Archive for the ‘Stationery’ Category

Shindig Real Wedding: Chapter One.

January 3, 2011

Written by Jill of Shindig Invitations.

When Bridget Grish first inquired with Shindig I knew immediately we would end up working together on her invitations. The visual theme for her wedding would be branches and birds and she would like to incorporate that theme into the invitation. I happen to be addicted, to an almost disturbing level, to birds as a visual icon. I have a collection of tee shirts about 30 deep with birds on them. I can’t resist regardless how full my drawer is getting.

As if that wasn’t enough she went on to say that her favorite store was Anthropologie and she would like the look of that store to inspire the overall design of the invitation. Forget the client-vendor relationship, I was wondering why we weren’t already BFFs. I visit Anthropologie about every other day just to get inspired…or to pick up a new floral print sundress.

Below are photos of the wedding invitation for Bridget and Nicholas. Over the next few weeks I will share the process of how we used the design of the wedding invitation to translate into an entire line of event graphics and accessories that will be used in the wedding itself. From place cards to chalkboard signs to tags that hang from a tree, I’ll document the entire process of crafting these items by hand from start to finish, (complete with materials lists!) so that you can be inspired to recreate them at home for your own event!

Invitation Front and Envelope

Invitation Card

Reply Postcard

Invitation Back

Bird Stamp Detail

Check back next week for the first of many event graphic recipes!

Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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A Few of My Favorite Things, Part 3: Fonts, Part 2.

December 30, 2010

Written by Jill of Shindig Invitations.

I don’t believe I’ve ever had a client come in and request that I use a specific font on their invitation. I have, however, been asked to remove a font from an invitation after designing it. I guess some typefaces just rub people the wrong way. What can you do?

Following are a few more fonts for your viewing pleasure. I probably use these three fonts more than I use any other. When I start a new design I go to these first. I can always depend on them. If I had a meeting in which a client requested the presence of any of the following three typefaces I would be very impressed and happily oblige.

I mean, the artist’s signature kind of looks like the font, but not enough so that it seems to have been directly based on it. It’s clearly based on someone’s signature though because it’s little messy…but it a good way. This is one of those I discussed above that is a hard sell for some people. It’s not for everyone. It’s a little quirky…but in a good way! I think its perfect placement would be on an invitation for a wedding at a plantation. Here it is in action…

Oh Engravers…how do I love thee? If we were dating you’d think I were too clingy. Sometimes I know I shouldn’t call on you, but when I’ve tried every other classic, serif, all cap font and none of them will do, I always come back to you. You’re not that exciting, but man, are you dependable.

From the same makers as Cezanne, The P22 Foundry, Dearest lights my bulb. When people aren’t ready for the madness of Cezanne this is where I go next, but it’s not really ever second fiddle. It’s a little more feminine, but still roughed around the edges (literally) like its been scratched into parchment with a fountain pen.

I actually like Dearest SO much, I committed to my skin forever. Now that’s love!

Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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A Few of My Favorite Things, Part 2: Fonts.

December 29, 2010

Written by Jill of Shindig Invitations.

The are a GABILLION fonts out there, (actually, according to my research there are only somewhere between 40,000 and 100,000). We’ve come a long way since writing on cave walls. Some people spend their entire careers studying the origins and histories of typefaces and designing them for all other humans to use. There is even a documentary that pays tribute to one of the most prolific fonts.

Thankfully, not all fonts are appropriate when applying them to wedding invitations and there are certain fonts I come back to again and again. Some are print. Some are script. Some are classic. Some are avant guard. Some can be used on almost any invitation. Some are very specific in style.

Below are some examples of the fonts I carry around in my back pocket for easy access…

I really love anything that looks handwritten only neater. I’m new to Business Penmanship, but I’m totally in love. You could say we’re in our honeymoon phase. It’s romantic and elegant, but also whimsical and casual. What’s more, it comes with a huge variety of scrolly glyphs to further enhance your type treatment. Its one drawback is that it’s very thin, like a hair, with no bold version. Sometimes I reward it with a little outline to fatten it up.

