If you haven’t seen La Jolla’s new paper boutique, Sweet Paper… hop on over! Sweet Paper specializes in cute, quaint stylish cards, custom stationery, unique gifts, and they are eco-friendly, which we love! We also love the cozy, homey atmosphere. These ladies truly care about the desire of their customer. La Jolla is lucky to have them!
We were able to interview sisters Julie and Theresa, co-owners of Sweet Paper about their new venture:
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Couture Events: 1. How did you get into the paper/wedding business?
Sweet Paper: Julie was an event planner early in her professional career and always loved the creativeness of the stationery and invitation aspect of the business. After leaving the event industry, owning a large finance company with her husband and having four children, Julie wanted to go back to what she loved- paper.
Theresa was working in a Human Resources position and felt rather uninspired and had always dreamed of owning her own boutique of some sort. It did not take long for the two sisters to realize their visions were aligned!
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Couture Events: 2. What differentiates you from the rest of your industry peers?
Sweet Paper: All of the items and lines we carry in the store are hand picked by us, so a lot of thought and care goes into selecting quality items. We are always on the look out for new and interesting lines to carry so we can keep things fresh. We offer invitation lines not found anywhere else in San Diego County.
We offer excellent customer service and are willing to go above and beyond to make sure our clients to have the best experience possible. We are a small and intimate boutique, brides and event planners will always be working with either Theresa or myself. Our goal is for every person who walks through our doors feel welcome and appreciated, because they are!
Having experience in the event planning industry, we understand weddings and other events beyond the scope of the paper. We appreciate the detail and how important the invitation is as the first impression of the event, and how that can be carried throughout the ceremony and reception. We are experts in wedding stationery etiquette.
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Couture Events: 3. Do you specialize in anything?
Sweet Paper: We specialize in letterpress because we love the beauty of the thick cotton paper and the artistry of letterpress. We work with well known invitation companies like Smock, Spark, Twig and Fig, Alee and Press, Elum and also offer custom design services. When it comes to invitations, if you can think it we can create it!
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Couture Events 4. Where do you get your inspiration from?
Sweet Paper: We are always so inspired by the designers and fellow stationers in our industry as well as the wedding planning professionals. We follow about a bazillion blogs to keep us current and on top of the best of what is going on in the stationary and wedding industries. We both also love fashion, so we get a lot of inspiration for the store from the fashion industry. We really believe that each piece of an event contributes to the overall feel.
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Couture Events: 5. What is most satisfying about your job?
Sweet Paper: That’s easy- happy brides and customers!!
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Couture Events: 6. What are some of the trends you see for 2011?
*Letterpress of course!
* Eco-friendly wedding invitations made tree free with 100% cotton paper, bamboo paper, recycled papers and using soy ink
* Modern monograms
* Gray is the new neutral, can be combined with almost any color from soft pastels to bright jewel tones
* Embellished envelopes are beautiful and very popular
* Back patterning on invitations
* Pieces of the invitations suite are coordinating and complimenting each other, not matching
* Post card save the dates and response cards
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Couture Events: 7. What is one piece of advice you would give a bride?
Sweet Paper: When selecting wedding invitations and stationery, work with a great stationer, do not try to do it online. Wedding invitations are something you must see and feel. Also, stick with what you love. It’s easy to get distracted with so many beautiful invitations available, but you will now the right invitation when you see it!
***Our favorite part of their store is the Bridal Lounge (above) where you can take time to look through all of your invitation options to find the best wedding invitation suite that reflects who you are, as well as the style of your event. Planning should be as fun and exciting as the event itself! Go relax in the bridal lounge at Sweet Paper and let your creative juices flow!
♥ Couture Events
Interview & Article by: Erica Berry
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