Feature Friday: Calligraphy Girl

At Pear Tree we know that what makes an event truly unique and memorable are the details. The smallest things make the biggest impact. Today we are super excited to introduce you to Lara Kiniris, also known as The Calligraphy Girl. Lara is a fantastic example of someone who used her skills to find a niche in the market and found success-- we love these stories! From Lara:

I am a stay at home mother of two wonderful children, Peter 3 and 1/2 and Katie 1 and 1/2. I have been doing calligraphy for about 20 years, but just for fun. I would do it for friends and family for weddings, parties, etc. But then I was thinking of ways to make money while I continued to stay at home with my children. I really love doing it, it's so relaxing and a fun way to be creative and think. Once I thought of a good name for my business, I tried to think of some of ways to get my name out there.

First I called the wedding planner who did my wedding 5 years ago. She gave me ideas and sent some brides my way. Then I started calling other wedding planners, stopped by some stationary stores, called tons of wedding vendors to see who I could network with. I was pleasantly surprised to know that there weren't a lot of people who do what I do and hardly any that had approached the people I was approaching. I got a lot of positive feedback from the people I spoke to and tons of encouragement. I have been keeping busy these past few months, thankfully, and it has been so enjoyable meeting new people , making new friends and seeing the look on a client's face when they see the finished the product. Most of my business comes from brides, but I work with other people too. Many times I will start with addressing for
save-the-dates, and then move on to the wedding invitations, then onto the place cards, table numbers and menus if needed. I do certificates for awards, poetry, just about anything. I do calligraphy as well as any creative type of writing. I even do the writing on invitations for children's parties in child-like writing. I love what I do and am so thankful that my business continues to grow...

Lara, we want to see your business grow too. Below is a sample of The Calligraphy Girl's work. Traditionally calligraphy has been reserved for weddings, but why wouldn't you want to add that special touch to baby shower invitations, graduation announcements, or even your child's birthday invitations?
Head over to The Calligraphy Girl's website and admire all the gorgeous styles she offers. Then start thinking about the next event you want to host so you can hire her to address your invitations!

Giveaway Goodness

In our opinion, giveaways are a win-win. Goodies for the winner, exposure and advertising for the company offering the giveaway, and just good old fashioned fun in the form of freebies and the anticipation of finding out if you've won.

Here are a couple of the giveaways going on right now. Go enter!

• 50 two-color invitations (with printed envelopes) and 50 one-color reply cards (with printed envelopes) from the Satsuma Press Wedding Line — on either house paper (both are 100% cotton) customizable with your choice of house fonts and inks. Giveaway ends July 6th. See details here.
  
• Paloma's Nest gold leaf edge Ring Bearer Bowl and coordinating "Bridal Bouquet Text Tile." Ends June 28th. Click here for details.

Feature Friday: The Frosted Cake Shop

As you may already know, Pear Tree Events has a passion for local small businesses. We love to support those in our community and we know how challenging it can be to compete with the "big box" companies. We are thrilled to introduce you to The Frosted Cake Shop today.

Tessa Lindlow is the owner of this fabulous little convection company. One look at The Frosted Cake Shop blog and you will be hooked. Tessa works her cake magic out of The Old Soul Co. on L St. in downtown Sacramento. She specializes in custom works of art and desserts with edible design elements. These are just a few of her many gorgeous creations...

On TFCS's blog, Tessa comments that the guitar is "not to scale" but we think it looks amazing. And the detail on that soccer ball cake-- too cute to even cut into!

Planning a baby shower? The booties on the top of that baby girl cake will be the highlight of your party.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind that ladybug cake staring back at me if it was my ladybug birthday party.

When my baby was born, Tessa was gracious enough to surprise us with one of her adorable polka dot "smash" cakes with my son's name on it. I can't wait until his first birthday so she can design another stunning cake for us. What is a "smash" cake, you ask? Just what it sounds like of course. Tessa will make one cake for your guests to enjoy, and another for your little one to enjoy! I can just see the pictures of my kiddo smashing his in a few months.

This cake happens to be my personal favorite. Tessa would gladly change those colors and logo to represent the team of your choice, but why mess with perfection?

Now that you've met Tessa Lindlow and the fantastic Frosted Cake Shop, click on over to their blog and drool over more of her incredible cakes and cupcakes.

Favorites: Style Me Pretty

I don't know how there is anyone out there who hasn't heard of Style Me Pretty. It is truly THE blog for the style-obsessed bride. Not only do they feature real life weddings submitted by real life brides, but they have some fantastic vendors who regularly host giveaways on their site.

Stop by Style Me Pretty today and check out the Bridal Party $1000 Giveaway from BlueFly!

SMP is a constant source of inspiration for us at Pear Tree Events and, well, we love to share helpful resources. Enjoy!

Check us out on Spearmint Baby!

Head on over the the fabulous all-things-baby website Spearmint Baby and comment on Heidi's Baby Shower which was featured on their site this morning!

Feature Friday: Urban Shutter Bug Photography

Are you as jealous as I am of that engagement photo? The balloons add such a whimsical feel and photographer Michelle Logan captured the moment perfectly. If you don't already know about Urban Shutter Bug Photography then today is your lucky day! These photos are a miniscule sample of the incredible work Michelle Logan has on display at her website."With 8 years of shooting experience and four years of black & white and color photography education under her belt, Michelle Logan is ready to cover your wedding or event.

Shooting with both film and digital Nikon bodies. Michelle can shoot your wedding or event so that you will have memories for years to come.

Michelle Logan has covered over 40 weddings and other large important life events. Her work has been housed in The Artist Alley, a San Francisco gallery and also published in Stash Magazine."

We are fortunate at Pear Tree Events to have the pleasure of working with Urban Shutter Bug Photography-- in addition to a wedding we are coordinating, Michelle is actually going to be doing a family session for me next month!

Thank you to Michelle Logan and Urban Shutter Bug Photography for allowing us to feature some amazing photos this morning.

Feature Friday: Bella Cupcake Couture

I bet you didn't know there was a way to improve even the most delicious cupcake! Carrie Middlemiss did though. When Carrie discovered that because of the economic downturn she, like many others, was going to be without a job she took those lemons and not only made lemonade, but made lemon frosted cupcakes in gorgeous decorative wrappers.

Bella Cupcake Couture launched earlier this year and has already been a huge success. Carrie is a fan of all things cupcake related and has created elegant cupcake wrappers in three styles and six color combinations. The wrappers are the perfect finishing touch for absolutely any occasion!

We used Bella Cupcake Couture wrappers for Heidi's baby shower and they were a hit. The moment dessert was served people were more focused on the elegant presentation than they were on the Sprinkles cupcakes inside. Check out the Bella Cupcake Couture blog for fabulous cupcake-related features and become a follower (we are!)