Urban Unveiled 2012

This week we were fortunate to participate, once again, in the Urban Unveiled wedding show at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle.  I spent a long time getting our display ready and am so pleased with how it turned out that I have to share it with you all.  

We were debuting some new products for our custom favor line.  We have whimsical new packaging for our natural lips balms that we're calling "Seattle Sundries' Butterfly Kisses".  I think you can see why.  The fun thing about them is that they are totally customizable: flavor, color, paper style, etc. They are favors that do double duty as decorations.  We also have new little custom favor boxes that hold three small guest soaps...which also can be totally personalized for any event.

We displayed some examples of retro groomsman gift sets that would be perfect for the gentlemen in any wedding party.

See that neat old box in front?  I found that on a visit home to the ranch a few years ago.  It was stuffed with miscellaneous little items, including the ones you see below.  These are the matchbooks, foil paper cutouts, and white swans that were favors for the celebration of my great-grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.  They were married 100 years ago, last month. For real.  I kept the box closed during the show, but the few people who were curious enough to lift the lid got to hear the story of Gunda and Louis' nuptials.

We also had our bath soaps in custom tins on display for folks to sniff and feel.

These were some lovely little clutch purses that I made to show how unique bridesmaid gift sets can be made using our skincare products.  See how the inside fabric on the clutches matches the table skirt?  These were fun to make.  You should try it!

Happily, our space was right next to the charming lady who owns Fiore Blossoms.

Of course, Luly Yang was there.

And City Catering...

And the dapper gentlemen from True Colors Events...

There were so many beautiful things to see that I couldn't possibly show them all, but I think this might have been my favorite floral arrangement in the whole place.

The most admired and eye-catching part of our display were the cherry blossom branches that we hung the Butterfly Kisses from.  They were battery operated LED lights that were so easy to arrange and were just perfect for the butterflies.  I highly recommend them for any such displays you make in the future.

Once the sun went down, the lights were dimmed and the candles were lit, it made a most lovely sight.

Seattle Bride's Best of 2012

We had a wonderful time last night at Seattle Bride Magazine's annual "Best Of" event.  It was held at the the waterfront at the Seattle Aquarium.  We were thrilled to be nominated, for the third year in a row, in the category Most Creative Favors.  Thanks to Seattle Bride Magazine for their ongoing support of the Seattle wedding and events industry!

Valentine Smooch Stick Giveaway

As some of you may remember, Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday.  Not that my husband and I usually go out and do anything fancy or romantic, I just like the sentiment.  

In honor of Valentine's Day, I've put together a cute little gift set of three Smooch Sticks which come in a small muslin pouch with a pink ribbon and cupid tag. It's a great gift for spouses and soul mates, kids, mothers, brothers and the like. It lasts a LOT longer than flowers, by the way.  Not that flowers aren't wonderful.

The set is available for purchase on our website now and can be shipped in time for Valentine's Day.  

I've decided to do a little giveaway as well, because that's the way I roll.  On Thursday I will randomly choose three lucky winners to each receive one Valentine's Day set.  In order to enter, please leave a post answering the following question: What's your favorite love song?  Mine is probably Always on My Mind by Willie Nelson or I Was Born to Love Her by Ivan & Alyosha.  How about you?

Update:  I'm hearing that a few folks are having trouble getting the Blogger system to accept their comments.  If this has happened to you, please let me know.  If you would like to email me with your comment I can post it on the entry so that you have a chance to win in the giveaway.  Please send emails to info [at] seattlesundries.com.

Urban Unveiled at Benaroya Hall

We had a lovely time at Urban Unveiled this week.  I was very impressed and inspired by so many of the vendor displays that were there.  Here are a few highlights from the Founders Room, where we were located...

There were beautiful sweet things from The People's Cake

And gorgeous creations from Fena Flowers.  The theme for the show was "Diamond" and they did a really nice job incorporating it in to their display.

Look at the creative idea that City Catering came up with.  They were sticking with the Diamond theme as well and  made thousands of little drill holes in the back-lit serving stands, which were each filled with pegs to make the beautiful glowing effect you see here.  And their food was fantastic!

Here was our area.  I'm very happy with how it came together.  I had fun coming up with some new packaging designs for the event and was able to incorporate some glittery, diamond accents in to tie it all together.  We were very pleased with the great response we got from the many attendees on this memorable evening.

Thanks for a great event!

Seattle Bride's Best of 2011

We had a great time last night attending Seattle Bride Magazine's "Best of 2011" party.  When we arrived, we learned that (for the second year in a row) we were nominated in the category Most Creative Favors.  

We were in great company as nominees with local businesses Marrylicious  and Paper Fling.  The winner ended up being Marrylicious, but the funny thing is...in the magazine photograph showing a Marrylicious gift basket, you can see a lovely tin of our Lavender Lover Soap nestled among the other local products they use.  Tee hee.  Love it!  

Thanks to the folks at Seattle Bride Magazine, the readers, and the other wedding industry folks for nominating us and recognizing the creativity in what we do.

Spring Wedding Show

I'm excited to be participating in a new wedding show this year.  It's called  The One Wedding and Events Showcase, and it will take place in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle on the evening of Thursday, March 31st.  It's at a really cool venue called Urban Light Studios, which has great indoor and outdoor space with an artsy, eclectic feel.  There will be over 30 wedding and events related vendors there to show folks what they have to offer.  I'll be displaying some of my custom work, handing out out samples and chatting with people all evening.  I hope you can stop by!

Weddings in Woodinville 2011

I spent a lovely day in Woodinville yesterday at the 2011 Weddings in Woodinville event.  This year I was at the Novelty Hill | Januik Winery, which I'd not visited before.  It was beautiful: very modern and tasteful and a great backdrop for just about any decorating theme.  In my opinion, that's one of the nicest things about a modern aesthetic...it makes a great foil for contrasting styles.  Yesterday's event was a shining example of that.

