08 May Christine Traulich on The Business of Creation
I love hearing other creative professionals’ stories: how they got started, what’s new in their field, the work they find inspiring. Talking to other busy people reminds me of all the great work going on the industry, and always helps me look at my own work from a fresh perspective.
I recently talked to Christine Traulich, half of the duo behind custom avant-garde invitation firm RedBliss Design. Read on to find out how she got into the business, the design guru she admires, and one of the big challenges her industry faces right now. Plus, see some examples of gorgeous RedBliss projects! Watch this space for Part Two of the interview soon! You can see my talks with other event professionals here and here.
Christine Traulich, right, and Dori McDonald of RedBliss Design
When did you realize you wanted to be a designer and what did you do about it?
It all started in 1999 with my first invitation. To my own wedding. In a barn. I designed a wood invitation spun with twine and mailed in a box filled with hay. Voila! The idea of sending invitations in boxes was born. I gave up a decade in the high-tech marketing arena to start RedBliss. My sister, Dori McDonald, joined me a year later. We pioneered the silk invitation box trend and continue to use innovative design techniques and modern materials for creating avant-garde work.
What was your first project or “gig”? How’d it go?
Our first major custom invitation project was a wedding at Mar-a-Lago in Florida over 10 years ago. We designed a custom gold tri-fold invitation box, slipped in the engraved suite of cards, sprinkled in real rose petals and tied with three different types of ribbon. Too add to the excitement, an invitation was sent to the White House! The couple received an incredible response and the design created a lot of industry buzz about our work.
Whose work do you really admire, or whose work is a primary influence?
We absolutely adore Kelly Wearstler. Her mix of modern and organic materials to create glamorous spaces feeds into our desire to do the same with our invitation designs.
When do you know a project is a success?
When the client’s phone won’t stop ringing (or email beeping)!
What are the biggest challenges facing your field right now? What’s most exciting?
The greater acceptance of using digital invitations is both a challenge and a design opportunity in our industry. Understanding appropriate times and events to use digital invitations is critical to convey to clients. And when that time presents itself, a digital invitation allows for different forms of creativity unavailable when producing physical designs.
Watch this space for part two of my interview with Christine!
