Transcript
Speaker: Hi everyone, I'm Molly Carr and this is The Wedding Destination, a podcast for couples and creatives where we discuss all things destination weddings.
Speaker: As a destination wedding photographer, I have traveled the world and had the opportunity to work in some of the most beautiful places imaginable with some of the best and most inspiring wedding industry creatives out there.
Speaker: Whether you are a bride or groom planning your destination wedding or a wedding industry creative hoping to grow your business, welcome and welcome to today's episode of the podcast.
Speaker: As you listen to today's episode, we would love to see where you are and what you're up to.
Speaker: Snap a photo and be sure to tag us at Wedding Destination Podcast.
Speaker: Welcome everyone.
Speaker: I am so excited that you're here and that you're tuning into a conversation that I have been so looking forward to sharing with you.
Speaker: Calligrapher and fine art wedding invitation designer extraordinaire Shasta Bell joins me today and I cannot wait for you to get to know her.
Speaker: Shasta and I first met years ago when she designed the invitations for my wedding
Speaker: And over the years, we have not only become friends, but I also had the very good fortune of having Shasta on my photography team for three wonderful years of weddings in Italy, France, England, and the U.S.,
Speaker: Shasta is the founder of Shasta Bell Calligraphy, a full-service wedding invitation studio that creates timeless, fine art wedding paper goods inspired by European architecture and the organic beauty of modern calligraphy.
Speaker: Voted a top stationer by Magnolia Rouge, Style Me Pretty, and Minnesota Bride, Shasta and her team specialize in destination and fine art weddings in the Americas, Europe, and around the globe.
Speaker: Shasta, thank you so much for joining us and welcome to the wedding destination.
Speaker: Thank you so much, Molly.
Speaker: I am so excited to be here.
Speaker: I've been looking forward to it for a while.
Speaker: I am so excited to have you here, Shasta.
Speaker: Watching the way that you have just really paved this incredible path, not only for yourself, but also for the fine art wedding station industry as a whole and how you continually refine and elevate your craft has been such a joy to see.
Speaker: And before we start talking all things weddings, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got started in the industry?
Speaker: Oh, absolutely.
Speaker: It's very circuitous.
Speaker: I did not go to school for art.
Speaker: My mother was an art education teacher, so it's always been a part of my life, but I just never found my medium.
Speaker: I would walk around with a little beret in fifth grade wanting to be like Da Vinci or...
Speaker: glandular or something.
Speaker: And I wore this little blue ribbon around my neck and I just wanted to be an artist, but I was not a gifted drawer or painter.
Speaker: I just, I liked music.
Speaker: I was, I was pretty okay at music.
Speaker: It wasn't until I got into sewing that I really started to open those creative juices and
Speaker: I went to school for anthropology, nonprofit volunteering, intercultural studies.
Speaker: And so I was living in West Africa, and I couldn't take my sewing machine with me.
Speaker: And I was selling things on Etsy, and I just really enjoyed that creative outlet.
Speaker: And when you're in another country, and you're language learning, and no one else around you speaks your language, you have to find something to do to keep your sanity as you're trying to, in my case, learn West African French.
Speaker: And I started sketching.
Speaker: And it was really easy to bring a little sketchbook around.
Speaker: In 2013, 2014 is when hand lettering was having its big renaissance.
Speaker: And so examples were all over Pinterest.
Speaker: And I had access to the internet every once in a while.
Speaker: And I would save images and learn from those.
Speaker: And then I got back to the States.
Speaker: And I
Speaker: I got engaged and I started, I took an online class from, it was her business called Blue Eye, Brown Eye Calligraphy at the time.
Speaker: And I learned how to use a pointed pen and a nib and I made my own wedding invitations.
Speaker: And the rest is history.
Speaker: Like it's, it took off from there.
Speaker: I was hooked, completely smitten.
Speaker: So how was the process of designing your own wedding invitations?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, gosh.
Speaker: Well, it's funny.
Speaker: It's a very familiar.
Speaker: Many stationers start out this way.
Speaker: You design your own invitations.
Speaker: It was really fun because I was taking all these things that I had absorbed.
Speaker: These things I had seen amazing calligraphers like Carla Lim of Written Work Calligraphy and Saint Signora, Katie Hyatt.
Speaker: She was a wonderful modern calligrapher at the time.
Speaker: And even my friend Aileen
Speaker: and then Michaela McBride.
Speaker: Those are people whose work I loved.
Speaker: And I was like, I want to try my own hand.
Speaker: And so handmade paper was it for me.
Speaker: It's something I'd seen a little bit, but I knew it was going to be the essence of my work and the essence of my wedding stationery.
Speaker: But I didn't know how to do anything.
Speaker: I was completely self-taught.
Speaker: So I just...
Speaker: I learned how to digitally print on handmade paper because I didn't even understand what letterpress and foiling were at the time back in 2014.
Speaker: And so I taped beautiful handmade paper that I bought off of Etsy on guide sheets and fed it through my mother's printer.
Speaker: And when I say we are me, I mean like Chris did.
