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This is the part of the story where you find out that my husband, Dave, makes awesome hand-crafted soaps! On one of our earliest trips to Orcas Island, he got hooked on some handmade soaps he found in one of the great shops there. He works very hard at his day job as a computer tech, and was in desperate need of a fun hobby, so a couple of years ago, he decided to try his hand at making some himself.
The first attempts were… interesting… (right, Dave? I still have a bar of the original batch in the shop sink downstairs!) He experimented over and over with different formulas for the basic mixture, adjusting this and that, and having his friends and family try them out. Over time, he has gotten REALLY. GOOD.
So good, that he just started selling them on Etsy last month. Behold:
I helped with packaging — each one has a label with the logo letterpress-printed in black ink on Hahnemuhle Bugra paper. The soap’s scent is hand-lettered by me in opaque white gouache. I’m glad I’m doing this for him — it is a good excuse to practice my own calligraphic style every once in awhile! I’m calling it “Casual Copperplate” because it’s basically just my own relaxed writing while using some of the rules of that traditional hand.
The soaps are all-natural, vegan-friendly, and the scents are incredible — my favorite ones are anything with mint (I think they are perfect for helping you wake up in the morning). He’s got some tea-tree mint and orange-mint coming out soon, and I can’t wait to try them out as soon as they are done curing. He also makes plenty of decidedly “manly” soaps. Don’t ask him to make anything with chocolate. He’s leaving that to Jessica Simpson.
They make a great gift — check it out!
–Tara
I don’t do business cards very often, but these were too fun to pass up! Bunnies!
One of my former wedding clients, Kathleen McGivney, approached me last October about creating a ton of business cards for a new venture of hers: Hanne Apparel — a line of organic and recycled clothing.
One of the partners, artist Lola Ramona, had already created the bunny illustration, and the group had a basic idea of what they wanted. I simply helped fine tune their design and then we were off, were printing 3000 dark charcoal-colored bunnies (they really do multiply).
I love the jewel toned teal color they chose for all the wording, and that cute little “Love Thyself” tag line.
In keeping with Hanne’s organic, recycled company vision, I recommended some of Porridge Papers’ handmade recycled paper for the cards. The color we used is called “Bad Taste,” and it is literally junk mail recycled into very cool letterpress paper. As in: I called to order the paper, and they said they’d have their employees start bringing in all their junk mail for a few weeks. It’s amazing… Every card was different, smattered with mulitcolored specks and bits, and even the occasional piece of embedded plastic (I assume from those pesky commercial window envelopes).
Porridge makes a ton of great recycled colors — even custom, vivid, deep-colored papers, and seeded papers your guests can plant after your wedding. If you have something special in mind, or are committed to having an extra-green wedding, they are a great option. Just let us know what you’re looking for, and we can price it out for you!
Thank you, Kathleen, Lola and Elizabeth — I wish you much success with your venture!
–Tara
ps. Don’t you wish your name was Lola Ramona? I always wanted a rhyming name. You can check out more of her illustrations and artwork here.
In this case, it wanted zebra print. Without further ado, behold: the invitations for Sean and Alma’s wedding! It’s definitely a departure from Ephemera’s usual style, but it was also a lot of fun. I will admit… when Alma first mentioned animal print as a component of her wedding vision, I was a little skeptical. Zebra? For a wedding? And you wanna be my sister in law? But then I remembered that she was marrying my brother Sean, who has never been one to go with the mainstream. If his bride was asking for a zebra print wedding invitation, it was probably a good sign. Plus, I like a challenge. The end result is “strangely beautiful,” as a friend put it:
This Z-folding invitation was offset printed in 2 colors with a cool cover, a custom map, satin ribbon sash, and matching hand-lined black envelopes. I had hoped to do a silk screen / letterpress combination with this project, but it involved experimenting, and time was of the essence. Bummer! The good news is, it’s a great example of how Ephemera can take your unique ideas, and turn them into something that does just what you wanted it to do. What’s your wild idea?
The wedding was a couple of weekends ago near the Riverwalk in my home town of San Antonio, Texas. It was a very personalized, do-it-yourself affair that captured the happy couple’s fun-loving spirit. Only Sean could have convinced the wedding party to SASHAY up the aisle to “Feelin’ Good,” or written a song for Alma instead of reciting traditional vows. The Mexican food was catered by Alma’s family, the margaritas flowed, and the mariachis played into the night. This picture pretty much sums it up:
photo by Angela Ramos
Congrats, you two. Much love,
Tara
ps. Just for fun, I have to share my favorite of Alma’s bridal portraits. I believe it was taken at one of the missions in San Antonio. Kinda stunning 
