meet: 3 bees paperie (pink rickshaw)

Michael: Diwali is a very important holiday for the Hindus. But, frankly, I'm a little appalled that none of you know very much about Indian culture. So, without further ado, Kelly you are on.
Kelly: Um... Diwali is awesome... and there's food... and there's going to be dancing... and... Oh! I got the raddest outfit. It has, um...
Michael: Kelly?
Kelly: Sparkles...
-The Office

Kelly Kapoor, we know you miss Michael Scott. We all do. How about a nice Diwali greeting to say hello and reminisce about when you celebrated the holiday together? With Diwali next week, forget the text or email and send your loved one an actual tangible greeting they can show off. Now, where can Kelly or you get this fabulous Diwali greeting? Meet 3 Bees Paperie. The online stationary business specializes in South Asian inspired designs including fun Diwali cards.The company was started by three busy friends (as in busy bees, hence the name) who work across the Atlantic on the line. Jaee, based in Europe, designs while Reena handles marketing the business out of New York City. Pink Rickshaw had the pleasure of chatting to 3 Bees Paperie about their limited edition Holiday collection, lovely wedding stationary and baby announcements.

PR: What was some of the inspiration for the designs of the Diwali cards?
3BP: Like our wedding and baby collections, our Diwali cards represent designs that are modern take on traditional festivity. We picked up on features from the holiday- rangoli designs, sparklers, fireworks, and diyas - and presented them in a unique way. In addition, we brought in the brightness of Indian holidays by using metallic envelopes for all of our holiday cards.

3 Bees Paperie specializes in ready to order and custom wedding stationary. The designs blend east and west for some beautiful invitations suites.

PR: Picking wedding invitations can often be overwhelming for newly engaged gals especially since it's setting the tone for the wedding. What are some tips for picking out wedding stationary?
3BP: Don't be afraid to let your stationary speak to who you are as a couple or to the theme of your event. I think brides often leave stationary to the last minute but it is important to remember that guests get the first glimpse of the wedding through the invitations. You want every part of the wedding to be memorable, including the stationary. Pick up on the colors, themes, cultures, motifs, locations that are part of the event and incorporate them into your stationary.
Also, feel free to ask your designer/printer questions about different printing methods, papers, etc. Even if you are on a budget, your designer should be able to work with you to get the look and feel of the stationary you want by offering choices in papers and/or printing methods.

PR: South Asian stationary (whether its wedding stationary or holiday) tends to be uber traditional in look and feel. What was the motivation to create more contemporary designs?
3BP: A lot of our South Asian friends were getting married but instead of ordering wedding stationary here in the US, they would often order their invitations from India. We've heard problems about gaudy design choices, poor paper quality, slow turnaround time, and poor customer service. Despite the fact that the wedding industry in India alone is massive and worth billions of dollars, the range of choices for high-quality wedding stationary is slim.
The idea, then, was to combine South Asian aesthetics with the Western appreciation for high-end paper. The result is a unique and fresh alternative for wedding stationary for both South Asian and non-South Asian brides and grooms. Of course, we branched out to baby, personal, and holiday stationary as well. We also wanted to make sure our products were as green as possible and sourced out eco-friendly papers and printers.

PR: What has been the reception so far?
3BP: The reception has definitely been positive. We've been around for a little over 2 years and are growing and getting more recognition by both the South Asian and non-South Asian communities. In bridal, we have a great deal of requests from multi-ethnic couples too who want to embrace each of their diverse cultural backgrounds without overbearing the other.

PR: You have love, marriage and the baby carriage covered. The baby announcements are adorable. What else is on the horizon?
3BP: Thanks! We have been busy doing a lot of custom baby stationary lately. Aside from birth announcements we've also done a pretty peacock print for a baby nursery and birthday invitations. In fact, for the latest birthday invitation we designed, the client loved the birthday girl princess motif we created so much that she had them printed on the party cake, balloons, and cookie favors.
We're hoping to deepen the idea of birth announcements within the South Asian community, which is a new concept for them. Birth announcements provide a great keepsake for elderly relatives who live far away and may not be computer-savvy enough to access online photo albums of the new baby.

PR: At PR we are borderline obsessed with stationary and paper. Any trends or new techniques that you are loving right now? Favorite fonts?
3BP: In wedding stationary, we are seeing couples opting for more unconventional colors for their weddings and wedding stationary. Gone are the days where wedding invites are in red and gold. Brides are picking colors they personally love, represent the decorations at the wedding, or from their bridal fashion.
We use a variety of printing techniques at 3 Bees Paperie by a lot of our work is done via digital offset. Digital offset printers mimics the high quality, flat printing found in offset printers and has a sharper quality that other digital printers. But the best part of digital offset printing is that pricing is not dependant on the number of ink colors in the design. This is especially beneficial for South Asian brides who want to mimic the various bright colors found in South Asian weddings in their stationary.
For fonts, the trend is mixing traditional, old style fonts-such as creative or handwritten types-with more modern fonts. We often use old style fonts to highlight names or functions and use modern fonts for other details.

To take a look at those Diwali cards and other 3 Bees goodness, visit their Etsy store.