Speaker: He helped me sitting on the floor of my mother's office.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And they turned out really beautifully.
Speaker: I love them.
Speaker: I made the mistake.
Speaker: And this was a mistake I made a lot early on in my career.
Speaker: I printed them two lights so I could read them, but like grandma couldn't read them.
Speaker: They were a little too light.
Speaker: But it was a really fun process.
Speaker: Like it, it just lit the fire in me.
Speaker: Like, I don't know if you have the same, like, you know, foil in your photography career, but it was just, I just knew that I love my invitations, but there was so much more in me.
Speaker: Like I wanted to do more.
Speaker: And
Speaker: About a year later, I saw my invitation sitting on someone's desk in their home.
Speaker: And she's like, yeah, I'm never throwing that away.
Speaker: And I knew, I just knew like that is, I'm going to keep doing this because that's, that's the feeling I want someone to have when they open up their invitations.
Speaker: I never want to throw this away.
Speaker: And, you know, I can tell you right here in my office, I have on my bookshelf the envelope for my sister Meredith's wedding that you designed for her last year, Shasta.
Speaker: Because, I mean, when I got that with the beautiful stamps, the stunning handmade, like, French blue paper,
Speaker: your stunning gold calligraphy.
Speaker: Again, it's a work of art.
Speaker: And I now have it styled with all of my favorite things from travel and all my favorite pieces of art.
Speaker: And I'll have it forever.
Speaker: I love that she chose that blue color.
Speaker: That's what it's ARPA paper.
Speaker: And it's one of the best blues out there.
Speaker: And
Speaker: I, yeah, I love the colors of her wedding and I love the colors of your wedding.
Speaker: You were one of the first people, not that I designed invitations for, but that I designed it in the style that I wanted.
Speaker: Your vision for your wedding was no one else had asked me to do something quite the same.
Speaker: And it just felt like you were my big break, Molly.
Speaker: Like you are my big, the person who believed in the design that I wanted was the design that you wanted.
Speaker: And it was perfect.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Well, that makes me so happy to hear.
Speaker: And I feel like we were so simpatico and we were just meant to come together.
Speaker: I mean, I knew I, at that point when I got married, I wasn't in the industry yet.
Speaker: So I didn't really know what was out there, but I knew I wanted this beautiful handmade feel and calligraphy and all of that, you know, decal-edged paper.
Speaker: And I could not find anybody out there that was doing it.
Speaker: And then I found you and this was back when you were still on Etsy.
Speaker: And I connected and it was just like this total aha moment where we came together and just had so much fun creating this beautiful invitation suite that, I mean, at the time we were very much in that era of
Speaker: 12 to 15 weddings as guests a year.
Speaker: All of our friends were getting married.
Speaker: And when they got our invitations in the mail, nobody had seen anything like it.
Speaker: And to me, that's what I mean about really you paving the way for so much of where the fine art wedding station, stationary industry has moved today.
Speaker: I mean, handmade paper is intimidating.
Speaker: It's scary.
Speaker: And I think that, I mean, I'm not the first person to ever use it.
Speaker: People, lots of people, you know, dabbled in it.
Speaker: But I just knew that that was going to be a cornerstone.
Speaker: And when you wanted handmade paper, I still remember, oh, I still remember sitting in my tiny little studio in our little duplex house.
Speaker: I remember to this day painting your map and calligraphing your map.
Speaker: I remember hand dyeing your ribbon.
Speaker: I remember printing your menus.
Speaker: It was a very seminal moment.
Speaker: And that handmade paper has become the foundation of my business.
Speaker: And it takes a lot of innovation because there weren't any tutorials online for how to do it.
Speaker: I mean, it was really just trial and error.
Speaker: So lots of testing, printing, and then moving from digital printing to printing.
Speaker: foiling.
Speaker: I mean, there was, I think there were some people who were comfortable using letterpress on handmade paper, and that's the easiest method to use, but foil and handmade paper, there's just nothing like it.
Speaker: And yet it is incredibly difficult.
Speaker: And that's the premise of one of the courses I teach with my partner, Makaila of Ink and Press Co.
Speaker: It's just, it's so fun to innovate and to constantly try to capture the heart of
Speaker: It's almost like an intangible aesthetic that you're always shooting for in every project you're trying to reach a little bit closer to it.
Speaker: That's how I feel with the materials that I use.
Speaker: Yeah, and handmade paper will forever be like the better rock of my design.
Speaker: There's nothing like it.
Speaker: There really is absolutely nothing like it.
Speaker: I mean, it feels like something that you could just stumble upon at a French antique market.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: I mean, that's the goal.
Speaker: I mean, speaking of an intangible aesthetic, that is literally my goal is that you feel like you've walked into a different era and you found it in a set or you're sitting in
Speaker: I have this image of sitting under a big tree and my, like I own a French domain, like Boutonvilliers or something.
Speaker: And I have a basket of peaches on my hip and an apron and someone rides up on a horse and delivers like a wedding invitation letter to me in like the 1700s.
Speaker: That is my aesthetic goal for my designs is to create that moment.
