Introducing.....Pantones Color of the Year 2012

PANTONE has become the authority of color basically for any Creative Professional in the design community including the wedding industry. On December 8th, 2011 Pantone released that Tangerine Tango a vivacious, enticing hue, as the color of the year for 2012.

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

Depending on when you are getting married will depict how you can incorporate Tangerine Tango into your color palette and with what other accents colors would work with it. I made a wedding collage using the Tangerine Tango and some stunning accents colors that you may use if you were a spring bride. The center square offers some of my card stocks that I would considering using if a bride came to me with this particular palette. Whether you are a bride or just a fashion forward individual thinking of your spring wardrobe I hope to spread some inspiration your way.

Welcome 2012...I have high hopes for you!

First of all I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and to THANK all my past and present clients for allowing me to design for and be a part of their cherished events. One of my ultimate discoveries of 2011 was Pinterest this site allows you to make electronic inspiration boards......I LOVE it because when it comes to designing the first thing I always do is research and Pinterest makes it so easy. If you have never used it I recommend you do.....it will change your life. I have countless PIN BOARDS (click link to view) and one of my favorites is my INSPIRATIONAL BOARD. I'm a sucker for "inspirational quotes" and though I have so many favorites I will only share one which ironically I found this very morning. Steve Jobs know him, love him, hate him, he is a major source of inspiration for me. The first computer I ever used was an APPLE and honestly it's the only computer I have ever used. I was a follower/fan of Apple before it was COOL to be. So this quote from Steve Jobs is my favorite for 2011 it gives HOPE to all the individuals who are or did pursue a road less traveled for their career. It's not easy to make what you LOVE doing a career but if you CAN and DO....what a rewarding feeling it is. I have been on this road for 4 years now and are slowly making my way there, questioning myself everyday if it was the right decision. More often than not I know it was the right move for me, so I keep going having faith that it will get better and grow a little more with every NEW YEAR.

I have some EXCITING NEWS I would like to share........as a designer I meet and work with a lot of other talented professionals, quite a few have been featured in my blog postings as I'm a firm believer in spreading VENDOR LOVE. I love designing and are always looking for anything that will help me grow and make me a better designer. Last February I was invited to do a wedding workshop with Gregory Costa-Saint John owner of FLOUER which is where I first met Jen Hansen owner of Gracious Events Management in just ten short months I've worked with Jen on quite a few events and a few weeks ago received an early Christmas present.....Jen asked if I would come on board with her company part-time to work events and to handle the DESIGN needs for Gracious Events and their clients.....of course I said YES. This opens a whole new world for me.......as a designer it's rare that I am at the venues for the invitations I designed. Seeing the inside as well as meeting and working with the other vendors involved will not only give me new ideas and vision but essentialy make me a better designer. Nothing will change with BeeCustom Design or how I operate I am just increasing my experience and are so excited to pass it along.

Last night was my first REAL event working for Gracious Events......and I will say there is nothing like working an event for the FIRST TIME EVER that you came on board one week prior, that it's a large wedding, on New Years Eve, the venue Spring Step consists of 4 levels, which all needed to be set and flipped in a very short amount of time. It was the fastest 6 hours I have ever spent working and LOVED every minute of it. It's INCREDIBLE to see how a wedding comes together from the ground up and I have such an appreciation for the amount of work it takes. Below are some photos I took of the wedding......ENJOY:)

VENUE: Spring Step in Medford, MA
EVENT PLANNER: Gracious Events Mangement, Newburyport MA
FLOWERS: Flouer, Woburn MA
LIGHTING:moveitmusic.com

A Casino Wedding Celebration

Over the last couple of years I have noticed that Couples are planning intimate Destination Weddings which are proceeded by a huge back home reception party. Such is the case for this recent design I worked on for Amy and Dennis. Their formal Wedding took place in Costa Rica and would be followed by a large at home reception a month later. Amy and Dennis did not want this to mimic the wedding they just had but do something totally different. They decided on a Casino Night for all their guests which I thought was brilliant. We began with a color palette of deep purple and black, where Amy's wedding invitations were already extremely formal she wanted these ones to be fun and reflect the tone of the event. I started with a shimmery purple backer called majestic, the invite was printed on white linen and everything was inserted into a white linen envelope.

