Alesia Zorn Calligraphy

When To Mail Your Invitations

I've had a few conversations this week about the timing of addressing and mailing invitations and that's inspired this blog post!!    Etiquette says they should be mailed 6 to 8 weeks before an event.   You're fine on the 6 weeks side of the scale if you've done any of the following:

• sent out save-the-dates
• you've already directed guests to your wedding website where they can find lots of info on travel & accomodations
• your guests are local 

If you haven't done any of the above (not that there's anything wrong with that ;-),  you're better off at the 8 weeks side of things.

"Great!" you exclaim! "I'll get them out even sooner than 8 weeks!!"  "Nope," says Goldilocks (that's me) , "you need to time it just right."  If you mail them too early, you could run into all sorts of circumstances:

• Someone moves unexpectedly. Happened to a client when the real estate market took a sharp nose dive and their poor Cousin Trent AND  his cockatoo (long story) were evicted when their landlord went into foreclosure.
• Sadly, someone passes away
• Someone breaks up
• On a more lighthearted note, you address an envelope to Mr. & Mrs. John Smith, Susie and Baby Sister - and Baby Sister is born Baby Brother (true story, I'm imaginative but even I couldn't make that up)
• The RSVP is soooo far away, with a devil-may-care-I-have-all-the-time-in-the-world attitude, it is stuck on the fridge or in a "to do" pile and then it drowns in more time sensitive business.  I shamefacedly admit to doing that twice.  In the past month.  Yes, I know I should know better, that's why I made up the word "shamefacedly."

6 to 8 weeks, my friend, it's the best way to go.

(A million thanks to Paul Rich Studio for the photo of my envelope!  The script is dip pen Flourished Formal Script done with a sparkly white ink and a vintage Spencerian #1 nib)

 

New & Blue's Big Sale

Things have been wicked busy in the studio but I HAD to get word out...

That says it all, my friends.  New and Blue is clearing out of their present location on NW Hoyt between 13th & 14th.  Head in and pick up some screaming deals!!  I'm not sure how long I can resist going in - no, I'm not getting married but I buy cute things for display.  And 'Z' cake toppers.  I love me some Zs.

 

 

"Love The Skin You're In"

Soiree Boutique, of which I am a proud member, is having a lovely event this Thursday, Feb 23rd, called "Love The Skin You're In." Here's the info I lifted straight from the Boutique blog.   It's going to be a wonderful opportunity to get info from great professionals, check it out!

Thursday, February 23rd, from 5:30pm – 7:30pm, we are having a Love the Skin You’re In event showcasing two of our Soirée Boutique professionals, Marie Shramke with Rodan + Fields Dermatologists, and FitBride NW.  Whether you are getting ready for your wedding day or simply want to look and feel your best for 2012, this event is full of fantastic tips, techniques, and products to help you Love the Skin You’re In.

We have fantastic Goody Bags waiting for you which are filled with special offers and discounts from all our professionals including a deal from FitBride NW and complimentary services from Marie Schramke of Rodan + Fields Dermatologists.

To learn more about any of our Boutique vendors, check out our Soirée Boutique webpage.

You can’t pass up this great opportunity to Love the Skin You’re In!  We’ll see you there!

Happy 2012!

I have been waiting YEARS to do this piece - and of course I could only get to it the first thing on New Year's Eve day 2011.  It's a reworking of a piece I did years ago.  It's actually black on white, but when I scanned it I hit "invert colors" and it came out pink - a lovely color for the end of the world. Thanks to R.E.M. for the lyrics - and since 2011 saw their breakup, a million thanks for everything through all the years.

Tangerine is Pantone's color for 2012

LoveLoveLOVE these colors!!  Pantone has declared Tangerine Tango the color for 2012 and these as the compliments. CAN.NOT.WAIT to start working with this palette. (Not that I'm excited or anything.)

'Sprechen Sie Deutsch?'

Nein.  Okay, a little bit - "ein bier bitte" comes to mind.  However, I'm always up for a challenge and this job brought TWO!

(once again, I am the best advertising a professional photographer could have. Don't try this at home. Do as I say, not as I do ;-)

I was commissioned to letter a stanza from a poem in English, Spanish & German.  I'm fine with English most days.  Spanish? Once upon a time I was fluent, now random things come back.  German? See above paragraph.

