What Would They Know? Fi Foott Of Fi Fy Fo Fum Stationery

Paper is a very big love of mine, so I am over joyed to welcome today’s expert Fi Foott of Fi Fy Fo Fum Stationery to Polka Dot Wisdom! Fi creates beautiful stationery for any occasion- including weddings and can design beautiful little items for the whole celebration (my current favourite is her bluebird place cards). Today Fi lets us in on a little about her life as a stationery designer!

Please tell me about yourself and your background?

I live on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula with my husband and my little boy Oliver. I studied graphic design at university and have worked as a trend forecaster, greeting card designer, toy designer as well as a traditional graphic designer.

Beautiful design including patterns and uses of colour excite and inspire me. Catching up with friends and family are important and I have a love of travel, good food and wine.

I have built up Fi Fy Fo Fum Designs to offer beautiful stationery as well as graphic design services and now have the help of the lovely Courtney.

What inspired you to get into the stationery industry?

I have always loved stationery, but as a business, I sort of fell into it. I created the invitations for my own wedding, and then I designed stationery for a friend’s wedding, then a friend of a friend’s, etc… so it started to snowball from there.

What sets you apart from other stationery gurus?

We try to create pieces that are different from what else is out there. I want people to say “wow” when they open an invitation that we have designed. We aim to create pieces that have a simple elegance.

Where is your company name from?

I wanted to have something that was really fun. I have always been known as Fi and when I was little, people would always say the rhyme from Jack and the Beanstalk to me…Fi Fy Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.

What is your favourite part of your job?

I love creating new designs. It is so exciting seeing a design come together. The feedback from customers is fantastic too, it’s great to be able to have a positive impact on their special day.

Do you get a lot of paper cuts?

Sure do! I have decided that they are a part of the job.

Where do you look for stimulation when making a new design?

For our standard range I love looking at interior magazines for patterns and different uses of colour. I also have some favorite design blogs that I look at to see what is happening overseas.
For custom designs I like to see if there is a theme for the wedding or something that represents the couple’s relationship and then try an weave that into the stationery design.

How do you keep your product new and different?

I like to watch what is in the market and see what is missing. I also like to challenge standard finishing and printing techniques to see if we can create something that is different.

Do you offer the ability to customize stationery designs?

Absolutely! This is a big part of our business. Courtney and I are both graphic designers so we can create anything that the customers dream up.

Do you offer your graphic design services for other mediums?

Yes, we offer packaging design, logo creation and brochure design.

Basically anything that needs to be designed or printed…we can do!

Do you think the gesture of the thank you note is going out of style?

I hope not. In the last few years there has been a really big revival of all things hand made, and there is nothing nicer than receiving a hand written note in the mail. Manners should never go out of style!

What sorts of applications could stationery play in a wedding aside from the invitations and thank you notes?

Stationery is very important! It is the first thing that the guests see that dictate the look and feel of the wedding.

The stationery is the key item for linking a theme of the day together.

It is present before the day (save the dates, invitations etc) during the ceremony (order of service booklets) through to the reception (menus and placecards) and after the event (thank you cards).

What are 5 things a couple must consider when in the market for a wedding stationary?

1) What style you would like it to be (fun, modern, traditional, etc).
2) What colours you would like to use… these can come from flowers being used on the day, bridesmaid’s dresses or even a favourite colour.
3) What items do you need? Invitation, RSVP card, information card?
If it is a destination wedding you might like to consider a save the date card to give guests plenty of warning.
4) It can be good idea to keep the sizing of everything to the post office preferred standards as it means that it will be a lot cheaper to post.
5) Start compiling your spreadsheet with guests names and addresses early…if you give yourself lots of time it won’t seem like such a huge job at the end.