Chevalier…Oui? Ouuuuiiii! It sounds French and it’s got a quintessentially classic style. However, Chevalier deceives us. Scoundrel! It’s not as old as it looks and was, in fact, designed in 1946 by E. A. Neukomm, who was Swiss, not French.

This little guy is bold and a little arrogant, but he can definitely get away with anything on the right invitation. Why? Well, take a look. Something similar is used on our money.

This is another one I just found and I can’t stop using. It seems to work anywhere. Comfortable with both print and script crowds, I don’t have to baby sit. It’s kind of Old West, but also European.

And look at the rag tag group of dingbats that come with it! Yup, that is indeed a dragon….and a flower pot. What a character! Yes, I punned.

Rosewood is a little particular, but I find myself using it a lot lately. It might be because I’m obsessed with “barn chic” right now and so is everyone else, (see “A Few of My Favorite Things, Part 1”). Plus there are two of them…they’re fraternal twins. There’s the flamboyant and circusy, “get your rodeo on!” Rosewood Regular, and its more subtle yet diverse little brother, Rosewood Fill.

I have plenty more font crushes so stay tuned for “A Few of My Favorite Things, Part 3: Fonts, Part 2”.  Cheers!

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Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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Wood, Glass & Brass.

December 23, 2010

Written by Jill of Shindig Invitations. 

Don’t get me wrong, paper is great. It’s versatile, flexible, lightweight, recyclable, colorful, texturally diverse…can be written on, printed on, folded into a paper airplane or a lotus flower. Its myriad uses allow a graphic designer’s creativity to run wild.

Fact is, if you’re that creative eventually you reach the end of the paper trail. It can be a little two-dimensional. You start to hunt for other things to print on or, at the very least, accompany paper in its presentation of the facts. Sometimes I find myself envying event designers because they get to use so many different kinds of media to create their vision. Luckily, every once in a while, a client lets me think outside the page.

A destination wedding in the Dominican Republic uses corked jars filled with sand as a place card. We shipped the jars down empty and the bridesmaids fill the jars with sand from the beach on the day of the wedding. It was a fun way for the girls to bond and leisurely as the chores of bridesmaids go. The jars double as a keepsake for guests and a paperweight, protecting the place cards from flying off in the tropical beach winds.

Similarly, we created place card tags to accompany incense burners for this Moroccan themed wedding.

Working on a smaller wedding allows for a lot of creative ideas to come to fruition.

The three-dimensional invitation was shipped in a box (technically made of paper, but who’s counting?) and the belly band was made of silk ribbon and a gold cord clasp from a fashion accessory store.

For the event, (an Autumn wedding), we cut slices from a birch branch to prop up the place cards and stained thin sheets of wood for menus.

Stay tuned for more non-paper items from Shindig on upcoming projects.

Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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Maps!

December 21, 2010

Written by Jill of Shindig Invitations.

I’ve always had a thing for maps. I can stare at a detailed map for hours trying to make myself better understand how the Earth has laid itself out. On a recent rainy day at my family’s lake house my father and I decided to memorize the locations of all of the African countries. Using a map, we created a test for ourselves covering all of the names of the countries with slivers of Post-It Notes.

Why? I don’t know…we’re nerds.

With destination weddings seemingly on the rise, it pleases me that I can study and design maps as part of creating invitations. A map is not only a useful part of an invitation because it shows people how to get where they’re going, it also make a fabulous graphic element combining font, color and line art in infinite ways to match any wedding style and location.

Below are six maps from invitations created by Shindig all showing a different style and usage.

1. A wedding in St. Barth’s with several events spread over a long weekend and all over the island features an accompanying key with stars used to bullet the location of each event.

2. The largest invitation I’ve ever created is, itself, a map. A full 8.5×11 sheet of cardstock shows the two forks of Long Island and incorporates all the wedding details in one self-contained unit. The reply postcard is held down by photo corners to easily detach.

3. A map and key are translated into a western style for a wedding taking place at a botanical garden in Austin, Texas. Desert florals such as a cactus and other succulents mark the spots of the events.

4. A simple map provided on the itinerary for a wedding on Maui, Hawaii is printed on a bright and tropical green paper stock.

