One of the fabulous opportunities that arise from attending such amazing symposiums such as Engage (besides getting to hang out with Preston Bailey) is that you meet, learn from, teach , and make great connections with other people who share your art.  Combine that with the power of twitter, and it’s hard NOT to collaborate with the amazing talent found all over!  This Photoshoot all started when I asked Kristy Rice of Momental Designs to create some of her AMAZING hand-painted paper goods for an idea I had…then Caroline from Paloma’s Nest jumped in, then Carla from Bainbridge Style with her delish food, and pow! we had a New Years Day Brunch Photoshoot. (And luckily, UK photographer Philip Meadows was available to shoot it for us!)

My idea was to create an intimate, lavish but not over the top New Years Day Brunch…a fun, beautiful get together to start the year off right.  Believe it or not, I don’t entertain often (I’m to busy designing everyone else’s parties!), so when I do, I like to do it right with beautiful invitations, great food,wonderful goodies. I prefer to keep things small (6-12 people) to make it really intimate and to be able to splurge!

I sent our creative team a color palette, of vanilla, champagne, gold and raspberry – doesn’t that just scream New Years to you?  (It did to me). I sent out an inspiration board, with hints like “wish bowl for New Years wishes” to Paloma’s Nest and “subtle elegance” to Kristy, “red sauce and chocolate and cream” to Carla, our food expert.

The result?  A stunning new Years Brunch Tablescape anyone would want to be at!  Our fabulous photographer had just returned from shooting art in England, so here we were out in the cold, creating a tab;escape (thank goodness for outdoor heaters!)

The table was create with some lush linens, gold rimmed plates and chargers and cups from local Pedersens Rentals, who always has wonderfully elegant selections.  I hand dipped some manzanita branches in gold paint, and perched raspberry hued cymbidium orchids on the more delicate branches in the middle of the table, flanking them with thwo ceramic vases covered in gold duppioni silk, and fillde to the brim with hand-peeled roses, gardenias, garden spray roses raspberries and more orchids.

Here is a great shot of Kristy’s handpainted name tags (seriously, she HAND paints every invite, every piece – she’s amazing!) and those LOVELY wish bowls that Caroline from Paloma’s Nest created just for us!

close-up of Kristy’s amazing work!

The flowers…

Beautiful Menu cards!

Carla created  the lovely champagne raspberry concoction – (yes, I have to admit I drank one afterwards – they are as good as they look!)

Yummy desserts, made by the lovely Carla of BainbridgeStyle, and styled by me (LOVE styling food!)  More food shots (the menu was fantastic) can be seen on BainbridgeStyle’s Food blog after New Years.

Rich Flowers!

Feel free to look at everyone’s blog who contributed for more photos! We’ll be enjoying a recreation of this on New years Day…want to join us?

Green for New Year’s Eve….hello 2010 Resolution!

Another year is coming to an end…let the celebrations begin! Throwing a party is a great way to celebrate all the events of the year with friends and loved ones. It can also be an expense to the pocket book and the environment with all the favors and goodies and drinks in bulk. Throwing a ‘Green’ New Year’s Eve party is not just trendy…it’s hot! Make your party ‘green’ and be the envy of all your guests. The design of your social event can still be fresh, modern, swank and sexy – ‘green’ events are no longer captive to hemp linens and rolls of brown paper towels!

We all know the importance of the ultimate New Year’s Eve cocktail. Why not serve your martinis and champagne in real glass rather than paper or plastic cups? Glass is way classier and it’s environmentally friendly. Using glass ensures less trash the next day, and you’ll have collective pieces to accentuate many parties to come! Colored glass is a fresh, modern enhancement to your overall party décor, its eco-friendly, and you’ll get to use them again and again! Fantastic finds  for recycled glass champagne flutes are more abundant than ever and make a great addition to your collection. Atwestend.com offers a variety of beautiful, recycled pieces at affordable price points.

Instead of serving plastic bottles of water, purchase a few beautiful glass pitchers, also made from recycled glass.

Purchasing a set of recycled glassware to go along side the water pitchers makes a gorgeous addition to any party or everyday use (consider it your 2010 green investment!) Clearly, designing a more intimate New Year’s Eve bash is more affordable and offers more focus on ‘green’ party pieces, foods, drinks and dining accessories. Setting a table or cocktail party for 12-20 guests can include more personal mood-infusing touches, such as recycled green glass candles and recycled glass stemless wine glass, and other pieces that will easily become staples in your home and the hit at any soiree you’re hosting!

The stemless wine glasses are oversized and perfect for you collection of unique wine accessories.