I do know a few things about written German, one of which is proper nouns are capitalized.  FUN! Especially with Pointed Italic, the capitals are very dramatic! The 3 pieces will be matted in one piece with 3 windows and then framed.  Estoy muy emocionado!

Ecofriendly Love

There are many things to love about this blog post! First up, Helene from East West Floral Arts, for inviting me to work on this fantastic project with her and Alice from Mosca Photography for sharing photos from "Committed! Portland's Alternative Bridal Event!" Thanks to Helene & Alice, this blog post is pretty much already written, love that too!

Helene did an ecofriendly tablescape scene.  She asked me to contribute chalkboard signs which tell how & why the elements are ecofriendly. She also asked me to cover tin cans with something with words on it. Did I know of 100% recycled paper? Uh, yes, grocery bags! (I ironed the bags before I lettered on them, but first I had to take an inch of dust off my iron ;-) The words are love in different languages. One last ecofriendly touch on my part, napkin rings made out of plantable paper.

Now enjoy the pretty, pretty eye candy!

Time - what's it mean?*

It's that time of year, time for me to start next year's client binder.  I have a pretty chartreuse (really, Al, chartreuse? I never would have guessed!) binder that has a display sleeve on the front.  I couldn't get lyrics from Death Cab for Cutie's "What Sarah Said" ** out of my mind, so I started my 2012 business planning with some art therapy.

For artists who may have come across this, I did the lines and letters with a 6b pencil with pressure and release on a feltweave paper (the song is about a rough subject, I wanted the paper to reflect that.)  Then I used Prismacolor colored pencils.  It was very therapeutic, now on to the actual planning!

*Surely you're not expecting me to actually explain the meaning of time. I get a little headache in the middle of my forehead just thinking about it.

**No official video for this so this youtube link will have to do.

 

Dream Wedding Giveaway at Abernethy!

I am so excited to be part of the Abernethy Center's Chapel Dream Wedding Giveaway!

Abernethy Center has 2 beautiful gardens and a lovely ballroom - and now they're building a chapel on their beautiful grounds.  To celebrate, they're giving away a dream wedding and I'm so happy to be contributing envelope addressing for invitations provided by The Wedding Cottage, and then table markers & place cards for the day of the wedding, which will be coordinated by Champagne Weddings & Events.

To find out how you can enter, go here!

Adventure to Paperland!

I'm just getting back from a trip to New England where we spent not-enough time visiting family & friends.  One of my adventures was to the Crane Museum of Papermaking with my sister & my husband (who must love me a lot because papermaking - not so much with the excitement for the civilians ;-) It was great for me and I appreciate their putting up with me!

Crane & Co. makes beautiful invitations and stationery and I frequently work with their products.  It was nice to go to the source. Sorry, other calligraphers, they don't make Letra envelopes on site so there wasn't anyone on which I could take out our collective frustrations.

Crane also has wonderful etiquette information on their website.  Their Blue Book is a must!

What not everyone knows is that all Americans work with their products every day as Crane is the exclusive supplier of the paper the U.S. Treasury uses to print money (dammit! no free samples!)

I managed to carry on.

This is the building that houses the musuem.  It used to be the rag building, where rags were broken down into pulp for paper.  Hence, the paper reference "rag content."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this plaque, the lettering is darling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's Zenas Crane himself.  Doesn't he look like a New England 19th century party boy?

Of course not, I don't think they existed back then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's one of the cutey-patootey figurines that shows the process of paper making.  The entire display was made by Dard Hunter, a prominent paper maker and printer in the 20th century.  I have crazy friends who love to make paper and I direct them to The Friends of Dard Hunter to find more crazies like them. I have made handmade paper and it's as back-breaking as this model illustrates.  I will happily buy handmade paper and not even blink at the cost.

Oh! If you're a Portlander reading this, the word is "coucher" pronounced "coocher" like our crazy street.  It's really a word, that's why I took this particular photo.

And now the word "Vatman" has entered my head and I have the "Batman" tv show theme going through my head. 

And now so do you.  Mwahahahahahaha.