Meet our Friends & Vendors : Empress Stationery

Hello, hello!

This has been a busy week for us here at Spark & Arrow! Did you hear we just went full time? That's right now we (Kamin & Sarah) are all yours all the time. And we have some pretty big things on the books and coming soon so get excited!

But more about that later, we want to introduce you to Jessica at Empress Stationery. Lovely, no?

Friends, if you haven't visited her site go...right now, go! EmpressStationery.com. She is incredibly talented and you are just in time for Christmas Cards. We hung out with Jess and talked business and fun and oh my, we can't wait to show off her studio!

We also had a little fun with a mini interview!

Jessica answered these questions for us...

When did you start Empress Stationery?

I started Empress Stationery when I made my first invitation for a friend in 2008. I was working in advertising for a publishing company, and while my job was great, I was searching for a creative outlet. I found it! All at once, I fell in love with social paper and everything that goes with it. Soon, I found myself with more clients, and worked every night after work to grow this little business into something I could do the rest of my life. It is a labor of love and I wouldn't have it any other way!

What inspires you the most?

I find inspiration in everything, really. That's a hard question. I have several blogs I follow, and magazines that I read. But the real inspiration comes from the people I surround myself with. My fellow creative peers, my family, my friends. Also, for some reason, every time I walk out of Anthropologie, I feel like I'm ready to conquer the world. And I hardly ever buy anything. I think I soak in the "pretties" in that store and I feel like a brand new girl. Yes, shopping is honestly inspiring for me, haha!

Who is your favorite fellow Birmingham Vendor?

My favorite fellow Birmingham vendor is Brittany Lott with Elle Affairs. Brittany was the first local wedding planner to reach out to me and ask me to be part of a joint photo shoot with other local wedding vendors. After working as an Art Director in publishing for so long, I was missing the photo shoot aspect of work, and the team work as well. This way, I had a chance to design for the camera again, and that's always so great because of the creative freedom that comes with it. Brittany trusts me to design what I think will photograph best! From that point, we have built a wonderful working relationship, and she is truly so talented. Check her out at www.elleaffairs.com.

What song is on repeat in your office right now?  

Music in my studio...a must! I still have the same iPod from college (it has survived 8 years!), and besides a very cracked screen, it is still rockin' and rollin'! I don't have a  particular song per say, but my Van Morrison mix is a constant for me. So it has ol' Van of course, but it also has Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood, the Stones, and the rest of the greats. Also, we are currently in Christmas card land, so Bing Crosby is hanging around the office these days!

Jessica and her sister do amazing work at Empress Stationery, and we are so excited for some future projects with them and can't wait to see what Jessica designs next!

She is currently working on Christmas card designs and there are always Weddings in the mix. You  can find more of her work on EmpressStationery.com and in her Etsy Store. But here are a few of our very favorites from her stock!  

Thank you Empress Stationery & stay fabulous!

Love,

Your girls at Spark & Arrow!