Heavy, hand blown recycled windshield glass with occasional bubbles. These glasses are 4″ d x 4.5″ tall and hold about 18 oz! Wow – who wouldn’t want to be a part of your festivities!?  (all above photos via atwestend.com)

If you’re not in budget to buy eco-friendly party essentials…rent them! By using a local party supplier, you’re reusing product that is already made and available and you’re avoiding trash. Rental companies will offer a large selection of plates, platters; stem ware, candles and more. Rental companies can offer modern designs, high-end pieces and décor ideas to suit a small or large event. Being a Seattle Event Designer, I often use Pedersen’s Rental’s for weddings and private parties. I love the bubble bowl, which is perfect for any style of event – the simplicity in the design can work for a modern New Year’s Eve Party or an informal one. Perfect for chips or truffles.

Add some color with bamboo curvy servers courtesy of Bambu, one of Bella’s favorite home stores! Bambu provides design solutions made from renewable materials that excite and delight people about sustainable alternatives for modern living. Simply delicious!!

Skip the paper invites, and design an e-vite that is uniquely your design and matches your event. You’re saving time & the planet!

Look for organic wines and champagnes. Organic wines and champagnes are made from grapes that are sans pesticides or additionally preserved with sulfites. Many organic cultivators also respect biodiversity on their vineyards and grow vines in healthy soil with cover crops planted between rows of vines. Umm…did I mention the best part? Organic wines won’t give your guests a hangover. Skipping the sulfites provides for less headaches…your guests will thank you! Serve up a variety of organic cheeses and locally grown seasonal fruits and veggies on bamboo platters and cutting boards. Modern, simple & eco-friendly!

And, what will every guest need to ring in the strike of midnight and roll into 2010? White Eco-Friendly Biodegradable Confetti in recycled paper cones is a perfect addition to the party. White is a very modern trend in winter parties, so skip the colored silly string and infuse a modern twist that’s earth-friendly.

Don’t forget to toast to your 2010 New Years Resolutions ~ Cheers to a greener New Year and happy party planning!

A white and gray arrangement for Christmas, made by Daniela

Today is Christmas Eve, which I , having been born and raised in Germany, celebrate as Christmas.  I still think of the 24th when someone says “Christmas”, even after all these years of living in America where Christmas is celebrated mostly on the 25th.  I have all my traditions still, from celebrating St. Nicholas day on December 6th (Children put out a boot and if they were good, they receive treats, and if they were naughty, they receive coal), have a full Advent’s Calender and our Advent Wreath, where we light a candle each Sunday before Christmas.  I love these traditions, and love sharing them with my children, who will no doubt adapt them to their own liking, changing them slightly, and then passing them on to their children.  So, here is to however you celebrate your holiday, full of traditions, warmth and joy!

Ah, lovely Christy and Blair over at the fabulous What Junebug loves asked me for one of weddings where we had sketches and photos, and to share the story behind the wedding – and I couldn’t resist sharing one of my favvorite weddings from this last summer!

Here is the sketch:

come see what they posted here!

and view some of the great photo compilations Christy did of Lifemosaic’s fabulous shots! (reception shots on Junebug’s blog)

Selecting the perfect cake design is one of the ultimate first and last impressions you’ll give your guests at the wedding. Yes, of course it must taste scrumptious – but, the cake design is a direct reflection of you & your fiancé. The cake should be decadent to the palate as well as visually appealing. As a designer, and a ‘green enthusiast,’ one aspect of wedding design I love to emphasize is the cake! I cannot stress enough that going ‘green’ in the cake department (using fair trade chocolate, organic ingredients, locally grown fruit, etc…) is such a rising trend – your guests will love your dedication to organic products and a fresh, modern design proves that ‘green’ can be elegant, trendy, modern & aesthetically pleasing! With so many organic options, your guests are sure to indulge on options such as gluten-free, sugar free (made with organic, natural sweeteners such as stevia), organic edible candied flowers, and locally grown produce like lemons & carrots to perfect the icing. So go ahead, offer up a cake that’s good for the earth & nearly guilt-free to enjoy as well!

As a Seattle native, I’ve had many a pleasure of seeing & viewing the artistically crafted, unimaginably delicious, organic cakes offered by Jen Nurse, owner and creative baker of Jen’s Desserts. Jen’s Desserts is a small artisan Seattle studio offering sophisticated sweets, with a flair for design and flavor. Using only high-end organic ingredients, Jen’s Desserts creates design-inspired wedding cakes and desserts, artistically crafted & uniquely designed for each event. We love the simplicity in the design, the modern sophistication of each cake and the crisp look Jen offers in her organic designed wedding cakes –definitely a favorite at any Bella Signature wedding.

