This suite was designed for a sweet southern couple who had a destination wedding on the Pan Handle of Florida. While the suite didn't feature color it was filled with texture through the mixing typefaces and tactile printing of blind embossing and a soft grey letterpress on cotton paper. My favorite element was the map featuring lots of fun illustrations scattered along the shore of Florida. The bride's family vacations in Carillon Beach every year and the couple wanted to share their favorite places to dine and visit with their friends and family through this map. Sitting here with my three (let's get real- it's five, I was just trying to make you all think I was a hearty Minnesotan...) layers on I'm dreaming of what Elizabeth notes on the map is her favorite key lime pie at the Seagrove Village Marketplace.

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And here are some photos from my instgram from the studio. Do you 'gram!?? Follow me!

I am about 80% settled into my new studio space! And now it's time to bring in some new talent! I am now accepting interns for this fall semester. The internships will start on Oct. 8 and will run for the length of time that is required or desired by each intern.

MaeMae Paperie is a unique stationery and design studio from Los Angeles, California that relocated to downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this past April.

DESIGN INTERN / download the application here / We are accepting 3-6 month internships (non-paid) for those interested in the design + stationery industry. School credit preferred though not required.

Through the many wonderful interns that have worked with me both here in Minneapolis and in Los Angeles, I have formed a curriculum that we will follow to make sure that the young designers who come through the studio will get to experience and practice most of the necessary tasks and lessons that are essential to a professional designer. My goal for every intern is that they will walk away feeling prepared and equipped to begin a fruitful career in the creative industry.

After completing the internship, paid positions for further design work may be considered. To be considered for our openings please send an email entitled “Internship Application” with your .PDF portfolio (no more than 10 MB) resume, cover letter + answered questions to jobs@maemaepaperie.com. You can retype the questions or print, write + scan them to the studio. DO NOT answer the questions in the email body.

Required skills:
+ proficiency in Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Word, and Excel
+ great understanding of type design, composition, and color theory
+ consistent availability
+ open to new ideas + learning
+ respectful, great communicator, exemplary work ethic
+ tidy + organized

Things you will learn during your internship:
+ how to successfully collaborate with clients
+ methods and systems to approach new projects
+ problem solving and appropriate ways to handle difficult people and situations
+ print techniques, proper print preparation, references to good printers
+ how to work well in a team
+ insane attention to detail
+ pretty packaging and presentation for clients

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This summer I had five of the most wonderful ladies intern for me. They all were so hardworking, positive, talented, and brought loads of beautiful work and joy to the studio. I asked them all to share a little bit about their experience here:

Q: What is something you learned about the design process while here at MaeMae?

Stacia (University of Minnesota, 2013): I gained a lot of confidence while working at MaeMae because I found I have the capabilities to do a lot more than I thought, if I just allow some time for it. I would be given projects sometimes (like some of the map projects) and immediately freak out a little bit. I would tell myself I had no idea what I was doing. When I stepped back, did a little research, and just took time to create the image I had in my head, I had no problem with it. I think this is invaluable as a designer, I feel like I am almost capable of creating anything now! I also learned how to create a process that works for me. In my classes we are often times forced to all do the same amount of sketches and from there, follow an identical process. I feel Megan’s process works a lot better for me, which is why I’m thankful for this experience! Megan seeks more inspiration and categorizes ideas into themes. I think this works well with clients too; they feel as though they are part of the process and the designer isn’t blindly guessing at what the client wants.

McKenzie (Bethel University, 2013): I think the biggest thing I learned about the design process is that going out and looking for inspiration is a great way to get started on a new project. Not only does it motivate you to want to create more it also makes you aware of what is being created and also who is creating it. Being aware of your audience as well as your fellow designers is important. I realized that I can get inspiration from other pieces while still sticking to my own design style to create something completely original. For some time I was hesitant to look up inspiration pieces because I wasn't sure how much of the idea was becoming my own. The more I design the more I am realizing my style and how to make work an original McKenzie!

Kailene (University of Minnesota, 2013): Versions. Versions, versions, versions. Until now, I had only really worked on multiple versions at the very rough stage. However, working at MaeMae taught me how to create many finished versions for the same client in order to offer them multiple choices at a well-defined stage.

Q: What is something you are taking away from this internship that will help you with future design jobs with either a firm or your own clients?

Anne (Maryland Institute College of Art, 2014): The client/designer relationship is a bit of give and take. It’s important to respond to the clients needs, but also just as important to direct them to a better outcome using your own unique vision and knowledge as a designer.

Johna (Minneapolis Community and Technical College, 2012 - during her last week here Johna accepted a job at Ultra Creative!! SO PROUD OF HER!): I learned that clients will respect you more if you set deadlines and non-negotiables from the start. Having not done much freelance work before, I was wary about telling people they only get “x” amount of revisions etc. You taught me that people would understand and respect you more if you are firm about your process.

