3 things I’ve learnt over the years…

This month, exactly 3 years ago, was the time I took a big leap of faith and quit my job in the corporate environment. At that point in time, I had been working on my invitation business for a year already on a part-time basis, and had made a decision to go out on my own and devote myself to the business, full-time.

I was nervous. I was scared. I had little idea about what it meant to be my own boss. I was also incredibly excited about embarking on a new journey and having the opportunity to do something which I really enjoyed and was passionate about.

Let me be upfront and say that running a small business is hard hard HARD work! There’s no getting ’round that fact. But yet, I feel that if you’re doing something you feel connected with every day, it certainly is worth it. Today, I want to share just a few things I’ve learnt over the past few years…

“Gatsby, What Gatsby?”

Thanks to the recent release of Baz Luhrmann’s film ”The Great Gatsby”, all things “1920′s” and “Gatsby-esque” are now back in vogue. This beautiful bygone era known as “the roaring ’20s” was a time where people embraced grandeur and glamour and partied it up without a care in the world- the perfect inspiration for a decadent fun-filled wedding, don’t you think?

She sells…”Starfish” by the seashore!

It’s currently Winter for all of us down in the Southern Hemisphere and we’ve certainly suffered some pretty miserable weather of late. I (like many) am longing for a bit of fun in the sun right now and am counting down the days until Summer is with us again.

In the meantime, while I’ve been dreaming away about sipping cocktails on a beautiful island resort, I’ve also been working on a couple of new designs inspired by my summertime daydreams. “By the Seashore” (as seen above) is my latest release and would be ideal for a laid back, easy breezy beach/seaside wedding! Do you like what you see?

Finalists in WIE Awards 2013!

I would like to say a huge “Thank you!” to those who supported B Studio in the 2013 “Wedding Industry Experts Awards” held last month. I really appreciated and was humbled by all your efforts to vote for us!

The results of the awards have been released and we are proud to have won the following:

Best Invitation Designer – Sydney - 2nd place

Best Invitation Designer – Australia - 4th place

Best Invitation Designer – Worldwide- 12th place

Gatsby Glamour- inspired by the glamour and sophistication of the roaring ’20s!

Celebrate the grandeur and glamour of the roaring 1920′s with this special edition art deco invitation design. Perfect for a “Great Gatsby” style wedding or for those looking to incorporate elements of a beautiful bygone era into their wedding!

French Provincial wedding theme

Our latest invitation design was inspired by the beautiful French countryside. When we think of a French provincial wedding theme, we think of elements which are warm and rustic yet still sophisticated and chic with elegant lace draping, ornate chandeliers and many simplistic little details. Tout simplement magnifique!

Photo credits for above: {Clockwise from left}  Table, chandelier & cake- 
http://www.lookieloophotography.com/index2.php
, Table setting images- 
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/08/beyond-the-big-day-a-french-country-celebration.html
, “French Provincial” invitation by B Studio Wedding Invitations-
http://www.bstudioweddinginvitations.com/french-provincial-collection
, Flower in basket- 
http://myfrenchcountryhome.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/french-country-wedding.html

Rustic Love

Hi everyone! We’ve been real busy bees over the last few months! Let me quickly share with you some pics from ‘behind the scenes’ inside our busy workshop this month…

Above: Our rustic themed stationery has been incredibly popular since they were released last year- here’s some of the bits and pieces used in our rustic stationery designs. The studio is just jam packed with burlap, string, recycled card stock and buttons at the moment – love it!

Above: Our popular “Rustic Romance” invitation was made into a baby shower invitation for parents-to-be Chris and Tameka. We were happy they selected our design for their baby shower celebration. It just goes to show that some of our designs can be quite versatile and can be used as invites for other occasions besides weddings!

Yummy Edible Stationery- I’m in heaven!

My passion for sweet desserts, chocolates, cookies, cakes and other yummy treats is just about as strong as my love for beautiful stationery. If you marry the two, you find yourself officially in edible stationery heaven! These cookies and cakes look sooo delectable, they’re almost too good to eat!!

Photo credits for above: {Clockwise from left}  Love letter cookies 1- 
http://www.pinkpatisserie.blogspot.com.au
, Love letter cookies 2 & 3-
http://www.pinterest.com
, Book cake-
http://www.http://roxycakes.ca
, Letter cookie- 
http://www.hello-naomi.blogspot.com.au
, Pencil cake- 
http://www.bakingdom.com
, Love letter cookies- 
http://www.facebook.com/DessertMenuPlease

In the mood for love

Yes, can’t believe it’s February already and with V-day coming up in just 1 weeks time, we thought we’d get ourselves in the mood with a new love themed inspiration board!

