If you're a fan of chic, out of the box thinking, you must know about Lisa Tse of Inkbox Design Boutique.  She is one talented designer, whose work you have probably seen one way or another.  She is best known for her destination wedding papergoods, and I personally cannot get enough of checking out her portfolio.  Aside from wedding stationery, she is the founder of CAKE... the icing on your BIG DAY!  These shirts are so sassy I would sport them without being a bride or bridesmaid.  Believe me, I have already asked about "planner" shirts.  My fingers are crossed that she expands the collection to more than the bridal party.  She has reduced the prices of the collection, and is offering an additional 15% off to Jomygoodness readers.  Enter the code inkbox15 at checkout!  You can follow Inkbox Design Boutique on Twitter.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?  When I was about 11, I first realized that I had a talent for art when my family went camping and the campground offered activities for the kids---we ironed images on t-shirts and filled them in with puffy paint. I was surprised at how well mine came out (having never done it before) and went straight home and started my own ‘business’, making up flyers and selling them to family members. There was never a particular occupation I said I wanted to be as a kid, I just knew I liked drawing & being creative, so I followed that path, attending a magnet school for art in 8th grade, then Design & Architecture Senior High in Miami, Fl for high school, which exposed me to all areas of art & design. It was then that I really saw that turning what I loved doing into a career was possible. Ironically, I ended up (among other things) designing t-shirts for a living. I guess my entrepreneurial spirit started at a young age!

Your background includes working with a lot of huge companies, like Abercrombie & Fitch, Roxy, & Hard Candy, what did you learn the most about working with them?  I learned a lot from each of them. From a creative standpoint, working for a variety of brands taught me how to adapt to each company’s design style—which I often need to do for custom jobs. At the same time, it made me appreciate how amazing it is to be able to design things in MY OWN style, which is why I love my job today! You never get bored when you’re designing things you love. From a practical standpoint, working on marketing material for Paul Frank (catalogs, line sheets, store signage, branding, etc.) helped me know what needed to be created when launching my own company. The rest was winging it and following my gut, as I was an art student, not a business major!

What is your design/thought process when thinking of something new for a client, Inkbox, or Cake...the icing on your BIG DAY!?  I try to put myself in the client’s shoes and design what I would want for myself if it were my big day or special event. I always ask the client to give me as many details about the event as possible and anything special they’d like incorporated into the design. The most important thing I need to know is the style, feeling or theme they want to convey. I also do lots of research on the theme and check out the venue for custom jobs to make sure I capture the essence of what they’re going for. CAKE...the icing on your BIG DAY was born after searching for stylish bridal party gifts myself when I was a bride and found that they didn’t exist!...so shortly after Inkbox opened, I decided to create a stylish, vintage-inspired t-shirt graphic and print it on the softest, most comfortable tee I could find and to top it off, design fun packaging for it---because packaging design has always been a passion of mine!

Where do you get your inspiration?  I get inspiration from everywhere. I love incorporating unexpected materials into my invitation packages, so anything from cool textures or objects, cool color combinations---really anything that catches my eye, even if it’s not directly related to what I’m designing. Seeing other good design inspires me, too, although I actually try not to look at competitor’s work so nothing sticks in my mind when I’m coming up with new ideas and I usually don’t have time to keep up with bridal magazines and blogs because I’m so busy...so I just use my imagination a lot!

How did you come up with the name Inkbox?  (I love your tagline.  It is so clever!)  Thanks! I just had simple criteria when coming up with the name: I wanted a short, one word name that had a cute ring to it, but wasn’t TOO ‘cutesy’ and was design-related, but not wedding-specific----I wanted it to be seen as a graphic design studio because I’m a graphic designer by trade, not just an invitation shop. I made a list of words I liked and narrowed it down, then added ‘design boutique’ which is the perfect description because we are small and offer specialty services. The tagline: ‘...inking outside the box’ just came to be and made perfect sense because it’s a twist on the famous saying ‘thinking outside the box’ and plays off of the name, Inkbox. =)

