Interview with Christy Toney, Calligrapher and Graphic Designer

I want to introduce you to Chris Toney, a wonderful calligrapher and graphic designer

based in the cool city of Chicago.Wedding Invitations, Calligraphy invitations, Invitations in Calligraphy, Calligraphy, Calligraphy Fonts, Belluccia Calligraphy Font, Dom Loves Mary Calligraphy Font, Best Selling fonts, Top Selling fonts, Most popular fonts, fancy fonts, fancy letters, fonts for invitations, Wedding fonts

 

Her work is lovely.

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I’ve been curious about how this gal does so many things so well.

She manages a website, blog and etsy shop where she has invitation designs ( and other goodies) for you to choose from.  She can also print them for you! Calligraphy, Food Cards in Calligraphy, Calligraphy fonts, wedding fonts, fonts for invitations

 

 

Luckily I was able to get her to take some time to answer a few questions.

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Enjoy getting to know this multi talented lady!

 

You are both a calligrapher and graphic designer…which did you do first?
I’ve been doing calligraphy since high school, so definitely calligraphy!

What got you started in the other?
I have a background that includes sketching and painting and I found myself later working in advertising. I’ve always gravitated towards the creative side. I dreamed of becoming an art director one day so a big part of my early professional career, dating back to 1996, has been spent acquiring training and trying to design for family, friends, anyone who would give me a chance to create something special.

How long have you been doing both?
I picked up my first calligraphy pen when I was 15 years old, and the early days of my graphic design work dates back to 2000.

Where did you get your formal training?
I attended Lindblom Technical H.S. where I audited 4 years of drafting/technical drawing. I also fell in love with the print shop and commercial art. The manual training rooms at Lindblom also included auto repair, plastics molding, and sheet metal training, so its no mistake that I love to work with my hands now. I got my B.A. in Graphic Design from Columbia College in Chicago.

If you could describe your dream project, what would it be?
I’m gravitating more and more to projects that I can come up with on my own. Perhaps a decorative project. Something not for guests to consume, but something to just hang up and be pretty for the evening. That would be a nice challenge for me.

You seem to have a lot going on! Can you tell my readers all of the services you offer?
I know right?! Weddings have become so personal now that my own list of services had no choice but to increase! I do calligraphy, invitations and day of stationery which can include but is not limited to: ceremony programs, place cards, seating charts, event signage, menus, table numbers, etc.

What advice would you give to brides who are just starting to think about their invitation?  What kind of info is helpful for them to give to you as a designer?
I would tell them to look at different invitations just to get an idea of what they want. Also, they should consider how much information they need to communicate because that usually determines what kind of vehicle they will need. Finally, I would add that with the popularity of  Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. the world has gotten much smaller. Its fine to be inspired by beautiful stationery, but simply taking someone else’s invitation and asking another designer to duplicate it is disrespectful to both parties.

Are all of your designs custom or do you have some stock designs that brides can choose from?
At this stage I actually prefer for brides to select designs that I’ve already done. The calligraphy keeps me so busy! You can see existing designs on my Etsy Shop.

Anything else you’d like to share?
Thanks for the opportunity to be featured on your blog, I am a big fan of your work!

You live in Chicago…(I’ve never been but hope to go at some point in the future)
What are some “must do’s” and “hidden gems” in the city that most people don’t know about?
Awww, well there is so much to see (and great food to devour) downtown, you really can’t go wrong staying down there. I will say that if you are a fan of architecture, be sure to make it to the South Side to visit the Historic Pullman neighborhood. The preservation of this neighborhood is amazing and there is a visitors center and tours you can take. I actually lived in this community for a few years and it was a great experience. It was built by George Pullman in the 1880s to house employees of his railroad car company. Annually (usually sometime during the Fall), 8-10 homeowners open up their residences and people from all over come and take a peek. There are also wonderful artisans and re-sellers littered throughout the neighborhood during these open houses and if you take your time, you can really can find some gems.

Thanks so much Christy!

Check her out :

CTDesigns on Etsy

Christy’s BLOG
Christy on TWITTER
Christy on FACEBOOK

 

And for those of you who don’t know , my Belluccia calligraphy font and her “sister” Dom Loves Mary calligraphy font

( both having the distinction of being “Best Selling” fonts and “Rising Stars”- so proud of my girls:)

are available for purchase here.

Have a  Modernistic Monday 🙂

Debi

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Wedding Invitation Suite and Place Card with Belluccia

This wedding invitation suite and place card with Belluccia were made by Paper Palette Stationers.

The Prussian Blue and Smoke Ink combination is crisp yet soft at the same time.

It features a finely-detailed acanthus design on the corners

with coordinating designs for use on enclosure cards.

