CAKE!! The icing on your BIG DAY!

My Encantare team members fell in love with a line of t-shirts at the show "A Soolip Wedding" at Social Hollywood this year. I later met face to face with the woman that designed the shirts, and we found out very quickly we have a common love. Soft fabrics (I've been called a connoisseur of soft!) and custom, detailed designs. I now open the floor to the passionate and creative Lisa Tse (pronounced "See"):

When I was getting married 2 years ago, I searched high and low for fun, hip gifts for my bridal party that weren’t (for lack of a better word) cheesy. Being a designer, I was really particular about details & style and didn’t want to give them something that I wouldn’t wear or buy myself. After being a graphic designer for the fashion industry for many years, designing my own wedding invitations and hearing many of my guests say “Hey, you should do this for a living!”, I decided to start my own design studio called, INKBOX DESIGN BOUTIQUE, specializing in custom, high end invitation design. Building on the idea that if I couldn’t find what I liked out there, I’d create it myself, I added a product division, called CAKE (the icing on your BIG DAY!) and got to work creating the first product I’ve launched...a line of bridal party t-shirts for modern, fashion-savvy brides.

I started by using my experience in apparel graphics, print & packaging design that I got while working for Abercrombie & Fitch, Paul Frank Industries, ROXY & Hard Candy and created a sophisticated looking graphic that (from afar) looked like a cool, fashionable tee that any stylish woman would wear...Then, when you got closer, you’d see that it’s a bridal party t-shirt with cheeky attitude. The MISS BRIDE tee has fun phrases like, “Sorry Fellas, This One’s Taken”, “Soon To Be Hitched!” and “Technically Still Single.” The BRIDESMAID tee says, “The Bad Influence” and “Homegirl To The Bride” and the MAID OF HONOUR tee says, “Partner In Crime” and “Bride’s Personal Cheerleader” (among other fun stuff!). I chose colorways so that all of the tees coordinate together so they can be mixed and matched to suit each bride. My screen printer was nice enough to let me stand over his shoulder as he mixed custom ink colors to get the exact shade that I wanted (which not many will do!)...

Next, I searched for the perfect t-shirt to screen print on. Quality and comfort is everything! I inspected and tried on many tees and fell in love with the super soft, luxurious 100% combed cotton tee that I chose. It’s made with extra length and has a flattering fit. (I even sleep in mine!)

The final step in making this a bridal party gift like none other out there was creating chic, girly packaging for it. I LOVE PACKAGING!!! So I had a beautiful box made with a die cut window that displays the tee graphic inside. I thought about how they would be displayed in boutiques...It was important to me that this looked like a gift you would give someone, not just a t-shirt hanging on a rack or folded on a table. I even designed a space on the back for the gift giver to hand write a personal message to the recipient. I chose to hand write the tee size on the box, which gives it a more one of a kind, hand crafted feel. Details, details!

Then, I hired the photographer who shot my wedding because he did such an amazing job, hired models and had a full blown photo shoot that I styled and art directed. It was really important to show the tees in a real environment, so we staged a bridal shower in the park by the ocean and we got some great shots (which can be seen on my website www.inkboxdesign.com).

The tees are great for many occasions-----I want people to know that they’re not a 1-time use tee. They are perfect for the obvious; bridal showers, bachelorette parties and group events like spa day with the girls, but they are also great for anything you do around town like dress fittings, shopping excursions, hair-do trials, cake tastings, rehearsal dinners, mani/pedi’s, engagement photos and brides can take it on their honeymoon, too...oh yeah and once the BIG DAY has passed, as I mentioned before, they are so soft, you’re gonna want to sleep in them!

I recently sent these to a celebrity who just got married. She put them in gift bags she gave to each of her girls and I just received a thank you note from her saying “They are sooooo comfortable! It was such a perfect gift!” Then, her wedding coordinator who saw them on all of the girls at the wedding in France said how cute they all looked. (Believe me, I’m dying to tell you who it was, but I was sworn to secrecy! Hollywood!)

I carry my love for details and packaging throughout every invitation ensemble I create, making sure I really show the personality and style of both the event and the person throwing it! The themes or color schemes really inspire me and drive the design. I incorporate unexpected materials and really try to do things you don’t see everyday. The best part of my job is seeing my clients’ faces when they see the finished product and hearing about all of the wonderful comments they get from their guests. One bride received lots of emails & voicemails the day her invitations were received. Some were crying, some were screaming and most were surprised at how the invites captured her personality so perfectly. The thing I hear the most is ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before’, which means I did my job.

To order Cake Tees or to see samples of my Invitation Design Work, go to: http://www.inkboxdesign.com/