Hey look! Shiny new logo:

Posted on | Thursday, June 9, 2011 | 5 Comments

Thank you, to everyone, for your wonderful comments on a previous post! I was so pleasantly surprised. I had not realized it would have generated such great dialogue. I was also happy to see fellow designer (amazing!) and wonderful friend, Elizabeth, speaking out on the subject as well. :)

As part of the re-brand I was talking about previously, I decided to give my logo a face lift. I'd been tossing the idea around in my head for the better part of over a year and finally took the plunge! I really wanted the logo to "fit" the Twigs & Honey aesthetic. I was scared at first because I had been using the old logo for so long! I think I had become very attached to it. I am a creature of habit and like the familiar but also like to try new things so overall, I feel like it was the a step in the right direction. After multiple revisions (thank you to the amazing calligrapher for her patience with me), the logo is finished and I LOVE it. I think it is the perfect amount of whimsy mixed with sophistication and style. Loveliness, class, and just a little pizazz. More re-branding to come!

Our Double band golden tiara is now available in silver

Posted on | Tuesday, May 31, 2011 | 8 Comments

(pictured in gold above; photo credits: Elizabeth Messina)

Our bestselling Double band golden tiara, Style #147 is now available in silver by popular request! This style is fast becoming one of the most beloved pieces in our collection, but we've had so many requests for a silver version that we finally decided to add it. You can purchase HERE.

The halo headband worn as a belt

Posted on | Wednesday, May 25, 2011 | 3 Comments

The flower halo I was working on previously as a belt with a pretty Kate Towers dress I've had for a few years. :)

Made this

Posted on | Thursday, May 19, 2011 | 9 Comments

Still working on it, but almost done...

Yipee!

Posted on | Tuesday, May 17, 2011 | 4 Comments

Behold... all sorts of goodies from Benefit!!

photo coming!

I'm in girly heaven. These things make a plain girl very happy. :)
Thank you to a special bride, Emily!! Love it all!

Custom work

Posted on | Monday, May 16, 2011 | 4 Comments

I haven't had very much time to take on custom orders, but here are the last two custom requests for some very special brides. :)

These feathers were each hand dyed (remember these?) to create a colorful custom Flourish feather flower.

Custom silk flower made with hand dyed and stiched silk for a soft ivory finish.

Dress love...

2 Comments

blogger's been acting up...

Posted on | Friday, May 13, 2011 | No Comments

Blogger's has been having issues... some posts and comments are having disappearing and reappearing acts. :P Hopefully, it will be fixed soon!

Thank you!

Posted on | Thursday, May 12, 2011 | 20 Comments

Thank you to all the great Twigs & Honey blog readers and fans out there. I truly appreciate all your support these last 3 years!

I really do love what I do. It is a ton of work and it means the world to me to hear all the sweet comments and read all your wonderful emails. :)

We're continuing to grow and evolve and it's been a great learning experience. We've added a couple production workers and have lots of new endeavors on the horizon.

I have one awkward thing to say in the midst of all this.
As a designer, I think it's common to find that imitation does not feel like flattery. Sometimes it is a few instances and other times, repeated offenses, but it can be frustrating when you feel like you're putting your heart and soul into your brand only to see it continually copied and emulated. Many times, it's minor and no big deal (you have to grow a pretty thick skin), but lately (the last year or two), there has been one other designer that continually replicates not only designs but branding, marketing, descriptors, logos, etc. I've had several other designers/individuals point it out to me so I know I'm not going nutty, but it is definitely disheartening. I think it is one thing to copy someones designs, but it takes it to a whole new level when all the branding is nearly identical. I could point out a plethora of examples, but I don't want to be too obvious. It is actually kind of creepy and makes me uncomfortable - that is, the extent of how far it has gone (common responses from moi - "WTF?" "Really?"). I personally find it very odd to try so hard to be exactly like another company. Why would you want to do that? I really don't know what one could achieve besides short term monetary gain. Ethically & personally - I think it is just wrong and unfruitful. That's just my opinion.

Long story short, the best I can do is always look forward and continue doing what I have been doing. As part of a continual effort toward making Twigs & Honey a unique and innovative brand, I've decided to do some revamping of the branding. I think it's time for a lovely facelift. A huge motivator is the aformentioned offending designer, but another big factor is to keep Twigs & Honey fresh and refined. I can't wait to unveil what we have in the works! Keep checking back for updates. Some new things in the next few months... bigger things over the next year and beyond!

Keep on keeping on! :)

Kate Middleton's bridal day look

Posted on | Friday, April 29, 2011 | 2 Comments

Kate Middleton's bridal day look is stunning and timeless. Her Sarah Burton dress, lace embellished veil and tiara are a perfect ensemble.

Photo credits: Getty via CBS

Complete your own bridal look fit for a princess with a Twigs & Honey Silk tulle with lace trim veil Style 053:

Photo credits: Lisa Warninger

Double band golden tiara Style 147

Photo credits: Elizabeth Messina

Congrats to Prince William and Kate!

Experiments with color

Posted on | Friday, April 22, 2011 | 11 Comments

NYC recap and Ann Taylor windows

16 Comments

Matt and I went on a last, last minute trip to NYC earlier in the week/weekend and had a great time. We've both never been so everything was new. :) It was mostly meetings and business, but we did get to squeeze in some great meals and sightseeing.

Off to NYC

Posted on | Friday, April 15, 2011 | 6 Comments

The better half and I are heading to NYC tomorrow morning for the weekend and will be back Tuesday with lots of photos of the Ann Taylor windows. :) :) :)
We hope to chow down on lots of yummy food, take in the sights, and have a few great meetings. More updates next week! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!! Thank you so much for the amazingly sweet comments on the previous post about the windows... we were thrilled to read them!!!!!!!

Ann Taylor Window Displays :: Twigs & Honey paper flowers

Posted on | Thursday, April 7, 2011 | 31 Comments

Inspiration board from the Ann Taylor Blog

Twigs & Honey was recently commissioned to design and create paper flowers for the window displays of Ann Taylor retail stores. Pretty amazing, yes? It was a massive undertaking for us but very gratifying! I designed multiple paper flowers, some adapted from my handmade silk flowers and others that were brand new and Ann Taylor chose 9 total designs/sizes for their lovely windows. They will be featured during the month of April and will be in 266 stores nationwide. There are a few NYC locations and other flagship stores that will be receiving an extra special amount of flowers for a truly impressive display. We started discussions in late January and when we got the greenlight, we had about 3 weeks to finish the project. We had to purchase about 6000+ parent sized sheets of paper. They were all cut based on my patterns and then we had to hire and train about 27 contract workers around the area to help with the hand pressing and assembly (including my mom and mother-in-law!). After we got all the finished flowers back, we had just a couple days to package everything accordingly and then Matt and I drove them all down to California for distribution (okay, Matt did all the driving while I was passed out most of the way). Overall, it was the most grueling and stressful project ever, mainly due to the short turnaround time, but it was pretty awesome. Every single day was extraordinarily long and exhausting and it felt like there was some sort of crisis everyday, but in the end, we were so happy with completing the massive project and so grateful. Thank you so much, Ann Taylor, for this amazing opportunity! Also, thank you so much to all the contract workers for working tirelessly to finish the flowers. Each contractor had to make from 475-600+ flowers in a little over a week. That is VERY impressive!!!

Here are some photos of the flowers. Matt and I will be taking more photos of the actual displays later in the month. :)