Speaker: I have all the goosebumps.
Speaker: I'm literally getting teary eyed right now.
Speaker: You know what?
Speaker: You and I have driven past probably the place I have in my mind.
Speaker: Like you and I have literally, do you have, do you have memories when you come back to the States?
Speaker: I have smell memories of the rain right now.
Speaker: Whenever I take Wilder on a walk in the rain, I, I have memories of places I've been in France.
Speaker: It brings me right back to certain places where I've walked in France.
Speaker: There's this one morning you and I were staying outside.
Speaker: I forget the name of the chateau, but we had stayed in this beautiful little country house.
Speaker: And in the morning, the dew was beautiful and there were sheep in the pasture, had roses growing up the side of the house.
Speaker: It was the one with the spiral staircases.
Speaker: I have memories, like sense memories of that morning all the time when I'm designing or when I'm out about.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And especially this time of year too, as the weather is starting to turn and yeah, there's nothing like the French countryside.
Speaker: And you're right.
Speaker: I'm sure that we did drive by your alter ego out there in the field, riding a horse, being delivered a beautiful piece of paper on a silver platter.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker: As one does in France.
Speaker: He's got those high boots on.
Speaker: Yep, it's good.
Speaker: I got it all in my brain.
Speaker: So then when you really decided to launch Chastabelle Calligraphy, you designed the paper for your own wedding.
Speaker: You were on Etsy.
Speaker: You were working with other clients.
Speaker: We worked together.
Speaker: What was that process like of launching your business and really kind of making those goals and plans and
Speaker: What projects you think really kind of helped elevate you and lead you to where you are today?
Speaker: That's a great question.
Speaker: I think there's a spectrum of personalities when it comes to starting something new.
Speaker: There's those who plan everything well and meticulously up front and then have a really polished launch.
Speaker: I am the opposite of that.
Speaker: I am the just do it, just try it, and things evolve and grow along the way.
Speaker: I definitely have my own struggles with perfectionism, but when it comes to starting a new venture, that perfectionism is not one of them.
Speaker: I'm a big believer in inertia.
Speaker: And so you just get the ball rolling.
Speaker: especially when the stakes are very low, when you're not very visible, you have so much freedom to make mistakes.
Speaker: There's just, I just, I'm very passionate about just getting started because I think there's death by perfectionism.
Speaker: And I think that sometimes we get too wrapped up in things being perfect before, you know, we just, there's a failure to launch.
Speaker: And so for me, it was a very gradual process of,
Speaker: I didn't even really understand there was a distinction between being an invitation designer and just a calligrapher.
Speaker: I just thought they were all the same thing.
Speaker: And they're not.
Speaker: In my case and in many people's cases now, they're combined.
Speaker: So I started working on just addressing orders off of Etsy and worked out a lot of the kinks.
Speaker: And I think something that I'm really passionate about and something I talk with Mikaela of Incompressco a lot, she's my podcast partner, is...
Speaker: Growing too fast, too soon robs you of the ability to buff out those rough edges.
Speaker: And I am so grateful I had opportunities when selling on Etsy and working with incredibly patient and wonderful clients who allowed me to make mistakes and grow and learn my business.
Speaker: I was already well set up in that I knew how my selling platform worked in that
Speaker: in the beginning it was Etsy.
Speaker: And then I moved on to my own website when Etsy clients were no longer the kind of clientele that I, that was interested in the kind of work I wanted to do.
Speaker: And so I grew from there, but I was really familiar with that platform and I knew how to advertise and I knew how to work just, you know, simple listings.
Speaker: And that was great.
Speaker: If I were launching now, I probably wouldn't use Etsy.
Speaker: I would probably do something different, but I really, I just already kind of had like a foot in the door from doing other things.
Speaker: So it was a
Speaker: easy pivot to do for me.
Speaker: And then from there, I started to, especially you were the first who wanted to do a style that I wanted to do, who wasn't interested, you know, who's interested in those soft pastel, subtle colors, who wanted to use textured handmade paper, who was interested in
Speaker: hand-drawn details, not just like a map and something that, you know, I'd seen a million times before.
Speaker: It was like a gorgeous map and a beautiful crest and really personal details.
Speaker: And I don't have a strong memory of who came after that.
Speaker: I think it was a very slow, it was a slow grow and it was a good grow.
Speaker: And every project after that, I was able to express a new skill, try something a little different.
Speaker: And not only was I learning those artistic skills, I was learning those soft client management skills.
Speaker: And that's actually the area that I'm incredibly passionate about.
Speaker: So I love handmade paper and I love art, but I also struggled a lot with client management in the beginning.
Speaker: And when I'm speaking to people who are starting their businesses, that's kind of the area I like to talk to people the most because it took me a while.
Speaker: I had some really interesting projects, but I didn't know how to handle them like a luxury designer for a while.
Speaker: And that, you know, that grew.
Speaker: And now I feel really confident in that space.
Speaker: But it took a while.
Speaker: There was a progression from, you know, my first wonderful project, Working for Your Wedding Invitations.
Speaker: And then I think I did a couple that were destination, which were fun.
