SydDesign Blog

We are up and running! It’s been a great start and until...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:47:37 -0400

We are up and running! It’s been a great start and until ArtPrize is over, you probably won’t hear from me again:)

Our extended ArtPrize hours are:

M-Sat 10am-8pm (possibly later on Fri & Sat)
Sunday 12pm-6pm

Update on the new store… We are waiting for a couple...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:33:07 -0400

Update on the new store… We are waiting for a couple inspections to get passed, but we’re getting closer to opening the doors. Along with other tenants, I was setting up shelving and display this weekend. Today I’m off with product and hopefully I can get most of that set up too. So hopefully I’ll have more colorful photos for you very soon.

Official opening is still not for sure. I may be open Wednesday, but I should for sure be open Thursday. I think the Grand Opening Parties and such will have to come after ArtPrize is over and everything is settled down. Right now we all just want to be open for the exciting influx of activity that is about to come over the city!

Coming soon! 6.25 paper Studioon 40 Monroe CenterGrand Rapids,...

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:24:15 -0400

Coming soon!

6.25 paper Studio
on 40 Monroe Center
Grand Rapids, MI

Check out updates on our new facebook page: facebook.com/625paper

i see a store in my (near!) future

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 23:00:56 -0400

This week was quite productive on the 6.25 “store-front,” drinking lots of coffee at meetings with some awesome local artists & designers!

I first met with Erin Lenau whom I found on etsy with some great wood block prints, journals & bags! I then met with Emilie Tromp from Lief Design about her lovely stationery, bags & calendar. I got a chance to see the space again which is coming along with lighting and paint, flooring & Haworth walls coming in the next two weeks! Then I had meetings with the talented Drew Melton from justlucky Design about his great screenprints and then Zach from Michigan Awesome about their cool Michigan shirts.

Plus it was like Christmas up in here with all the fun packages I received this week! I opened boxes of goodies from 1 Canoe 2 Letterpress, Fig. 2 Design, RebeccaMICH, Delanie on Etsy, and a few others!

My garage is filled with furniture display projects and my vision is getting more real every day. I can’t wait to show you all what I’m working towards, but this part of the journey is half the fun!

BIG changes are coming to Syd Design…. 1. New name: 6.25...

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:46:07 -0400

BIG changes are coming to Syd Design….

1. New name: 6.25 Paper Studio

2. New website/blog: 625paper.com

3. New Catalog, to be mailed this month {contact me if you would like to receive one!}

4. New {brick & mortar} store: opening in September, downtown Grand Rapids, MI

5. Oh, and new addition to our little family!

Stay tuned… you might get to see my head explode.

Thank You Note Etiquette

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:25:16 -0400

Thank You Note Etiquette:

This is a great little post about how to thoughtfully write Thank You notes to your guests after the shower & wedding gifts are unwrapped. Enjoy!

Is it too late to post about a wedding that happened a year ago?...

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:13:21 -0400

Is it too late to post about a wedding that happened a year ago? Hopefully not because this was one my favorite 2010 events:)

This destination wedding started out with a landscape invite adorned with a mountain scene along the bottom and the outer envelope wrap. We created a custom map that was much needed for all the out of town guests traveling to Jackson Hole. {This invite inspired the final design for Andrew in my Studio Collection}

The couple graciously planned a whole week of optional events including a trip to Yellowstone, dinners & river rafting! For this, we created a welcome program with the itinerary timeline inside. They included this in welcome bags that were locally printed on sustainable bamboo materials. Inside the bags they also had bamboo T-shirts printed with their names, wedding date and the mountainscape from the invite.

The wedding itself was on top of the Jackson Hole ski hill overlooking the valley. Guests road a gondola to the top and then enjoyed an inside reception on top of the hill with a plated dinner and live band. For the seating, we made the table “numbers” as pictures related to nature and the outdoors. Guests’ escort cards adorned an image to guide them to the appropriate table. The flat escort cards were placed in handmade (with a little table saw help from my hubs:) birch bark holders.

After the reception, guests were given a hot chocolate nightcap as they ascended the mountain in gondolas.

Mark Fisher Photography was an amazing photographer for this wedding. He specializes in highly active, outdoor photography. And captured many of the couple’s casual, spontaneous moments very well.