The building and location of  Novelty Hill | Januik is smooth and striking, with clean lines and neutral colors.  I'm sorry that I didn't get any great photos of the exterior.  You should visit their website to see what an artful and architecturally beautiful place it is.  It's also very nicely laid out, both visually and functionally.

All of the decorative elements at the event were coordinated by the very talented Kirstie Warren of Simply Wed.  Her theme was "Whimsy & Wit" and she did a fantastic job of using vibrant, cheery colors and playful fabrics and patterns to brighten the space at the winery.  You could see the delighted faces of each attendee (mostly prospective brides and their entourages) as they entered and took it all in.  It looked like spring and sorbet.  Here are some photos:

The main room was set as though a wedding would soon be starting...all the way down to the individual place cards at each table setting.

The flowers were all done by Stacie of Blush Custom Floral.  They were lovely, and she was too.  

The cake from J.W. Desserts...incredible.  And the creator, John, works from Whidbey Island.  Awesome.

 

 

 

This (above) was the Simply Wed table display, which included the small guest soaps that I made for the event.  They seemed to be a hit. Whew!

This seating area was at one corner of the main wine making room.  The white couches (from Pedersen's Rentals), strings of lights, and "candy bar" popped in the open airy space next to the huge industrial looking stainless steel vats.  Cool. 

And here was my little display.  I had fun coordinating the packaging for my custom soaps  with the whole "Whimsy and Wit" idea and the fun colors for the event.  I hope to be invited back again next year!!

 

Seattle Sundries Custom Wedding Favors

Weddings in Woodinville

It may seem strange, since it's quite dark, cold and wet right now in Seattle, but it's prime wedding planning season.  Any of you who have organized a wedding before  know that it takes many months to get all your ducks in a row and make the multitude of small and large decisions that go into the actual event.  Well, if you're planning a fair-weather celebration, that means you're busy getting ready NOW. 

Last year I had the honor of participating as a vendor in the first annual Weddings in Woodinville.  I am back again this year, showing what I can do in the custom favors department.  The event is really fun and a great concept for a wedding show.  Woodinville, Washington (for those of you who aren't familiar with it) is a lovely town about 30 minutes east of Seattle in what used to be all farm country.  Now it's generally considered to be a commuting suburb, but it retains the country feel and natural beauty it's always had.  It's also a prime wine making location, with no fewer than 70 wineries operating there.  Some of these wineries would a be perfect location for a wedding or rehearsal dinner.

For the Weddings in Woodinville event, attendees are shuttled from one lovely location to the next inside a swanky ride, where they can sample food and wine and check out photographers, linen suppliers and other wedding vendors (like custom handcrafted favors, ahem).  Each participating winery is decorated by one of the top event planners in the Seattle metro area, so that attendees can get ideas and more easily envision the details of their own celebration.  It's fun, and beautiful, and I get to do it again this year. 

This year (on January 30th) I will be at the  Novelty Hill • Januik Winery location, along with Kirstie Warren of Simply Wed, Blush Custom Floral and J.W Desserts, to name a few.  Last year the 350 tickets for the event sold out in three weeks.  This year, the organizers have expanded the event to allow for up to 600 attendees.  Tickets can be bought online, and reservations should definitely be made in advance.  Hope to see you there!

Couture Soaps

As I promised, here is a sneak peek at the custom soaps that I did for the Luly Yang Couture fashion event, which takes place this evening at the Seattle Aquarium. I think that they turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself! It's hard to see from the photos, but the labels have a lovely iridescent shimmer to them, thanks to a little trick I have up my sleeve. What do you think?

Graphic image for labels created by Izzy Girl for the Luly Yang Couture Ocean event.

Children's Hospital & Luly Yang Couture

One of the many things that I enjoy about my role as a business owner is the opportunity to be involved in fundraising for local charities. I will be a sponsor at an event next week that raises money for Children’s Hospital here in Seattle. I am thrilled to report that I’ve only actually been to Children’s twice, so far. One trip was due to a hockey injury and the other for a CT scan that was scary, but turned out to be no big deal. We are so fortunate to have three healthy children, and to have insurance and the money to pay for care if anything were to happen to them.

On our last trip to the Children’s Hospital I cried. It was not because of my son’s injury, but because of another boy the same age who was there. He was on a first name basis with the staff in the ER because of his frequent visits. He was bleeding from his nose and had very little hair. He and his mother were staying at the Ronald McDonald House. All hospitals are sobering, but to be a mother walking down halls filled with sick and dying children is more gut wrenching than I can express.

So, when I recently was given the opportunity to be a sponsor for an event here in Seattle which is raising money for Children’s Hospital, I jumped at the chance. It is the annual couture fashion show where local designer Luly Yang introduces her newest line of evening gowns and wedding dresses. Last year the event raised over $100,000 for Camp Korey, a Carnation facility to help children who have serious illnesses.

I will be a sponsor at this year’s event, which will be held at the Seattle Aquarium and will be appropriately themed “Ocean”. I am contributing custom Ocean soaps for the attendees as a thank you for their generous donations to Children’s. Putting together the packaging has been a very enjoyable creative process for me. I always like doing custom projects, but this one has been unusually fun. I got to visit the studio (incredible!) and sit down with Luly and Travis McBurney from True Colors Events to discuss the color scheme, textures and look for the show…and for Luly to choose a scent for the soap. Fun!

I’m almost done with the finished product. I’ll probably give you all a sneak peek, but not until the day of the show. As a sponsor, I also get to attend the event. I’ve never been to a fashion show before. Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to wear! Aaack! No pressure there…

image credit: Luly Yang Couture