Welcome to the Directory - Rachel | Little Paper Store
Rachel is one of those dark horses, you'd literally have no idea just how many designs she has up her sleeve when it comes to wedding stationery, or just design in general through her work under Little Paper Store until you lose yourself in time digging through her archives! I recently took a visit to catch up with Rachel and took the equally amazing Hannah Bird with me to capture the occasion with a little mini photo shoot. Rachel had this bike ready and waiting for us, it made the most incredible prop - don't you agree?
What’s your background?
I am a trained Graphic Designer with a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication. I spent my earlier career working in corporate Graphic Design a mix of Design Studios and In-house Roles, the 1st couple of years in Christchurch the rest of the time in London. Upon returning back from London an opportunity came up to purchase Aime Wedding Stationery (which I have since rebranded to Little Paper Store). The rest is history I have had the wedding stationery business for about seven years, everyday it still feels fresh, new and exciting - I just love it.
Favourite colour combos?
Hmmm how could I possibly choose, I pretty much work with whatever the client brief is, always trying to complement and enhance the other style components that are part of the wedding. For that reason I find that a simple colour palette of one accent colour and black is pretty much a guaranteed recipe for success.
Paper and ink invitations aren’t the extent of what you can do, tell us a little about other options you offer?
We offer digital printing and also speciality printing; Foiling, Letterpress, White Ink etc. We offer a full suite of Invitation products; Info cards, Reply Cards, Personalisation, Envelope Printing, Maps and so on. We then carry the look and feel into any on-the-day stationery that might be required; menus, place name cards, welcome signs, setting plans, favour tags, order of services, table numbers and so on. Basically if it’s paper related I always just ask clients to enquire and we will see what we can do to bring their ideas to life.
Is there anything in the pipeline for Little Paper Store?
Keeping fresh and moving with the trends is key in the wedding industry. Wedding websites is absolutely an area that I have continued to watch and is always an idea that floats around on my radar. I feel that there will always be a place for paper invitations they are formal, traditional and most importantly something tactile. In this digital age it’s so lovely to receive something beautiful in the post, however more and more couples are embracing the world of wedding websites for their rsvp's, wedding details, photo galleries etc. Continuing the wedding brand across into the website is a natural progression and I think it’s wonderful if the print and website outputs look like they are a seamless unit.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I have two very busy little boys Harry (five) and Freddie (21 months), when I am not working I am hanging out with them. Christchurch is an exciting place to be right now, there are so many amazing and new things popping up constantly with the re-build. Harry loves Cafe treats (which is a bonus cause so do I), I spend a lot of time at playgrounds and bike parks, You can't beat a day at the beach. And after returning to Christchurch last year after a three year stint in Dunedin I love nothing more to go exploring and check out the latest new offering on our doorstep.
Describe your go to style/if you could get married again what would your invites look like?
Oh gosh tough question, I must confess I find it very hard designing for myself, as my own client I am VERY indecisive. With design the options are endless and I LOVE a variety of different looks. My style is very much based around typography, simple elegant design that is clean and not fussy. Knowing me I would keep it black and white as I wouldn't be able to decide upon a colour palette.
What advice can you give couples to-be when it comes to their wedding stationery?
Keep it simple and true to the overall look and feel that you are trying to achieve for your wedding. It’s a good idea to use this opportunity to set the tone of your day so that guests start to get a feel for what to expect. Don't sweat the small stuff, guests just need to know the facts... Your wedding invitations are often the first piece of physical communication that your guests receive, it suddenly puts a whole new spin on things and as a couple it makes you realise that 'this is actually happening'! The process of putting your wedding invitations together should be fun - choose a supplier that you connect with, let the supplier guide you through the process and before you know it those rsvp's will be flying back in.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Wow there are so many places to find inspiration, the internet is pretty much my go to; Pinterest, Instagram, Google, you could spend hours and hours of time roaming around looking at all the amazing things people are doing... It’s important to keep up-to-date with trends in the industry but I try to balance this with keeping my head down and working to the 'beat of my own drum'.
What would an initial wedding consult shape up like?
I offer both custom and template designed invitations. For our template designs we can work with clients over email and the phone. For custom designs I offer a complimentary consultation. This is an opportunity to come together and chat about your ideas and the kind of day that you are trying to achieve. I strongly encourage couples to send me visual inspiration of the type of invitations that they like. I can offer direction and help with wedding wording and content. Once the ideas have been discussed and the content is supplied then I will start the design process of putting together the first draft. From this point forward it’s a matter of going back and forth with proofs and amendments until the design is perfect and a true reflection of exactly what the couple set out to achieve.
Until next,
