Bringing together different materials, products, processes, talents and people — including photographers, printers and other talented vendors and friends — to create our themed packages is something our team truly enjoys.
“Have a Classic Holiday” (above) was a favorite theme in years past. The inspiration came from an impromptu holiday movie quote quiz session. Of course, clever and hilarious make great gifts. We called upon my favorite calligrapher — Crystal Kluge — who brought my sketch with the different personalities of the quotes to life in her variety of typographical styles. The card was placed inside a wooden crate stacked with locally sourced snacks, including freshly popped maple kettle corn from a nearby Connecticut farm.
This season, our theme is lumberjack-inspired. When designing our gifts, I consider all five senses — which will take center stage in this year’s design. For example, we placed cedar wood shavings for scent inside a domed silver lunchbox with a hand-tooled leather handle, so when you open the lid — ahh, the woods! “Lumberjack Pancake Mix” will be tucked inside a hand-stitched flannel bag for a cozy, warm touch. The holiday card prints on blind-embossed wood grain paper, layered with rubber stamping, stickers and handwriting.
This January marks Elements’ 13th year. In that time, my passion for incorporating tactile, crafty elements to our designs has never wavered. I think this is because we are always stretching ourselves as designers, continuously exploring. I’ve learned how to etch glass, silk-screen, sew, and source just about any item. This desire to learn and evolve keeps our work fresh and enjoyable for all of us and assures that our clients’ high expectations — “what will Elements think of next?” — will continue to rise.
This year, as Ben Jura (our senior designer) hand-tools those lunchbox handles, I’m hoping he’ll teach me a little something about working with leather. I tip my cap to Chelsea Lancaster, New Media and Account manager, for finding the perfect lumberjack lunchbox and silver flasks for our maple syrup. (Check out our blog in January for the final result.) It’s our collaborative team — our collective skills, experiences and sheer enthusiasm — that turns an otherwise daunting task into a pure, unabashed labor of love.
In August, we moved our studio into an 1820s restored historic home, the Willis Russell House in Branford, Conn. This place fits who we are and what we do perfectly — from the refinished 200-year-old wide planked wood floors, four-sided fireplace, original eagle doorknocker and (loud!) doorbell to the wood-shingled siding. It’s a mix of our past and our future, the tried-and-true coupled with the emerging.
When we settled in, we jumped at the chance to throw a party with a late fall camping theme. Soon, letterpressed “Campy Party” invitations arrived and a “S’more Master” Boy Scout-inspired embroiderd patches assembly line to adhere to mini-s’more kits emerged. We’ve also designed winter picnic boxes, do-it-yourself lemonade kits, handmade Valentines and customized, locally made chocolate bars … to name a few.
Our Elements business cards, printed on Mohawk paper (of course), are a perfect reflection of our firm’s sensibility — from the toothy texture of the paper to the smooth, bright white hand-applied stickers. Each card has a different symbol, but side-by-side they exhibit the power of what our combined Elements can produce.
From left: Chelsea Lancaster, Amy Graver (president and creative director), Simone Gutkin and Ben Jura
Happy holidays from all of us at Elements!
After a stint as a photojournalist for one of the nation’s largest newspapers and many years as a graphic designer in big city shops, Amy Graver founded Elements in early 1999. Since then, the business has grown from a one-person, dining-room-table operation to a respected and award-winning graphics, web design and marketing communications firm. Fueled by the belief that making a difference is more important than merely being different, Elements has captured an impressive and diverse roster of regional, national and international clients.
Photography: Anna Sawin Photography and Simone Gutkin
Good for you Elements and Amy ! Really love the pictures and the article ….a nice surprise for the holidays , eh ? XO Lee
Love all that you do! The Classic Holiday theme is great. I’ve been trying to acquire pieces from thrift shops and even Christmas Tree Shops to integrate a theme like this in my own home! Thanks for your DELICIOUS ideas.
Welcome to Branford Elements, you are a welcome addition to our community! Really enjoyed this article, and the pictures are great. Cannot wait to see what ideas come next!
Wow! what beautiful and creative ideas!
Such an honor to be featured – thanks, Pam and team at Felt + Wire for such a gracious holiday gift!
I can’t wait to see what Elements has come up with for their Holiday Promo!!! It is so important to give thanks to clients as well as really be able to “show” what you can do!!
Bravo Elements and LOVE the article!
Great article and photos of the space and products Elements! Your ideas are always fresh and inspirational.
Another great article Amy! Everything you and your staff produces is always very creative and inspiring to many! Excellent!
Awesome pictures and outline of all the fabulous and creative ideas that Elements staff comes up with – love that you are now in your new location which is so fitting for you! Love it! Amy
Great article…once again you amaze and dazzle me!! Being a very visceral person (even knowing not one darned thing about design!), I could smell and feel and taste your blog. Yes, I want pancakes with warm maple syrup and hot fragrant coffee. I may make my husband wear flannel for the rest of the year (though I won’t tempt him by allowing the carrying of a lumberjack axe! I finished all holiday shopping, wrapping, cooking and baking so why keep me around?! HA, or rather HOHO-HO!!) Your team inpires me with your energy as well. But lets stick to pancakes for now as I daydream this Sunday morning…ahhhh. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
What a terrific article! Having been the recipient of “client gifts” for many years, and then giving them, it is hard to move away from the “pick up a catalog and order” tradition. Thoughtfulness is a gift in itself and Elements certainly adds the perfect dose to show appreciation at this time of year. Well done! Amy and team are an inspiration. Love their work – unique differentiators in the world of design.
Everything Elements produces has such a unique quality of mixing different textures and this article demonstrates that. They are the only company that when I see the Elements envelope that I know I have a new piece to hang on my wall for a while. Always looking forward to seeing what comes from them next!
Love this article! The photography is amazing and the content is classic. Congratulations Amy!
I stopped counting all the great ideas. Amy and crew are incredibly talented, that goes without saying, but Amy has a way of bringing you inside their scene that is fun. And inspriring.
I wish I was a client so I could get a peek at the finished product before January… And congrats on finding such a multi-talented team who are undaunted by leather hand tools and lunchbox shopping!
Impressive Amy! Great to see you remain passionate about sharing your creative flair for things! Good job to you and your Elements crew! Enjoy your successes…today and many more days to come! Antoinette
Beautiful decorating, clean and neat. You are a very talented designer. Good luck to you and your staff in 2011.
I am continually impressed by your interest to get your hands dirty and grow to make the next project better than the last. That willingness to, year over year, learn new crafts, get your hands dirty working in new mediums and materials shows not only shows an interest in creating a good product but more so displays a very noticeable excitement in learning and growing in a creative field that exhibits a lot of one trick ponies and people who are good at just working with what they know. I have never felt that success should be measured by how much you make, but instead by how much you enjoy what you do and how much you grow. I am happy for you that you have found this success!
Thanks, everyone, for all the sweet comments and “likes”. Happy we’ve helped inspire – and have a wonderful holiday!
Elements work is so beautiful & creative. It was an absolute delight to work with you on last year’s classic holidays card! Thanks for the mention. : )