Loralee Lewis

We are constantly inspired by so many designers, stylists and party/event planners. There is truly so much talent to admire. We could spend hours just swooning over all of the beautiful parties and weddings that are seamlessly crafted detail by detail. We love to be able to feature the talent of others on our blog and we are so thrilled that we have the opportunity not only to feature, but to share an interview that we did with the phenomenally talented, Loralee Lewis! Loralee is a paper designer and event stylist, who's style is impeccable and unique with a real vintage flair. Her concentration on little details come together to create such beautiful events! It is no wonder that her work has been featured in many popular magazines and that she has Academy Award winning clients! We first heard about Loralee when our sweet and incredibly talented friend, Kate Landers, featured Loralee's work with her Nutcracker themed party and then again at Kate’s signature baby boy shower! We have really enjoyed following Loralee’s work, we know you will enjoy Loralee's story and will fall in love with her work too!

Icing: Could you tell us a little bit about how you got your start?

Loralee: I got my start by blogging back in 2007 with my sister, Annie, on the "no fuss fabulous" blog. We gained a readership, and in 2010 I posted a party invitation that I had used for my daughter on the site. Someone saw it and bought 400 invitations from me directly because she liked the look. I learned then that there was a business
opportunity here.

Icing: Where do you draw inspiration from?

Loralee: I draw inspiration from anything pretty. I love vintage images in particular because they make me laugh and are frequently so beautiful. I draw a lot of inspiration from things I see in children's magazines as well and from fashion mags (classic ones: Vogue, Marie Claire, etc.)

Icing: Who are some of the people/party planners that inspire you?

Loralee: I love the community of party planners and creators. There are almost too many to name, as all of them have inspired me at one time or another, and I frequently find as much inspiration from individuals doing a single event as I do from "the pros." I gain a lot of insight during collaborations with event stylists, and they push me to improve and push the envelope further on my product offering.

Icing: Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to help people who have not created many parties of their own that would like to give it a try?

Loralee:
A. Pre-pack the kids' menus; I don't use buffets for food. I always have everything prepped and bagged and I keep it simple (e.g. peanut butter sandwich, grapes, carrots). This makes it easy to feed them, as I frequently work with preschoolers.

B. Doing a nice party is not as hard as it seems. Plan ahead and sketch out what you want it to look like. Start with a table and decorate it. Choose a few colors and stick with them. Pretty desserts can be found anywhere and on any budget, you don't have
to go the Neiman Marcus bakery, and an otherwise "average" looking cupcake can be dressed up with a simple wrap and tag to look extraordinary.

C. Good photography is the most neglected virtue of party planners. Ask around and find a friend who has a nice camera to help with the photos. It's unfortunate how many people throw amazing events but don't have photos that capture the grandeur.

Icing: What has been one of your favorite projects to work on to date?

Loralee: A favorite project recently was an event for a television network where we did a POP theme in January and it was done in bright yellows and greens. Everyone felt like springtime while they were in attendance and we tried some new things, like using tiny vases for drinks and experimenting with Jell-O at the dessert table. Super fun!

Thank you so much Loralee for sharing your time and talent with us!

Photos: Queen Bee Birthday Party for Loralee's sweet little girl, Horse Show Party for Babekins Magazine, Kate Lander's signature baby boy shower for which Loralee created the paper party goods, Sharnel Dollar's Mary Poppins birthday party for which Loralee created paper party goods, Vintage pool party paper party goods, Loralee's Airline Baby Shower, Bebe Shower paper party goods by Loralee

{More photos from all of the events can be found on Loralee's Blog}

The Couture Cakery

When we were in New York for the Martha Stewart Dreamers into Doers event, we meet some of the most amazing women! One in particular, that we had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with was Jasmine Clouser of The Couture Cakery! She is just the sweetest ray of sunshine! Jasmine has combined her knowledge of art and design with her passion for baking to create a very successful business! Her designs are whimsical, elegant, modern works of art. Her attention to detail is amazing...as you can see her heart goes into each and every confection she creates! It is so exciting to see what is coming out of her kitchen each week! We are so excited to be featuring Jamine and her beautiful work today!

Icing: Tell us a little bit about your background and how The Couture Cakery was founded.

Jasmine: Well...I've always known since I was very little that I wanted to be an artist in some way. I'm grew up in Orange County CA and attended UCLA and graduated with a degree in design. After graduating, I worked for a prominent designer and really developed the skills to be a good designer there. Developing an eye for visual balance, letter spacing and producing high quality work were things I learned that will always be with me and are an important part of my business today. I still continue to do part time consulting and art direction in addition to my cake design business just because I love it. My interest in cake design started about 2 1/2 years ago. I was working part time at my local Michael's as the event coordinator. I decided to take the Wilton 1 cake decorating class and realized I really enjoyed it. I started out by making cupcakes and selling them at a local coffeehouse. It gave me the opportunity to try out new recipes but I realized that I was working really hard to sell a small amount of cupcakes. I decided I wanted to work smarter not harder. I am a huge fan of Flickr and was always online looking at the amazing cake and cupcake tower creations from Australia and England and thought I could do it too! I did my first bridal show in Jan of 2009 and my business has just blossomed since that time. Cupcake towers for weddings are a big part of my business in addition to wedding cakes and celebration cakes.


