A Wedding Reception To Remember.

An ever-growing and fun trend that I have noticed when it comes to weddings, is finding creative ways to spice up the wedding reception. I have heard of people switching to more unqiue modes of transportation from the ceremony to the reception (including things like taking trolley's or hiring tour buses), as well as some who hire artists to draw or paint the reception as it happens so they can leave with the ultimate memory of their wedding night.

One trend that I found to be particularly amusing (and increasingly popular) is the evolution of the choreographed dance that has traditionally been a waltz or couples dance. More and more, newlyweds, and sometimes entire bridal parties, are partaking in choreographed dances to popular music. Below find examples of this wedding reception choreography. One featuring Michael Jackson's Thriller, and the other featuring a newlyweds take on the popular YouTube video "The Evolution of Dance." Would any of you ever do something like this for your wedding?

New Studio Photos!

As we previously mentioned Papeterie is proud to announce the opening of its first ever studio. This is a great place for faithful customers or curious inquirers to stop by and browse through samples, interact one-on-one with the designer (me!), and help make their stationery customizing experience a pleasant and memorable one. You can also check out our antique letterpress machine to see how each of these individually scultped letterpress invitations are made. We are very happy with the way the studio came together and think that its presentation is absolutely beautiful! Check the photos below, and make sure to stop by and say hello. We are located at 1975 Potrero Grande, Suite D, Monterey Park, California 91755.

A Green Wedding

Despite my busy schedule, the hustle and bustle of Papeterie, and my role as mommy, I always try and stay abreast of the latest trends in the wedding industry. One that has significantly grown within the last couple years is the trend of giving “green” wedding favors. One of the cool eco-friendly wedding options that I’ve come across is thanks to The National Arbor Day Foundation which offers mini trees as parting gifts. Recipients can plant the trees right away or grow them indoors for months if the wedding is in winter. If flowers or spices are closer to the wedding theme, Plant A Memory offers a wide variety of options. I think both of these are great ideas as they can do the double duty of acting as both decorations and wedding favors. For more information on how to make your wedding green visit Great Green Wedding.

Paper Dreams.

Last week I shared a beautiful dress made out of only phonebook pages. While surfing the web for other brilliant items, I came across a massive castle made entirely out of paper, formally known as Umi no Ue no Oshiro (A Castle On The Ocean). It was created by a student at an art unviersity in Tokyo, and took four years to complete. It comes with electricl lights and a moving train, all of which were also made of paper. The endless possibilities of paper never cease to amaze me, and I am very happy that I have chosen a profession that enables me to put a smile on someone's face with every item I create. If you would like to see more pictures of the castle you can check them out here.

New Website, New Studio, Same Amazing Product!

Good news everyone… the brand new Papeterie website is LIVE! We are very excited about the possibilities of the new site and are very happy to share it with you all.
One of the best things about our revamped site is the addition of the preview tool. This feature is fantastic because it allows users to see our various products in full before deciding which item suits them the best. A main goal in creating the new website was to provide easier navigation through our various services and products and we feel that we definitely accomplished that. It is now easier than ever to choose the perfect invite, menu, or other stationary item of your choosing, and we hope that you all find our efforts helpful.

Another item that we are happy to report is that our new store is now running and open to the public. We are located in Monterey Park (the city where I live just about 15 minutes east of Downtown LA) and we are very happy with the way our studio turned out. We would like to invite you all to drop by and pay us a visit. You can view some of our products, and even see how our antique letterpress works. We will have photos up shortly.

There is so much more in store for Papeterie, and this is a great start. Keep checking back for more updates, and for a quick up to the minute way to keep in touch, make sure to follow us on Twitter!

Your support is very much appreciated.
Best,

Kim

Beautiful Paper

I have always believed in the sheer power of a beautiful piece of paper. Whether it be to create a lovely thank you card that will make someone’s day, or to use as a backdrop for a masterpiece, paper is something that is used often but never fully appreciated for the important role it plays in every day life. I was browsing the web in awe of some of the beautiful paper products all over the world, when I came across this amazing paper dress made from phonebook pages. You can see more photos of the dress on Flickr.

When I searched this phenomenon a little further I came across Cheap Chic Weddings which is a site that hosts a yearly contest for people to create their own paper wedding gown. A gorgeous paper wedding gown and Papeterie wedding stationery…what could be better?

