How to spot quality in handmade stationery
We're all about handmade and quality here at Love Enca. And that comes at a price. Whilst Jane Doe down the road is selling at half the price that I do, just bear in mind these few fundamental design basis' that I follow which make just part of the difference between quality and substandard products and the price tags that are attached. Things that the untrained eye won't see!
📏TEXT MARGINS // All too often I see text with i.e. a massive gap at the top but the bottom line almost chopped off the bottom edge. Text should always fit within evenly proportioned margins.
✂️CARD EDGES // SCISSORS 🚫❌ NOPE! I see so many where each piece of card has visibly been cut with scissors. Massive nope! It's not accurate, and each edge is almost NEVER straight because you can't trim along all of one edge in one swoop and so the edge is wonky. This is quite common for DIY made stationery, I'm absolutely not knocking those. But for crafters claiming to be a business and charging money for it, should be a lot more professional than this!
📐CARD BORDERS // When two pieces of card have been mounted together it's important to make sure each card edge is in perfect proportion to each other, creating an evenly spaced trim. I frequently see borders that are thick on one corner, and thin in another.
🎗RIBBON JOINS // Joins should always be hidden wherever possible (such as behind a bow/embellishment), or if not possible, in the most inconspicuous place possible. I have no idea why some crafters join ribbon where its obvious, even though there's places where it could have been hidden.
🧴GLUE TYPES // Look for ruckles or lifting edges on the top layer of card. All too often, I see stationery being offered where the top layer is rippled and you can visibly see where they've run along with the glue on the back before sticking it down. This is usually a result of thin paper and pritt stick used together. Pritt stick is a massive nope too. Even with thick card - although it won’t ruckle, once dried one slight bend and it will just pop off. (Spray adhesives are just as bad for this). Check to see if you can see through the paper to check paper quality, and look at the edges for ruckles.
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So, if my prices seem much more than other quotes, just make sure that it's a LIKE FOR LIKE quote and check what kind of quality comes with the price tag, that is all. All this may sound like some kind of designer snobbery, but it’s absolutely not! I'm in no way saying that people SHOULD be going with my services over others as there is a market for everyone to suit different budgets. We don’t mind competition at all, but just make sure that it is a FAIR comparison before branding us ‘overpriced’. I have lost count of the amount of times I've had brides come to me in tears because they've been promised super quality but haven’t been happy, and coming to me for help because their goods were so poor they were embarrassed to even use them. It's then ended up costing them more in the long run to get something they're happy with.
I absolutely appreciate not everyones budget will allow for my stationery. I don't begrudge anyone opting for lower cost, shop bought or DIY made. I just want people to be aware where the differences lie and for those who ARE looking for handmade to be careful. With mine you pay not just for the card and ribbon etc; it's the years of training, eye for detail and the service that comes with it.
WOW- Did you make it this far? Well done! Thanks for staying with us. We hope this was an eye opener for some.
