for classic smores. {I had one and it was amazing, marshmallowey goodness!}

Mix and mingle

What a fantastic night! It was such a joy to see all of Tom and Carole’s friends come out to support {and surprise!} them. Even more of a joy is having the opportunity to celebrate forty years of a happy marriage. Here’s to forty more!!!

Thanks to Ashley Hoskins Photography for all the great work!

A while back, I did a post mentioning RT Lodge in Maryville, just one of the best places in East Tennessee to throw a bash. At the time, I hinted about an upcoming festivity that I was super excited to share with you, but couldn’t {until the time was right}. The hush-hush event was a surprise, so while I couldn’t let the cat out of the bag earlier, now I’m delighted to share the details of this sweet affair!

My charming father-in-law {Ty gets it from somewhere, right?} decided to throw a surprise anniversary party for his lovely bride of 40 years. He invited old friends and family in on the gig, and of course Ty and I were in charge of the invites. I asked for some old photos to look through, hoping to find a couple worth using  on the invitation. It was hilarious to look through all of these pics from the 60’s {ummm… and alarmingly, pants are again as tight and short as they used to be!}.

Calligraphy

We started with a blush pink envelope and light, airy, casual calligraphy. The envelopes and addressing needed to say, “This is going to be something special!” without saying, “Wedding! Formal!” which is why I avoided a more swashy, swirly, script.

Quote

The front of the invitation has a vintage wedding picture and a quote, “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”

Inside fold

One of my favorite parts of this invitation was the use of vintage photos. The top photo on the left hand spread is of Tom and Carole (my in-laws) at the beach around the time they were married—and Carole is wearing curlers and a net in her hair! It’s so priceless—I knew that she’d kill me when she saw it, but it absolutely had to be included. The bottom pic was recently taken on a beach trip, and it says, “1970-2010.”

Details

Using a mixture of typestyles along with a soft, muted color palette {charcoal, blush pink, and a light, creamy khaki} gave the piece a “wedding” look without feeling at all like a wedding invitation. Additionally, I added a textured, worn edge which speaks to the vintage nature of the project.

Not-so Subtle Reminder

I always think that it’s a great idea to remind folks how to keep a surprise party just that—a surprise. On the back of the invite were tips on “How not to ruin a surprise party” which included, “Don’t nonchalantly ask Carole, ‘Hey… isn’t your anniversary coming up?” along with, “Don’t casually ask Carole, ‘So, what are you doing this weekend?’” as well as the biggest blunder of all, “Don’t call Carole to RSVP for this party.” Needless to say, no one gave it away!

This was such a delightful project partly because it was close to home. What a joy to help celebrate 40 happy years together for Ty’s parents! As a side note: I have always thought that a stellar invitation really does get more people to the party. In this case, the invitations went out a little on the late side, but only ONE couple didn’t attend. It was almost a 100% attendance rate! I know it sounds cliché, but I always tell brides that the invitation really is the very first inclination your guests will receive as to what kind of event you’re hosting. Do you want them to be “wowed” {as in, “This is amazing! I have to go to this!”} or bored {as in, “Um, I think I may have a schedule conflict.”}?

I’ll leave you to ponder… In the meantime, “Part 2: Party!” won’t be far behind!

We have some big things going at The Happy Envelope right now. First of all, we’re moving. That’s right—we hope to officially sign a lease for a downtown Knoxville space within a few weeks {I won’t tell you WHERE until we get something down in writing!}. Woo hoo! In the meantime, our lease is up at our old Clinton studio, so we are tenderly whispering our goodbyes (amidst moving boxes, recycling LOADS of samples and paper, and breaking down furniture). We’ve had a lot of great memories.

Our Clinton Studio... sniff, sniff. Goodbye!

Another super cool thing that we’re in the midst of is creating our new {more sophisticated} website via the one and only Bluegill Creative right here in our very own Knoxville. I hope that the new site will portray who our company is and why we exist:

We empower people to find their own voice and to use it to share their joy.

