sneak peek: new lace, carnival and watercolor wedding invitation designs

A few reasons for the radio silence around here: We’re finishing up the new Delphine wedding invitation album — working on assembling the dealer decks now (hitting stores any day now), and we’re busy taking photos of our new designs, including Carnival, Lace, and Watercolor Stripes. 

sneak peek: the new delphine wedding invitation album

I know, I know … I’ve been MIA. Though technically this is our off season, I’m busier than ever. Since returning from NSS it has just been project after meeting after project after rush job after photoshoot after quick trip after project! On top of it all, we’ve had lots of house guest this Spring and Summer, which makes me extremely happy, but something had to give: the blog. Sorry, everyone! Thought I’d sneak in a super quick post, though, to show you a sneak peek at our brand new wedding album. It is a ton of work to put one of these babies together. To start, I designed about a dozen new suites! In less than 6 weeks! Now we’re in the assembly stage, which is exciting. If you’re thinking of ordering an album now is the time!

6 essential ingredients for maximum creativity

A little peek behind the scenes and into my creative process … just about every week I sit down with a stack of magazines, catalogs, flyers, brochures and ephemera and update my journal/scrapbook/inspiration book. I use it to keep track of color stories I’m digging, track trends, sketch new designs, write lists and doodle. Any time I’m feeling stuck on a project I go back to “the book” for inspiration. This method for overcoming creative block has yet to fail me (knock knock knock on wood). 

For me, there are 6 essential ingredients for maximum creativity: ///1///Good tunes (right now I’m listening to Beastie Boys and R.E.M. constantly)    ///2/// Pinterest. How I ever survived without it I have no idea   ///3/// My stack of notebooks, filled with doodles, notes, inspiration and lots of color   ///4/// Magazines & any printed material  ///5/// Ruby red grapefruit. Mmmm.    ///6/// Iced coffee to stave off caffeine headaches. 

taking a break

photo: Erika Firm

There have been some great things happening at the Delphine studio lately. We signed a new contract, which I can’t wait to tell you all about. We’re working on a few new branding projects, and, of course, making lots & lots of wedding invitations and party favors. (By the way, yellow and turquoise are still leading as far as color trends this year!). We’re also finalists in the LOUIE Awards! Yay! We’re super busy, I have so many deadlines my head is spinning … and I am simply exhausted. On top of it all, the news from Japan is breaking my heart.

I’m taking a little break from the blogosphere so that I can take care of business and myself: head back to the pool/gym/playground/beach/a good book/dinner with friends, and enjoy “real” life for a bit. I’ll catch up with you in about a week or so. 

Meanwhile, we are still acceping applications for interns, so please get in touch if you’d love to work with us. Have a great week, friends!

behind the scenes: wedding invitation photo shoot

I spent nearly all day last Friday prepping for Saturday morning’s wedding invitation photo shoot. The light is best in our home kitchen (we love to shoot in natural light), so we have to transport everything from the studio on boards.

Unfortunately, we had a very rare rainy day on Saturday, so the light wasn’t that great. We had to pull in lights to get the shoot finished. Normally, we’d just postpone the shoot, but our friend Adrianne Smith delivered some amazing flowers and special boutonnieres, and we wanted to use them before they wilted away. 

Here are a couple of quick peeks. I’m still sifting through the hundreds of photos to find the handful that will end up on our website.Our WONDERLAND invitation, shown flat printed in a truly classic black and pink wedding invitation color combo. Adrianne made a beautiful classic white anemone boutonniere for us, and I think they complement each other perfectly.

Our PACIFIC BEACH invitation, shown flat printed in one of my all time favorite color combinations for wedding invitations: yellow and gray. Adrianne made a charming yellow feverfew boutonniere for us. Isn’t it darling? I love boutonnieres. I tried to convince John to wear it around the house after the shoot was complete, but he said it didn’t go with his holey sweatshirt.

behind the scenes: carlsbad wholesale flower market with adrianne smith

Last Friday I took the day off to help my friend—and favorite florist—Adrianne Smith, prepare for one of her craziest days of the year: Valentine’s Day. We started off bright and early at the Carlsbad International Floral Trade Center, where Adrianne took me on a quick tour of the facility. It was bustling with energy and excitement, and many of the vendors we chatted with had been awake for more than 24 hours straight getting ready for this busy day.

Adrianne pre-ordered most of her supplies, so they were ready at various vendors’ stalls for us to wheel out to the car when we were finished with our tour.

Guess how many flowers we fit in Adrianne’s car? Well, I don’t know exactly, but I do know that if we had picked up one more bunch I may have had to walk home. I even carried some on my lap and A had some shoved between the seats. When we got back to her studio it took three of us about two hours just to unload the car and process all the stems.

I learned so much about the floral industry hanging out with A. Did you know that “fillers” and greenery can cost as much, if not more, than many flowers? She even taught me a few secrets to making a beautiful (and lasting) arrangement: soak floral foam before you cut it; trim stems on an angle; tulips will continue to grow after they are cut, so cut them shorter than the rest of an arrangement; design from the edges in to the center; texture is the key to an interesting bouquet; add water every day so the foam doesn’t dry out.

Isn’t it amazing how buckets of flowers, big sticks, bits of mossy goodness and bunches of wild greens can be transformed into stunning arrangements like this one? It still seems like magic to me, even after spending a day in the studio and watching the process first hand.

I’m in awe of this lady. Thank you, Adrianne, for letting me peek into your world for a day.