Photo credits for above: Flowers- http://www.bowsandarrowsflowers.com and http://www.http://greenweddingshoes.com, Love Letter Cookies- http://www.pinkpatisserie.blogspot.com.au, Love Heart Cupcakes- 
http://www.bhg.com
, Necklaces- 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/blockpartypress
, Spoon- 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MilkandHoneyLuxurie

But it doesn’t just stop there. We’ve been having so much fun this week creating some fun V-day cards using washi tape, pretty doilies, stamps, and heart shapes! How will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?

What’s HOT right now in the wonderful world of stationery!

2013 is set to be another GIGANTIC year in both the wedding and the stationery industry- I can just feel it! It’s only the 14th day of the year and already we have been inundated with enquiries and orders, so I have a feeling this year is going to be one super busy exciting year!

In term of wedding stationery trends, I’m predicting that the following 5 will be BIG this year:

 

NEW DESIGN COMING SOON: ‘Love birds’ Collection by B Studio Wedding Invitations

 

- Rustic/Country theme: This theme has been vastly growing in popularity in recent years, and I expect that it will only continue to grow this year, as brides increasingly look for ways to incorporate more natural and earthy elements into their wedding. Check out our blog post last year on “Rustic/Country Invitations” for some inspiration boards as well as to find out more about this trend.

- Recycled Paper goods: As mentioned above, modern couples are increasingly going “green” and turning to sustainable earth-friendly options to incorporate into their weddings. Sending invitations made out of recycled card stock/paper conveys a message to your guests that you care enough to send out a formal paper invitation, yet want to do so in a eco-friendly manner. With the rise in popularity of rustic/vintage/eco weddings, sending invites made out of recycled materials fits right in with the theme, so it’s a win-win situation!

- Birds: Birds are going to be big this year, and will feature throughout weddings in a multitude of ways. You will be seeing a lot more stationery collections featuring bird patterns and themes as well as invitations with cute little love birds on them (speaking of which, we have just designed one recently which will be available on the website soon. See pic above). You are also likely to see birds topping cakes, hanging from ceilings, adorning reception tables in cute little birds nests and more. A bird theme fits in well with a number of common wedding themes ( eg. garden, outdoors, woodsy weddings) so I’m not one bit surprised about this emerging trend.

Miss Lacey { twine} Invitation by B Studio Wedding Invitations

- Doilies: Pretty lacey doilies are looking hot and we are going to see a lot more of these gorgeous things popping up everywhere! Doilies can be used on invitations, as part of wedding decorations, on cakes, dresses & many more! Whether paper or crotchet, doilies look gorgeous when teamed with a rustic or vintage theme as well as a feminine theme.

- Lace: Lace has always been on the wedding scene and will still remain popular, due to its timelessness. Personally I love lace, so you’ll hear no complaints here!

 

So these are just a few of the trends to watch out for this year! What do you think of these trends and will you be incorporating any of these into your wedding or event?

 

Emerald (representing balance and harmony) named color of the year-2013!

Pantone, the worldwide standard for color communication and inspiration since 1963, has just announced the color for 2013… and it is…Emerald green!

Last year’s color, Tangerine Tango, was all about vibrancy and energy, however in contrast, the color of 2013 (Emerald green) represents balance, healing and unity (according to Pantone). Those are certainly qualities which contribute to a good marriage I’ll say! So hands up who is excited about incorporating this gorgeous hue into their wedding?

To celebrate the color of 2013, B Studio Wedding Invitations has designed a limited edition invitation (pic above) which features this unique color! This invitation will only be available by special order, so please contact us directly if you are interested!

As 2012 is quickly drawing to a close, we would like to wish all our clients, friends and fans a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Thank you so much for your support during 2012 and we can’t wait to charge into 2013 as we have plenty more in store for you!!! Stay tuned x

Destination: Fun in the Sun! {Vibrant stationery for destination/beach weddings}

We’ve recently had the pleasure of creating a few custom stationery pieces for a destination wedding taking place in Samoa as well as some “on the day” stationery for a fun beach wedding to be held in Sydney. With both designs, we had the opportunity to experiment with COLOUR, which was great fun! Injecting vibrant colours into your stationery is definitely one way to  set a fun and playful tone for the big event!

Here’s a pic of our coral ‘Save the Dates’ cards and our textured sand -coloured tent cards (see below). We think that they would be perfect for a destination or beach wedding. What do you think?

