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!