Today I'd like to introduce to you the best damn invitation
maker in town! Christine has been making cards and invitations for
quite a while now in Ottawa, and has gained a fabulous reputation for making beautiful, modern, and
stylish invitations for weddings and other occasions and cards for
the holidays. Christine works with her clients to create a
beautiful and unique invitation that suits their needs perfectly.
Don't just take my word for it - she's been featured in Wedding
Bells and re:Porter magazines, on Design*Sponge and Apartment 613.
Check out her work, find out a little more about the person behind
urbanfête below, and go meet her in person,
she's lovely! Christine will be at Glisten - A Handmade Holiday Event tomorrow
(Saturday, November 19), from 10am to 3pm at the GCTC here in Ottawa,
showcasing her amazing holiday cards.
What is it about invitations and cards that make your heart
sing?
I love paper, graphics and the silent messages in the
"details" of the design. When I look at cards I think of the time
and effort and the artistry of the card ~ even a mass produced card
has something to offer.
Invitations and cards are often a symbol of a story
unfolding - a wedding, a new baby, or a gathering of friends over
the holidays. Do you have any favourite stories from your clients
that you can share?
An older couple was getting married; second marriage for both
of them. His wife had passed away and she had been divorced for
some time. They both loved the opera and had season tickets at the
NAC. They were seated beside one another one evening and he
decided to strike up a conversation. It turned out that she
lived in a little town outside of Ottawa and knew his sister-in-law
and just happened to be his great nephew's grade 3 teacher ~ meant
to be...we think so.
What is your creative process - how do you take an idea from
your head and bring it to reality?
I take many notes when speaking with my clients. I usually
have a baseline to start from but once I see it on screen the
actual designing begins. My clients give me a lot of liberties and
so it's much easier to be creative and try to capture what they are
hoping for. Many drafts happen before the client sees their first
draft. Like writers, I get designer block and I do my best work
when I just let it happen and not force it ~ I actually have to be
in the mood and that mood strikes me at all hours (many of my
clients can confirm emails logged at 4 am). Once the first
draft is complete, I work closely with my client to fine tune their
invitation.
People love finding out how others are inspired. Where do
you get your inspiration for your modern designs and your colour
combinations?
To be honest, I find inspiration everywhere I go. At my
previous job I was known for pulling out my iPhone and taking
photos of everything that interested me ~ it's a great tool and I
have a huge "catalogue of inspiration" that I refer to pretty much
on a daily basis. I draw inspiration from all sorts of ideas; it
might be the colour, the layout, the use of the graphic or even
just some slight subtle detail that I find interesting.
Some of your trade tools are very technical (ie, photo and
design software). I know that I've had a bit of a block about
learning video for the blog... How did you go about learning your
tools, and how do they help you express your creativity?
I started with MS Word - you read that right - Word.
Then I discovered a real tool called Adobe CS2 and I just
played with it. I took a few courses, read a couple of books and I
have 2 Adobe "bibles" that I refer to when needed. I ask a lot of
questions of those in the "know", I call upon a friend at Eliquo.ca
(Adobe training school in Ottawa) and sometimes I just spend hours
figuring it out on my own. Currently I use the Adobe CS5.
These tools offer endless possibilities and they all work within
one another and so it's easy to design using them. I learn
something new everyday.
I know you've been a creative person your whole life. What
was the push that brought you into turning your creativity into a
full-time business?
To be honest, I didn't see myself moving forward in my chosen
career path, I had a 3 year old at home and my husband and I were
running the rat race like most people do. I wanted to be home with
my son and so I left my job but needed something to do, a creative
outlet and contact with people.
People always wonder if I ever make anything for myself
these days. I'm curious about other people too. Do you still have
time for creativity in your personal life? If so, what are the
creative activities you enjoy outside of urbanfête?
Baking: I love to bake and so do my children; as soon as
they could stand on a chair and turn on the stand mixer they were
asked to help and learn. Now they bake themselves and are very good
at it. We bake for every holiday and actually, we just bake because
we love to eat it!
Photography: Right now I'm into cloud formations ~ love to
photograph a storm rolling in. I also love to photograph people,
random and not posing ~ that way you can see their true
expression.
Where can people find you? And please tell us all about the
wonderful services and beautiful products you offer.
Office: 858 Bank Street at 5th Avenue (above Booster Juice), in
Ottawa. 613-422-4537. My office space is bright and
cheerful and full of colour; my portfolio is mounted on the wall
for quick viewing. (it's a big wall).
Web: www.urbanfete.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/urbanfete
Facebook: www.facebook.com/urbanfete
I don't believe in one size fits all invitations nor do I
believe that you have to order 75 when you need 42. I'm a different
kind of designer with a different philosophy about invitations and
that is "It's your invitation, not mine. I want you to have what
you want and I can make that happen"
I design invitations for all occasions, greeting cards and
personal stationery. I offer full design service, printing service
and assembly service. If you're a DIY kind of person, I can help
with that as well. I order from Envelopments once a week and would
be happy to add your items to the order. I am an Envelopments.com
designer/dealer and I carry Waste Not Paper
products. Appointments are recommended.
Thank you, Christine, it's been lovely getting to know you
better!