This past weekend was the ever-so-lovely Vermont Vows Wedding Event at one of Vermont’s most exquisite venues (and a personal favorite), The Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms.  This event is by far the bee knees in Vermont Wedding shows and succeeds in pulling together the very finest our spectacular Green Mountain State has to offer: from flowers to custom gowns, photography to linens, to an old fashioned candy buffet and a smore roasting station, and lest we forget, the greatest invitations this side of the Adirondacks, available at Scribbles of course!

Scribbles was there with bells on, ready to show the 450 expected brides the best invitation spot in the whole state.  From Vera Wang to Mr. Boddington’s Studio we were ready with the most lovely samples for all the seasons.  Check out our adorable booth, the best yet to my mind!

We also came toting the prettiest gift certificate I have ever seen, hand letterpressed on Elum’s Field invitation.  If you didn’t happen to make this event but would like Scribbles be a part of your wedding planning, just mention this blog entry and it’s yours!

Amidst chatting about invitations - when to order, how many one might need, what cotton rag paper is - I had the pleasure of strolling around to check out the many other vendors.    Here’s a few photos to wet your appetite!

It almost looks too pretty to eat, but I’m sure I could manage . . .

Look at the bacon wrapped scallop from Spice of Life Catering - divine!

A stunning bouquet from the flower geniuses over at The Pink Shutter.

This event was also bittersweet for the Scribbles gang, as it was the last one with our weekend manager and loyal Scribbler of two years, Ari Williams.  Ari helped so many of our fabulous clients pick out the invitations of their dreams.  Beyond being a stationer extraordinaire, she is a lovely person and caring friend.  Ari, we wish you all the very best in all the adventures to come in your life. You will always hold a special place in our hearts all your own.

I met Jamie and Jeremy two years ago through my good friend Tanner (Jamie’s first cousin). They are both so incredibly warm and kind and their adoration and respect for each other is palpable. I remember at the wedding thinking, wow, I couldn’t imagine two better suited people, they are just so in love.  Plus the McCuins and Chevaliers have been friends for years, so to have these two paired is just so fitting!

I was fortunate enough to work with Jamie and Jeremy on their wedding invitations and place cards. They were a dream: so encouraging of the other’s thoughts and opinions and genuinely excited about the wedding stationery (we love it when that happens.)

They chose a simple, stunning Prentiss Douthit ecru folded invitation, with coffee ink, and the subtle accent you see here on the matching place card. When I received the invitation, Jamie had added a fantastic kraft band wrapped in twine, it looked amazing! (so sorry that I don’t have pictures to show you, but the invite sadly was lost in my recent move!) This added touch gave the invitation the exact feel the wedding was to have, exactly what the invitation sets out to do.Three cheers from all the Scribbler!

What I loved so much about this wedding, well among the many things I loved about it, was the tastefully executed theme. From flower arrangements and linens, to the dollar dance box (the contents of which all went to charity) and beam decor, to colors for desserts and bridesmaids dresses, every detail was so lovingly and carefully attended to - well done you guys! The wedding had this gourmet rustic feel to it, two Vermonters who care about aesthetic and comfort, great combo (just like Jamie and Jeremy themselves).

The wedding took place at the Stables at Pigeon Hill Farm in East Berkshire, Vermont. I had never been to this spot, but oh my goodness, simply cannot wait to go back! The Inn consists of a beautiful old farmhouse, the bed and breakfast, a stunning restored barn, complete with original wood and exposed beams, a lovely garden, even chickens and a dairy cow. How more Vermont could you get? Aged cheddar and homemade gourmet pumpkin whoopie pies? Well, they were at the reception!

The food was divine.  My favorite hors d’oeurvs had to be the prosciutto wrapped asparagus, although the caramelized walnuts on brie is a very close second. There was also an eclectic cheese plate and fresh Vermont garden veggies - how I love fresh baby carrots with the tops on them!  A treat for the eye and tummy in my book.  For dessert the couple had a tasteful, (pun fully intended) chic cake from Mirabelle’s in Burlington and a festive, fall dessert bar for all of their guests: pumpkin pie, apple pie, and whoopie pies oh my! Dinner was a cooked to perfect chicken embedded with cranberries and dried apricots, roasted red potatoes, and mushroom and sweet potato salad.

