Pretty Papers: ABCD Designs

Happy Monday, dear readers! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are ready to start the week off on a good note. I couldn't think of a better way to usher in Monday than with the incredibly talented Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo of ABCD Designs. To say Amy Beth designs luxe stationery is an understatement. Her work is fresh, fun and contemporary. If you're planning your wedding, I would call Amy Beth early in the design process. Her aesthetic will truly help shape your event's vision.
The glamorous designer Amy Beth
Amy, tell our readers a bit about you and your company.
My name is Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo (ABCD!) and I design (designs) Bespoke Stationery. I often go by ABC Dragoo or ABCD. I also write a blog called http://www.abcddesign.com/ . The blog is about all things that inspire me. I write about being a newlywed, nesting, homemaking, recipes, travel, interior design and a little bit about wedding ideas and my current projects.

The ABCD Designs Bespoke Stationery tag line is Weddings, New Babies, Big Announcements - Milestones in life set the tone. I will design stationery for any personal project. The lion's share of my focus is on Wedding Stationery because I am able to start with a seed of an idea and grow it into an entire set. It is really gratifying to me to be able to tell their story.


How did you develop your design philosophy?
Since 2005 my husband and I have lived part time in London with his job. Playing off of the Bespoke Menswear Design of the Savile Row Tailors, I call my wedding stationery suites "Wedding Stationery Wardrobes." There are multiple events during an engagement where (if the bride is game) I am able to tell their story not just with their invitation, but throughout their stationery wardrobe. The more pieces we do together, the more opportunity we have to incorporate their personality with different "accessories." I have a "ready-to-write" line of accessory pieces called "off-the-peg." Those are ready made designs are easily personalized and the colors are easily changed to coordinate with the event color scheme. (The off-the-peg line is currently bridal and baby shower invites, brunch and rehearsal dinner invitations, thank you notes, and the like. I do intend on extending the line with pre-designed wedding stationery wardrobes at some point.)


How do you create a bespoke stationery wardrobe for your clients?
In regards to telling the story of the couple: I love to incorporate the teeny tiny details in a couples story so that the wedding guests not only get really excited about being invited, but also so that they feel like they know the couple on another level after receiving their invitation in the mail.


Amy Beth, I know you're married to the fabulous Mr. D. Did you incorporate your personal couple story in your papers?
When I designed our wedding stationery wardrobe, I had images I wanted to tell our personal story with. For instance, after we had been dating about a month Mr.D took me out for my 30th Birthday dinner. After dinner I ordered a double espresso. There were so many grounds in the bottom of the cup after I finished it that I said "If you were an old Turkish lady you'd tell me my fortune." He took the cup, swirled it around and within a moment he lost all color in his face. He put it down and said "look." There was a heart shape in the middle of the cup. Luckily, it was my birthday and we had a camera. I used that image on our rehearsal dinner invitation. Another example: I caught the bouquet at my best girlfriend's wedding - only two days before Mr. D popped the question. The old wives tale came true! I used the photos from that event in my bridal shower invitation. When the wedding was over and we moved in together, I made a "Change of a Dress" card. I actually made a collage which included my dress with an old-fashioned map of our neighborhood cut out in the pattern of my dress.


Thanks ABCD for sharing your art with us!