visual communication at its finest

As a graphic designer, I'm drawn to anything visually entertaining. Whether it be color choice, movement, play with type, composition, printing method, or text, I find an appreciation for nifty ways of sending a message. With the use of 3 and 4-D programs, digital artists and illustrators bend the rules and create an experience. It's visual communication and we see it everywhere --- the movies, billboards along the freeway, apparel, on the internet, etc. These works of art take time, and the intent? To communicate in a much more powerful way. This correlates to wedding stationery, not so much in a commercial way, but invitations help convey your own message, whether it be to express formality, theme or style.


Above: Tony Ariawan's "Typo Composition"

Above: monavx's "Hope Street Market Poster"

Above: poster by Artur Newfeld

Above: Morten Iveland's "Bolda Display"

Above: Craig Ward's "Papercut"

Above: Fabian Barral's "Anatolie Poster"


Above: IlkIlkIlk's "195 Wishes"

Above: "The Rest of the Best" poster by unknown (pls let me know if you know the creator)

Above: Mike Melvas' "Splash"

Above: Mike Melvas' "Tree"

Above: Mike Melvas' "Candy"
Above: Fanzi's "Foundation"
Above: Fabian Barral's "Les Chants de la Dore" . . .(click for full post)

los angeles printers fair 2009 {carson, ca}

If you are a fan of printing, paper, book making, arts, typography, & graphic design, come out to Carson, California and visit the fair! It's FREE and will be full of talented vendors! Learn about letterpress and meet enthusiasts who have explored numerous avenues in the art of printing. Check out www.laprintersfair.com for more information about the 2009 Los Angeles Printers Fair and www.printmuseum.org about the International Printing Museum. B&W will be setting up a small booth showcasing some of our custom invitations and details. :) . . .(click for full post)

pure bliss at the int'l printing museum (carson, ca)

My husband turned our Saturday morning into pure bliss when he prompted me to get ready 'cause we were about to embark on the much-anticipated journey to the magnificent International Printing Museum. I've always been fascinated by printing, let alone the beautiful techniques of letterpress, embossing, and foiling. And at b&w, we offer all of these options for couture, custom wedding invitations and paper goods. I will post our most recent letterpress invitation project we created, but first take a sneak peek into what I got to drool over Saturday morning.






Above: Ernie Lindner, the savvy collector who found an admiration for vintage printers -- thank you, Ernie for falling upon these gems and taking care of them!

If you watched 7 Pounds, the presses in the movie were actually borrowed from the International Printing Museum in Carson. Below is a beautiful, restored and working Heidelberg windmill platen press that was used back in the 1960s. This type of machine is responsible for creating the gorgeous couture letterpress wedding invitations and stationery we see today. It's no wonder why letterpress comes with a premium -- not only is the end result beyond amazing, but printing on a vintage machine takes much more than simply pushing a button; it has truly become an art form.


Above: one of the Original Heidelberg windmill letterpress machines (shown in 7 Pounds); it still works!


Above: an operator showing us how the machine works


Above: a Chandler & Price platen press

Here are more pictures of some of the wonderful pieces the museum has inside. These only show a snapshot of what they actually have altogether. I want to save some for you to see for yourself one day. With a small $8 donation to the museum, you get a fully guided tour with one of their staff members, and you walk away with a handful of printing history and appreciation. Learn about the famed Johannes Gutenberg and how important this man was in our history -- and I mean important. And they also have classes where you can learn the art of letterpress, book binding, printing, and much more. Check out: www.printmuseum.org


Above: a press that printed 800-1,000 sheets per hour -- this was considered fast since most of the printers at the time had only printed about 100 sheets per hour.



Above: lines of type; old way of laying out text to print in a book or newspaper


Above: a linotype machine


Above: (L) the museum guide showing us how Gutenberg made blocks of type with a mold he also created; (R) showing a block of Chinese characters carved into wood for printing


Above: this is what he made out of the mold! -- letter "m" -- thanks to the works of Johannes Gutenberg



Above: an old school typewriter



Above: blocks of type
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wood burned mr & mrs signs

A little b&w detail we made for Erica and Dave's wedding. These small Mr and Mrs wooden signs were hung on the back of their resin white chairs adorned with a black 4in sash. Cute way to tie in the type from the invitation, too. How were these made? They were hand stenciled with a pencil, then etched with an angled wood burning tool. If you haven't worked with one of these, they get extremely HOT, fill the room with the smell of wood, and require lots of patience from the one burning -- it happened to be me that day. Whew!



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stencil project :: from street inspired

Remember my post, "street inspired :: bottom of a paper bag?"...here's the photo to recap your memory:


Above: "open" sign made out of hand cut paper and mounted on the bottom of a paper bag (Haight St, San Francisco)

Check out my own "I {heart} B&W" project. I did the reverse and saved the cut out letters. *Note: I used a foil-like paper, reason for the bumps. These are not fully adhered to my background paper. This took me about 20 minutes to do. If you are uneasy about drawing your own lettering, use a computer and type out the word, print and then use as a template.

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vintage+modern+apple green wedding reflection

Wedding design+invitations+coordination success! Erica and Dave's vintage+modern+apple green wedding at the Heritage Museum in Orange County was more than just a wonderful celebration. We got to hear a really touching speech by Erica's dad (the King), that brought tears to everyone's eyes, experience the true nature of the couple's relationship, and enjoy the ambiance, which truly felt like a backyard wedding -- very intimate, refreshing, and lively.