Jamie’s sisters, and bridesmaids, Kate and Kelly McCuin ,in their adorable, totally rewearable bridesmaids dresses.

Aren’t their bouquet’s wonderful?

Congratulations Jamie and Jeremy!  Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of this incredibly special event. I am a huge McCuin and Chevalier fan!   May you be blessed with all the love, peace, and happiness you both deserve. My best wishes for a truly wonderful marriage - Jenny

]]> http://blog.scribblesvermont.com/2008/10/13/jamie-and-jeremys-wedding-october-10-2008/feed/ http://blog.scribblesvermont.com/2008/10/01/custom-holiday-cards-order-before-the-holiday-chestnutiness/ http://blog.scribblesvermont.com/2008/10/01/custom-holiday-cards-order-before-the-holiday-chestnutiness/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:53:55 +0000 info@scribblesvermont.com http://blog.scribblesvermont.com/?p=18

I know what you might be thinking ‘custom holidays cards already Jenn? It’s still a month before Halloween!’ And I hear you, there are costumes and turkey aplenty before Santa’s big day arrives, but the truth, there is no better time to get that address list together and order those fabulous custom holiday cards! No lines, no snowy walkways to plow, and the best part, no gift shopping that must be done to prevent you from sitting down with a cup of cocoa in October and writing notes to all your friends and loved ones.

Plus, true to Scribbles stationery form, we have the top-drawerest collection of Custom Holiday cards this side of the North Pole! From classics like Crane & Co. and Caspari, to superb, unique letterpress designs from Page and Elum (like this one to the left), and out of this world engraving from Haute, Scribbles has the best mix of custom cards for you to choose from. You could even get a few different styles to really spice up writing them!

Come see us, we’d love to get your holiday planning going early. If you would like to make an appointment to look at Custom Holiday Cards, just click away and we’ll get you set-up immediately!

ooh that’s simply gorgeous! Let’s look at some more . . .

Page Letterpress, how stunning is that card? (and how cute is that kid?)

Kate Spade’s Reindeer Games - this one is a Jarecki family favorite (it may just be the card Aunt Trish and Uncle Ken get this year!). Let’s take a closer peek at these festive party-goers, shall we?

Adorable!

Happy Early Holidays everyone! Remember, it really is never too early to start getting those cards together. We’d love to help!

-Jenny

Scribbles is proud to feature Green Couture Vermont!

Taraleigh is known around Burlington and in the industry for her fabulous dreads, day-brightening smile, and the ability to reuse, and refurbish thrift store finds into striking new ensembles.   Her new line is called Green Couture Vermont, each piece is hand chosen and recreated by Taraleigh into original, stylish fun.

My favorites might be the Green Couture Vermont headbands, made out of t-shirt material, braided and beaded.  I am a maiden, a goddess, a Native American- I love it!  I couldn’t take mine off!  Now you don’t have to either!

Whether it’s spring, summer, winter or fall in Vermont- a pair of leg warmers is the perfect accessory!  Taraleigh transforms sweater sleeves into one of a kind-leg warmers using accent patches from other pieces.  Dressing up or staying in, there’s a pair waiting for you!  Leg warmers come in kiddie sizes too!  Perfect gift for the little girl you love, who looks up to you.

How about HOPE? LOVE?  PEACE?!  Spread the cause with a signature hoodie, cardigan, or skirt.  Taraleigh is famous for her hippie living ideals and of late for their appearance in Green Couture VT.   Look at my scarf in this picture!  Enough to make someone smile and a smile can change the world.

As all of these pieces are truly unique, we can not guarantee an exact color.  However, if your preference is strong or a photo shown in our e-shop truly wins your heart, we’ll ask the Healthy Hippie to do her best in recreating the original garment.

May you be healthy, happy, and dressed well in Green Couture Vermont!

SHOP FOR GREEN COUTURE VERMONT HERE!