Icing: What so far has been the most exciting project you have worked on?

Jasmine: There are a couple of things I have done which have really been amazing. First, my cakes, dessert tables and cupcake designs have been published in the last three issues of Cake Central Magazine. It's a stunning publication and I am honored they continue to ask me to to submit and publish my work. Secondly, I live in PA now near Hershey PA and there is a huge charity event each year called Chocolate Fest. I participated as a vendor last year and entered a cake in their competition. Well, I won 1st place and from that I am now do all the wedding cakes for the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center which has been amazing opportunity. It's something I didn't expect. The wedding director just happened to attend the event and saw my work and asked me to work with them. My advice is to take advantage of any opportunities to share you talents because you never know who may see your work and want to work with you.




Icing: Who are some pastry chefs that have inspired you?

Jasmine: I have two pastry chefs that come to mind right away. Ron Ben Israel is a huge inspiration to me. The work he and his team creates is stunning and the craftsmanship is unbelievable. I am really excited that I will be taking a 3 day course with him in Savannah in March. I am a huge believer that you need to continue to learn and improve to become the best in your craft. You can never know too much and take the time to invest in yourself to continue to grow as person and also your business. The other pastry chef I really admire is Anne Heap with Pink Cake Box. She is super talented, but also a very savvy business woman. She utilizes blogging and her website to continue to grow her business. I have used her as my model for my business. I have a blog I post all my work to in addition to my website and Flickr site. I totally understand the importance of the Internet and social media as marketing tools and also the best way to interact with our clients and potential clients.


Icing: Can you give our readers some advice on starting/running a business?

Jasmine: If you dream big, produce a high quality product that people want and provide exceptional service to your clients and the professionals you work with then you will be successful. Don't make excuses about why you can't start your dream business. Just start slow and work smart and don't invest a ton of money. Network with other people in your industry to create alliances and opportunities to build you business. Invest in a good camera if you want to show photos of your work on your blog or website. It's one of the best investments I have made.

Call Me Cupcake

Well keeping on the subject of very talented Swedish women...we are so excited to have Linda of Call Me Cupcake with us today! You may have seen some of Linda's breathtaking work before. She has such a romantic and lovely style to everything she creates! Her work is so feminine, dainty and simply charming! You would think that Linda had been baking and creating gorgeous sweets for years, but Linda is self-taught and made her first cupcakes in 2009! We could spend hours swooning over the beautiful photography of her stunning creations...and we have no doubt that will could too!

Icing: How did you start Call me Cupcake? What is your background/formal training?

Linda: I've always enjoyed baking, but have never taken it very seriously. One day in July 2009 I made my first cupcakes, and I thought I would start a baking blog just for fun. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to bake all the time, and it was all I could think about (it still is!). When I made my first cake in February 2010, I realized that this is what I should be doing! I'm self-taught and I don't have any formal training as a pastry chef, however I do have some formal training as a photographer.


Icing: When did you start translating your posts in English and why?

Linda: I started translating my posts into English by the end of 2009 because I thought it would interest international readers, but turns out I didn't have many readers back then! When I realized that, I stopped doing it because it was so time consuming. I just recently started translating my posts into English again, because now I actually do have some international readers, which is so much fun! I think Google translate is fantastic, but sometimes it can destroy a whole recipe! It's also a great way for me to practice my English and learn some new words.

Icing: What has been your favorite project that you have worked on?

Linda: I come up with new projects in my head all the time! I wish I had time to carry all of them out. However, my favorite project must be the Winter White Dessert Table. It was so much fun to make and the response to it has been great. I had an image in my head of how I wanted it to look, but it turned out even better than that!

Icing: What is your favorite dessert to create?

Linda: I love making macarons! When you get the hang of it, they are not at all hard to make. And the best thing is that they are so delicious and cute!
I must say that cakes are also so much fun to make, but they involve a lot more work. I enjoy decorating cakes, of course, because it is my creative outlet!

Icing: Do you have any exciting projects for 2011 that you can share?

Linda: I do have some very very exciting things going on, but unfortunately I can't tell you about them just yet! You'll just have to wait and see... However, I can promise that it will be an exciting year!

Icing: Other than creating amazing pastry's, can you tell us one interesting fact about yourself?

Linda: Thank you so much! An interesting fact might be that I play bass in a band called Death in The Afternoon (www.ditaband.com). By the end of February we're going to Paris to play live, which is going to be fantastic! I will probably visit some pâtisseries.. and maybe Ladurée. ;-)

Kate Landers Events

We are so honored and excited to have one of the sweetest, most gracious, talented women we have had the pleasure of connecting with. She has selflessly given her time to us give us some amazing guidance and direction for our business. She has such a graceful, timeless and elegant style not only to her work but to her personal character. We are talking about the one and only Kate Landers! We are in awe of Kate and her talent and are thrilled to have her on our blog today.
Icing: What was one of your favorite projects that you have worked on?

