I must admit that playing with paper and design would be a dream of mine (oh – along with creating with flowers, being a fantastic cake baker, having the styling gene – the list goes on…), so it was a pleasure to pour over the stationery in Little Flamingo Creative Stationery’s website From soft and pretty to ornate and embellished, or simple elegance, there are so many styles to choose from – and that’s just the range in the online boutique! Throw in beautiful paper and even leather, with a bespoke design and you can let your imagination run wild. Let Shannon guide you to choose the perfect stationery to reflect the dream you have for your wedding day!

When did you start your stationery business?

I officially started Little Flamingo in 2007, which seems a lifetime ago now!

What do you most enjoy about designing stationery?

Playing around with papers, colours and embellishments. Sometimes I feel like a big kid playing with all sorts of pretty things and helping couples find the right stationery for their wedding!

Elegant Pocket Wedding Invitations

What methods can brides use to order their stationery from you?

We have a range of wedding invitations and wedding day stationery available to order through our online boutique. Couples can select their font styles, colours, wording and design elements to create their own invitation suite. Our range is constantly being updated with the latest looks and our team is always happy to help couples decide on colours, wording, fonts and of course answer any questions!

For couples that have something particular in mind or want an invitation designed just for them we have our bespoke or custom service. Our team works closely with the bride and groom to create an invitation suite based on their ideas and inspirations.

If ordering a bespoke invitation from you, what are the steps/process bridal couples go through?

Some couples come to us and know exactly what they want while others aren’t so sure. We start with any inspiration the couples have collected. Colours, styles, papers, even printing methods. Whatever details the couple has found, loved and would like to incorporate into their wedding invitations. From there we discuss how we can use these inspirations to create a design that will best reflect them as a couple and their wedding style. Our designers work on different concepts for the couple including design, colours and embellishments. When the couple is happy with the overall look we then work with them on the wording for their stationery suite. Once we have the design and the wording we put it all together and email through proofs for approval. Once approved we get to work printing and assembling before delivering the couple’s wedding stationery directly to their door.

Destination World Map Wedding Invitation

How much time should bridal couples allow for ordering their stationery?

We always suggest allowing 6 weeks for your stationery, longer if you are looking for a bespoke suite. This allows enough time for proofing, printing and assembly.

Production times do vary throughout the year, as does the complexity of different invitation suites. Sometimes we can turn around a simple design in a week! Mostly though, it takes on average 3-5 weeks to print and assemble our wedding invitations.

How do you decide which paper and ink is the most suitable? Does one sort of paper suit a certain design style more than another?

Selecting the right paper and ink combination is very important. When we letterpress we do so on beautiful cotton papers which give a deep indent when printing. Our handmade seed paper requires a delicate touch and our print style reflects that. We have a lot of designs that feature embossed elements and this looks lovely when teamed up with raised ink. It all depends on the invitation style and what best reflects the look we are trying to achieve with that design.

What are some of the more unusual papers and inks you have to offer? 

My current favourite paper for invitations is our handmade seed paper. This recycled paper not only has a gorgeous handmade feel to it but it is then embedded with a seed variety of the couple’s choice. I love the idea of having dinner with friends and the meal they serve includes the rocket or carrots they grew from your wedding invitation!

We also use faux leather and the super luxurious foil stamped velvet invitations (they look and feel amazing!)

Enchanted Tree Seed Wedding Invitation

What printing processes do you use for your stationery? 

We use a variety of different printing processes depending on the invitation design and the overall look and feel that invitation needs to give. Our print methods include flat printing, thermography (raised ink through use of heat and resin powder), embossing and foil stamping (pressing images into the card using metal dies).

You are offering a DIY aspect to your stationery business. Do you see this as an increasingly larger part of the market?

DIY is a growing market, although not all couples want to design, print and cut their own wedding invitations.

We currently offer a DIY assembly on our invitations. This allows our couples to be involved in the actual production process of their invitations (and save some money too!) without the worry of designing, printing and cutting their invitations. We print and cut all the paper and card so all our couples need to do is stick the pieces together. Most of our designs also come with glue dots to stick the pieces together. We try to make DIY really easy for our couples.

 What sorts of things do you find effective to cope with stress, when you have stationery jobs piling up and not enough time in the day? 

During the day, a cup of tea and an iced Vovo biscuit (or three!) always helps with the stress levels! Otherwise a margarita does the trick!
 

Our Love Pocketfold Wedding Invitations

What are your favourite leisure pursuits?

Spending time with my 2 year old daughter playing kitchens! When I am not in the kitchen with her, I love to take time get out on the water and kayak or paddleboard, they really clear your head.

My favourite place for a meal with friends is…….

Hmmm… I have a few places, but my current favourite is Armchair Collective at Mona Vale Beach. I have to have the banana smoothie!

 Thank you Shannon for sharing your story. To find out more about Little Flamingo creative Stationery visit the website.

Images and headshot courtesy of Little Flamingo Creative Stationery