For the design I of course wanted to incorporate a Casino feel but also for it to be personal. I started with the the brides new last name which is KANE, paired it will a heart in two of the corners that was hand embellished with clear glitter........end result was the KING of HEARTS.....LOVE IT! I included some fun casino related text in order to make the invite less formal and more fun. The overall casino theme from the invitations was carried over to the custom stickers for all the favors which was a deck of cards. For the table numbers I designed a folded black card with all the numbers glittered in purple. As you can see from the reception photos the lighting also was a perfect fit with the overall theme thanks to the fabulous group over at Boston Lighting.

A Dirty Water Holiday

So I feel like Christmas has come early this year for me.......at least on the design side. When I first started BeeCustom Design I would often do a lot of shows or events where I would display my designs in an effort to promote what I do...........to be completely honest I never got that many clients from doing the shows but what I did get was to network with the other professionals either displaying like myself or the ones running the event. I have blogged about Julie Fairweather who owns In Full Force before, have done three of her events and the BEST thing that came out of those three events was the business relationship that I gained with her. I have been waiting for the opportunity to work with her and within two months I have come on board as the designer for two of her current projects and could not be happier. The first project I will blog about later because it is still in the design process but most recently she offered me such a cool project which was to design an invitation for Dirty Water TV's upcoming holiday party.

 
I have often said to Julie that I get tired just reading her FB page........because not only does she own In Full Force which puts on tons of events throughout the year, she also heads up the entire Marketing Department for Dirty Water TV. For all of my blog readers that do not live in Boston Dirty Water TV is a FABULOUS source for what is happening in the New England Nightlife and is on every Saturday night at 11:30 on NESN.

I know I say I love everything I create but honestly this is one of my favorites for 2011. Designing for a business event is no different then designing for an individual person. I knew the invite design needed to possess everything Dirty Water TV is.....informative, sexy and fun! I'm not sure who designed their logo but I have always loved it.......and wanted to some way incorporate it into the design without it looking like a piece of business stationery.  Julie of course made my job even easier by providing me with all the content......which in turn inspired the design. I went with a single 4x9 card in metallic white which set the feel of winter I LOVED idea of using the fancy sleigh being pulled by a motor cycle because it just screamed cool. Once I placed the logo in the sleigh.........it all came together and perfectly sets the tone for their upcoming holiday party. I LOVED it, Julie LOVED it and hopefully every guest that receives one will LOVE it too. Happy Holidays Dirty Water TV.....I am sure the party will not disappoint......we all know Julie can put on one FABULOUS event!!!!!!

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Brigham Women's Holiday Party 2011

This is the time of year when lots of holiday parties are being thrown.....a few weeks ago Elisabeth Accardi owner of Upon A Star contacted me about a project she was involved in with Brigham Women's 2011 Holiday Party. She was brought on board to handle all the children's events for the day of the party and needed me to design a poster and signage for all the activity stations. The color palette was grey, black and a bright raspberry.........she wanted the look and feel to be magical. I first designed a magician hat and wand then positioned it so that all the names of the activities were spilling out of the hat. I used a magical style font that has a star like feature and positioned additional stars in the background. The same design was carried over to the smaller activity signs that would be framed and placed at each station. I LOVE how it all came together and best of all so did Elisabeth. There are some fabulous activities planned for all the kids and I am sure they will not be disappointed:)

Holiday Graphic Design

So as much as I would LOVE to share all the fabulous holiday cards and invitations that I have been designing you will have to wait until my clients have actually mailed them.......would hate to ruin the surprise. I work with a lot of small business owners who may not need holiday cards but need holiday designs to promote their businesses. I thought I would share some of what I have been doing.
First up is Mason and Madison, Gifts With Style as you know owner Liz White and I work together on a lot of different projects; she is never at a loss when it comes to fun ways of promoting her business! This year she is doing the 12 days of Christmas each day she posts a great deal on a product in her store on Face Book all you have to do is become a fan of Mason and Madison's page on FB then when the deal is posted tag yourself in the photo......so easy! At the end of each day a winner is chosen........GENIUS! Liz never does anything unless she can do it 100% so she wanted to add a logo to her promotion which is smart because it gives the promotion an identity and establishes a presence on all her fans FB pages. I was given the color palette and told to do what I thought best........I LOVE how it came out, best of all Mason and Madison's 12 days of Christmas has been a HUGE hit on Face Book, if you want to be a part of it just click HERE.

