Introducing Upscales Custom Collection
The Business, The Brand, & The Brains Behind It All…
Hi everyone and welcome to the first blog post for Upscales Custom Collection! We are elated to tap into a new realm, and we are hopeful that our blogs provide quality content while also bringing us closer to those who are learning more about us and those that have followed and supported us along the way!
So where do I begin?
Upscales Custom Collection is the result of a passionate bride (me!) and an ambitious wedding planner (Hiram Smith of Hiram Styles) who came together to execute a phenomenal wedding invitation that people are still raving over even today (3 years later). As I reflect on the details of my wedding, I can recall inviting hundreds of people (about 600 people thanks to my very popular husband) to my extravagant wedding. I would like to think that 98% of guests that were invited were there to support my husband and I but to also see if the wedding would uphold the elaborate suede invitation they received in the mail. Can you imagine mailing off about 400 invitations?!?! Ok, that’s another story for another blog, however, it was the invitations that prepped the crowd for the wedding of the century in New Orleans on a hot summer’s day in July.
Even to this day, people are talking about the invitations and not a single soul said they disposed of my wedding invitation. In fact, many have stated that they have kept it as a keepsake displayed on their mantle, their office desk, or in their entertainment shelving adjacent to the fireplace. Either way, it’s always flattering to hear the feedback from that invitation and it’s the story I use to explain to brides and clients why so much energy is put into making “over the top” invitations. (Don’t sleep on the power of the invitation!)
Later that year (September 2017), my wedding planner, asked me to design and create two different invitations for events he had slated for the fall and I initially was not up for the challenge. I was a newlywed, almost 3 months pregnant, and was blossoming in my career as an abdominal clinical transplant pharmacist. I had no intention to sit and sketch invitation drawings because I had no intention to be in the wedding industry… like why? After a little of back and forth, I gave in and started working on designs for his two events. I transferred my designs to digital print and my planner was amazed when I presented the drawings to him. He quickly provided payment for me to get those invitations manufactured and guess what… I practically did all of that work for free because I did not incorporate my labor, time, and materials appropriately. Once my business guru husband was made privy to the situation… he presented the concept that this was not a “GIVEAWAY” but a “BUSINESS” and well… Upscales Custom Collection was created.
Now, two years later, Upscales Custom Collection is steadily growing and expanding, and it looks like there is no end in sight! I am still a clinical pharmacist by day but a mom, wife, and the creative force behind Upscales Custom Collection outside of my 8 am-4 pm job. Upscales is increasingly making a name for itself here in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana, while also connecting with clients across the US and globally (I keep my translation app open and ready for inquiries written in foreign languages)!
Currently, the company is comprised of a variety of team members to help Upscales Custom Collection catapult to the next level and I am grateful to the team members who have worked long hours with me for the sake of the brand…. The Upscales team is amazing and I am personally astonished by the passion they have embraced for the company (kisses to the Upscales Team). While the business is growing, the brand is in parallel to the growth of the company and we are constantly building the brand which is providing luxury invitation using unconventional textiles beyond paper. If the client can imagine an invitation suite beyond the conventional… we can make it a reality and that is what we want to be known for to the event and wedding industry! We have also expanded to the business branding realm, and have worked with small businesses to help them create magnificent branding products for their brand and business (cool, right?) Our past projects consist of dried flowers or moss encased inside an acrylic invitation, suede or faux animal skin (leather, snakeskin, ostrich skin) invitations, invitation boxes, silk folios, and soooo much more!
So again, thank you for checking us out and getting to know Upscales Custom Collection a little bit better! We are constantly
working on something BIG so please periodically check out the website and follow us on Instagram (@upscalescustom) or Facebook (UpscalesCustom) to stay in the know with what’s happening at the Upscales Custom Collection studio. I am sure we won’t disappoint with the projects we are continuously working on because everything is a figment of our imaginations…. made customized to the client!
