CHINESE NEW YEAR

Earlier this year, we had the the opportunity to create some beautiful invitations to help The St. Regis celebrate the Chinese New year with their clients.  We wanted to keep the invitation elegant and upscale - in line with the hotel's brand - but also to play off Chinese colors and symbols.

We actually ended up printing the invitation in two reverse color-ways; we couldn't decide which we loved more.  One version was letterpress printed in gold on heavy-weight, bright white stock and featured red edge-painting; the other version was letterpress printed in red with shimmery gold edge-painting.

Both were paired with red envelopes, letterpress printed in a tone-on-tone red ink.  The cherry blossoms wrapped across the envelope, with the hotel's return address on the envelope back flap.  I love those little touches that make you want to pluck that envelope right out of your mailbox, to save it from drowning in all of the junk mail and bills.

Love the subtle sheen of the gold ink, and the tactile impression of the clean, all-caps typeface with the Asian-inspired brush script.  And, the edge-painting for that extra touch...

So, which do you prefer: the gold or the red?  Either way, doesn't that shimmery gold edge painting make you happy?  Enjoy...TJG

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SIXTY AT SAKS

My mother-in-law, Dale, loves shopping {which works out very well for all her kids, since she is also exceedingly generous}.  She's not a casual-traipse-around-the-mall type of lady.  When at a shopping destination, she is a woman with a mission.  So, when dreaming up the perfect way to celebrate her sixtieth birthday, the middle of Saks Fifth Avenue was the ideal venue.  It is unique, special and fashionable: so "Dale".

For the invitations, I went with a black-and-white color palate - a la Saks Fifth Avenue - with pops of color.   I tore pages from every Saks catalog that I could get my hands on, duplexed them to 160lb. bright white stock, and hand-trimmed each to frame the accessories.  Then, I stitched small, letterpress cards inviting guests for cocktails in Chanel and dinner in Dior.  Each invitation was unique; so fun to put together...

The letterpress impression was deep and crisp on the 110lb. cotton Lettra.  And, the fonts: a mix of clean and modern and pretty flourishes.

Each invitation also included a little discount card, which featured a Saks-inspired logo to mark Dale's sixtieth.  I used the same logo on the envelope back flap, with a reminder to keep the event a surprise.

I used a black-and-white Katharine Hepburn stamp as postage: elegant, sophisticated and the perfect color palate.

Amazing woman.  Amazing event.  I hope the invitation did it all justice...TJG

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