We were so thrilled to sponsor the VIP invitations for AFR Event Furnishing‘s annual networking event this year!  AFR has a long tradition of super creative and mind-blowing events that start with innovative and out-of-the-box invitations.  We were totally up for the challenge!

Because this project was so much fun, we wanted to invite you for a behind-the-scenes look at production.  Here are some fun action shots and the work that resulted!

The theme for this year’s networker was “The Blueprint: Furniture Exposed.”  When we sat down with AFR to discuss what they wanted to do for this year’s invitation, they had loads of ideas and inspiration.  Some of the stand-out ideas that really seemed to fit the bill for the theme were kraft-colored mailing tubes with the invitation rolled inside, miniature tables that somewhat resembled AFR’s Mon accent tables, and “blueprint”-style drawings of furniture.  Rather than choose just one idea, we opted to create a boxed invitation that combined all these super cute ideas for a knock-your-socks off presentation!

To start, we watercolor-washed a standard mailing box to give it a streaky blue color.  Custom labels were applied to the box top containing the event logo (created by AFR’s in-house marketing team and used throughout the invitation) and the invited guests’ names.

Next, we assembled and painted mini “tables” in three of the six colors in which the Mon tables can be rented – teal, rose, and lime.  Our “in-house engineer” and CAD expert (my husband Daniel) then created CAD drawings of those tables for use as a wallpaper that we applied to the inside of the box.  We added some appropriate creative flourishes to the wallpaper and developed a custom-printed lift pad for the base, with cutouts for each of the items included in the box: the mini painted table, a mini kraft-colored mailing tube with invitation rolled inside, and a “You are invited” tent card to stand on the table.  The lift pads were inserted and attached inside each of the assembled boxes.

We created the mini kraft-colored mailing tubes by covering clear plastic tubes with kraft paper.  The invitation, printed on Bright White, was rolled inside and a printed arrow encouraged the invitation’s removal.  Each invitation was personalized with the invited guests’ names, and the mailing tube contained a teeny-tiny label, also printed with the guests’ name or company name.  The mailing tube was then tied onto the lift pad using a thin white satin ribbon bow so it stayed in place during transit.

To ensure the invitations were interactive and to encourage guests to “play” with the tables and perhaps even display them in their workspace, we designed a small tent card with “You are invited” and AFR’s logo to be removed from the box and set up on the table.  The table colors were randomly assigned to guests so everyone received a fun surprise.

We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to show off our studio’s in-house capabilities with this project and to be involved in such an amazingly outstanding event!  Thank you AFR for allowing us to create these invitations for you!  Hope we can do it again soon!