I love how they used the belly band for the bride and groom’s names

and to hold all the pieces together.

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Here’s the whole set showing all the separate pieces.

The combo of text type with my Belluccia font is well balanced.

I especially like the look of the return address.

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For a different project, they created place cards from the Envelopments collection.

The floral back ground adds a soft bit of design to the simpler ivory card.

Love the addition of the rhinestone to the monogram!

Both the invitation and place card designs are very elegant!

Nice job ladies!

Both my Belluccia calligraphy font and her “sister” Dom Loves Mary calligraphy font share the distinction of being a “Rising Star” as well as a “Best Selling Font”.

You can purchase them here.

Have a Mostly Manageable Monday 🙂

Debi

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Wedding Invitation with Dom Loves Mary Calligraphy Font

I create my fonts with invitation designers in mind.

I admire all the wonderful ways they use fonts to make something unique.

I asked the wonderful designer Bev Verbeke to create some invitations using my

Dom Loves Mary Total Design Font Package.

This includes all three versions of the Script fonts as well as the Text font, Flourishes and Add On Words.

She did not disappoint with these lovely, sleek, modern designs!

I love her use of the belly band to feature the bride and groom’s names.

The bold black and white stands out beautifully against the soft contemporary blue color of the band.

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She chose a soft gray for the main wording and utilized the Dom Loves Mary Font Add on Words

to break up the text. ( and, on, the, in the )

I created these as a separate package so they could be used with any text font, not just mine:)Dom Loves Mary Calligraphy font, wedding invitation, invitation with calligraphy fonts, blue and white wedding invitation, cursive fonts, script fonts, wedding fonts, calligraphy fonts, fonts for weddings, fonts for invitations, facny fonts, fancy letters, curvy fonts, curvy letters, whimsical fonts, DIY wedding invitations

Here’s another option in color and slight change in the belly band.

The enlarged names that float in the background in a softer color create a subtle background element that adds just the right touch of interest.

And I love that she chose to use “Dom loves Mary” for the bride and groom’s names.

I think replacing “and” with “loves” is such a sweet approach for any invitation.

It makes you say “Ahhh” as soon as you open the envelope.

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I designed the flourishes to go with the upper and lower case letters to be used at the designers discretion.

Here Bev creates a hand lettered custom look for the couples’ names.

I love that she chose the version of the Add On Word “to” with the heart:)

Bev is available to create these custom designed invitations or any other custom design for your wedding.

You can see some of her previous work here  and here on the old version of this blog.

Check out her online portfolio

Or contact Bev at bkv@neo.rr.com.

Below are more examples of the Dom Loves Mary Calligraphy Font Total Design Package in action:

If you don’t need the whole design package, all of the items can be purchaed à la carte!

Click here to check out more  and purchase the Dom Loves Mary font

as well as my Belluccia calligraphy font.

Have a Thelonious Monk Thursday!

DebiDom Loves Mary Calligraphy font, wedding invitation, invitation with calligraphy fonts, blue and white wedding invitation, cursive fonts, script fonts, wedding fonts, calligraphy fonts, fonts for weddings, fonts for invitations, facny fonts, fancy letters, curvy fonts, curvy letters, whimsical fonts, DIY wedding invitations, most popular fonts, top selling fonts

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Belluccia Calligraphy Font used in Black and White Wedding

I love the crisp look of black and white!  And I was thrilled to see my Belluccia calligraphy font was chosen to add to this couple’s classic look on Snippet & Ink’s blog.

It’s used on the Rehearsal dinner invite ( love the gray stripes in the background), Wedding invitation, RSVP and return envelope, as well as the program and favor bags seen in the last pic below.

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The gray programs pop with the couples white initials and ribbon.

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How darling are these monogrammed totes for the guests favors. I wonder what’s inside???

If you want to check out the whole shabang…go here.

Giving credit where credit is due:

Photographer: Jose Villa / Planner: Laurie Arons Special Events / Venue: Durham Ranch in St. Helena, California / Printed Items, Escort Card Display: PS Paper /

If you want to create the same look, below are links to purchase my Belluccia font as well as my newest calligraphy font, Dom Loves Mary.

Belluccia has remained on the Best Sellers list for 19 months was named one of Myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011 and is available at myfonts.com.

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Dom Loves Mary font, calligraphy font, cursive font, script font, wedding font, hand lettered font, calligraphy font, best selling font, font for invitations, font for DIY Brides, best wedding font, best fonts for weddings

My second calligraphy font, Dom Loves Mary (a “December Rising Star” and  2012 Best Seller) is also available on myfonts.com.

Have a Titanium Tuesday:)

Debi