Daring colored papers and envelopes are a trend we’re seeing more and more of, prompting us to introduce our three new offerings: Bella Blue – a rich, luxurious navy; Bella Black – a true, dark black; and Bella Gray – a smoky, charcoal gray. All three papers are available in our three paper plys as well as select envelope sizes. These papers are stunning when paired with foil stamping, as seen on Garnet, Nightfall, and Estate.
Kristen and John worked with our friends at Magnificent Milestones to customize our Briolette design for their Chicago wedding. Their geometric wedding invitations played off the industrial elegance of their venue, Morgan Manufacturing. Because they had so many accessory cards in their suite, Kristen and John opted to use a custom pocketfold to keep everything organized for their guests. To keep the enclosure securely closed we added a coordinating belly band to tie the ensemble together and bring more of the Briolette design into their stationery suite. They carried this design throughout their wedding, including their personalized place cards, seen here on our blog.
foil stamping: gold matte | digital inks: prussian blue + cream + celadon + shell | fonts: jeeves + sans capitals | paper: bella smooth cotton white 1-ply + submitted | pocketfold: gold leaf belly band: foil + inks above | envelope: bella cotton white | liner: classic color pattern in shell | Magnificent Milestones | customization #34039
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We printed these watercolor Bat Mitzvah invitations for Kathryn and her family using our hand calligraphed Samantha design as inspiration. Nicole Black’s watercolor lettering was printed in british rose digital ink and the motif from the custom envelope liner was used throughout the suite to add touches of floral whimsy. Many thanks to our friends at The Scarlett Letter for helping Kathryn create these lovely invitations!
digital inks: british rose + cmyk | hand calligraphy: samantha style | paper: bella smooth cotton white 1-ply + duplexed 2-ply | foil edging: gold shine | envelope: bella cotton white | digital liner: submitted pattern in cmyk | The Scarlett Letter | customization #34829
Brianna and Ellie worked with our friends at The Party Line to transform our Garden Sun wildflower wedding invitations for their summertime celebration. They chose rose gold foil on ivory paper for a more elegant presentation and added our petite dot foil stamped envelope liner. Guests were invited to the after party with a coaster letterpress printed in prussian blue.
letterpress ink: prussian blue | foil stamping: rose gold shine | fonts: fitch + frost | paper: bella smooth cotton ivory 1-ply | envelope: bella cotton ivory | foil stamped liner: petite dot pattern in rose gold shine | The Party Line | customization #33512
We keep our calligraphers pretty busy, but they work on some really cool projects on their own time. Our newest calligrapher, Ted Clausen, had the honor of contributing to the nation’s Christmas Tree at the White House! He worked on site for two days to create a hand calligraphed ribbon and sixty ornaments that adorned the tree in the Blue Room.
“The fine folks at Rafanelli Events, working with the White House, came up with the idea to wrap the tree with a ribbon on which I wrote out the Preamble to the Constitution,” says Ted. “In addition, they asked me to write out tweets from family members to troops serving overseas. These tweets were written on round mirrored ornaments and hung on the tree.”
“I think the effect was impressive; as you walked in you first noticed the large writing on the ribbon, and after walking around the tree to read a few more of the words you suddenly realized what the text was. Then, as you looked closer you saw the handwritten and personal tweets. The more formal values are offered by the preamble and the more personal statements are related by the tweets to those who are serving to uphold those values. It was a moving experience to be a part of.”
To read more about Ted’s work on the White House Christmas Tree, check out this Boston Globe article.
We had the pleasure of helping baby Brandon’s family create these adorable rocking horse birth announcements at our flagship store in Manhattan. The hand-illustrated motif and border were printed in french blue and pewter letterpress inks on our pillowy cotton paper for a simple and sweet way to welcome baby.
letterpress inks: french blue + pewter | font: social | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply | Bella Figura NYC | customization #36869
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We are thrilled to welcome calligrapher Ted Clausen to the Bella Figura family and introduce two of our newest designs featuring his hand lettering. Ted spent a number of years studying with a long list of impressive and generous teachers, including Lloyd Reynolds, Herman Zapf, J. Savaren, D. Dehn, and Donald Jackson, scribe to Her Majesty the Queen. He studied typeface design in this country and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland. “I worked for a number of years designing type before ultimately deciding to leave the ‘constructed letter’ in favor of the handwritten one,” says Ted. “And that’s where I still am, still learning, still liking your ‘M’ better than mine, and still loving the act of watching that pen dance across the paper.”