A handmade organic sugar flower from Jen’s Desserts…

From sleek square tiered designs, to more traditional round cakes, there is an increasing trend to use organic ingredients in every aspect of cake design. A ‘green’ cake no longer has to only be a rustic carrot cake, it can be a stunning, four tiered square concoction with sleek icing and modern designs if that’s what your heart desires.

At Bella, we’re happy to incorporate a personal design for your wedding cake, ne of our services is to work directly with the cake designer to help them design the cake to fit in with the overall wedding design…a I love everything to do with weddings – and the cake is such an important aspect of the design; I’m always happy to work with the artisan to create the perfect cake, uniquely yours.

Photo by Life Mosaic, Cake by Jen’s Desserts

This fabulous cake was created by Jen’s Desserts, using a pattern we used throughout this fun and modern wedding at Januik Winery.  It rests on one of our custom cake stands!

Another local favorite is Blackbird Bakery, who designs anything from rustic to more polished design, many of which are available gluten free, organic, etc.  Many couples seek out this small, wonderful bakery on Bainbridge Island to do their wedding cakes, and they are always exceptionally delicious.

What organic or green bakeries do you like?

And the Winner is….Sharon Uhl (picked by random.org).  Sharon won a pair of earrings from Turtle Love Committee – Enjoy!

Today on “green tuesday” (yes, a day late – but we just HAD to get this out there before the holidays!) we have an interview with Steff from Turtle Love Committee, a group that featured eco-conscious jewelry from various designers.  I love the story behind Turtle Love Committee and how it came to be!  Be sure to read through to the end to find out the details of our giveaway!  Kelly of Bella Signature Design had lots of great questions for Steff!

Kelly: I had the chance to chat with the wonderful, eco-inspired gals at Turtle Love Committee. TLC offers a unique artisan-collaborated line of engagement, wedding, and gift pieces – perfect for the ‘green’ wedding, and proof that ‘green’ IS fresh and modern, classic & beautiful all at the same time! Green weddings are a hot trend, and jewelry is often one area over-looked. Here’s what TLC had to say about a few of our favorite pieces.
You can visit their website to see many more pieces that are “good for people and the planet.”

Kelly: We love the texture of the Cliff Island Wide Wedding Band with the organic cork design (absolutely fabulous!!) Can you tell us more about what was the inspiration behind the artist’s design? What brought her to Turtle Love Committee with her designs?

Cork Embossed ring

Steff:  This particular designer concentrates on the flora and fauna of the natural world.  She uses that inspiration and collects plants, tree segments, and other pieces of the tactile world to give her creations hints of these natural forms, textures, and moods.  At TLC we fell in love with the idea of using organic cork to press into recycled metal because it’s a completely unique idea, and better yet, no two pieces are ever going to be alike!  You really are getting something very special when you order one of our Cliff Island wedding bands.

Kelly: What is your most popular engagement ring? Will you be offering pieces with fair-trade, conflict-free diamonds in the future?

Steff:  Our most popular engagement rings are the Webster or Walden designs, mostly we think because of the variety of styles in which they’re offered.  The band comes in sterling silver, 14K gold, (and while it’s not listed on the site, we can do platinum as well), while the stone comes in amethyst, garnet, citrine, blue topaz, or peridot.  The wonderful thing about the artisans who make these is that they recycled the byproducts from the productions process!

Webster ring

Kelly: We love the idea of a beautiful, eco-friendly, personal gift for bridesmaids to wear at the wedding and for years to come. We fell in love with a few pairs of earrings especially. Can you give us some insight to how these pieces were crafted, what makes them unique and what customers are saying?

Steff:  I think that people were genuinely encouraged when we expanded from engagement rings and wedding bands to earrings and necklaces.  Not only does it appeal to wider array of customers, but it allows us even more freedom and creativity with the possibility of designs.  I especially love our Minot and Nason earrings – they’re extremely lightweight, won’t tarnish, and are made from recycled aluminum!

Kelly: The Northeast Harbor necklace is also a great piece for the bride or bridesmaid – a little ’something blue’ with the addition of pearls? This is a stunning piece – tell us about the fair trade practice behind it. Pearls are hot this year for weddings and in 2010 – do you have other pieces by specific artisans you recommend?

Northeast Harbor Necklace

Steff:  Absolutely – we actually have an entire line of Fair Trade items crafted for us in Nepal in accordance with the fair trade practices (which include maintaining a safe and healthy workplace, paying a fair purchase price and wage, and creating new markets for artisans to work and create in).  However, in 2010 we’ll actually be launching an entirely new organic pearl-oriented line of necklaces by Heather Kahn of Chrononaut Mercantile EXCLUSIVELY for Turtle Love Committee.  The pearls she’ll be using comes from a small family farm where their production is 100% sustainable and hormone free.