Speaker: And then I did a lot of collaborations.
Speaker: and styled shoots in the style that I wanted.
Speaker: And that made a difference.
Speaker: I was actually going to ask you about that because I know that was for you, I think, a really intentional way that you chose to grow your business and to start to really have the freedom to creatively explore your art when you're doing it for yourself versus doing it for a client.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It is such it's like some my husband does software updates and they have basically like a training, like testing environment before they do their actual update.
Speaker: And that that is kind of the exact same thing that sounds like they're my they're your testing environment.
Speaker: You get to try out whatever you want.
Speaker: You build relationships, which is very key in luxury weddings.
Speaker: Finding planners and photographers, people who you build lifelong relationships with, that's key.
Speaker: And also creating work that you're proud to show in your portfolio, and that's going to push the needle forward and push the envelope further.
Speaker: It was just really, really fun.
Speaker: And they weren't with you.
Speaker: A lot of people kind of expect you get to like a big break.
Speaker: You know, you're all of a sudden working with someone and it's going to open up a bunch of doors for you.
Speaker: That really hasn't been the case for me.
Speaker: It is slow, steady, relationship building, overtime, steady progress, steady work.
Speaker: and just doing it.
Speaker: And that's what's led me to where I am today, which is a place that I'm really excited about and have a lot of freedom in.
Speaker: That's amazing.
Speaker: So then where you are today, tell us what is the typical wedding that you're now working on?
Speaker: What's the scope of the job, level of the customization?
Speaker: What type of clients are you working with?
Speaker: clients that hire Molly Carr to be their photographer.
Speaker: But actually, yes.
Speaker: I mean, we've collaborated on projects before.
Speaker: I love one of the weddings that we did.
Speaker: Before where it was this beautiful chateau outside of Paris and Jennifer Fox was the planner and
Speaker: You asked me to second shoot with you, which is so fun when my police cards are sitting on the table and then we're photographing this lovely couple in this beautiful space.
Speaker: Most of my clients get married overseas, which is just kind of my...
Speaker: It's my zone.
Speaker: I do local weddings too, but it's where my aesthetic really lends itself to that French countryside Chateau wedding vibe, you know, or English.
Speaker: I have a really lovely wedding right now that's taking place close to the border with Scotland.
Speaker: And this couple is really fun because they have...
Speaker: They're medieval at heart.
Speaker: So a lot of the weddings I do have color and I love that.
Speaker: These lovely people want black and white and old like book paper.
Speaker: I have an example right here, which for you listening on the podcast, you can't see, but if you're on YouTube and you're watching like.
Speaker: Oh my gosh.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's fun.
Speaker: Stunning.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's really fun.
Speaker: I got to make this double crest thing.
Speaker: heraldic piece and it just I just love it I source a lot of my um inspiration from actually you know actual old
Speaker: heraldic work.
Speaker: And so most of my clients are getting married in Europe in a chateau environment or an old castle, some in villas.
Speaker: I do a couple Italy weddings a year.
Speaker: Lake Como weddings are pretty big and I'm not mad about that.
Speaker: It's really fun.
Speaker: It's really fun.
Speaker: A lot of my clients are working professionals and so they have a planner who takes care of most of the details for them.
Speaker: So I'm working very closely with the planners.
Speaker: There's a lot of intentional things.
Speaker: We had one wedding with, oh, I just loved it.
Speaker: It was butterflies and flowers.
Speaker: And we had butterfly programs with gorgeous tassels.
Speaker: I know exactly the wedding you're talking about.
Speaker: Yeah, that one was fun.
Speaker: It was stunning.
Speaker: It really was.
Speaker: It was just like scrolled place cards and punch out vellum butterfly details.
Speaker: And it was just lots of fun.
Speaker: That's amazing.
Speaker: So I know that you offer services from both your Pret-a-Porter lines and then also really completely bespoke wedding projects.
Speaker: Can you explain what the different experience between the two is?
Speaker: I'm so glad that you asked that question.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So Pret-a-Porter is French for ready to wear or ready to port, to walk out the door with.
Speaker: Then the semi-custom line is the next level, and then custom is the highest luxury level.
Speaker: Pret-a-porter and semi-custom are, another term for them would be pre-designed.
Speaker: Pret-a-porter is very much pre-designed.
Speaker: So the difference between the three tiers is how much time I'm spending on the design.
Speaker: There are a couple of color choices you can pick from on my Pret-a-porter line, but it comes as you see it advertised on the website, but with your information.
Speaker: I don't offer elevated printing methods.
Speaker: It's for a couple who love my design, but aren't able to invest their wedding budget in the bells and whistles.
Speaker: So they really love my calligraphy and they love my color choices, but they're going to stay with a digital print and maybe handmade paper, but mostly cardstock.
Speaker: Whereas semi-custom is a step up from that.
Speaker: And I'm spending a little bit more time with that client.
Speaker: And they have chosen one of, I think I offer right now, nine semi-custom designs.
