Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to our very first 'Credible and Incredible' Supplier of the Week. The wonderfully talented Nikki and her beautiful wedding stationery design company 'Knots & Kisses'...
Please tell our readers a bit about Knots & Kisses…
My name is Nikki and I am the owner and designer here at Knots & Kisses Wedding Stationery, making bespoke and vintage inspired wedding stationery for Brides who want something that stands out from the crowd for their wedding!
What inspired you to start working for yourself?
I gave up work and set up Knots & Kisses in 2009. I’d been wanting to set up my own business for years and use my creativity from my Art background and my degree in fashion illustration, but hadn’t had the guts to do it to be honest! I’d done the wedding stationery for my sister’s wedding and a couple of work colleagues... but the real spur was working on my friends wedding a couple of years ago… it just seemed the right time and I took the plunge and set up Knots & Kisses!
Where did the name Knots and Kisses come from?
It was actually my fabulous other half who came up with the name! I'd been toying with so many different ideas and couldn't decide on one and then he suddenly just suggested Knots & Kisses and it seemed totally right! After all weddings are all about tying the knot and hopefully plenty of kisses!
How do you come up with your designs/ what influences you?
I aim to provide fun and vintage inspired wedding stationery so I find I'm inspired by an eclectic mix of things. I collect scraps of fabric and antique jewellery and clothes which often inspires a design. I also go to lots of museums and read lots of fashion and interiors magazines ... I often find trends filter through to the wedding industry quite quickly.
I generally come up with designs my sketching ideas out in a notebook first... I always keep my notebook on me as you never know when inspiration will strike! I always have it by the bed as I often wake up in the middle of the night with an idea!
What would you call your ‘style’?
Eclectic, Embellished & Vintage inspired
What is currently your favourite design?
It’s always the last design I’ve done! If you had asked me two weeks ago it would have been the Rose Cottage range I launched in August... but I've since designed the new 'Sketch' range which I'm currently working on and I'm totally hooked by this one now! It will hopefully be launching on my website by the end of October so keep your eyes peeled! You can find a preview of part of the range on my blog http://knotsandkisses.blogspot.com
Who inspires you?
I have always been inspired by people in the fashion and film industries since I was a small child. I take great inspiration from the old hollywood movie stars such as Katherine Hepburn, but my childhood heroine was always Vivienne Westwood.... she represents everything that’s great about being English and Eclectic, traditionalist but also with a bit of anarchy!
If you weren’t doing this job what do you think you would be doing?
My other dream was to run a bookshop / coffee shop with my other half somewhere… I would bake cakes and serve tea and people could sit for a few hours reading and drinking coffee and watching the world go by!
If you could design stationery for anyone in the world who would it be and why?
I would have loved to have done Kate Moss's wedding but if I had free rein I'd love to design a set of stationery for Tim Burton & Helena Bonham Carter... it obviously wouldn't have to be wedding stationery, but I'd give my eye teeth to design something for them with a bit of gothic glamour!
How do you spend your time when you are not working?
Although I love all things girly and fashion, I'm also a sports nut! My Dad had two daughters so one of us had to watch sport with him! I'm a mad Aston Villa fan, absolutely adore Formula 1 but will pretty much watch anything sports related on the tv!
A Message from Nikki...
I would love to invite everyone to check back for the launch of my new website in October, which will include some new ranges and eventually the launch of an exciting new Reception Stationery range! All the news will be on my blog http://knotsandkisses.blogspot.com
