I had the pleasure today of meeting Anne Kellog, owner of Las Vegas Paper Doll, the stylish stationery boutique located in the Holsum Lofts complex at 231 West Charleston Boulevard.
I was a stationery fanatic when I was a kid and entering Anne's boutique brought back that same sense of giddiness at all the beautiful papers, elegant and fun cards, writing accessories and invitations. Anne's beautiful and very sweet golden lab Luna, invited me inside in her own way with the wag of her tail and a kiss on the hand.
The store itself, as you can see, definitely has a modern, streamlined look. Anne carries a wide array of high style and unique, hand made greeting cards, personal note cards and stationery. From hip, vintage Vegas cards to hilarious and sassy cards with great graphics, Anne's love of the art of paper and letter writing is all around you.
"Anyone can write an email or text message and hit send, it's so easy and so accepted now, but to take the time to sit down at your desk, pull out a beautiful and personalized note card or sheet of paper and hand write a letter really tells the recipient how special and personal the sentiment is."
I couldn't agree more. Just a few days ago I received a "lovely note". I call them that because my aunts always would call my mom and tell her they received the "lovely note" Tracey sent. She is a fond acquaintance and sent me the note thanking me for attending an event she produced. I sincerely appreciate the time she took to say that she valued me being there.
Unfortunately, the art of letter writing is not as popular in these hurried times and Anne says she opened her store to do her part to keep this custom alive and make it fun for people to express themselves and want to write.
We also talked about weddings. Ann thinks there are angel wings waiting for us wedding planners in heaven! I like Anne! She carries a small but quality line of custom wedding invitations and wedding stationery from companies like Crane, "Something Different" from Carlson Craft that are modern & colorful as well as some smaller invitation houses with modern taste but surprisingly traditional touches.
Her customers come to her looking for something that speaks to their individuality beyond the thousands of invitations you find in the big invitation books. She is much attuned to what the bride wants after a brief interview and Anne says many do go for the modern and colorful designs, with highly stylized touches. But, every once in a while, she gets surprised."I had a bride come in to the store who was someone I knew pretty well. She was in her early 20's and really a funky, trendy girl. Because I felt I knew her, I showed her some of the more modern and trendy designs and they weren't making an impression. She then saw the book from Crane which is about as traditional and formal as you can get in an invitation; crisp white card stock, formal script lettering, no adornments. Her eyes lit up. This is what SHE wanted. Who knew?"
Ann's impression of where wedding invitation trends are heading is that brides are going to return to this level of classicism, formality and tradition from their mother's or grandmother's time. "The invitations will reflect a respect for a more romantic time gone by and for the institution of marriage but will still have modern elements like unique script fonts or special touches like a monogram that will reflect the couple's individuality".
And, because I was thinking you all would like to know (and so did I), I asked Anne for her best piece of invitation advice. "Take the time to select an invitation that will best convey the message about the kind of wedding you are having. For example if the wedding is a black tie affair, the invitation should set the tone with the correct formality of wording, font style and design."
Finally, "Think about your invitation as a remembrance of your wedding that could be an heirloom or worthy of framing for display. Be cognizant of what you put on the invitation so that it will be a pleasure to look at in years to come. Asking that no children allowed or, G-d forbid, requests for registry gifts, will blemish what would otherwise be a lovely memento."
Very wise advice indeed and thank you so much Anne. It was a pleasure spending time with you today and thank you for your passion to your art and your business. If you are looking for wedding invitations or stylish stationery and cards to begin your letter writing, stop in and say hello to Anne and Luna at Las Vegas Paper Doll!
Have a Stylish Day!