Speaker: It's funny, every stationer will tell you that there's like two or three of their semi-custom, or like a third of their semi-custom designs get picked every time the rest are just left out lonely, waving in the wind.
Speaker: I have three designs that are super popular.
Speaker: And we just do variations on that.
Speaker: And there's a lot more range of color toys.
Speaker: There's a lot more range of
Speaker: customization that I'm not designing anything from scratch.
Speaker: They do choose a preset design, but there's a lot of flexibility.
Speaker: You can do calligraphy addressing.
Speaker: You can do wax seals, envelope liners, but even with envelope liners and wax seals for semi-custom, I have a preset group of nine, you know, nine plus that they can choose from.
Speaker: Custom is
Speaker: All, you know, all restrictions are off.
Speaker: I do have a restriction on how many drafts we can do, which if you're in the stationary industry, you know what I mean?
Speaker: Like sometimes the scope creep can happen.
Speaker: But with custom, you start with an idea and a couple...
Speaker: Key things that I know the client wants, you know, they, you know, they tell me they, they fell in love with foil or they fell in love with blind embossed, like sculpted blind embossed, which is really fun.
Speaker: Or they, they'll tell me that they are getting married at a certain venue and here's a color we love.
Speaker: And then they say, just go with it.
Speaker: And that is when my creative juices just fly.
Speaker: Usually I have, I
Speaker: You might have this with some poses that you just keep in your back pocket that you haven't been able to try out yet, but you're excited to.
Speaker: That's what I do with my custom clients where I have like two or three concepts that are flexible enough to work for many different people and you really want to try them.
Speaker: And so I'll start with one of those for a custom client.
Speaker: And then it just snowballs into sometimes I'll end up with like 10 concepts and
Speaker: And I will never show a custom client in 10.
Speaker: But like your creative juices just start flying.
Speaker: And you, for me, like I was saying, I'm not someone who comes out of the gate with a pretty package wrapped in a bow ready to go.
Speaker: I'm a very much a process driven person.
Speaker: So the more I work on a concept for a custom client, the richer and creamier and more delicious it gets.
Speaker: That is amazing.
Speaker: And, you know, so for that, what are some ways that you like to really personalize these custom projects and getting to know your clients and bringing their story, their vision, and their wedding into their wedding paper?
Speaker: That's a great question.
Speaker: I'm sure this applies to photography clients as well.
Speaker: That consult call at the beginning is everything.
Speaker: isn't it?
Speaker: Hearing their voice, hearing what's important to them.
Speaker: I love understanding how the couple is met.
Speaker: I love understanding what they kind of do day to day.
Speaker: And you can ask some questions here and there, just kind of understand who they are, even aside from specifically what they want.
Speaker: That helps a lot.
Speaker: Yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker: Sometimes the process evolves.
Speaker: So what I do and...
Speaker: What's great about invitations versus the photography side is in photography, you get like one day, one shot.
Speaker: With invitation design, I get to present a tray of options and see which one they pick.
Speaker: So when I'm thinking of personalizing something, I think I'll have an idea of what they want.
Speaker: And I'll have done my due diligence and my research and figured out who they are and what they like and where they're getting married.
Speaker: And I'll pour that into the first draft.
Speaker: So if it's, you know, this wonderful couple who we were talking about earlier, where we're using the book paper, I spend a lot of time
Speaker: looking at the venue, the castle they're getting married at.
Speaker: And it'd gone through some renovations.
Speaker: So I looked at like what it looked at like before during medieval times.
Speaker: There's a beautiful painting of it.
Speaker: So I spent a lot of time soaking that in, soaking in the time period that this castle was built and arch around that time, listening to them.
Speaker: And then I talked to them about, since we were specifically doing Crest's
Speaker: We talked a lot about who they were.
Speaker: And so I pulled in a lot of those elements, like he's an engineer.
Speaker: So we pulled in imagery of engineering.
Speaker: She loves the harp and there's like an Ireland connection.
Speaker: And so we did a lot of work on that.
Speaker: But then my second and third drafts, the second one is sometimes like very different from what I think they want.
Speaker: And then the third one is probably like exactly what I want to do.
Speaker: So I give them this tray to choose from.
Speaker: So I've done my research and I really try to customize it for what they want.
Speaker: But I leave room for being wrong and for them to maybe prefer something else.
Speaker: So yeah, it's a long process, but it's fun.
Speaker: I enjoy it.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: And I know for you, travel is a really important element to the clients that you're working with, the weddings that you are a part of, and even for you, just the way that you see the world and the way that you create your art.
Speaker: So I would love to know a little bit more about how travel influences your full experience working with your clients and just your work in general.
Speaker: I love that question.
Speaker: I have the, you know, the lovely joy of having been able to travel with you.
Speaker: So I feel like we've shared a lot of these moments together.
Speaker: My life.
Speaker: Started out, I just loved different cultures since I was young.
Speaker: And that's what I went to school to study.
Speaker: And so for me, there's a lot of intentionality there of understanding, having a sense of place and location and history.
Speaker: And that is combined with a love for craft and artisan and artistry and, and craftsmanship.