I’m thrilled to be working with a creative team at Bluegill, and particularly with another ardent paper admirer/lover—Caryn. Caryn will be doing the front-end design of our new site, which I am keenly aware that I may be more challenging than the average corporate-type client. Can you imagine designing for a designer? Tough stuff—but I know she’s up for the challenge! I’m so excited to see her interpretations and expressions of The Happy Envelope style.

In the meantime, she sent me a link the other day to a FANTASTIC blog… one I’m a a little ashamed I haven’t found myself, to be honest. Sort of embarrassing since I’m IN the paper industry. It’s a blog called “oh so beautiful paper” and it’s STELLAR, folks. A great way to browse through some rich and lovely paper goods, particularly some amazing custom work (which of course, is what we do so much of at The Happy Envelope).

Gorgeous blue, white and twine invite suite

The above suite gets me all excited for spring. With robin’s egg blue and this gorgeous “nest” raw khaki color—can’t you just hear a tweet tweet in the distance? This design is by JessLehry Designs and her blog The Budget Savvy Bride.

The invitation below is by one of my favorite pairs: Peculiar Pair Press. I have met the lovely ladies of Peculiar Pair on more than one occasion in New York for the annual National Stationery Show. They have such a fantastic eye for color, type and spacial arrangement. Truly some of my favorite stationery designers… and nice people, to boot!

The Beatles in India inspiration

As you know, Ty is getting “in the know” regarding the old Chandler + Press letterpress that currently resides in our garage. Caryn had actually sent me the link to this book (via the oh so beautiful paper blog), thinking we may be interested in it:

Notice that the forward for this glorious book, Reinventing Letterpress by Charlotte Rivers, was penned by Yee Haw Industries, our very own (very well known!) Knoxville letterpress folks.

I hope that you’ll take a minute to check out the oh so beautiful paper blog… and then get inspired to start thinking about your next invitation. Shower, Birthday, 40th Anniversary?—give us a call to start the brainstorming!

(PS check out our next blog for the 40th Anniversary invitation and party of the year!)

I have a pet peeve. Well, I have more than one, actually. But as design goes: I HATE the font Comic Sans. When I see an advertisement, brochure, letter or any other communication piece in Comic Sans, I automatically assume that some 12-year old girl who dots her i’s with hearts is behind the message, whatever it may be.

This morning, Ty emailed me a link to a fantastic article on fonts/typefaces. It is an excellent read and you can see the whole piece here if you’d like. But here’s an excerpt I want to share:

Do typefaces really matter?

When Avatar, the biggest grossing movie of all time was released, one section of the audience was immediately outraged.

Now this next article is also totally worth reading (see full article here). Here is the intro, which was well-put:

The national distraction is over. NBA star LeBron James has chosen the team he’s going to play for: the Miami Heat. Of course, this means that he won’t be returning to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and owner Dan Gilbert is not too happy about that. And he made that very clear to everyone tonight in a scathing letter posted to the Cavs main page on NBA.com.

A letter, posted in Comic Sans.

Yes, Gilbert wrote the entire letter in probably the worst font ever to grace the computer screen. Normally a staple among six year old and grandmothers, Glibert for some reason decided to use the font to write what will undoubtedly be the most public message he will ever write. And it’s too bad, because the content of the message itself is quite good — very juicy. Gilbert’s use of quotes, capitalization, and bolded letters makes it very clear just how pissed off he is.

Again, just another example of how the font ended up getting as much attention as the content! Whatever the the font chosen, it should communicate side-by-side with the message, not fight against it.

Some good ol' fashioned lead type

If you too, are a hater of Comic Sans, then you absolutely must read the link below. I have saved the best for last. This “monologue” from the perspective of Comic Sans is one of my favorite pieces of literature regarding type. It was sent to me by my sister-in-law, Meg, who can fully appreciate my deep hatred for a font. Keep in mind, this is not for the faint of heart. A hearty usage of curse words are spewed, but if you can brace yourself, it’s pretty fantastic. Keep in mind, I can hardly quote from it because it’s so chock full of language a lady doesn’t repeat. Oh, and be sure to note the reference to Papyrus, which I spoke about above.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/monologues/15comicsans.html

My favorite section: “You don’t like that your coworker used me on that note about stealing her yogurt from the break room fridge? You don’t like that I’m all over your sister-in-law’s blog? You don’t like that I’m on the sign for that new Thai place? You think I’m pedestrian and tacky? Guess the **** what, Picasso. We don’t all have seventy-three weights of stick-up-my-*** Helvetica sitting on our seventeen-inch MacBook Pros. Sorry the entire world can’t all be done in stark Eurotrash Swiss type. Sorry some people like to have fun.”