For more information about the Healthy Hippie, check out her website: http://greencouturevermont.com/

Dinner at Lizzie’s house is always inviting, easy, relaxing, and delicious of course!

Lizzie lives with her love, Drick.  Ben (my partner whom you may recall from the Liberate blog) and I truly enjoy visiting Lizzie and Drick because like we do, these two appreciate each other and life in general. Furthermore, Luna (our brindled lab pup) is invited too so our family is complete.  Look at the Luna sandwich below with Lizzie and Ben bread.  Drick and Lizzie are accompanied by Denim, a handsome middle aged man-cat, Teensy, a tiny baby girl cat who is unrelated to but looks exactly like Denim, and Bea, the glorious little chinchilla. Oh, and Drew lives there too!

Eating in the couples’ deep blue dining room evokes a sense of calm, enhanced by our yummy Sauvignon Blanc, Penne, and conversation.

Among topics from love and life we passionately discussed the upcoming election, enjoyed talking about cutting-edge shots and scenes in films, our current and upcoming adventures and our careers. Lizzie and I also laughed about the many ways we’ve been told, “No elbows on the table.”

What I’ll take away from the evening:

1. Fresh flowers make a difference
2. Sharing meals with friends and family is an opportunity to slow down, enjoy each other’s company, the food, and the present moment.
3. Seeded Baguette is delicious
4. When in healthy committed relationships, as we all are, it’s important to maintain personal experiences and a strong sense of self: perhaps including education, travel, and friends.
5. Coffee Table books make for great after-dinner conversation.

Check out Lizzie on the Tyra show here!

“Lizzie Post. . .brav[es] topics that her great-great-grandmother probably never saw coming.” — Newsday

BUY THIS BOOK!

Are you familiar with Hope for Women?

Hope for Women is a Burlington based fair-trade card company that hires women in India (and now El Salvador) at liveable wages to tend gardens and produce eco-friendly greeting with botanicals native to these areas. These women would otherwise be out of work or forced into manual labor for pennies.

I sat down for lunch with Evan Goldsmith, who owns and runs Hope for Women with his father David, to find out some insider information. Running a fair-trade company can be challenging when it comes to creating consistent work for the women. For example, when the monsoon strikes in India, women can’t create final product due to mold concerns but this obstacle and others does not hold Hope for Women back, in fact- this motivates Evan and his team to think creatively to keep the women healthy employed.

He explains, “Our ultimate reason for being has truly changed peoples lives.” When Evan establishes working situations he personally meets the women to ensure that their working environment is clean, safe, and flexible. The women enjoy their work for HFW and benefit well from their efforts. To read stories about the craftspeople now employed by HFW click here.

Another challenge HFW faces is maintaining a small carbon footprint when goods are produced overseas. To the greatest extent possible however, HFW has identified sources near the women to print the packaging on tree-free cardstock, wrap in compostable plastic, and use natural inks. The flowers are organic and sustainably harvested.

Now that the India line and Himalayan cards are steadily selling, HFW has shifted focus to a new region of the world: South America.

Evan cosmically stumbled upon Piel Acida; an artist collaborative in El Salvador sponsored by the international organization Aid to Artisans. Piel Acida, which means “dried orange peel,” helps El Salvadorian artists turn viable raw materials into art and then sell them. As fruit and juice are such a focal export of the region, art is often made with orange peels, coffee beans, and flowers. Before ATA sent consultants to Piel Acida in El Slavador, the women were creating cards that were quaint but not necessarily marketable to a more global market. Now, with ATA’s design support, resources, and infrastructure Piel Acida is producing stunning, chic designs with local botanics. Once Evan discovered this fresh exciting look, which aligns perfectly with the Himalaya cards, he knew HFW had found their next card line. After visiting El Salvador to personally meet the women and investigate the working condition, Evan sent one years worth of card material to the women to produce! HFW means business for these women’s lives and we’ll all benefit from these remarkable cards!

What’s next for HFW? HFW is in Colombia this week to solidify relationships with women’s groups to develop products made from sustainably harvested rainforest plants and determine how the company will continue to grow, benefiting an increasing number of women across our globe. Now it’s up to you to support this cause and keep the movement alive!