Next up is Clean Monster Car Wash........I recently did some posters for Dennis Brearley's other business and was thrilled when he reached out to have me come up with a holiday design to promote gift certificates for his Car Wash/Detailing business. I LOVE logos especially the one for Clean Monster it's so fun and has a great color scheme........I am not sure who designed it but KUDOS to them! The goal was to come up with one design that would be used for a post card, newspaper ad and email blast. I wanted to use a sleigh but the one I have was to formal so I designed a new one that was more whimsical and fit better with the over feel I was going for. I inserted the logo into the sleigh and added my VW beetle on to pull the sleigh. I carried the initial post card design over to the email blast and to the ad that would be running in the local newspaper.

Graphic Design

As you know every design I blog about has a story.......and this recent project is no different. I received an email from Dennis Brearley who was in need of some graphic design services. As always I am thrilled when a new client has found me based on a referral........so THANK YOU to Elisabeth Accardi owner of Upon A Star!
Dennis and his brother Matt own BREARLEY.COM a family business started in 1978 by their dad Dennis who was a talented photojournalist that received many awards for his work. Aside from being able to purchase their products online they also have a retail Kiosk located in the North Canopy of Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Dennis was in need of a poster that he would frame to put up in their retail location because he found that when customers arrived in the store they were unsure of how and where they could purchase items. I immediately went to their site www.brearley.com to see first hand what they sell and view some photos of the retail location. The challenge was the poster would be framed and hung amongst all the other photos for sale........so it needed to fit nicely but still stand out enough to educate customers on the many ways the photos can be purchased.
I asked Dennis to send me one of his favorite photos I could use in one of the designs I would be presenting. For the other design option I wanted to strictly use fonts only. I'm a huge fan of TYPE and shop for new FONTS like most girls shop for shoes. The first poster design I used the photo I had been giving at 30% opacity then mixed different fonts over it. The look was simple but would look nicely hung amongst the other works of art.

The second design I wanted to be completely different from the first one I created........TOTALLY feel like I have achieved that. I want the look to be a bit historic and vintage but still modern. I used 5 different fonts added texture to some while leaving others as is. I wanted the design to pop so that customers would naturally gravitate towards it just because it was so different from what was on the wall. I LOVE how both posters came out but I never tell a client what my favorite is because I do not want to influence their decision.

I was over the moon when Dennis replied that they loved both and would like to order one of each. The ALL TYPE design was ordered in a 20x24 poster which I know will look fabulous in the Kiosk in Boston. I feel very proud to have two of my designs hang amongst the photos of such a talented photographer.......did I mention the late Dennis Bearley won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978. I will be making a road trip to Faneuil Hall Market Place soon; yes to see my POSTER DESIGNS but to also pick up two really cool Patriots photo's that were taking during the famous SNOW
GAME. SHHHHHHH don't tell my boys I plan on giving each of them one for Christmas.

Kristen & Peter's Wedding

Fall by far is my favorite season but considering it's only November 3rd and I am already looking at SNOW on my deck I felt the need to spread some SUNSHINE and what better way then to talk about a stunningly perfect summer wedding that I recently designed invitations for. I met Kristen about a year before we even began designing her invitations, she already had her color palette and vision for her upcoming summer wedding in place. The colors: tiffany blue and a soft butter yellow, the vision: clean lines, classic elegance and just a hint of sparkle.

She wanted the design of her invite to reflect her vision so she went with a horizontal portable pocket style in a shimmery card stock called crème brûlée by using this style pocket it keeps the entire look self contained within a 7x5 space. I created a custom monogram and hand embellished the center letter with clear glitter. The accent backer was a shimmery color called caspian and all the additional card stocks used were an ecru linen. 

The table numbers were also hand embellished with glitter bringing a pop of sparkle to her tables. We continued the use of glitter on all the place cards which were attached to sand dollars. As you can see from all the photos Kristen's color palette and vision have come together seamlessly....from the bridesmaids dresses to the flowers.........all perfectly set in the Mansion at Turner Hill.

 

I was lucky enough to also design Kristen's Bridal Shower Invitations to see how the design process started, click HERE to read the blog I did about them. Working with Kristen and her mom Kerry was such a wonderful experience and I am so grateful to have such FABULOUS clients!

Congratulations to Kristen and Peter I wish you endless happiness and bliss!

The Stunning Wedding Box & Sand dollars were created by Mother of the Bride, Kerry
Photography: by Benoit & McCarthy
Flowers: by Donna of Pepperberry in Byfield