Above: "Just Married" tandem bike displayed by the cupcake tower


Above: 1 of 2 tablescapes (tall centerpiece) using lantern, candle pillar and wreath mixed with fresh apples, gerber daisies, tulips, hydrangeas, curly willow, and berries; custom b&w striped runners; chalkboard/wood program; silver chargers; Jones Soda favors with custom label of couple


Above: b&w custom-designed letterpress invitations


Above: escort card table using fresh apples and pinned leaves with guest name and table name

I only posted several teaser shots of the reception. This time, I think I'm going to wait for the professional photos; they do much more justice! ;) This wedding's success was due largely to the fact that the bride and groom were amazingly decisive! B&W oversaw almost all of the planning in regards to executing the details, preparing the itinerary, and organizing everyone involved. The bride spent time preparing herself and the groom stepped in and gave me any and all information that I needed, including tying loose knots. They also handled other details with help of family and friends. Janissa came in as the day-of coordinator, running the show flawlessly -- to the minute. I've prepared my reflection from this beautiful wedding.

REFLECTION

Dave proposed to Erica about 12 months ago, but it really wasn't until April of this year, when we actually started to move forward with the plans for the reception. With only a few meetings to grasp the reception vision, much of the planning was a breeze -- I was able to successfully present tablescape ideas, centerpiece ideas and many paper details that matched their likes. It helped that Erica already knew what she wanted from the very beginning, and with the invitations we designed several months back, we had a pretty solid idea of what needed to be accomplished. The goal at this point in the planning was to fully execute a d+i+c wedding; I knew the short time frame, but I didn't once, look back -- I simply moved forward with the little time we had and completed as much as I could, quickly.

The biggest challenge was nailing down the logistics for the big day, including the preparation till the end of the reception. Reason? I usually stick to design and Cyril, Christy or Janissa, steps in to handle this part of the wedding. In this case, I decided I would take care of design AND coordination. I knew that we had very little time to spend on the itinerary, but thanks to the tools we have at b&w, providing several options was easy -- and thanks to a very decisive bride and groom, the outline was approved with very minor edits.

1-wk before and the big day: A week earlier, I made all confirmations, finalized the outline, and studied all the contracts. Then, I handed over all the documents that Janissa needed to run the show successfully. My true feelings and advice is to KEEP THE OUTLINE SIMPLE. Keep the reception events to a minimum -- stick to the main things and try to avoid adding a bunch of little things that involve more people and more time. The more people you have involved, the more people the coordinators have to keep an eye out for. Most of b&w receptions stick to the traditional events, which is awesome because we know appx how long each of those things take -- these are the events that do run timely. It's definitely easier to manage and easier to predict a reception's success. Erica and Dave ditched the montage and only allowed a few to touch the microphone -- WISE! In our experience, it's usually the toasts or various speeches that dip into the short time we have to run a truly busy night, so if you can, really think about who you want to speak and also, who will abide by the time frame of about 3–4 minutes.

The day ran as smooth as can be, with the reception already set up by the time cocktail hour started. Jay's Catering did an amazing job at working together to help with the set up. Janissa did a truly exceptional job working with Steve, from Showcase DJ, to run the show. Erica and Dave moved right along with Janissa, taking her cues. We kept comparing our watches to the timeline and were on time, to the minute. It's always nice to see 95% of the guests still there when the dj turns off his music and lights come on -- shows they don't want the night to end! ;)

- Charmae (designer/event coordinator for bellz & whistlez)

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wedding forecast by JM :: AVIA (Long Beach, Ca)

"A BLEND BETWEEN THE SURF & TURF"
Urban sophistication and beach culture have been fused together to bring you AVIA Long Beach. Only a couple weeks old, AVIA Long Beach is one of the four properties in LodgeWork’s boutique hotel collection.




Photo source: all photos are from Avia Long Beach

The staff here takes on the role of your local host introducing you to all of the city’s highlights and hidden gems. Unlike your commercial and mainstream hotel, boutique hotels strive to provide their guests with a true experience like no other. AVIA is the only Long Beach hotel with a seductive rooftop pool where guests can soak in the breathtaking views with a signature cocktail in hand. Nestling in their intimate seating like their private cabanas and hammocks amidst swaying drapery need no formal invitation.

Guests are treated to a mini cocktail reception daily from 5–6pm in theAVIAKitchen & Wine Bar. Evening tastings are hosted alongside one of the Chef’s favorite starters. After attending this sneak peek soirée, one may get inspired for their next small scale event and with five distinct venues, options are endless. (Images of their spaces will be shared once they complete their photo shoot)



AVIA Long Beach is an integral part of the Pike at Rainbow Harbor. The waterfront promenade is full of bustling restaurants, shopping, and a variety of entertainment. You can unwind inside a stadium seating movie theatre, find your inner child on the giant ferris wheel, visit the Laugh Factory or splurge on a concert or Broadway musical at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. The Shoreline Village, the Belmont Shore and Naples Islands are within walking distance so it looks like you may need to call in sick to extend what you thought would be a weekend getaway.

I’m already sold. Perhaps working at IVY Hotel is to blame for my bias toward boutique hotels ;-P. AVIA Long Beach has three different room categories with an average rack rate of $159–209. Not bad for all that class, but they are currently offering 25% off their best available rates for Southern California residents. Now, I’m double sold.


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teaser :: custom striped runners

Where have we been? Sorry for the bloggin absence! But, we've kicked it in high gear for this Saturday's wedding at the Heritage Museum in Orange County. Logistics have been determined, confirmations made, and documents sent out. Amidst the planning, we're finished with all the details -- and for the short amount of time we ended up having, we can't wait to show you what we've created for Erica and Dave. I just wrapped up the finishing touches to the custom bellz&whistlez runners and they turned out as darling as ever -- sewing task complete! They complement the centerpieces we also helped concept with the bride...ooh, anxious! *I posted the invitations we designed that these runners are themed with...you'll see how everything ties together possibly next week.




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