McKenzie: Two things I learned about interacting with clients is that customer service and learning to not take things personally are key. First and foremost when working with a client you need to keep their concerns high and take responsibility even when it may not be your fault. As the designer it is important to stand up for yourself but also know when to put your pride aside. The same goes for how a client responds to your work. If they do not agree with you on a design matter you can be clear about your view however you must again put your pride aside and not be stubborn. In a way you are working on a team with a client  and so compromise is necessity. As I mentioned previously it is also important to communicate clearly and efficiently while understanding that you work for the client.

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Thank you for your interest in our internship!
No calls please!

Hi, bloggies! Here is the latest installment to a series I am doing with my beautiful and brilliant friends, Lauryl and Bonnie. I love what Lauryl wrote about flowers for Father's Day:

"With Father’s Day looming ahead, you might be wondering what to get to express your love and appreciation for your dad. Unlike mothers, fathers don’t usually inspire gifts of flowers. But even macho dads might welcome such a gift if you could explain to them the message that you’ve endeavored to convey through your strategic choice of the individual flowers making up the bouquet. And if your dad is in a creative field, like mine is, he may appreciate the ephemeral beauty of a gift of flowers, too! As the old saying goes, it’s the thought that counts: and a bouquet of flowers filled with traditional meanings is more than just a thought.

When looking at meanings for flowers, don’t forget about the foliage! Foliage doesn’t always have a separate meaning from it’s flower, but if the flower meaning is apropos, than you can apply it to the foliage as well. Gardenias, for example, have amongst their many meanings one that is specifically geared towards men, 'good luck to a man.' To give your dad that masculine 'good luck' message, as well as letting him know that he is splendid, that you esteem him, that you are grateful for his lasting friendship with you and to recognize the strong bond of affection between you, choose gardenia foliage, freesia, sunflowers, bupleurum and stock. Sunflowers also stand for power, and even as adults, many children still think of their fathers as the most powerful men on earth!

There are a wide range of flowers that would be appropriate for an arrangement for dad, such as ginger, which can stand for strength, or gladiolus, which can mean 'strength of character.' Whatever you choose for your father, don’t forget to tell him about the message behind the flowers- because that’s where the true meaning of the gift lies!

Photography by Bonnie Tsang
Floral Styling + Text by Lauryl Lane
Graphic Design by MaeMae Paperie
Location at Palihouse, West Hollywood

Floral meaning resources:
Victoria’s Dictionary of Flowers
Wikipedia Language of Flowers
FlowerMeaning.org

Flowers are one of the first gifts that come to mind when we think of our mothers on Mother’s Day, just as we know to give flowers to our lovers on Valentine’s Day or to smooth things over after an argument. The giving of flowers is ingrained into modern culture, and we know that flowers can say “I love you” or “I’m sorry,” but did you know that there is a long tradition of individual flowers holding very specific meanings? Red roses are widely known to say “I love you,” but they can also stand for respect, courage and even embarrassment! Different flowers can have a variety of meanings, both positive and negative, so it’s important to know which flowers to pair together in order to get your true message across.

First published in Paris in 1818, Charlotte de La Tour’s classic Le langage des fleurs first brought floral meanings to the masses. Although meanings had long been associated with different floral specimens, the Victorians, in particular their poets and artists, used the meanings of flowers to convey messages in art, literature, and even in day-to-day settings. de La Tour’s book gathered known floral meanings rooted in ancient history and laid those meanings out, creating a reference guide that we still draw from today. While we no longer attend balls carrying nosegays that can indicate if we are unattached or not, we can definitely use the lost language of flowers to convey meaning through a simple gift.

There are many resources online for discovering the meanings behind various flowers, so next time you’re shopping for a floral gift, do some research first! Choose a color scheme (colors matter- in many cases, different colored flowers even of the same variety can have vastly different connotations!), find out what various flowers in that color scheme mean, and then visit your local flower shop and ask the floral designer if you can choose individual flowers to have made up into a special bouquet.

For a mother’s day gift, you could choose lavender, for devotion. Alstroemeria stands for prosperity- and who doesn’t wish prosperity for their loved ones? Ivy stands for dependance and endurance, both qualities that mothers have in plenty. The pink pixie (or mini) carnation reveals the meaning of a mother’s love, and gratitude, again very apt for such an occasion. And the ranunculus demonstrates radiant charm. While your mother probably won’t know these meanings outright, you can include the meanings on your enclosure card, and it’s a given that she’ll be delighted by the thought and detail you put into such a heartfelt, personalized gift.