This was such a fun wedding to be apart of, Happy 1st Anniversary to the Kellers!

Spring Wedding featured on Wedding Chicks!

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:44:34 -0400

Spring Wedding featured on Wedding Chicks!:

So honored that one of my favorite weddings to work on this year was featured on Wedding Chicks! I will update you all with a full stationery post of this wedding later, but for now take a sneak peak! (be sure to also check out this wedding over at the talented Hey Gorgeous Events)

Short feature over at The Paper Mill Store

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:02:27 -0400

Short feature over at The Paper Mill Store:

Whoa, I’m late to share this one! Thanks to the Friendly peeps over at The Paper Mill Store and a little collaboration with Neenah Paper (and our previous sustainable wedding blog post together), I recently had a little how-to write up about my paper flower bouquets!

Hello stationery community! If you don’t already know, my...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:57:11 -0400

Hello stationery community! If you don’t already know, my husband and I are in the process of international adoption. We’re just completing our final paperwork and sending in a pretty heafty check at the same time. So, if you’re feeling philanthropic (and want a fancy new shirt), head over to our adoption blog and you can pay for the merch by clicking on the Paypal Donate button, then just adding up your total (plus $5 shipping). Use the Paypal message option (or email me) to send with the size/style you would like and your address. Thank you!!

ittakesaslongasittakes:

Fowler Adoption Apparel
Here’s what’s left after our party, please either plan to send us a check or use the donate button (at right) to pay. Just add up your total of what you’d like to buy, tell me sizes/styles in the message or by email. If you’ll need the shirts shipped, add $5.00 to your total.

Tshirts ($18)
Small - 14
Medium - 17
Large - 18
XLarge - 2

Women’s Thermals ($24)
Small - 3
Medium - 10
Large - 2

Track Jackets ($42)
Small - 4
Medium - 8
Large - 3

Zombie Trash the Dress Session

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:47:31 -0400

Zombie Trash the Dress Session:

I seriously wish my hubs and I would have thought of this.

new {lower} price for invitation album!

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:41:15 -0400

new {lower} price for invitation album! :

We have lowered the price of the invitation album! Check out details and gallery through the link above.

Happy Graduation Logan! I wish I had better {more} images of my...

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:45:39 -0400

Happy Graduation Logan!

I wish I had better {more} images of my baby brother’s graduation party, but here are a few snapshots of the lovely munchie display mom had set up with a couple items I brought in (like the delectable cupcakes from Arnie’s).

My favorite part of his graduation was their class motto (ironically, the same quote we used on his invites):
What lies behind us and what lies before us
are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Henry S. Haskins

My least favorite part was forgetting the giant “Congratulations Logan” bunting banner back in Michigan:( Oh well…

New York City trade show launches local stationery design firm to next phase

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:58:35 -0400

New York City trade show launches local stationery design firm to next phase

What was/is your wedding costs?

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:42:46 -0400

What was/is your wedding costs?:

I was looking for statistics on West Michigan wedding-related purchases and found this site (Cost of Wedding). It seemed like a great tool until I looked at the numbers. They are extremely low in all categories and I’m sure there has just been a lack of people taking the survey. (It’s all crowd-sourced statistics, so if only very low-budget brides are taking the survey, then the “average” is highly skewed!)

So, give a few minutes to share with other brides and grooms in your area what your wedding costs were or are. If the site statistics were more accurate, it could benefit not only budgeting couples, but vendors too!

I have gone through my 2011 NSS directory a couple times...

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:28:21 -0400

I have gone through my 2011 NSS directory a couple times since the show, circled and recircled companies that i love, who had exciting new products at the show this year. I was hoping to share them all here, however there are just too many and I can’t hardly narrow them down!! I did have a few minutes at the show to walk around and so I decided to point out four companies/products that caught my eye in the little time I had to browse…

Mighty Wallet: Awesome product aside, I grabbed the above pin “Be Mighty” at their booth and the affirmation definitely lifted my spirits thru-ought the show. So I thank them for that. Their product is a wallet made out of (re-used) paper, so much paper that it’s quite strong (and mighty). I am always looking for fun things to do with all the paper scraps that I try to re-use before they go into recycling, so to see a company finding inventive ways to use paper is inspiring!

