B'NAI MITZVAH GONE LICHTENSTEIN
What an amazing family! The Goldstein twins - Sydney and Robert - and their mother, Carrla, wanted to do something funky and unexpected with their B'nai Mitzvah invitation. They all agreed that vibrant color was the way to go, paired with a clean, modern aesthetic. So, after some brainstorming, we decided to turn a summer vacation photo into a Lichtenstein-inspired piece of art.
This was their save the date, and I am obsessed with each detail. The art! The colors! We engraved the text on both the cherry red save the date and the boysenberry envelope in crisp, white ink - delicious! The card was actually Z-folded, with all of the weekend details captured on the inside panels. Then, we hand-adhered the image of Sydney and Robert using 3-dimensional foam tape, to give the image a mounted, museum feel. The stamps were custom, also giving a glimpse into the pop-art deliciousness to come.
For the invitation, we went big. No really, we went big...like 9 x 11 big. So, the size was dramatic and the colors were bright...so we kept the design very clean and contemporary. And, instead of making the artwork a focal point on the invitation, we lined the large envelope with a huge print: a little {big?} surprise when the envelope opened.
On the invitation, we switched up the colors a bit, keeping the rich boysenberry hue and pairing it with a bold tangerine. Because this event was for a boy and a girl, I wanted to be certain that the invitation felt neither too masculine nor too feminine. I love that it just feels modern and a little edgy...very much like this amazing family.
See the return address on the deep back flap of the envelope? Just a simple touch, but one of my favorites.
The cards will all custom duplexed, with two layers of the boysenberry, and one layer of the tangerine, creating a sturdy, heavyweight card with some heft...even at the large size. As such, it felt significant and important, like this very special event.
We used the Lichtenstein image for the response card stamps...and carried the font pairings to each piece of the invitation. Again, the script is funky and fun, yet not "girly."
The perfect complement to the invitation design: the sleek hand-lettering done by the crazily-talented Crystal Kluge. The white gouache was bold and crisp, and her modern hand was perfect introduction to the enclosed invitation. Not too whimsical, not too curly, just unique.
For the invitation stamps, we took the dotted pattern - so characteristic of Lichtenstein and the background of our artwork - and created custom stamps with an S {for Sydney} and a R {for Robert}. Sometimes the custom stamps look so sticker-ish and fake, that they can overwhelm an envelope. But on this one, they looked perfectly at ease.
This is one of my most favorite invitations: from the rich color palate, to the pop-art elements, to the weight of the cards and the varying sizes of each piece, I just love it. Thank you, Carla and Jeff, for being such trusting clients to let me "go for it"...and for allowing me create an invitation that really set the tone for the amazing event to follow. {You should see photos...beyond incredible!}...TJG Read more...