Photos by Erika Firm; Floral designs by Adrianne Smith Floral Design

nothing takes just five minutes

I feel like the entire week flew by, and all I did was things that people told me will “just take five minutes.” Nothing takes just five minutes when done properly. There is no magic “design” button on my computer. It takes time to nudge a word a little to the left, a little larger, and then smaller, and then larger again. I’m not complaining. I don’t mind, really. I’m just saying nothing takes just five minutes, especially in the world of graphic design.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Hope you get some time to do something fun.

from the prop closet: travel souvenirs

Using souvenirs from my travels in photo shoots gives me a legitimate reason to save ephemera from my trips. The M button is from a visit to the Met in NYC last spring after the National Stationery Show.

Photo ©Delphine

candied orange peel gifts

It’s rainy and dreary outside here at the Delphine studio, but inside it’s cozy and warm as John and I package up last minute holiday gifts for friends of the studio. This year we picked oranges from the backyard and made candied orange peels. Mmmm. To make them I peeled the orange skins, blanched them, then boiled them in fresh water for an hour to soften, scraped away any remaining pith, simmered them in sugar syrup for an hour, then sanded them with sugar. Super delicious with a cup of espresso, which is how we plan on enjoying any leftovers.

I used our vintage Royal typewriter (a Christmas gift from John 11 years ago — he found it covered in dust in the corner of an antique shop in New Bern, North Carolina and restored it for me) to type labels for the packages of candied orange peel.

I was clickety-clacking so fast that John came in from the next room to tell me, “wow, you would have been a great secretary.” Humph.

 

I packaged the candied orange peels up in cute pale green party favor boxes I got from Michael’s a few years ago (by Martha Stewart). They are leftover from a baby shower I helped plan.

I saved about 3 cups of syrup that the oranges were simmering in. I think it would be yummy added to some sparkling water (or to a vodka martini). Any other ideas on how I can use it?

All photos by Erika Firm ©DELPHINE.

haute off the press: rose design

Stationery Photos ©Delphine

Photo by Ryan Ray Photography

Here’s a peek at one of our newest wedding invitation designs, ROSE. It’s not yet live on the site, but you can order it by request. Shown here in jet black, sand and cantaloupe ink. We printed these for Janelle and Scott’s wedding, which was featured today on The Wedding Chicks. J’adore the black and coral color scheme at the wedding, so we used a jet black background on the invitations.

Many thanks to B&K Designs, Krista Jon Couture Designs and Archive Vintage Rentals for asking me to be a part of this fantastic day. And special thanks to For Your Party for printing all the fab party goodies for us! Please visit The Wedding Chicks to see more of this gorgeous wedding!

from the prop closet: vintage keys and stamps

Three of my favorite things to use in photos when I’m staging invitation shoots: vintage stamps, vintage keys, and silk flowers. All in one photo! The vintage stamps are from my personal collection — I’ve picked some up during my travels abroad, and recently I picked up a few packages at Anthropologie; the keys are from my personal collection and from Classic Bride’s vintage shop; the faux flowers I picked up at a local floral supply shop.

Photo ©Delphine

week in review

photo by Delphine intern Courtney Yee

Wow. It’s Friday already?! Totally snuck up on me. It has been a pretty busy week here at the Delphine studio. I had a pop-up show on Monday (photos here); I found a new sparkly outfit; I pined for an iPad; I pined for a perfect studio in which to play on an iPad; worked on a photo shoot with intern Courtney Yee (she took the one above of one of my new props, some ribbon from Anthropologie); and I packaged tons of treasures to get ready for tomorrow’s warehouse sale. 

Hope to see you tomorrow at the Warehouse Sale!

behind the scenes: design is art show

I had a great time last night at the ART IS DESIGN? SHOW at Basic in San Diego. I was lucky to exhibit not in the gallery, but right next to Jennifer Price’s pop-up shop. It was tough to stare enviously at all her amazing furniture and vintage and found treasures last night and not spend my last dime.

Unfortunately I lost my voice early in the evening (it was crazy loud in there) so I didn’t get to chit chat or mingle as much as I had hoped. Many thanks to everyone who came out to support design last night!

photos ©Delphine

2011 desk calendar by delphine

As promised earlier, here are some final shots of our new Delphine 2011 Desk Calendar. Photo styling by Delphine intern Caleb Jones and the Delphine team. Photos by Delphine intern Courtney Yee and the Delphine team.

 

I hope you like the calendar! If you love it please buy one ; ) You may purchase it here. What’s your favorite month?

sneak peek: 2011 calendar photo shoot

Today I'm going to let you peek behind the curtain to see how a seemingly casual, effortless photo like the one above actually comes together. It's a looong process. First, we do some brainstorming about the story we'd like the photos to tell. Delphine intern Caleb Jones came up with the idea that the calendar photos would be the story of one person's desk throughout the year. The calendar, pen box and cute birdie prop would stay in the same place each month, but all the goodies around it would reflect how a person's desk, and life, changes from month to month.

The second step was to start pulling props from our giant collection of ephemera. A step I call:

It looks like a giant mess, but truly we have a plan!

 

Next, we create a tray for each photo, dividing up props for each month's photo. We throw everything we can think of that would go with the month's image. 

Then the exciting part: we prop a month and look through the lens. Then we edit, edit, edit ... taking away lots of distractions so the star of the photo, the calendar, can shine.

 

Invariably, our toughest critic comes by to check out the scene and give the final Meow approval.

I hope you like our new 2011 desk calendar! I'll post a few more final photos later today.