Speaker: And so when I'm creating something, I think that there are a lot of, especially when you're beginning as a stationer, there's a lot of stereotypes or tropes that you can use.
Speaker: You know, if someone says they're getting married in Paris, you know, throw an Eiffel tower in there somewhere, or it,
Speaker: you don't like know to dig deep yet.
Speaker: And the longer I've done this and the more I've put myself into it, not just what I think a client wants, but like putting my heart into it, the deeper, the more I want to travel for one, but the deeper you get into a sense of place.
Speaker: So when someone says that they're getting married in Scotland, I want to jump on a plane and go.
Speaker: I want to see and feel and smell and understand where they're getting married.
Speaker: And I want to put that into their work
Speaker: It is traveling has given me such an appreciation for different custom, different ways of living, different ways of approaching life and time.
Speaker: It's given me an appreciation for the slow life.
Speaker: And so when I have a client who appreciates those things, hospitality over, what's the word?
Speaker: Someone who appreciates hospitality and craftsmanship over having a big do just to do it up.
Speaker: I mean, I'm always here for a nice party.
Speaker: That's fun.
Speaker: But someone who really cherishes those things, that's how I know that.
Speaker: They're like a heart client.
Speaker: So if they're having like a weekend event, which is common with luxury weddings, it's, you know, sometimes a whole week thing.
Speaker: It is such a joy because I get to ask about every element of their day.
Speaker: We get to write out special menus that were crafted by chefs in the area.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: We get to make custom venue drawings of every part of their weekend.
Speaker: We get to be intentional about the sort of things we put in their guest bags.
Speaker: I just want people, when they open up that invitation, to feel transported to the place the wedding is going to be.
Speaker: And it helps that I've been to many of these places because, like we were talking about before, I can smell the grass.
Speaker: I can smell the boxwood that smells weirdly like cat pee.
Speaker: I don't know if you've ever noticed that.
Speaker: It's kind of random, but...
Speaker: Anytime we're at like a wedding and we walk past like what?
Speaker: Boxwood hedges?
Speaker: I'm like, it smells like my cat.
Speaker: But I can smell it and I know what, you know what?
Speaker: I know what it looks like.
Speaker: And what's also useful, and I'm sure that you feel this way as a stationer, I don't get to be there on the day.
Speaker: As a second photographer, as a, you know, wedding photographer, I get to be there on the day.
Speaker: And that has added so much, not only because I personally travel, but for work, I understand the entire thing.
Speaker: concept of the day.
Speaker: I know so much better.
Speaker: I mean, it's a little bit of a tangent, but I know so much better what the planner and the photographer and the people on the ground go through.
Speaker: So something as simple as just alphabetizing the escort cards or putting them in the right order, I know is going to make someone's life so much easier because I've seen someone stress out about it on that day.
Speaker: And when it comes to bigger weddings, especially Chateau weddings, you're running back and forth a million places.
Speaker: And
Speaker: And it just gives me a better idea of not only how to prepare the vendors, set them up for success, but also how to even walk a client through what their guests are going to need as far as their details and their invitations.
Speaker: And I mean, I could talk on and on about that.
Speaker: It's very poetic.
Speaker: But yeah, I mean, travel has had a huge impact artistically and logistically on my work.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And I can attest to having traveled with you and seeing that you are truly always seeking inspiration when you travel.
Speaker: I mean, I remember being in London together and looking at the calligraphed house numbers in Mayfair and looking at coat of arms in France.
Speaker: And I remember that was, I think, 2021 when you were really, really starting to fall in love with heraldry.
Speaker: And you were just seeing the way that you were taking these beautiful historic elements and then contextualizing them in a way that you could bring to your art and to your business and to your clients was so magical for me to see.
Speaker: I mean, half my film roles were just of signs or like there was a like the post royale, the British or whatever it is on lampposts.
Speaker: And I remember stooping in Mayfair to take it.
Speaker: We were outside of what garden was that?
Speaker: I can't remember.
Speaker: Some garden had there's lampposts and stooping and taking a picture of the lamppost.
Speaker: I probably looked like a weirdo, but it was it was worth it.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that really as an artist,
Speaker: No, for you, it's so amazing because you do get to travel for your client work too.
Speaker: Sometimes you get to travel from photography.
Speaker: You really get the full 360 degree experience.
Speaker: But even for people who truly are only practicing in their home studio and they aren't going to events,
Speaker: Still investing in travel for yourself as an artist is absolutely – it can't be replicated.
Speaker: It is that word investment very much so.
Speaker: And it grows you more than you could ever know.
Speaker: I mean, I have a list of places I would like our son to go just –
Speaker: I just so deeply want him to experience what I've experienced, whether he becomes an artist or a mechanic or a software engineer, whatever he does with his life.
Speaker: Like it just, it's big.
Speaker: I remember I was sharing this with my Kyle on our podcast the other day.
Speaker: Chetanale, the Chetanale wedding.
Speaker: I think that was, was that the first one I, yeah, that was the first one I assisted you on.
Speaker: I mean, I have many travel experiences that were, are wonderful outside of just working weddings, but that one in particular strikes me.