Fig2Design: Claudia’s bright color pallete in letterpress form is quite impressive & unique compared to any other letterpress out there. Her designs bring the 80’s color trend to the old/new process of letterpress, pure delight!

Gabe & Co: I’m not sure if I just fell in love with their enthusiasm, or maybe it was the lovely, poetic text that Gabrial writes for his greeting line, but I just whole-heartedly fell for Gabrial & his brother William! I could go on and on about how real & passionate they were about their products/goals & how much I look forward to seeing their growth, but instead, read for yourself:

“It’s much more than
The flowers, the dress
Or even the ring;
It’s about the moments
That haven’t yet come,
The joy you can’t yet know,
And love that hasn’t yet grown.”

De Milo Design: I’ve been following De Milo sense the first show I attended in 2008 (slightly creepy, I know:) and look forward to finally having some ideas to start using her gorgeous, sustainably made and fair trade handmade papers.

So I know I toot the Michigan horn a lot, especially on twitter,...

Tue, 24 May 2011 13:32:00 -0400

So I know I toot the Michigan horn a lot, especially on twitter, but this time I have every reason to!

Michigan houses some amazing design talent, both on the East and West sides, but I was pleasantly surprised with all the Mitten-state talent displayed at National Stationery Show last week.

Here is a list of MI companies who jumped over a couple ponds to make the trip to NYC:

Avanti
B.Shackman
Cool Cups/Design Design/M.Middleton
Dotmine Dayplanners
Gwyneth Paige
Journals Unlimited
Maple Street Paper Company
Meant to be Sent

It seems like there are more studios emerging from this state every week, which many would warn is bad for business. But I so enjoy seeing true talent being supported and new, smaller companies gain success from the resources in our great state. Me {and my rose-tinted glasses} believe there is enough room for all of us in this business!

National Stationery Show: Wrap 1 – Shout-Outs

Thu, 19 May 2011 21:40:00 -0400

I would like to give shout outs to some amazing people who shared tips, supported & helped me to prepare for the National Stationery Show:
Give Studio, Gwyneth Paige, Pearls Events, Stationery Trends, Kelp Designs, Greer Chicago, The Sweetest Occasion, the NSS team, Neenah Paper, LCI, Dingbat Press, Fig.2 Design, nic studio, Center Aisle Group, MyMomShops, Pushing Papers, Paper Crave and Crow & Canary. These paper people were very helpful & friendly during my pre-show prep with everything from fire-proofing my floor to how to prep a line sheet! Plus I had the pleasure of meeting many of them for the first time this week.

Also, I couldn’t have made it without the help of friends, family & hubs who spent neck-kinking hours tying little yarn bows and stuffing envelopes for my handouts.

My two employees (or pillars of stability, as i refer to them) who work so so well with my whim, Erica & Stephanie, were more than amazing for the work before and during the show. Erica worked extra hours leading up to the trip to help get everything done and Stephanie was there to help setup and rocked the booth so I could bop around a bit during the show.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Stay tuned for a list of fun products/exhibitors that I must share, all the Michigan presence and most importantly some product updates and more in-depth album info for retailers!

National Stationery Show, here we go… After a long day of...

Sat, 14 May 2011 23:09:52 -0400

National Stationery Show, here we go… After a long day of travel & taxi rides, (a barefoot run to my airplane and a last minute trip to ikea tonight) our booth for National Stationery Show is set and we are ready to show you around!

Please stop by and say hi to me (Abbey) & Stephanie in the next couple days. We have lots of goodies to give away; naught elf samples, wedding album packets (with a coupon & a fun NSS greeting card), oh and we give out hugs and smiles freely too!

We can’t wait to meet you! Booth 2255 (next to all the cool kids:)

I’m excited to share that we had two products chosen to be...

Tue, 10 May 2011 23:36:46 -0400

I’m excited to share that we had two products chosen to be in the finals for the National Stationery Show’s Best New Product Competition! Naughty Elves will be in the Paper Style category finals and the wedding suite, Andrew, will be in the All Things Wedding category finals. Wish us luck!

If you will be attending the show, please stop by my booth (#2255) for a sample of the Naughty Elves and/or an info packet (with coupon!) for the Syd Design Wedding Album.