SCD will be closed from Monday, December 22 through Friday, January 2nd. We will be checking email periodically but response time will somewhat delayed. Don’t worry, though! We will be back in the studio bright and early on Monday, January 5th.
Forgive us for indulging in such a cliché {especially this time of year} but truly – where does the time go? We’re only a week away from Christmas with New Years just around the corner. It’s so hard to believe that 2014 is almost over. It’s been such a fun and exciting year for Swiss Cottage so we wanted to recap some of the best moments for the very last blog post of 2014! {OK- we realize when we say “last blog post” of 2014 that could also be “the 5th blog post of 2014″… bear with us! Better blogging habits is on the to-do list for 2015!}
SCD’s top 2014 moments {in no particular order!}
1. Earlier this year we were asked to guest blog for a week on on Oh So Beautiful Paper. It was so fun to brainstorm and plan all of the posts. It was certainly a big undertaking with all of the prep and production that went into the content. That week was a whirlwind in the studio with all of the set up and shooting. The response to each post was wonderful and warm. It was fantastic to contribute to such a respected and well curated blog. Thank you to the amazing Nole for the opportunity!
2. We were so excited to design the dinner menus for talented designer Nate Berkus and his husband, Jeremiah Brent, who tied the knot at The New York Public Library this past Spring. The white foil printing on black paper came out beautifully. Plus, it gave us the opportunity to work with our wonderfully talented friend Jenna of Love, Jenna Calligraphy for the personalization of each menu. The wedding was featured in People magazine and our little menu got a shout out on the People website!
3. One of our invitation designs was featured in the special Weddings issue of New York Magazine! No matter how many times it happens, it’s always exciting to be featured in a print publication. The tangibility of it feels so real! It was wonderful to see our work alongside so many other talented designers and lovely invitations. The magazine is on sale through spring of 2015, so take a peek if you happen to snag a copy! Like a true hoarder, I bought 5 copies. A huge THANK YOU to NY mag for including us in this issue!
4. Bella Figura is a very cool company based in Syracuse, New York {home to my alma mater!} that offers so many great design options for save the dates and invitations. We were so pleased to continue working with them and contribute several new designs for their 2015 line. It’s a cool way to make some our designs accessible to couples who may not want to go the fully custom route. We can’t wait to see the new designs in the coming year, they have lots of cool tricks up their sleeves!
5. We launched a shiny new Swiss Cottage website, full of new projects from 2014. We were able to work with so many incredible clients and create such beautiful artwork for them this year. It’s easy to forget just how many projects we do in the course of the year, so it was a great feeling to see it all come together in one place and to share it with everyone, too. And, of course, this update would not have been possible without the photographic genius of Brookelyn Photography. A HUGE thank you to Brooke for coming by and helping us make some magic.
6. We also launched our first ever holiday card line!! This one is very near and dear to my heart as it’s been on my wish list for quite some time. For the last five years, custom work has been our bread and butter. We love that it means that every day and every project is different. It was a very cool change to design and offer a ready made line of cards. It allowed us to connect with a larger audience as well as directly with stores that we love. Several stores in Brooklyn and beyond carried our holiday line! We’ve already got some new ideas cooking for 2015 and can’t wait to share them soon! Check back in on 1/5 for the launch of our new Valentine’s Day cards. Oh yeah!
7. The month of June was a busy one! We made the walk up to our friendly neighborhood shipping extraordinaire {Omar} almost every day, laden with boxes and parcels. We vastly surpassed our previous monthly shipping record, much to our surprise and probably to Omar’s pleasure. We also shipped our most well traveled package…all the way to Hong Kong! We celebrated on the walk home with iced tea and mini muffins from Mazolla’s {naturally.}
8. A very neat opportunity came for us later in the year. Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store, a great little shop in Park Slope, asked us to illustrate their holiday window display. This was a big undertaking {literally!} that was a very fun and new challenge. It was such a cool feeling to see my artwork in a new context and to share it with so many others who passed by or came into the shop. It’s still on display if you happen to be walking down 5th Avenue in Brooklyn.
9. We discovered that we have very little self control when it comes to treats. Sunny commutes from Greenpoint, the Brooklyn neighborhood that’s home to Peter Pan Donuts. More often than not she’d arrive on Friday morning with half a dozen donuts {one of their signature flavors is red velvet} and we’d proceed to eat our selves into a sugar coma. Then we’d wash it all down with a large chai from Maybelle’s and complain about feeling ill the rest of the day. No regrets, though.
10. While we do enjoy our donuts and chai, our biggest vice has to be the shockingly addictive Pellegrino. The fridge is usually well stocked, although we do have the occasional emergencies that require a quick trip to the bodega for a re-up {yeah, we’re throwing some WIRE terminology around, it’s cool.} . Based on my loose calculations, we consumed roughly 73 gallons of Pellegrino this year. Don’t judge us.
11. And last BUT most certainly not least- Sunny came home! Ha. OK, I’ve been waiting all year to make this joke. But really, the world’s most amazing office manager, Sunny Eckerle, joined our team and made a difference from the get go! She’s made us an organized beast and has really helped get us in tip top shape. This year would not have been the same without her and we’re looking forward to more of her excellent contributions in 2015.
I think that about wraps it up!! Thank you so much to everyone who made 2014 such an incredible year for Swiss Cottage Designs. We have been so lucky to have such wonderfully creative and fun clients, we are so grateful for each and everyone of you. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year! Make sure you stop by in 2015 to see what we have cooking, it’s going to be a good one!
Cheers!!!