Kate: It is hard to select a favorite! I would absolutely say that a stand out was my Mystical Mermaid {Signature Party}, working with so many talented designers and artists to help bring the party design to life (many thanks to the client who requested a non-traditional party design that allowed me the chance to create the party, as well as to my photographer Andrea of Open Shade Studios who captured it beautifully!).

Icing: With so much inspiration out there how do you start planning a party...How do you get from inspiration to final project?

Kate: I first want to take a moment to soak in the wonderful, I mean truly *amazing* point you just made: there is a LOT of inspiration out there. I am thrilled to hear this and see this.

This recent surge of staged children's parties and dessert table photo shoots, as well as more moms starting their own blogs and sharing their own children's amazing parties (even in facebook photo albums), is truly remarkable.

I feel that there is a lot more out there now for parents looking for inspirational ideas for their children's parties, than there was even a year ago. Astounding, and for me personally, it provides an amazing sense of joy.

To answer your question about how to get from inspiration to final project, I am afraid my answer would be pages long! I will, however, share with you a bit of news!

I will be running a week-long mini series entitled "Kate Landers' Children's Party Design Advice" and I have very detailed and descriptive blog posts lined up to discuss this very topic. You are the first to hear it officially! It will run the week of February 14th, so stay tuned...

A bit of advice for your lovely readers... When you are in the beginning stages of trying to come up with a theme, ask your child what they want! They are the true inspiration for the celebration, and the theme should be something that makes their heart sing!

Once you and your child have selected the theme {of course this advice only applies to children old enough to speak and understand}, using a color-scheme (I suggest 2-3 colors) to reinforce your theme can be incredibly helpful. Have a game plan. Incorporate the theme throughout the details, from invitations and cake design to party favors and activities. Allow yourself more time than you expect to set up and prepare for the party.

I have much more advice on the topic coming up, so I hope you might be able to stop by and enjoy it! {www.katelandersevents.blogspot.com} (This is from the Marie Antoinette Party that Kate designed...gorgeous!)




Icing: Who are some people that have inspired you or influenced your work?

Kate: Wow. What a great question! Children are a tremendous source of inspiration for me, as well as a great influence on my work.

I am incredibly inspired by my father who has taken big risks and followed his dream (establishing a tuition-free, highly innovative college).

I love designing parties that are based on fairytales and storybooks, so each author and illustrator has inspired me greatly.

I have a passion for design and creating and styling parties for children, as well as passion for business and entrepreneurship. Therefore I am inspired by women in both realms--successful businesswomen, and successful designers.

My husband inspires me, my family inspires me. God is my greatest inspiration of all.
(We love this Wizard of Oz Party! Kate created this party along with the help of Kim from the TomKat Studio (paper goods) and Jess of Pen N' Paper Flowers (silhouette).

Icing: Other than creating gorgeous parties can you tell us one interesting fact about yourself.

Thank you for that most generous compliment! Your great admiration of my work and kindest words about it bring me great joy!

An interesting fact might be my strong performance background (and may explain my passion for styling shoots--mini stages if you will). I was a ballet dancer for over 17 years of my life, and also performed a lot of theater--in particular Shakespeare.

I adore Shakespeare's work, and it took working with some theater experts to truly grasp how to read, understand and then perform his plays.

(The Nutcracker party Kate created a few months ago, was nothing short of breathtaking!)

Icing: Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to help people who have not created many parties of their own that would like to give it a try?

Yet another wonderful question. I will be sharing MANY, many ideas in my advice series the week of February 14th on my blog. However, some tips I always love to share are:

1) Keep your child's party small and intimate. It helps prevent stress for the hostess, birthday child and their guests. It also can greatly reduce the cost of the party, or allow you more wiggle room with your budget.

2) Involve your child in the party planning process {when they are old enough}. Party planning can be a wonderful creative outlet, and it has been my experience that they can really enjoy being a part of it.

3) Keep your expectations realistic. Professional photography is spectacular. Professional children's event planners and stylists often have a lot of experience.

Just as you would enjoy the rooms in a Pottery Barn Kids catalog or stunning cakes and floral arrangements in Martha Stewart Living {I mention these two because I LOVE and highly recommend both!}, enjoy professionally photographed and styled children's parties the same way.

Remember that they are designed and styled by experts, to look the way they do on that page or screen for a reason--soak it in, enjoy these images for what they are, maybe find inspiration from them!

And if you do want your party to look more like the inspirational images you see in publications, hire an excellent professional photographer to capture your party--you may be amazed at how stunning it really is! You may also want to enlist a professional event planner the first time around if you have it in your budget to do so, and high expectations.

Remember: At the end of the day, what matters most is that your child felt truly adored and celebrated.
(Look at this beatuiful Woodland Fairy Birthday party...so magical!)




Icing: Do you have any exciting projects for 2011 that you can share?

Yes! You will be seeing my work in some wonderful national print publications soon, which I am more than thrilled about!

Thank you so much Kate! We are just smitten with you and are so excited to see and hear about all of the wonderful things that are happening for you!

Oh thank you for this opportunity! I am truly honored and humbled, thank you dearly!!!