Speaker: That was in 2019, I think.
Speaker: And the world kind of exploded after that, but I had this reservoir of memory from that time and that particular trip that really took me through COVID and
Speaker: changed my art after that.
Speaker: It really did.
Speaker: And I remember driving after the wedding.
Speaker: I just drove around Tuscany for a while.
Speaker: And I think I passed you and your mom on the road.
Speaker: You guys were going another, I think you were going to Siena or something.
Speaker: And I just, I stopped by the chapel that that couple got married in.
Speaker: I just kind of sat for a while and then I drove around.
Speaker: I just felt like I was in a rom-com.
Speaker: Like one of those kismet moments where you're just like, where am I?
Speaker: Yeah, I'll never forget that.
Speaker: I just felt like I had entered a different world.
Speaker: And yeah, it really kicked off my love of heraldry.
Speaker: It just it changed.
Speaker: I mean, now my bookshelf is full of heraldic reference books and my desktop books.
Speaker: is not clean because it's full of old heraldic imagery that I found online and amazing.
Speaker: I found this Emile Gallet.
Speaker: It's amazing.
Speaker: I'm working on a logo for another photographer and this project is so fun and where it's led me creatively.
Speaker: Just, I feel like I've walked into old, an old French village.
Speaker: And I'm just looking at, he was a pot, he had like a ceramic pottery studio and he incorporated a lot of this old heraldic imagery into this work.
Speaker: And
Speaker: even though I am not physically there right now, I just feel like I've walked into it and it's just, yeah, it's wonderful.
Speaker: It's great.
Speaker: It's such a joy of art and memory to be able to allow us to travel.
Speaker: And like you said, building up those experiences so that when we did have the world shut down with COVID, that you're still able to continually seek out inspiration and
Speaker: kind of use that well of memories to pull from during trying times is absolutely invaluable.
Speaker: It really is.
Speaker: It shows you... There are a lot of cultures who are very intentional about their creation.
Speaker: And you can certainly find that in pockets, wonderful pockets in the US too, but our culture tends to be much more fast-paced.
Speaker: And the love I saw of artisans while I've traveled the world has deeply changed me.
Speaker: And it kept me going through COVID and it still fuels my work, just the craftsmanship.
Speaker: There's an engraver in Paris.
Speaker: I almost bought a ticket to Paris the other day spontaneously because I wanted to go meet this engraver who does amazing engravings of heraldic work.
Speaker: It's just a slower, more intentional, art and craft is more valued in other parts of the world.
Speaker: And it's very inspiring.
Speaker: I completely agree.
Speaker: And Shasta, I know that a lot of wedding invitation designers look at you, look at the work you create, the type of weddings and clients that you work with, and they dream of someday being in a place like that.
Speaker: So do you have any recommendations for somebody who might be newer to the industry or is just looking to level up their wedding stationery business?
Speaker: Oh, I love that.
Speaker: That is such a good question.
Speaker: I'm really passionate about that.
Speaker: I have had the opportunity to mentor some beginning stationers and a very common, that's a very common fear is that I'll never make it.
Speaker: How do I get there?
Speaker: I'm not good enough.
Speaker: And I can only speak from my experience.
Speaker: I don't believe that there's a perfect recipe for everyone.
Speaker: I don't think it looks the same for everybody.
Speaker: It's very different.
Speaker: There are some key things.
Speaker: I had imposter syndrome as an artist, so I share that in common with a lot of people who are beginning.
Speaker: I was not a gifted artist growing up.
Speaker: I have no special ability.
Speaker: What I bring to the table is something that everyone else can bring to the table, which is grit and perseverance.
Speaker: And you do have to combine that with intentional skill building.
Speaker: So you can't just keep creating the same thing and making the same mistakes over and over again.
Speaker: You do have to use critical thinking.
Speaker: but I really want to remove the pressure from people thinking there's a special recipe.
Speaker: I think that imposter syndrome is really, oh, it's such a terrible lie thinking that you will never make it where you want to go.
Speaker: You absolutely will.
Speaker: Don't give up.
Speaker: I mean, you won't make it there if you give up.
Speaker: There are so many resources out there now.
Speaker: I mean, so many things that will set you up for success, even more than I had when I started nine years ago.
Speaker: One of those things, especially if you're a stationer,
Speaker: Mikayla Manu of Ink and Press Co.
Speaker: and I have a education course series called Cultivé, which is the French word for cultivated.
Speaker: And we teach how to style and photograph your own photos in a way that will elevate your work.
Speaker: And also on a technical skill level, how to foil on handmade paper, which is very tricky.
Speaker: We also go over some debossing and sculpted embossing, which is really fun.
Speaker: And those are at CultivéCourse, C-U-L-T-I-V-E course.com.
Speaker: And one of the biggest things you can do is honestly just listen to podcasts like this.
Speaker: This is great.
Speaker: I have one called Cultivate with Michaela.
Speaker: And just soak in the encouragement.
Speaker: Because that's going to fuel you to continue.