Join us for "An Evening at Ember"

We’re going to be sponsoring “An Evening At Ember,” tonight at 6:30 pm at the Ember Cafe & Music Club in Anaheim. You can come join us for a lovely evening of entertainment, cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres while getting a sneak peek at some upcoming wedding trends and what Papeterie has in store for your big day. Some of the top wedding industries top professionals will be at the event including Mariposa Boutique, OC Brides, Utterly Engaged, Fusion Linens, Classic Party Rentals, Visser’s Flowers and many more. For more information on the event or to purchase VIP tickets, head over to http://emberindustrymixer.eventbrite.com. Hope to see you there!

Papeterie Updates

It’s amazing how time flies! Last time I updated it was the beginning of summer and I would have updated sooner but things have been VERY busy over here at Papeterie.

As I had previously mentioned, we are working on a lot of launches, the first being a newly revamped and beautiful website over at PapeterieStore.com. We are very excited with the way this is shaping up and cannot wait to share the finished product with you! Our new site will make browsing products, choosing designs and colors, and ordering that much easier. Below you can check out a sneak peek at what’s in store.

In addition, we are very excited to announce that Papeterie is going to be opening a new store! The location I’ve chosen is in Monterey Park where I’ve lived most of my life. Being a current resident, I am proud that our new store can help to support local business. We love our location and have been working hard to get it in tip-top shape so everyone can come in and see the real magic behind the paper.

As always, thank you to everyone for the continued support! It’s been a long road to where we are now, and there are a lot of amazing things in store for Papeterie. Things are headed in a great new direction, so please make sure to keep checking back here for all the details.

Bridal Shower Invitations on Cardstore.com

Wow! I can't believe it's been half a year since my last update. We have been busy here at Papeterie and have many exciting new launches for the rest of the year so please check back.

I was so excited to find out on Twitter today that our bridal shower invitations have launched at CardStore Though the Chandelier invitation (a variation of another chandelier one that we sell here directly in the online store) seems to be the popular favorite, my personal favorite is this one on the left.

The reason being is that my tastes tend to be a traditional with a modern twist and the modern twist is usually in the color. This bridal shower invitation is in a turquoise. Isn't that a fun color? Check out Cardstore for more of the designs.

Gucci Love

I have been eyeing these Gucci quartz earrings for half a year now. They are just so exquisite but I absolutely have no special occasion fabulous enough to wear them to. Below is also the matching necklace. You can actually just rent them for a week or a month at Bag Borrow Or Steal for a fraction of what it would cost to buy so I think that it would be perfect for the wedding day.

Inside the Studio

While taking some pictures of our letterpress invitations, our fabulous photographer also shot some of our letterpress baby, our clunking Heidelberg Windmill. This 5000 pound press is what makes all those crisp, beautiful impressions of our letterpress line. At this particular moment, we were doing a gold run and you can see the ink on the rollers in the pictures.

I have to admit that like the world, I have fallen in love with the beauty of letterpress. I can't help but admire each piece as it comes off the press. Even though our prices are really competitive, it can still be a little hard on the wallet for this luxurious style of printing. For those who love letterpress like me and want a little break, check out our 50% section. Same, beautiful impressions, way lower price tag.

Real Wedding: Sue and David Invitation

As promised, here is the invitation from Sue and David's wedding! They had liked a custom monogram that we had letterpressed for previous client and opted for the same thing. The invitation was pressed in a crimson ink on our soft white paper, evoking old Hollywood.

Oh Baby!

I had the pleasure of designing a baby announcement for one of our staff members several months back, I wanted to do something feminine for her baby girl but at the same time, I wanted to get away from the usual soft pink. The result is a simple custom floral and butterfly drawing (we have also adopted this as part of our new logo!) letterpressed in a deep strawberry ink. In trying to be a little different, I chose a khaki ink. I really love this color combination! Candace (our staff member) then made wallet reprints of her beautiful girl and mounted them onto the card (because you can't letterpress pictures). The announcement was mailed in a matching khaki envelope (how's that for being different!)

Baby items will be available for purchase directly on the site something in April.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I took a break from blogging because we were closed for two weeks during the holidays but we are back and back with a fresh new website.