Innovation not imitation- a word on online plagiarism

A topic I wanted to raise today is slightly different from my usual positive, up-beat topics/posts, and it all has to do with plagiarism- specifically online plagiarism. I’m talking about those unscrupulous people who copy and steal images and text from another website then claim it as their own, having no respect for the time and effort which has gone into producing that content. Frankly, it’s not just annoying, it’s illegal!

Sadly, it’s happening more and more in this industry. The funny thing is that in my case,  it is clients, other reputable businesses as well as strangers who usually approach me to alert me that ‘Company x’ has been copying my work, taken slabs of text directly off the website, etc. etc. I’m just so grateful to these people for taking the time to let me know, as if they hadn’t done so, I probably would be none the wiser.

Some people don’t realize or appreciate the time and effort that goes into designing each invitation, styling and photographing it, editing it, and making it look good for the website, Likewise it’s the same with text- you spend a big chunk of time writing and editing it, only to find it taken and used by another business! Intellectual property theft and breaches of copyrighted material are an offence which we must work together to stop!

All I have to say to those ‘businesses’ who who regularly visit/ stalk my website (and that of others) with the intention of stealing, is…

Innovation not Imitation…

If you want to be a competitor in the industry, you have to be unique and special and bring something different to the table. What is the point of re-using material which is already out there which people have already seen and read before? The average bride and groom visits a good number of different websites before making their decision on which business to use, so they are the ones who are most likely to spot a copy-cat! This certainly doesn’t leave a very good impression about the trustworthiness of your business. If you are uncertain about what is considered as ‘plagiarism’, please read up on it at: www. plagiarism.org

Above all, be yourself and create something which reflects your own style and write something which conveys your own voice. That’s the way to succeed in the long run…

NEW Rustic/ Country Invitations have arrived!

If you’re looking to create a rustic country-themed wedding filled with natural eco-friendly details and classic country charm, you can’t go wrong with our new range of rustic themed wedding invitations!

A rustic theme would be ideal for those holding their wedding at a vineyard, winery, country estate or barn/farmhouse. Rustic weddings are increasing in popularity these days, due to the rise in couples seeking to create a beautiful and natural environment for their big day!

Have a look at the 2 rustic inspired inspiration boards we created featuring our new rustic invitations. We hope they inspire your next event!

Photo credits for above: {Clockwise from left} Candle- Elizabeth Anne Designs, Invitation- ‘Rustic Romance’ invitation by B Studio Wedding Invitations, Cake-
http://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2011/04/rustic-chic-wedding-ideas/
, Invitation- ‘Rustic Romance’ invitation by B Studio Wedding Invitations, Couple with sign- www.spoonfulofstyle.com/2010/06/rustic-romance.html, Table display-  www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2011/04/rustic-chic-wedding-ideas/

Photo credits for above: {Clockwise from left} Invitation- ‘Georgia’ Invitation by B Studio Wedding Invitations, Mr & Mrs wooden signs http://www.onewed.com, Burlap ring pillow- http://www.etsy.com, Rustic table setting- http://www.charmedeventsplanning.com, Barn image-
http://www.polkadotbride.com
, Invitation & place card- ‘Rustic Tree’ collection by B Studio Wedding Invitations, Tree ceremony- http://www.mattnerphotography.com, Jam filled wedding favor mason jar- http://www.theknot.com

*** *** ***

P.S. If you’re not sure what a rustic wedding is, think: countryside charm, barns, wooden signs, burlap (also known as jute or hessian), mason jars and homemade jams and goodies to name just a few! For an elegant spin to the rustic theme, consider having a rustic chic, rustic romantic or rustic mixed with vintage wedding theme!

Can’t believe it’s August already! Check out what we’ve been up to this month!

I can hardly believe that we’re already into the 8th month of this year! Where has time gone?!

I guess it is hard to keep track of time when you’re busy! There actually hasn’t been a quiet moment in the studio for many months now. We’ve been little busy bees getting all our orders made for our lovely Spring and Summer brides!

Unfortunately we don’t have the time to photograph all the projects we work on, however we do have pics of 2 projects we’ve been working on this month!

1. Madison & Lindsay’s “Love in Venice” invitations & handmade wraparound address labels!

2. Jessica & Drew’s custom designed invitations featuring black and white stripes and charcoal ribbon!

Click “continue reading” for image

What would you like to see more of? Let us know!

If you have a few seconds to spare, we’d love to know what you are interested in seeing more of from us! Thank you all so much in advance for your help! Your input will help make sure we deliver more of what YOU want!

NEW- Sophia Invitation by B Studio