5. For a minimalist and monochromatic invitation to a New York City event, a map helps add a little something more to look at even if the guests already know their way.

6. A save the date for another pair of map lovers, (he-an engineer, she-an elementary school teacher), uses a historic map showing Manhattan, New Jersey, and the Hudson River. The usage is mostly aesthetic, but with the addition of a dotted line pointing to the general location of the wedding venue, it becomes a useful element, helping to acclimate out of town guests.

Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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It’s Too Easy Being Green…

December 13, 2010

Written by Jill of Shindig Invitations.

We all love green and these days it’s everywhere. It’s the most prolific color in nature and thanks to that, the word “Green” doesn’t just describe the color of peas anymore, but a way to an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Green is having a moment. Team Green! Green is better than Oprah!!

I’m sick to death of green. And, after reading a New York Magazine poll yesterday which found that only 64% of people view the green M&M favorably, (What? Isn’t this the randy M&M? Why all the haters?), I’m guessing I’m not the only one.

In the six years Shindig has been business almost half of the wedding invitations I’ve designed have featured green as one of the primary colors, (I actually sat and counted last night). Today I thought I’d give the other colors out there some attention. Today…Shindig celebrates some of the less obvious choices in wedding color schemes…

Exotic: Magenta, Plum and Turquoise

Autumnal: Brick, Papaya, Rose and Chocolate

Tropical: Azure & Tangerine

Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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Make Postcards, Not Waste…

December 7, 2010

By Jill of Shindig Invitations.

When you’re in the paper business it’s not always easy to avoid making waste. All those fancy wedding invitations and reply cards are cut down from larger pieces of paper leaving scraps that are often so small they’re impossible to use for something else, (that doesn’t stop me from hoarding them in hopes that I’ll use them one day for a place card or to prop up an uneven table).

At Shindig we are committed to doing what we can to be friendly to Mother Earth. We use recycled paper and print our letterpress pieces with soy or vegetable based ink. However, we also try to take it one step further by using creativity in our design and encouraging clients to think outside the box with their invitations.

We’d be fooling ourselves if we thought everyone kept the invitations they receive forever, but it’s a guarantee that the envelopes get tossed. The days of using outer AND inner envelopes are over (or at least they should be).

It’s especially easy to eliminate the reply envelope because there is usually very little information to include on the response card. This leaves room to add an address and turn it into a postcard. We think this works especially nice with destination weddings.

But hold onto your bouquets, ladies! We also have been known to eliminate envelopes all together with our custom made all-in-one self mailing invitation.

The back of the invitation is addressed, while the front side has curved petal flaps that open to reveal the invitation and perforated response postcard that guests can detach and send back. It’s all very satisfying, much less wasteful, and most importantly, economical.

Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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The Dress Code…

November 29, 2010

Written by Jill Ryder of Shindig Invitations.

I don’t like being told how to dress. I don’t like telling other people how to dress. The colorful pageantry on the streets of New York would seem mundane were everyone to dress in tuxedos and little black dresses. People watching would cease to exist as a valid excuse to pass time.

Regardless, even I understand the need for a dress code on certain occasions. Nobody wants Crazy Uncle Jimmy to show up to the wedding barefoot, sporting a gnarly beard and a pair of jorts.

However, the question of how to address attire on an invitation can become sticky. Dictating a specific dress code other than black tie, (or white tie-if you’re really fancy), can actually confuse guests more. What does “Formal Resort Attire” really mean without a detailed explanation? I promise–you will be fielding calls left and right if you ask people to outfit themselves in “Garden Party Chic”.

Sometimes I have clients who still feel a powerful urge to play fashion police. I’m an artsy girl myself, so I understand the need to have your wedding photos display a pleasing composition. If you prefer to have guests wear only solid colors because someone’s polka-dot frock distracts the eye from your creamy Vera Wang, I get it.

My recommendation… Be specific and keep it simple. Put it on a separate card and make it fun (this is a party, remember). The dress code should sound less like a restriction and more like an opportunity.

Visit www.shindiginvites.com to see our gallery or call 917.405.9366 for an appointment today.

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