All this to say, I know that not everyone has a design degree. Not everyone spent four years+ in further education to master the nuances of serif versus sanserif, ascenders, descenders and the like. I know that the average person simply doesn’t care about the history of type the way that some of us nutty designers do. BUT it doesn’t take a professional to recognize a stupid, ugly font when you see one. So feel free to go ahead and just delete Comic Sans (and Papyrus, while you’re at it) out of your font folder right now. This is professional design advice that I’m just givin’ out free, folks. Take it! You (and the world) will be better for it.

I have a kitchen that’s been screaming for a makeover for about, ahem, six years. Like, since the day we moved in. As a matter of fact, the first Valentine’s Day that we were in our house, Ty gave me new kitchen countertops. That is to say, Ty said that I could go ahead and pick out a cheap vinyl replacement for the horribly ugly vinyl counters we currently had (imagine faux forest green marble… think 1990 at it’s height of glory). Cut to almost six years later and yes—we still have the original faux green marble countertops. I’m not sure exactly what happened with the follow through on that…

In addition, our kitchen boasts fluorescent lighting. That’s right, I awake to a soft green tint and a slight humming every morning when I head toward my cup of coffee. All this to say, I have decided that 2010 is the Year of the Kitchen Makeover. I have determined wholeheartedly that by the end of the year I will have new kitchen countertops and lighting. That’s it—I can work with everything else, but these two wicked eyesores simply must go.

Today I’m going to touch on lighting. If you’ve never visited Rejuvination then prepare yourself for some serious lighting lust. Rejuvination specializes in restoration of vintage lighting and home accessories (knobs, pulls, etc). However, they also have a seriously astounding selection of reproduction lighting. I have been perusing their catalog and website like a peeping Tom for about six months now. I just can’t stop looking!

My Dream Kitchen

I’ve decided that if I had the bucks to do an all-out kitchen renovation, this is what it would look like. Honeycomb tile countertops, vintage subway tile of the super skinny width, a dreamy creamy color palette. Knock me out!

Favorite fixture

I am trying desperately to figure out a way to make this light work in my kitchen. Unfortunately, our kitchen is fairly dark. This means that I need a fixture with at least three light bulbs to give enough spread throughout the whole kitchen. But I’m still thinking some small version of this fixture could be a pendant above the sink.

Something like this...

Another thing I’ve considered is a fixture with spread. We have a table in the middle of our kitchen. It’s a very old, worn, paint-peeling type of table. It only seats two and usually the girls eat breakfast and lunch at it. I thought it might be nice to do something like this, but I don’t think it has that same “wow” factor as some of those schoolhouse styles.

As I said, it gets the job done and it would be used in a similar way as they have styled it here, just closer to the ceiling. But it’s not that same SUPER cool look as the other pieces. However, there is one more that I have to show you because there is a serious part of my heart that just covets this. I keep coming back to it over and over again. I do just a splash of mid-century in my house and I’m really attracted to the clean lines and bit of funk that the 50’s and 60’s style provides. Check this one out!

Endless combinations. Definitely considering the olive green one for a pendant above the sink.

However, I do have this wise woman who keeps telling me to think about can lights because they’ll be more cost-effective in the long run and give the room a better spread (this would be my mother). So this is definitely a consideration to ponder. I’m wondering about doing can lights with a super cool pendant over the sink for that “Ta-Da!” item.

Then again, that same wise woman tells me I can get a small valance made in a super fun fabric and just put that over my kitchen window for about an eighth of the cost of one of these fancy pendants. This is true, this is true. I will keep you posted on my decisions.

So, after a very long post with no real conclusion, I will leave you to mull over your own preferences, personal taste and perhaps even inspire you to rethink your own abode! Oh, and I would LOVE to hear your opinions and suggestions, so please share.