HFW is also expanding into the custom printing world and can handle large personalized print runs. Think responsibly for your next mailing and enjoy a vibrant world!

The Himalaya line is currently selling out at Scribbles and the El Salvador line will arrive any day- stay tuned!

Buy Hope For Women cards now!

Giddy as a school girl in new high socks and braids, I have the complete pleasure to introduce you to one of Scribbles’ new loves: Moe’s Journals and Envelopes!

A clever, crafty Vermonter (pit patter right there), Moe O’ Hara came into Scribbles early this summer and said “hey jenn, I make journals out of completely found materials, are you interested?”  Was I ever!  These journals, like snowy little flakes as no two are exactly alike, are made from old library books and paper that would otherwise be sent through the shredder.  Moe collects the materials and creates these ridiculously awesome books in her spare time, a process she calls Upcycle - the practice of taking something disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value.  Who isn’t head over heels with that idea?

No false shop talk here folks, these babies are selling like hotcakes!  We’ve already set Moe to work on a gazillion reorders since first bringing her journals into Scribbles.  Okay, I exaggerate, but only slightly . . .

Moe also hand folds the most exquisite envelopes out of scrap paper.  From National Geographic spreads to sheet music, Moe’s unique envelopes come complete with adhesive and address labels, is there nothing she hasn’t thought of?

I had the good fortune of snagging this talented, busy bee and asking her about Upcycle and her projects.  Here’s what Moe had to say:

Scribbles:  How did you first come up with the idea to turn old books into journals? Did you know it would an instant hit?
Moe O’ Hara:   I love the look of old book covers. The linen, the words, the smell, the age. There are such great titles (Pickles and Prunes by Barbara Moe comes to mind, I mean, come on! for real???), and great illustrations. Something has to be done with them, something to showcase this lost art. (Many modern books don’t have the cover art, it’s just on the jacket.) Taking something disposable and creating something of greater use: upcycling. That being said, I would like to add that I don’t destroy perfectly good books. Most of them are discarded from libraries or aren’t in the greatest condition.
As for the success of the journals, I could have only hoped. It’s a lot of fun making them, and I NEEDED to start selling them. My bookshelves could only take so many.

SC:  Tell us about your material hunting.
M:  The best part about using recycled materials is trying to find the materials. It’s not a thing that you can just buy at a box store, you need to search for it. I visit the usual suspects: Recycle North, Junktiques and Sally’s (Salvation Army). Sometimes I have to hold myself back because there is no more room to put it all. There are also a lot of people looking out for me. I’ve got fellow crafters bringing me books and librarians calling me up. Once you get into the recycling/upcycling business, there is never a shortage of supplies.

SC:  How do you assemble your hand/homemade journals and envelopes?
M:  First, I take apart the book, a de-binding of sorts. I keep the covers and any cool illustrations to use in later projects. The rest of the book goes into the recycling bin.
I own a binding machine (I say machine, but there is no motor, it’s all done with my natural, awesome strength). It is typically used for scrap booking , but I use it to make books. It cuts through most of the covers I use. I measure and cut the pages (I have a paper cutter that can cut 250 sheets at once!!!) and then I assemble.

As for the envelopes: I fold, glue and stick. It’s just a matter of finding the interesting pages. The sheet music looks great, and the National Geographics are just awesome. The pictures in that magazine are incredible. I just found some old comics (not anything of real value), and I can’t wait to make some envelopes out of those.

