The Art Nouveau Wedding Invitation & An Appreciation for the Handmade

I love to write. As in cursive. Or calligraphy. Maybe even a nice block alphabet. In eighth grade my Social Studies teacher, Mrs. McIntyre (who, by the way, wore a bouffant), had a post of the signatures on the Declaration of Independence. I would spend class period upon class period perfecting my proverbial John Hancock.

When I got to college, I would laboriously recopy notes as to both allow the knowledge to sink in and to practice my penmanship. Thus studying became a process to be somewhat enjoyed (and my notes became a much sought after commodity).

Now I create wedding invitations, many in an Art Nouveau or Art Deco style. Each and every letter I forged by hand from my own stylized Art Nouveau alphabet. Much to the chagrin of graphic design buddies, I do not draw my alphabets on the computer nor do I scan them in. Rather each letter is unique unto itself, an organic creation based on the letters both before and after and with special attention to the layout of the whole; an entirely holistic creation rather than a series of computer generated text.

Plus, I enjoy creating fonts (especially those from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods. Please see the matching RSVP card for this invitation!). Although my labor would be cut down exponentially by using a computer for text, my enjoyment level would proportionally decrease. Many tell me that only I can tell if an alphabet is created entirely by hand, but I beg to differ. Although the average person may not be able to discern hand-wrought lettering, there is a human, organic, emotionally charged feeling emanating from only that which is handmade.

An Ephemeral Identity

A font illustrates a theme, an era, a mood. The collaboration of the art of calligraphy with the beauty of Art Nouveau alphabets make for a modern elegant invitation.

The inspiration for this font was derived from a French perfume bottle circa 1920. Combing Art Deco and Art Nouveau design books, sheet music, magazine advertisements and the boxes upon boxes of ephemera I store haphazardly in my studio allows me to connect with a time, feel a place, transcend my present state.

A Font Renewer and Creator

I like to think of myself as a font renewer and creator. Cursive, print, italic, gothic, copperplate script ignite a little fire inside. A font tells a story--portraying a mood, feeling and era. To create a symbol that expresses a thought, an idea, an emotion is empowering as each letter serves to create what is in essence, history.

Pictured is an example of a Bat Mitzvah invitation I executed the calligraphy and font design for. The Art Nouveau style font is my very own creation.

Sharing the Road--Portland's Bicycle Community

Portland is a town run by the bicycle. Relatively flat terrain, streets that run along a grid as well as a green mentality allow Portland to be the city with the most bicycle commuters.


Last night I watched Foreign Correspondent, a very old Alfred Hitchcock movie featuring Amsterdam. Bicycles dictated traffic and seemed to be the primary mode of transportation along the cobbled Dutch streets.

Bicycles still rule the streets of Amsterdam, but like Portland, they no longer dictate traffic as SUVs now rule the road. And while much of Amsterdam looks as it did through Hitchcock's lens in 1940, the bicycle is not quite as prominent.

Although the city of Portland protects cyclists through legislation, accidents occur. Every year Portland's bicycle community puts on a concert and bike ride to promote bike safety and celebrate the lives of those who were lost to bicycle accidents. The benefit is called "Share the Road."

The benefit is a consortium of local bands. I illustrated this concert poster using as my inspiration a picture I had taken of my sister riding her bicycle through the Dutch countryside. (This was our first international trip together and we had a grand time, despite our ridiculous matching backpacks.)

Each font is hand-wrought and from my own unique alphabets. Along with calligraphy, designing alphabets is my favorite aspect of my profession. A well drawn font can articulate a specific theme, era, and mood whilst drawing proper attention to the message at large. However, the font style must also match the illustration to allow for a well executed event poster.

Art Deco Wedding Invitation

An Art Deco wedding. The bride came to me with a clipping from an old calendar and the idea for an oak leaf motif. Her inspiration for her wedding invitation included something in an Art Deco style, hence the clipping from an antiquated Art Deco cafe poster calendar containing a bit of letting she loved. And the oak leaf was symbolic of the San Francisco Bay Area, their home and the location of the wedding.

I developed an Art Deco style alphabet from the small example of about a dozen differing letters. For the oak leaf, I went for a more abstract, cut-out style illustration to offset the Art Deco calligraphy.

Designing, executing the calligraphy and illustration as well as working with the bride and groom was a lovely experience. Feeling truly part of the festivities, I was able to actualize their vision whilst creating my own.