Speaker: So there are many places you can go and learn skills, but you also need encouragement and wisdom for how to deal with clients.
Speaker: The skill side of things has always come... I wouldn't say easily to me.
Speaker: Again, I don't have any natural artistic gift.
Speaker: It's really just giving it a shot and keep going.
Speaker: But like I said, what was even...
Speaker: That's not hard for me to research and grow in.
Speaker: And I think everyone has access to that.
Speaker: I think what's even more tricky is the business side of things and learning how to be someone that other luxury designers want to work with.
Speaker: That's what's going to get to your repeat clients and more relationships.
Speaker: And that's a little bit harder.
Speaker: And I think a lot of those soft skills come through conversations with other stationers, other photographers, and just experience.
Speaker: And that comes with time.
Speaker: And so I think a lot of people stop because they feel like,
Speaker: They'll never make it where they want to be.
Speaker: And just continue to build those friendships and those relationships that propel you forward to continue growing.
Speaker: And then forgive yourself when you make mistakes so that it doesn't become a stumbling block and so that you continue to grow.
Speaker: I think there are plenty of resources out there for how to appear like a luxury designer, but the heart of it really is
Speaker: Being a quality person, someone who understands their craft and understands how to think ahead.
Speaker: I know that that's very key for luxury clients and how to anticipate needs.
Speaker: Just being an expert.
Speaker: And that just takes time.
Speaker: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker: And I know we were talking before we were online about using every challenge to
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: difficulty and sometimes some heartache.
Speaker: And in those moments, there is a very strong urge to want to throw in the towel and to want to give up and to decide working at this level, working with clients like this, working with planners like this just isn't for me.
Speaker: But instead of that, looking at it as an opportunity to grow, learn, and develop is a
Speaker: to me, in the end, the key to really having a long-term successful business.
Speaker: Successful financially and artistically, but also emotionally.
Speaker: Well said, Molly.
Speaker: Well said.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Do you have, as you were saying that, I had specific moments and clients in mind where I crumbled a
Speaker: I'm a soft person.
Speaker: I am not.
Speaker: When people say toughen up, I'm like, what does that even mean?
Speaker: Like what?
Speaker: And I think what it is, as I've learned, it's about having boundaries.
Speaker: It's not about becoming a mean person.
Speaker: It's just about saying, I can handle this.
Speaker: I can't handle this.
Speaker: Knowing when to walk away, knowing when to not
Speaker: Not let it hurt you, but not take it personal and realize it might be it's them.
Speaker: It's not you.
Speaker: And like I said, forgive yourself when you make mistakes.
Speaker: Those soft skills keep you from having the existential crisis.
Speaker: And honestly, some people may decide that it's not for them, and that's a great thing.
Speaker: They can find something that suits them.
Speaker: But if you're someone who has a lot of grit or values that, you have to take those moments of failure or confusion and
Speaker: And that flexible skill of flipping it on its head where instead of it being a problem, it becomes an opportunity to grow, like you were saying.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And really, everybody needs people to look up to.
Speaker: They need people in their circle.
Speaker: They need people that when difficult times happen, you can look to a mentor, you can look to peers, and just have that encouragement to know that this too shall pass.
Speaker: And again, to validate you, you can flip it on its head and have it become an opportunity.
Speaker: I don't know about you.
Speaker: I have a, you know, stationer friend.
Speaker: So I rely on when I have a nutso situation who just let me cry my heart out.
Speaker: And then we problem solve, you know, and then, and then we, we draft, you know, an email together and it's like, does this sound professional and kind, but still setting boundaries?
Speaker: Like that is that support system is so important.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Shasta, I completely agree.
Speaker: And I can just tell you that this has been so uplifting, being able to hear your story, to hear the ways that you have sought about creating a really heart-centric, beautiful business.
Speaker: And I know that for a lot of our listeners, this is really going to hit home for them.
Speaker: So thank you so much.
Speaker: I know that many of them probably already follow you and are fans of yours, Shasta.
Speaker: But for people who may have just met you, where can we follow and learn more about you?
Speaker: Oh, it's been so wonderful talking to you too, Molly.
Speaker: It's such a joy.
Speaker: If you want to follow along with my work, I am at Shasta Bell Calligraphy on Instagram or Shasta Bell Photography with an IE for photography work on Instagram.
Speaker: My website is shastabelle.com and then Cultivate Course is where Mikayla and I do all of our education and our podcast is Cultivate, which you can find wherever you find your podcasts.
Speaker: Amazing.
Speaker: This has been absolutely wonderful, Shasta.
Speaker: You are just such a source of joy and light in our industry.
Speaker: And on behalf of all of our listeners, thank you so much for joining us here on The Wedding Destination.
Speaker: Thank you so much for having me, Molly.
Speaker: Thank you all for listening to today's episode of the Wedding Destination Podcast.
Speaker: I'm Molly Carr, and you can follow me on Instagram at mollycarphotography and the podcast at weddingdestinationpodcast.
Speaker: We hope you will leave us a five-star review on iTunes and join us next week for a new episode.
Speaker: We'll talk to you soon.
