Sending the gift of flowers from seeded paper since 1995
Of The Earth customers had a busy summer. Here are some images that they shared recently of how they used our products. They include wedding invitations, delicate jewelry, custom art, seeded goods and more!
Wedding Suites:
Customized seeded wedding card
Gift Giving:
Little seeded butterflies with blue larkspur
Artwork:
In ancient Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of a rainbow. She makes a rainbow bridge to travel between the heavens and waters below to fetch drinks for the gods in Olympus. The freedom to travel between these worlds allows her to be the messenger, the communicator between mortals and immortals. Folks usually ‘wish upon a star,’ but next time I see a rainbow, I’ll give my hopes to Iris so she can carry them where they need to be heard.
Speaking of rainbows and communication, I think of Lori Graham as our very own ‘Iris in Residence.’ She’s our color impresario, the master dyer and co-owner of Of The Earth. She creates glorious rainbows of ribbons using sustainable practices. She obsesses about shades, and recently I took an opportunity to speak with her about color.
Q: Lori, besides the lovely ribbons of cotton and silk for Of The Earth, do you dye other materials?
Lori: Yes, I used to dye wool and cotton fabric using natural and chemical dyes.
Q: What were your favorite colors when you were younger?
Lori: When I was young, it was pink pink pink! Pink duvet, bedspread, pink lace – all pink – all the time. Then in my early twenties, lots of black. Now it’s orange.
Q: When new Pantone colors are released, do you generally agree with their trend sense?
Lori: I am interested in their bridal color forecast. That’s what I pay attention to because that’s what my clients will ask for. But I’m not always jazzed about the Pantone forecast and dread the “muted” or ambiguous tones that I’ll need to develop. For example, ‘seafoam’ (324, 324-5, 534, or 515?) and ‘merlot’ (093, 030, 247-5, or 232-5?) Both can be imagined in so many different ways.
Q: What is the most difficult color to achieve?
Lori: Right now I would have to say it’s “warm black.”
Black is a finicky mixture of colors and achieving the subtle differences in black shades is more of an art than a science. You’ve probably seen how when bleach splashes on black clothes, you get a lighter blotch, but it’s not grey or “pale black.” You may see a green, purple, orange, or blue blotch.
Lori continues: Regardless of ingredient inconsistencies, we are determined to create true colors for our clients. In the past, ‘warm black’ may have been a two step process. But more alterations and futzing is required when the original ingredients are different. So, we keep copious notes and are constantly working to ensure that our shades match our swatches. Our colors are definitely a secret recipe!
Q: Do you dream in color, and when you dress up to go out, what is your happiest celebration color?
Lori: Yes, I definitely dream in color and I feel best wearing the colors of a candle’s flame: red, bright orange, fiery yellow and teal blue of the hottest part.
You should head on over to WeddingSparrow.com to have a look at the beautiful photos taken in Vantage, Washington. The setting was stunning and the details were amazing.
You will wish it was the setting for your event.
We were honored to be a small part of the day and are delighted with how it turned out.
Lots of talent and hard work went into making this happen.
http://weddingsparrow.com/article/organic-desert-elopement-in-vantage
We are so fortunate to have such wonderful customers! We recently were contacted by a customer who celebrated a fall 2014 wedding who just wanted to say “Thanks” for our contribution to her wedding day. We had worked with her to find the right silk color for her wedding, not realizing until receiving the photos just how prominent our Earth Silk ribbon would be on display on her big day. It was so wonderful to have a window into her event and see the happiness on display. Thank you so much for sharing! We love how beautiful you made our silk ribbon look!
Photographer: R.T. Photography, Louisville, KY
Alterationist: Heather Brown Alteration, Louisville, KY
Flowers: By the Bride, Erin Tims
Since we started our silk dying studio in 2010, we have known there was a need for this, now we have finally made it happen. The Earth Silk Sample Set gives you a look at our 90 blends in a new way. The 1 inch wide lengths will let you see how the dyes interact with the material in a more informative way than our 5/8″ swatches can. The eight yard lengths allow you to see how the patterns that form on some of our blends, repeat. Unlike the swatch card where the silk is grouped in numerical order, on the silk sample cards we have arranged them by color.
You can find these sets on our samples page here custompaper.com/samplesets.
We have numbered them on both sides, with the silk overlapping by a half inch. You will notice that the ribbon’s number is centered on the correct color. You can also use the web site as a quick reference if you are unsure.
We were thrilled to receive news of our inclusion in the latest book by the talented Elaine Schmidt: How to Make 100 Ribbon Embellishments: Trims, rosettes, sculptures, and baubles for fashion, decor, and crafts.
“Create amazing trims, butterflies, flowers and more with How to Make 100 Ribbon Embellishments. With clever techniques and a huge selection of ribbon styles to choose from, the timeless art of making ribbon embellishments is better than ever. Let author Elaine Schmidt take you through 100 ribbon designs, offering helpful hints and tips to help you make beautiful accessories to place anywhere.”
This is the second time Elaine has used our products, the first was in her second book The Complete Photo Guide To Ribbon Crafts. The tutorial using our silk ribbon is featured below.
This is actually not our first foray into the publishing world. Our products have also been included in Green Wedding, It’s Easy Being Green and The Everything Green Wedding Book.
Thank you, Elaine – and congrats on yet another lovely publication!
Well we did it! We battled Super Bowl hotel prices, a slushy snow storm that shut down parts of the city and empty propane tanks (burrrrr!) in our efforts to put our Earth Silk ribbon line in front of an East Coast audience.
Here is our latest effort at creative film making (video #3)
http://www.custompaper.com/Files/OfTheEarthEntersNY.wmv
We would love to hear your thoughts.
Kevin
We know we are biased, but we are consistently amazed by the projects our clients create. Luckily, many of them are eager and excited to share said creations and generously send photos our way upon completing a project.
Jewelry designer Amanda Ace creates one-of-a-kind pieces and delivers them to clients in beautiful packaging (if we do say so ourselves) featuring our handmade papers and ribbon.
It is an enormous compliment to know your designs are being chosen for a first impression.
We recently worked with another client who created this gorgeous bridal bouquet using our silk ribbon, shown here in her wedding day portrait. Any of you brides and creative folk reading this; be sure to share your work with us so we can feature it here.
Here is a quick look at the Northlake Wedding Program for the Center for Urban Horticulture event space. We are using our Earth Silk ribbon blend #016 in conjunction with the lotka seed paper, black print and a light weight slate background. We think this says Whimsical Romance! What do you think?
It appears we have officially segued into the fashion industry: we have launched our very first silk ribbon wrap design! This is a one yard length of our hand dyed silk that is finished with two pointed ends and a seam stitch along the entire length.
Our modern take on the classic “fairy ribbon” design is available in over 150 color options. These Earth Silk ribbons are made by hand in our Seattle studio. We measure, mix, dye, rinse, wash, dry, fold, iron, stitch and sew to bring you this great wrist accessory.
The wrap is a thoughtful, eco-gift idea and an easy and affordable accessory option to elevate any ensemble. After years of inquiries, we are excited to offer to offer a hand dyed silk ribbon option to our jewelry-designing and accessorizing clients worldwide!