Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Friends and Family Grand Opening

So we figured it would be easiest to invite our closest family members and friends to see the studio all at once instead of just letting them pop in from time to time. Don't get me wrong, we love visitors - but as much as I love to talk, I do actually get tired of telling the same story over and over.

What could be better than Food, Wine, Family and Friends? The turnout was bigger than we expected - thankfully I always 'overbuy' for parties so we did not run out of anything. I want to give a special thanks to Alyssa and Pete for helping us with everything. With moving on the 6th it was alot of work to get everything ready for the party. Those two ran errands, helped make food and really just made sure everything came together at the last minute. I know she hates when I mention this - but their friendship is a special blessing to me! Alyssa and Pete were clients of ours for their October 2007 wedding. After our first meeting, I just knew that Alyssa is the long lost friend I never got to have in high-school and I am so happy that we met! Happier yet that they are about to have a baby around Christmas time!

Here are a few pics of how the evening turned out.....
Pole Sign on Graham Side Sign on 8th Front Window
The signs were done just in the knick of time!


Photobucket <Logo Cookies from Sugarhouse Cookies
Some of the food - and the cutest cookies in the world. These cookies came from SugarHouse Cakes and Cookies and they have our logo on them!

Alyssa and Baby Currie Dave and Stephanie Knirk
Photobucket Early Toast Alyssa and Baby Currie putting the finishing touches on something food related, Stephanie and her husband Dave, Stephanie and Stacy in front of delicious cookies , and finally an early toast with Debbie and her mom from Crains Creative Occassions (they sublet from within our studio)and our friend Katie.

My dad took a ton of pictures after the party actually started - hopefully he will get those to me soon and I can post more!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us. You have no idea how much it means to have such encouraging and supportive friends and family!

Stephanie

Monday, September 15, 2008

Grand Opening - Open House

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are having our

Grand Opening Open House
Saturday, October 11th from 10-8
AND
Sunday, October 12th from 10-6

**We will be handing out coupons good for discounts on both catalog order AND custom design!!!**

As you may know, the Today's Bride Bridal Show is at the Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls that same Sunday from 10-4. We will have free tickets to the show at our open house so swing by Saturday (or Sunday before you head to the show) and pick them up. The latest TB magazine which comes out the beginning of October will be yours for the taking as well!!

We hope that you will use the casual setting of that weekend to stop in and check out all that we have to offer. Our custom work will be on display (as always) and catalog pages ready for turning! We will also be scheduling appointments for brides who wish to return at a 'quieter' time to further discuss their invitation needs.

Don't be shy! Come and meet us. We are sure you will find our studio to be a one-stop-shop for all of your invitation needs!!

Steph

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Paper Persuasions Remodel

Well....better late than never, right? As promised, here are a few before and after shots of the new studio. We were still in the process of finishing a few things when these were taken - but it was late enough in the process that you should be able to get a feel for the amount of work we put in to this place! All in all, we kept with the same feel as our studio on Front Street - same color scheme, stainless steel display boards and lime green as an accent.

Steph

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Bigger News!

Two posts in one week. Scary!

Can you believe we have more big news?!?

After much deliberation, we have decided to change our business name from Simple Persuasions to Paper Persuasions, LLC. There is a big long-winded story behind it (isn't there always with me?) and if you ever want to know, you'll have to ask us in person.

We have been toying with the idea for quite some time and have finally made it official with the State of Ohio...so now we can make it official with you too!

There are many reasons why we like this name better - but above all, it indicates that we are affiliated with paper. We also have designed a logo this time around (it's about time!) and are excited to start using it.

Photobucket

Steph

Monday, September 1, 2008

Road Kill

So...we haven't been so good at keeping up with the blogging. Since we signed the new lease back in July, our time has been divided between remodeling the Graham Rd. studio and keeping up with client orders at the Front St. studio. There is no point to this blog other than to share one of the funniest moments in our last few months.

We have put so much labor into getting our new space the way we imagine it....which of course includes trips to IKEA. If you have ever been in our studio, you know that we display our custom work on stainless steel magnetic boards. The six boards that we have at Front St. are no match for the huge increase in display area at Graham Rd....so we need to increase our display boards by ALOT.

So...we head up to IKEA. We planned to take my husbands truck, but something was wrong with the brakes and I didn't feel safe driving it. (It turns out that the ABS sensors had some rust on them which was tricking the truck into thinking that the ABS needed to kick in - which caused a sensation much like ...um...the brakes were going out?! Pretty scary feeling.) So...we take Stacy's super gas-efficient Yaris. Huge difference in cargo room....but we figure 'it's IKEA, we can fit alot'.

First thing on the agenda - pick up the magnetic boards so we know how much room is left. We bickered as to how many we needed - I said 50 , she said 30. We find the magnetic boards and determine that IKEA has 41 of them in stock. The bickering was over - #41 is my favorite DMB song, so 41 it is! We proceed to purchase the boards and load up Stacy's trunk. We managed to squeeze all 41 of them into the truck which leaves the entire back seat for more stuff! Yay! Time to shop some more.

We pick up a few other odds and ends which comfortably fit in the back seat and we head home. All in all we were in IKEA for a mere 3.5 hours - pretty remarkable for us! We are on our way back and hear a shuffling in the trunk. All of a sudden Stacy calmly says "Um, my trunk just flew open and boards are flying out the back". I (not-so-calmly) exclaim "Pull over!Pull over". She does. We get out and see the highway behind us scattered with magnetic boards. Can we save them? I think so....so I begin running down the side of the highway and dodging oncoming traffic to try to pick them up. All in all, we only lost 4 of them...and only one actually got run over. I managed to pick them all up but they were too badly scratched to be salvaged.

Most people would be angry I suppose, but Stacy and I laughed. Hard. In fact, we laughed harder at this mishap than we have laughed in a long long time. Perhaps the stress of our 'moving' situation in general made this seem like a joke...but I have a feeling it was more the image of me running down the highway collecting boards.

***Before and After Pics Coming Soon!***