Ted’s Middleton suite is perfectly polished and the epitome of traditional elegance. Graceful hand calligraphy letterpress printed in classic black with the deepest impression is complimented by a gold foil stamped liner printed on a metallic paper for a truly royal presentation.
On our Viola design, we paired Ted’s calligraphy with a timeless font for a look that feels classic but not stuffy. We printed on our ultra thick 3-ply smooth cotton paper and added a vintage print liner from our library for added drama and sophistication.
Ted is available to address envelopes and place cards, too – how gorgeous does his lettering look on our new colored papers and envelopes? You can contact Ted directly for scheduling and pricing.
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We’re excited to be hosting Bella Figura calligrapher Debi Zeinert this Saturday for a special event at our flagship store! Join us from noon to 3:00pm for your choice of a free Valentine’s Day card from our BFF Smock and let Debi personalize the card! We’ll also be providing delicious chocolate samples from our neighbors at Filicori Zecchini (and you can sneak a peek or pick up one of their luxe boxes of hand-painted chocolates). The Bella Figura flagship store is located at 1031 Lexington Avenue (at 74th Street) in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Interested in working with the store for your save the dates or wedding invitations? Make an appointment today!
Limit 1 free card per person.
With the help of our friends at Urban Coast, Molly and Oliver chose our Tulum design for their Orlando, Florida wedding. The motifs on the original design are digitally printed but Molly and Oliver wanted them letterpressed – so with some tweaks to the artwork we were able to give their tropical wedding invitations the tactile feel they were looking for. They chose a more formal layout along with Debi Zeinert’s hand calligraphy to further personalize their stationery suite.
letterpress inks: sea-side + watermelon + champagne | foil stamping: gold shine | font: zephyr | hand calligraphy: bristol style | paper: bella smooth cotton white 2-ply | envelope: bella cotton white pointed flap | envelope liner: dune pattern in sea-side + watermelon | Urban Coast | customization #35176
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Abby and Max worked with our friends at Rock Paper Scissors to customize our Chatsworth design for their Deer Valley, Utah wedding last summer. From their Imogene save the dates to their ceremony programs and menus, Abby and Max used a cheerful palette of navy and rose gold and used a combination of hand calligraphy styles from Sarah Hanna and Elizabeth Hardin to highlight important text on their suite pieces. They added our lincoln diecut shape to the invitation for an added bit of interest and used our elegant garden pattern as an all-over pattern on the interior of the pocketfold. Their accessory cards were sized and stacked within the pocket so no card would be missed.
The menu and coasters for their Shabbat welcome dinner were printed in rose gold and cerulean ink while the mason jar motif from our library gave a less formal, more fun feel to the pieces.
letterpress inks: navy + cerulean | foil stamping: rose gold shine | fonts: caslon + katie | hand calligraphy: victoria style + carlisle style | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply + 2-ply + bella smooth cotton white 1-ply | diecut: lincoln style | envelope: bella cotton white + bella cotton white pointed flap | foil stamped liner: elegant garden pattern in rose gold shine | Rock Paper Scissors | customizations #31902 + #34219
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We had the pleasure of working with Mackenzie and Derek at our flagship store in Manhattan on the customization of our Theon design for their Boston wedding. The invitation was printed in vine letterpress ink and silver and tawny foil to coordinate with the metallic sparkle paper we used for their envelope liner and custom pocket that held their enclosure cards on the back of their invitation. The foil stamped disco ball and cheeky language sent a clear message to guests – get fed, get funky, get festive.
letterpress ink: vine | foil stamping: silver shine + tawny matte | font: didot | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply + 2-ply | foil edging: tawny matte | envelope: bella cotton white pointed flap | liner + pocket: custom paper | Bella Figura NYC | customization #34309
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Jamie and Eric’s customization of our Belsay design is a true testament to how versatile our 300+ designs really are. Together with our friends at Sweet Paper, they changed the romantic, garden party feel of the original design into a much more contemporary look for their California wedding. The used the Belsay vine motif sparingly throughout their suite, and added Nicole Black’s hand calligraphy in rose gold foil for a touch of modern color. To keep their many accessory cards organized they added a pocketfold that featured a simple duogram in a border that tied back to the invitation.
letterpress ink: pewter | foil stamping: rose gold shine | font: botany | hand calligraphy: mitty style | paper: bella smooth cotton white 1-ply | pocketfold: rose gold shine on bella smooth cotton white 1-ply | envelope: jute | foil stamped liner: diego pattern in rose gold shine | Sweet Paper | customization #32777
