Photo Courtesy of gigidemanio.com
What motivated you to start your business?
I began my career in the fashion industry as an art director and was working as a creative director when I felt the entrepreneurial pull to leave the corporate world and do something on my own. I started out designing handmade greeting cards that were sold in fine retail and museum stores including Neiman Marcus, The Field Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution.
One thing led to another, and before I knew it I was designing invitations for Fortune 500s, major cultural arts institutions, and celebrities. I did my first wedding for a couple that was getting married on the family’s private ranch in Aspen, Colorado and never looked back.
What is something you constantly strive for?
It’s fun to be charting new territory in an industry of creative ideas. I’m intrigued by design challenges and the process of creating something that has never been done before. As a result, my studio is often developing new ways of making things and solving artistic puzzles. ‘What if’ and 'How about' are two favorite questions that keep us pushing the envelope forward.
I am also passionate about excellence and doing things impeccably well which means that our classic wedding invitations are masterfully finished to the highest standards. There is nothing finer in the stationery industry than the work we produce.
What is the most gratifying part of your business?
The essence of what we do is help our clients mark important moments in meaningful and memorable ways. I love helping couples tell their story and express their personal style on their wedding day.
Taking care of the behind the scenes details so my clients can relax and enjoy the process means everything to me. As time goes by, there is no better compliment than having a treasured client come back again to work with me as their go-to person for all things paper and stationery.
What sets your brand or business apart?
Excellence is a way of being and experience counts. Dedication to my clients, vendors, and employees, and the relationships I build with them is one of the keys to our success. Our work is a true collaboration, where we bring our vision, experience, and unwavering attention to detail to the process of designing a personal work of art that reflects our clients and their love story. Couples often tell me that they enjoyed the creative process as much as the final design.
I am also committed to giving back and being a part of something bigger than myself. Through our Scraps to Art program, we donate paper, fabric, and other studio materials to schools, theaters, art therapists, and social service agencies in the community. Our program fosters reuse and recycling of useable resources while supporting personal growth and empowerment through the arts.
What big news do you want to share?
I’m thrilled to announce my latest design project – the remodeling of half the HH Design building into a new private event venue, Eight Hundred, that will be opening later this year.
The interior space has abundant natural light, hardwood floors, high-end residential finishes and a chic urban aesthetic – the perfect backdrop for rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, anniversary parties, and other social and business gatherings for up to 50 people.
The adjoining private terrace has the three must-have B’s: bluestone, boxwood, and Boston ivy and the key F’s: fountain, and flowers in abundance. We will be doing one event at a time so clients and their guests will have the indoor and outdoor spaces entirely to themselves. I can’t wait to see all the celebrations that will come to life in this beautiful space.
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