SC:  What other fabulous new craftinesses are you working up?
M:  I was given a sail today. Yeah, one from a boat. I’m not sure what I am going to do with it, but it’s a strong material, and it can’t be used on a boat anymore. The sail is huge, and it’s potential is even bigger. Ideas are racing through my head, and eventually I’ll settle on one.
Other than the books and envelopes, I make baby bibs out of plastic grocery bags. I fuse them together, with an iron, and it makes a waterproof, tyvec-like material. I am constantly looking for grocery bags. Unfortunately, that is one material that we can never run out of, although, it would be nice if we could. It would be a great day when I can’t make bibs because no one uses plastic bags anymore. (Note: Bring your own bags to the store, and use less plastic.)
I also make Kid’s Capes, out of old, soft and clean bedsheets and some scrap fabric. I’m saving the world, one cape at a time. They are so much fun to make, and wearing them is even better.
Remember the insides of the books (the cool illustrations or quotes)? I have a button maker, and make buttons out of the illustrations. Nothing goes to waste.
As the cold weather approaches, I started to make monster hats. They are made from old sweaters, I add some teeth and button eyes, and voila!, a monster hat. They are recycled and soft, and really cute.
I am also working on developing a cassette tape wallet. I see a lot of tapes in my travels to second-hand stores and garage sales, so I am attempting to do something with them. Maybe by next season I’ll have something.

(manager) jenny specific: what other amazing/sustainable hobbies do you have?
M:  My main hobby is creating. I love to think of new ways of using old things. Sometimes I want to scream: “don’t throw it away, give it to me”, but then I would need a warehouse to keep it all in. I don’t have a television, which is why I am able to come up with new ideas: I’m forced to create my entertainment, and it just so happens to be my brain.

Scribbles weekend manager Ari is in love too!

If you’re interested in one of Moe’s incredible journals or her spectac envelopes, just contact us for more information, we’ll gladly pass the love along!

For weeks I have been waiting not so patiently for goodies from Little Otsu to arrive - hands down one of the best companies Scribbles carries.  Every day giddy me waited for the UPS truck to pull up, the excitement almost paralleling the level it reached when I saw Woody Allen play in Montreal.  Woody Allen - you know this product must be the bees knees!

Finally . . . it came!

Little Otsu is small outfit of environmentally inclined, animal loving designers who have created an entirely vegan line of journals, day planners, greeting cards, postcard sets, calendars and more!  In addition to using recycled paper and veggie based inks, Little Otsu prints all of their products down the street from their San Francisco store at a family owned print shop - three cheers for original design and small, local businesses sticking together!

I had super pleasure of interviewing Little Otsu founders Yvonne and Jeremy.  Here’s what they had to say:

SCRIBBLES: We’d love to know how Little Otsu got it’s start - from seedling to pretty paper flower!

LITTLE OTSU:  In 2002, Jeremy had been laid off from a dot com and we decided we wanted to go into business for ourselves. While figuring out what we wanted to do, he had the idea to make a planner, having been inspired by the fun randomness of Slingshot and the practicality of Franklin Covey. While he made some progress with his friend drawing a template, plans to open our store Otsu in San Francisco’s Mission District took precedence. With the store opening in October, the planner got pushed aside and never got finished (also because he’s procrastination king). In 2004, we finally got serious and asked an artist to draw one and help get it done and after that Little Otsu was born (the name “Little Otsu” came from a nickname our intern Kate had for us). We also met Lart [Berliner] (our most frequent collaborator) right at that time and it all kind of snowballed from there. Now we work on the publishing business full-time after moving to Portland last November and still have our store in SF as retail headquarters for all things LO.

• Use tree free or recycled paper for your wedding stationery
• Donate your unused food to a local shelter or charity
• Choose a caterer and a florist who use local and organic goods
• Pass along your flowers to a seniors home or local hospital
• Compost unused foods and Recycle everything you can
• Use outdoor space for natural light
• Request digital photo proofs
• Buy dresses, shoes, and glassware people will reuse after the ceremony or consign with a thrift store
• Offer a carpooling service/shuttle to transport guests from place to place
• Enjoy one of many luxurious eco-friendly resorts on your honeymoon

Whether or not you believe in global warming, the fact remains that over consumption damages the planet and we have limited resources.

Accrue good karma at your wedding by observing these simple principles: reduce, reuse, recycle!  It makes wedding planning creative, fun, and sustainable.

Consciously greening your wedding will will lighten your impact the planet, at lease for one day, and influence others to act the same way.  With enough deliberate action, through truly minor changes, we can replenish the earth.