Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Guzman.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Our story really started back in about 2007 when a friend of mine was getting married and having trouble looking for wedding invitations. Her and I went to several places and all of them offered the same cookie cutter, Times New Roman font with traditional cursive lettering invitations. Really back then the only thing you can customize was the names on these standard invites. I asked her if she trusted me enough to design and print her invitations and she accepted and really this is where it all started for me. As the years passed I was continually asked to design custom invitations for family and friends.
In 2014 my sister was out of job and itching to go back to work or start designing since we’re both designers. She studied Graphic Design and I studied Interior Design so we were trying to figure out what we were both good at and could do and of course I said why not invitations? I’ve been doing them for years not charging anyone might as well start a business. Plus, our aesthetic is so different she’s very much into vintage chic and I’m the “less is more” very clean architectural style so it really made sense for me to open a business with my sister as my partner.
We are really committed to working with couples and individuals who don’t want a standard and really want to be hands on in the process of designing their invitations and stationary. We’re not in business to mass produce and take endless clients or have you pick from a pre-designed template. We want you to bring your ideas and creativity and allow us to translate that into paper.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has been paved with a few rocks here and there, but I’ve learned so much. You really have to at one point ask yourself why you are in business and what you really want this business to be. You have to stand out there are SOOOOO many wedding vendors and the competition is fierce, but at the end of the day I have stayed true to my vision and will continue to do so because it’s why I started it all in the first place. I mean if I wanted to stay the norm then why would I just offer another of the same thing?
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Fleur de Papel story. Tell us more about the business.
Fleur de Papel is a design studio where we really specialize in one of kind luxury stationary for events and personal use. We’re really known for working one on one with our clients and getting a feel for who they are. I’m most proud that we’re small and we have the opportunity to really pick and choose who we work with and every single person we’ve worked with has remained part of our lives and will continue to do so.
What really sets us apart from others is that we are really trying to tell your story through your own vision. Whether you are looking for wedding invitations, baby shower invitations, general stationary we want people who receive them to say “whoa, this is so them”!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I really feel like the industry now is going back to a time when invitations were heavy on lettering and calligraphy, which is amazing and I love this very true and rich art form, but in the next 5-10 years I see it coming back to machines and print with more use of social media invitations and digital. I think we’re going to head to a place where you will have your traditionals who will want print and the moderns who will be very much about digital invitations. So definitely a huge divide.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fleurdepapel.com
- Phone: 714-357-7425
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @fleurdepapel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fleurdepapel
Image Credit:
Some images by Jessie Schultz Photography
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