News

Full article at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Cheree Berry’s St. Louis-based company is celebrating 10 years in business, but according to her, “none of this was planned.” She worked in the graphic design department of Kate Spade in New York from 2003 until starting her company in 2007. That’s where she honed her sweet, unique style of clever, coy elegance.

Change of address • Berry, who is from St. Louis, was living in New York when she met her husband through a mutual friend. She was home visiting her parents, and he was living in St. Louis. After about a year of managing a long-distance relationship, she said, “I needed to decide. New York (and her fifth-floor walk-up apartment) lost. It was too exhausting.” It became the perfect opportunity to start her own business. She now has 22 employees.

Modern etiquette • Berry says her love of correspondence was fostered by her mother’s instilling the ritual of thank-you notes and greeting cards. Now Berry’s oldest is in kindergarten: “Her birthday is in June, so this will be the first year that she’ll write her own thank-you notes. I’ll give her a template to follow, and we’ll have her first visit to the post office to send them.” Berry said Biz is a natural. She signs her name with flourish, drawing a star or a heart instead of a dot above the “i.” And, of course, Biz has her own stationery embellished with bumble bees to play off her name and the sound of the busy pollinators.

Digital dilemma • Though her first love is written stationery, Berry said she’s acquiesced to the times by producing a variety of electronic cards through Paperless Post. “ It’s a different time; some things just lend themselves to electronic invitations,” said Berry, noting that it’s quicker and easier to post updates or send reminders. But her company doesn’t do electronic wedding invitations. You have to draw the line somewhere.

Uncommon correspondence • “We love the playful, the unexpected and the clever,” Berry said. “Oh, and gold foil on everything.” She said the joy of designing invitations and correspondence is that you’re putting together a puzzle. How does the RSVP card nestle into the invitation? What are the elements and how do they emerge from the envelope? “What’s the first piece you see, the second? Organization is just as important as the design,” she said. And she’ll ask questions like, “What type of ink will you use and are you a script person or a block letter person?” It all matters.

RSVP, please • “I put the RSVP card in the mail the minute I get it,” Berry said. “I mean, the stamp is already on it. It’s rude not to, frankly, but there are so many people who complain that so many people don’t use them or that they get a flood of responses two days before the event. Come on.” Though Berry is clearly biased, she enjoys over-responding. One of her first products was a smile-inducing “Thank you for the thank you” card.