As 2008 ended, I was able to take some time and reflect upon the year. There were so many great things that happened for us as a company (i.e. our celebrity clients and being published in InStyle!) but I am reminded of the reason that Papeterie exists. Besides the goals of us wanting to offer stylish stationery for our clients at an unattainable price, and being able to do something we love that also pays the bills, we strongly believe in our hearts that Papeterie is here so that we can use the company to make the world a better place.

We are still exploring what that might mean exactly, but some small steps including donating 5% of our net proceeds to World Vision, the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States, World Society for the Protection of Animals, and KIVA.

My dream ultimate goal? I would love to open a no-kill shelter for animals.

Check back soon as we add the option of being able to choose from our list of charities that you would like us to donate the 5% too.

And again, Happy New Year to everyone and congratulations to you all that got engaged over the holidays.

The New Cosmopolitan Collection

A year in the making, we have finally launched our line of invitations with a full splash of color! Inspired by Sex and the City, the staff voted for "Cosmopolitan" as the name for the new line.

You might remember me blogging about this a year ago and wonder why it takes a company so long to launch designs or a line of invitations. Besides the creative process, there is a lot of testing on different papers to make sure that the quality will be acceptable. We have finally found a cardstock that is environmentally friendly and heavy enough for this beautifully saturated line.

Here are some of the designs. For more, please go to the Cosmopolitan section.

Bridal Shower Invitations

Brides aren't the only ones that can have all the fun picking out invitations! We've launched several new designs for the bridesmaids looking for something fun and modern for the shower.

Ornament Wreaths

I have been trying to decide how to decorate my home for the holiday season. My husband usually puts up lights on the outside but I am more of the interior person. I was browsing through Etsy and found these gorgeous ornament wreaths from seller littlepapoose. Some people are just so incredibly talented! My living room decor is in chocolate, tan, and blue with dark cabinetry so I think that the blue ones would be perfect. Of course, I tend to have a hard time making decisions when it comes to beautiful things (I just want to buy it in every color!). Hopefully, I can settle on something before the season is over!

Real Wedding: Sue and David

Earlier this summer, we had the pleasure of designing Sue Lee and David Moon's wedding invitations (picture coming soon!). Sue and David were married at the Hotel Bel Air and their theme was a 1920s Hollywood glam executed by Kelley Gin of Picture Perfect Event. Victor Sizemore Photography did a fantastic job at capturing the day and the vintage theme.

We used the Rococo invitation design from our Classic collection for the placecards and table numbers.

Congratulations again to Sue and David!

Digital Calligraphy

Nothing can really replace the beauty of hand calligraphy. The slight imperfections of the strokes and the beautiful flourishes are just a perfect finish for your invitations. Because it's done by hand, you can imagine how much time it can take and therefore, the correlating price. So I encounter a lot of brides asking me for alternatives if they do not want to write their guest list by hand or do sticky labels.

The alternative is something stationers call digital calligraphy or computer calligraphy. Simply put, it just means that we will help print your envelopes for you with our printers. If your stationer offers this, it can be a great saver for your hand! Not to mention, the prices are more affordable than hand calligraphy. There are several options that we offer at Papeterie. 1) Black ink with a font of choice (Picture 1 is in a script font that I love to recommend for digital calligraphy) 2) Colored ink with a script font and 3) Colored ink with a motif! (Shown in pics 2,3, and 4).

Using a motif as part of addressing unifies the invitation set. If the motif has been repeated too many times in your other stationery, sometimes it's good to use just a part of it (picture 2 is a good example of this)

Stay tuned as I will be posting more on different ways to dress up your mailing envelope!

Photo Program Book

Have you ever sat at a wedding reading the program and trying to match faces to the names of the bridesmaids and groomsmen? In a long list of diy projects the year that I got married, programs were definitely on the list. I wanted a program that would have pictures of our wedding party since they were such a big part of the wedding, but mainly being practical, I also wanted our guests to know who these special people were.

So here is how they looked like.

The program was made up of nine panels. The first being the cover and a panel each for the other categories (Parents of the Bride, Parents of the Groom, etc.) Warning: Do not attempt this project alone! This is a great project for your wedding party to help out.































This program became quite a popular item at Papeterie! Here's a variation that we designed for one couple.