If you could have your wedding all over again, where would you have it?  What would you do differently?  What would do you do the same?  I was just looking at our wedding photos the other day and my husband & I watch our wedding video every year on our anniversary. To me, it was the perfect day and I wouldn’t change a thing! I loved the décor, venue, flowers & cake. I loved how my hair turned out and how my dress looked...I loved our photographs, the video we projected outside on the museum wall and most of all, I loved that somehow I was able to loose those last few pounds (just for that 1 day) that I could never loose before and will never be able to loose again! Everything just came together. One thing that friends & family still talk about to this day was that their favorite part was the In-N-Out Burger Cookout Truck that came to our house for the After Party---I’m not sure if I should be happy or offended, but it was a memorable night nonetheless. One regret is that I never got to taste the chocolate fountain goodies. I made a plate but never got around to trying it---but I made sure I ate everything else!

What color palette are you loving right now?  For Sophisticated Big City Soirees: Charcoal Grey & Neutral/Khaki Tones;  For Tropical Destinations: Blue, Papaya & Chocolate

If you were a typography, which one would you be?  Mrs. Eves: She stole my heart in Typography 101 and I’ve been using her ever since.

How would you describe your style?  Untraditional -- 3 Dimensional -- Sophisticated with a Fun, Cheeky Attitude.

What three words best describe you?  Creative – Motivated – Impatient!

What motivated you to start CAKE?  It seemed like the natural next step after starting Inkbox...It had always been a dream of mine to have my own product of some sort that I could design packaging for (because I LOVE packaging!!)...I never knew what that product would be. So with my experience of being a bride and designing t-shirts professionally, all the arrows were pointing in that direction.  

What is the most “unique” invitations you have made?  A Bat Mitzvah Invitation with an ‘Old Hollywood Glamour’ theme---probably because they were the most elaborate and most expensive I have ever had produced! Lots of custom pieces involved! Hand sewn silk clutches with a rhinestone broach that held the invite & reply in pockets inside, packaged in a scarf box with wrap around band, coordinating details like stickers, custom PhotoStamp design and more!

How many were in your bridal party?  What do you think is a good number?  I had my sister as my Maid of Honour + 3 Bridesmaids. It was a good number for me, but everyone has a different number of close, best friends &/or family to include---so whatever works for you. I think the super large parties of 10+ people seems kind of crazy but I can understand not wanting to leave anyone important out or hurt feelings. Everything seems to become bigger and more expensive than you expected when planning a wedding!

What trends are you seeing in the wedding industry?  Gosh, I hate to say it but I’m not up on the ‘trends’. I let my clients tell me what they need and I design it. I know that destination weddings have been and seem to continue to be really popular. It’s the my most popular design yet! I think the authenticity of the Plane Ticket Invitation and Passport Booklet designs also make this a favorite!

What advice would you give to any brides, when it comes to the planning process, paper goods, etc?  Hire a wedding planner if you can---It’s a full time job and you will be stressed out enough with all you have to worry about. As far as Invitations, 1 Color designs are least expensive to print and actually have a very sophisticated feel. Rather than printing with additional colors, you can introduce an accent color with your envelope, circle seals, labels, etc. rather than printing a 2nd or 3rd ink color. And lastly, don’t be afraid to add fun, untraditional materials that add character and personality to your invites. Make sure they represent YOU and your event! And lastly, don’t wait until the last minute to book your invite job---most couples book far in advance, so if you wait too long, the designer you choose may be booked up by then!

Do you think we’ll see an expansion of CAKE?  Say something for flower girls, moms, or the guys?  (I would be thrilled if you started selling PLANNER shirts).  Maybe someday. I definitely get asked that question a lot and have ideas for the future, but I’m currently focusing on growing the line that I have (by having more stores carry them to reach more brides), rather than adding more products and selling them in the few boutiques who currently carry them. I’ve also just REDUCED THE PRICES, making it more affordable for brides to buy these luxury items for their entire bridal party. We also now offer the tees both WITH and WITHOUT the Gift Packaging as a way to make the tees even more accessible to budget-conscious brides.

Are you in love yet?  I am.  Head on over there & take advantage of the extra 15% discount!  I am sure you are going to love it!