Vendor Spotlight: SimplyDesigned

Going into week three of the vendor spotlight series, I’m so excited to show you this one.  Heather from SimplyDesigned Invites is a person I met through another vendor and I not only love her work, but she has also become such a great friend.  In fact, Heather was the one who did my first vendor spotlight on her own blog (which is so cute, by the way – her blog, not necessarily my spotlight, hehe).  Just this past Sunday, I had the opportunity to meet with her and she is truly awesome.  Please enjoy… and make sure to check out her site and blog, too.

Who are you and what’s your company?

Who am I… hmmm, That is never an easy question. I’m an adventurer. I love getting lost in National Parks of the mid-west, discovering new places to spark new creativity. I’m also an amateur photographer that occasionally has my work shown in galleries across the country. My company is Simply Designed, a wedding and stationery design company. I specialize in wedding invitations and stationery packages, but enjoy working with everyone at all stages of life. I am currently working on a 2nd birthday invite for a little boy who really loves choo-choos. I love what I do and have so much fun designing and playing with paper.

When and how did your professional journey begin?

I’m a graphic designer by education and trade, and have worked in the industry for 10 years now. When I graduated college a very close friend of mine was getting married and was not happy with the pre-produced wedding invitations that she saw in stores. She came to me asking if I would design her invites for her. I felt so honored that she wanted me, but I kept thinking she was nuts. As a recent college grad she was trusting me to design her invites. We had so much fun! We got to play in paper stores and play with fonts, and she just allowed me to be as creative as I wanted to. Ever since then I have been creating invitations for friends and family members, and all of them have encouraged me to expand and create a company. So in 2009, I officially started Simply Designed. We are small now, but growing slowly.

In your opinion, what sets you apart from other business in your profession?

I take the time to get to know my client. I feel when you get to know your client, you can be the most creative for them, and provide a piece that fits them and their style. I truly love what I do, and I think it shows.

Besides weddings, are you involved in any other special events?

Since I’m a stationery designer as well, I work with clients at all stages of their life. I have designed birth announcements, birthday party invites, holiday cards, housewarming invites, change of address announcements, business cards, logos, if you can think of it, I will work with you to help it come to life!

One of my favorite colors is yellow, what’s yours?

There are too many to count. I love color! I’m such a design geek when it comes to color. I can actually have a full conversation with printers in PMS (for those of you who don’t speak color geek, PMS is an abbreviation for the Pantone true match color system, that is industry standard in the printing world for color mixtures) But if I have to pick just one….okay I really can’t the color swatches are laid out around me and I’m keep going “this one… no this one, ooo I love this one” Okay you get the point.

We all have wise words we can share when it comes to relationships.  What’s your advice?

Go to bed angry! Ha! I know it is the complete opposite from what everyone tells you, but this will give you time to cool down, think about what you are so mad about, and then have a rational talk with out killing each other. Let’s face it, they all leave the toilet seat up, we are bound to fall in once or twice!

What’s your favorite part about your profession?

Working with so many interesting and wonderful people, I get to see most people at their happiest, working with them at life changing moments is such a joy.

Finally, what’s the best way to contact you?

The best way to contact me is through e-mail heather@sdinvites.com to set up a phone conversation.

If you are interested in my work, you can go to www.sdinvites.com.