One of the things I love about wedding blogging is that every single day I get up, I’m inspired. By a photograph I see, a wedding submission, a wedding on another blog, a typeface on a piece of stationery – the list goes on! One of the things I find most inspiring however, are the amazing Las Vegas wedding industry professionals.

So, the last time I visited Las Vegas in March, I set up a studio visit with the inspiring Brooke and Michael Coxen at Paper and Home. I’ve been a fan for some time, seeing their invitations and design work in the submissions I’ve received. And I’m a big fan of their Twitter feed and Pins.

They were incredibly gracious and let me into their home studio in west Las Vegas so that I could learn a bit more about their work, their business and them!

Brooke and Michael’s passion for paper stems from successful careers and their meeting (and courtship) in New York City. Originally from southern California, Brooke worked for some time with a luxury, high-end wedding invitation and stationery studio in New York City and learned the ins and outs of the trade, while honing her design talents.

Born and raised in New York, Michael was a marketing guru who specialized in music and media at the time. (The couple met at a music gig!) Drawn together by their love of music, food and great design, they made it official and were wed!

After creating this relationship with dash of creative spirit and business know-how, the Coxens relocated to Las Vegas in 2010 and are in every sense a team operation. Brooke heads up design and Michael takes care of branding. And yet they both wear many hats, and are both extremely knowledgeable about their products and industry.

  An indication of what lies within…

I rolled up to their home and was met by a beautiful sign. (Shocking, I know!)

Stepping into their tidy, modern studio I couldn’t help but instantly fawn over the invitation samples out on display once my eyes were drawn to them, and wanted to immediately look through every sample book on their impressive shelves! It’s a bright and comfortable space, and full of creative energy, inspiration and ideas to draw from. 

What sets Brooke and Michael apart from other stationers in the area are the premium and exclusive lines of stationery available to them. They’ve handpicked products and vendors that they know, love, and stand behind. Just some of the design houses they are able to offer exclusively to Las Vegas are: Dauphine Press, Smock, Alee & Press, Spark Letterpress and Smudge Ink.

But what is print unless it has some great paper to back it up? Paper & Home offer a luxe line of beautiful paper styles. Of special interest to me were the ecologically and environmentally-minded options such as seed woven papers, recycled papers and sustainable materials being used in yet others, such as bamboo and cotton.

How lovely would it be for your wedding invitation recipients to plant their invite after receiving it?

  An example of the Bloomin’ brand seed-laden papers Paper & Home offers

Looking beyond design and paper, they work with vendors they have formed strong relationships with to create unique graphic designs and provide beautiful services such as calligraphy, foil printing, letterpress and illustrations.

I was blown away by the custom watercolor illustrations done for this wedding invitation, below:

Rock climbing, camping and their dogs – how perfect is this bespoke invitation with watercolor illustrations? 

As we bonded over our love of visiting the post office, mail and the written word, I knew that they were very passionate about what they have chosen to do. And that’s what I find inspiring. They apply their personal touch and standard to everything they work on – as if it were their own!

Brooke uses her critical eye cultivated through years of working at a demanding high end stationer to apply that to your invitation suite – be it for 10 people, or 1,000. As they showed me some of their work that typified their varied design sense and abilities, I grew incredibly jealous of the personal touches, quality and colors in the suites I saw.

You see, I designed my invites via a stationer on Etsy, and did yet other parts of my invitation and day-of stationery myself. I look back fondly now, but I cannot tell you how much I regretted my decision one particular night at my friend’s house after I broke her printer for the fifth time and we both got toner all over us like something out of an I Love Lucy skit. If I could do it again…

Paper & Home are extremely service orientated and will take care of you from start to finish – initial design to licking the envelope, essentially.  Working with you, they want to take your ideas and turn them into reality to create your couture invitations.

They aspire to have a couple’s proofs back within a week (you can read about their entire design process here) and offer unlimited edits to your pieces. They really want you to be happy with what you are getting and for you to get an unforgettable piece that is one-of-a-kind.

The Coxens also strive to work within your budget, no matter what it might be. In light of that, they are very transparent in their pricing and billing breaking costs down line by line, and offer a la carte services.

Keep in mind they do not just work on wedding invitation suites, either! While in their studio I saw phenomenal birthday, announcement and card designs for all occasions. I love a good electronic card as much as the rest of you, but let’s bring the paper back folks!

Thank you, Brooke and Michael for taking some time out of your busy day and allowing me to step into your studio and world. I can’t wait to see what exciting plans Paper & Home has for 2014!

I encourage you to view more of their designs below, online or to set up a complimentary appointment with Brooke and Michael. They love to talk paper and design and are very welcoming!

Paper & Home 
www.paperandhome.com
Premium Stationery & Design Studio 
Las Vegas, Nevada
Consultations and Studio Visits by Appointment Only
As Seen In: Style Me Pretty, Inspired by This, this beautiful styled shoot inspired by the film “Amelie” and most recently the Wedding Week series on TV’s MORE Fox5  {video} sharing tips and tricks on planning your wedding!

A cinema-themed invitation (the couple even requested RSVPs by video!)

Indian weddings are multi-faceted with many different parts and traditions, so it makes sense that the invitations were multi-layered as well!

I was in love with the foil detailing and – can you see it? The little jewel between the E and the T!

Custom map? Yup, they can do that too!

PS: In case you were wondering… the “home” part of Paper & Home? That stems from the other part of their business, home organization. Brooke is a qualified personal organizer. You don’t need to look any further than their immaculate studio to see they practice what they preach.

(Photos by Yours Truly)