Kelly: I’d love to hear a little more about the inspiration to create TLC.
What was the first piece the owner designed and why? How did she expand TLC?
We’d love to see your artisans available for one-of-a-kind design orders for bridal or engagement or gift pieces.

Steff:  Turtle Love Committee was founded in 2008 by Adrianne Zahner, an attorney who was alarmed by her colleagues’ subtle competition to have the best or the biggest diamond engagement ring.  While working at this large Boston law firm, she also noticed that most of the women she worked with had nearly identical engagement rings.  When she looked for a place to get truly unusual engagement rings, she couldn’t find one, so she decided to make it.  The entire concept was founded on the belief that rings that are chosen should symbolize commitment, should honor chosen lifestyles and honor the relationship being cultivated, not some weird calculus of how much to spend or how big the stone should be.  So Adrianne’s first few pieces were all engagement rings between $100 and $200.  When we realized that people genuinely were interested in “greening” their jewelry along with the rest of their lifestyles, we expanded to include necklaces and earrings.  We plan on expanding further!

Kelly: Thanks so much Steff for the great info on TLC! We love your wedding inspired items and know our brides will too. Any special offers to our readers? And can we still get items in time for Christmas?

Steff: We’ve got a bunch of wonderful things going on right now at TLC, including free shipping until Friday the 18th with a guarantee that your purchase will get to you before December 24th.  If you order Express Shipping (which is $20) by Sunday the 20th your purchase will still get to you before the 24th.  For Bella Signature, we’re offering 20% off your entire purchase with promo code BELLA until Sunday, December 20th.  And we’d love to give away a pair of our Southwest Harbor earrings – they’re a gorgeous part of our Fair Trade line!

Kelly: Perfect! I know Daniela, Bella’s owner,  has the Citrine Webster ring on HER Christmas list! Thank you for letting us know about the inspirations behind the pieces, giving our readers a great discount, and of course, for the fabulous giveaway!

READERS!  Here’s your chance to win a pair of Southwest Harbor Earrings ! Simply leave a comment below about your favorite item on Turtle Love, and what you like about it (the design, the fact that’s green or fair-trade, etc). Optional: We’d love to know what inspires you to be ‘green’ as well! Winner will be chosen by Sunday, Dec 20th at midnight PST, and announced on Monday, Dec 21st.  Good luck!

Kelly

Okay, I am not a big fan in general of wedding favors.  I love the idea of guests departing with a gift thanking them for coming. As a designer, I love the idea of another design element on the table, or stacked up n a stylish way in an unexpected place.  I don’t love when guests leave them, or when they get thrown away when the guests get home.  I have seen some bad favors – seriously, no one but your best friend or mom will use a key fob with your wedding date on it.  Not even your brother, let alone your 200 guests.  Which leaves us trying to find eco-conscious, stylish favors guests will actually use! Here are some finds that are stylish, usable, and green!

• Wine charms from Wine Coutures (an etsy shop).  This lovely designer creates collections of eco-chic charms to dress your wine glasses (and bottles.!) Inspired by fashion, movies and art, all items are one of a kind and made from 50% to 90% recycled materials. And yes,  custom orders and large orders for weddings or other special events are welcome,  fit any color scheme and/or theme.   How great would these be for a coastal wedding with a blue color palette?
  

• ZJayne (more etsy goodness) makes tote bags out of recycled t-shirts – with hundreds to choose from, you could choose ones from your color palette, theme, state, etc.

• My newest obsession is vintage keys – there is that mystery about what they open and their shapes, their textures…I think this would make a fun favor…AND you can easily buy them on ebay or at a local fleamarket..

Great design can can in many shapes and forms, and just because something is “green,” does not mean it has to lack style.

What favors have you loved at a wedding you were a guest at?

The Bridal Garden, a beautiful Seattle area bridal salon featuring elegant gowns from  high-end designers such as Melissa Sweet, Judd Waddell and Romona Keveza has a brand new boutique, and we are thrilled to work with owner Mary Ellen Tuttle to create artistic images to fill their walls – stop in and take a peek!
The Bridal Garden serves both the traditional and more edgy bride, and the selection of gowns offered reflects their commitment to a wide breadth of styles. I had a blast perusing the boutique selecting gowns for this shoot!  I LOVE styling photo shoots, whether it is with a live model or a creative table scape. Anywhere I can apply and feed my desire for design…I’m there! And a girl in a bridal boutique? Yes, beautiful textures, exquisite fabrics and frilly dresses = one happy  designer!
Being November, of course, I wanted to shoot outdoors (I am always a romantic, not always a realist!). I wanted something edgy, something much juxtaposed -I kept seeing images in my head of a big ball gown or flirty mod dress against an industrial background, {think Audrey Hepburn meets Avril Lavigne} and knew of the perfect spot!  An abandoned mill just waiting for us to capture the talent of local graffiti artists, and the beauty of nature and history adding a hint of elegance…breathtaking!

