WEDDINC: Sandy, we’ve seen your invitations and paper goods at some of LA’s most prestigious bridal shows. What inspires you to create such beautiful, one of a kind invitations, especially the hand painted ones?
SANDY: The beauty of nature truly inspires me. And I do love beautiful things.
WEDDINC: You design with absolutely the most lovely elements: lace, water color, beach glass and wire, satin, raffia and custom illustrations. What inspires your choice of elements and textures?
“I wanted to bring a more tactile ephemeral look to my work…”
WEDDINC: We sense an art background with your multiple talents here, was designing custom invitations and paper products always your chosen career?
SANDY: No, I graduated with a fine arts degree and worked in advertising agencies and design studios. I was a creative director for a fashion and retail company. I assisted styling editorial photo shoots and designing the printed materials. I moved on and began working for a variety of design studios. And somewhere later I decided I wanted to create really pretty and delicate dimensional pieces. Print is very flat and I wanted to bring a more tactile ephemeral look to my work…I love fabrics and the garden and the sea, so that is what comes through in my work.
WEDDINC: We see you as such a romantic person, shining through your lace, beach glass and paintings. Would you describe yourself as a romantic in other areas of your life?
SANDY: Oh yes absolutely!
WEDDINC: Can you paint for us a written visual for what we would see if we walked into your studio at this very moment?
SANDY: Well, Spring has arrived… So the light in my studio is just gorgeous.. I have soft ocean blue green walls and when the late afternoon sun streams in it is just like a pool! A lot of art and photos decorate on the walls. My bookcases are filled with inspiration and little memories from traveling, such as the sea glass I collected when I was in Positano. And my most favorite thing is my chandelier!
WEDDINC: The invitation to any event is the first impression a guest has as to the tone and feel of the event. It’s fair to say then, that it is the most important element to get right. Can you describe what you take into consideration when developing a beautiful invite so that it hits the mark and sets the tone perfectly?
SANDY: I think a little bit of the answer is part of the response to the second question. The style and feel of the event will be the most important information the client will discuss with me.That right there tells me how to approach the piece. Is it romantic, rustic, casual, black tie…. Lacy, French inspired. What is the palette? You know? It really informs me what elements are suitable to express the feeling of the event.
WEDDINC: Some would say that print is out and digital is in. Yet, it’s hard to imagine a day where special envelopes with our name hand scrolled with pen and ink would simply never exist. We dare to think that no matter how savvy technology becomes, it could never take the place of a hand held invitation and the thrill that comes when we first pop that bit of glue at the point where the lid meets the envelope. Do you see the world of invitations changing in any way in the near future?
SANDY: Good question. For me personally, There is no doubt that the feeling of gorgeous paper beautifully embellished is the most preferred. And not because I am an invitation designer. I just can’t imagine inviting guests to one of the most important stages in life through an email. I truly do not know how the digital world will affect our industry, but isn’t everything more lovely when you can touch it?