The day was misty in the beginning, full rain picking up mid-photo shoot, and the openings in the mill offered natural light, the sound of rain drops and floor to ceiling trees blooming through the abandoned concrete. We created a make-shift changing area, and worked with photographer Philip Meadows and Bella’s assistant to get the ball rolling! Fabulous model Hazel Cisneros looked stunning in the short and pleated Melissa Sweet gown (above), and when Model #2 did not appear, who else but myself donned the DREAMY Judd Waddell ballgown (boy oh boy, the things we do for our art – never thought I’d be posing in a ballgown in the rain in an abandoned building!)

Bright graffiti on the slate colored concrete offered a host of our favorite colors…greens, yellow, hues of red and other industrial themed color schemes. Although the rain was definitely NOT helping, it sure made for a cool shot; our brilliant photographer for this shoot, Philip Meadows, braved the elements and shot from outside the building (with our ever so helpful assistant Kelly holding both his laptop and the umbrella), and the perfectly positioned flash behind the gown made the raindrops illuminate ever so brilliantly – what a shot!

And here is a shot of the bouquet from the first photo, shot in the studio:

I loved the flirty colors of this bouquet, the chartreuse and yellow are so cheerful and happy, and went perfectly with the short Melissa sweet gown; we added a hint of yellow tulle, as the gown had layers of tulle at the bottom…

I am simply in love with green ranunculus, the chartreuse and yellow cymbidium orchids, and those deep yellow roses.

Thanks to all who made this shoot successful, and to braving the elements!

We’ve had a HUGE response to our sketch to reality blog post about Leah and Adam, with lots of requests for more!

SO, here is a wedding we did last year, that was so colorful, lush and warm – it’s one of my favorite weddings from last year!  This ceremony ended up being very much like the sketch!

Here is the original sketch:

wedding rendering

and here is the wedding ceremony:

This Hindu Ceremony and following reception was so full of color, warmth, and joy.  I loved collaborating with Madhuri and Karthik, and enjoyed the challenge of bringing both of their styles into their wedding: Madhuri is quite traditional, and Karthik prefers the more contemporary feel!  We decided to keep the ceremony more traditional, so we utilized traditional Hindu wedding colors of red, gold and white.  Yummy gold chair covers from Wildflower Linens graced the chairs, turning each banquet chair into luscious perch!

On a side note, we also think about budget as we design – for example, Madhuri wanted the reception colors based on the color of her reception Sari (she had three different outfits that day!), so the  reception color palette of deep blue, tangerine and raspberry  had to somehow overlap with the ceremony colors.  Had we chosen the red or white for the ceremony chaircovers, we would have had to have a second chaircover for the reception, but choosing the gold hue made it easy to utilize them for both.   Working the gold into the reception was easy by bringing beautiful gold beaded overlays for the tables, that perfectly accented the chaircovers and set a great neutral backdrop to the blue favors, blue and orange lighting, and the very contemporary tangerine and raspberry flowers.   Although we often get to work with some pretty fantastic “platinum weddings” type budgets, we stay aware of not wasting any of that money and giving our clients the most for their investment.

For the ceremony design, having decided on the chaircover color then led to the aisle runner color, the color of the Mandap fabric, etc.  Sometimes we create a color palette, the basic elements, and then work backwards, to come up with a design that not only looks beautiful, but makes sense and creates the right composition:  Madhuri was wearing red for the first part of the two hour ceremony, and then changing into a white Lengha after she was officially married, for the second part of the ceremony.  We had to make sure she stood out from the Mandap instead of blending in, so the gold fabric on the Mandap itself was partially chosen for that reason, and since we have a backdrop of red silk in the back of the room, we hung sheer gold panels on the back of the Mandap to really maker her red, and then white, Sari pop!  Yes, these are all things I think about as a designer – how will the photos look, what’s the overall composition, including fabric, flowers, backdrop and what the bride and groom are wearing  – these are all very important in the successful outcome of the overall look, the look and feel of the photograph, and the guest’s experience.

A look at  the reception, with the gold chaircovers, beaded linens, blue lighting and orange lighting.  Photo by Jane Lee photography

If you like these “Sketch to Reality” posts, please let us know by posting comments here on the blog!