The devil is in the details for business owner and paperpreneur Shari Lebowitz, whose company Bespoke Designs launched in May 2017 in Westport’s Sconset Square. From wedding, birthday, anniversary, and bar/bat mitzvah invitations to holiday cards and an expertly curated gift shop, her intention is to provide clients with a completely personalized experience from start to finish. It’s the special touches unique to each project and the nuances she and her team select that fuel the creative process. “When you get the details right, everything else comes together exquisitely,” Shari explains. “And that is when something wonderous happens.”
GL: What was your career prior to founding Bespoke Designs?
SL: I had an interior design firm focused on luxury residential interiors in New York City.
GL: What inspired you to launch Bespoke Designs in Westport?
SL: I was recently divorced, living in NYC, and I wanted to move close to the beach and have my own house with a garden, a kayak, and a puppy. While all of those things came to fruition, I was in the process of sorting out my career. That’s when I met a wonderful man, and ultimately found myself engaged and planning a wedding. The only issue was that I couldn’t find a shop to design our wedding invitations—so I decided to open one! Instead of an interior design studio, I started a paper design studio.
GL: The pandemic has triggered steep challenges for many businesses, how has it affected yours?
SL: I’m in the business of inviting people to gather, so the pandemic has been a massive challenge. But, here’s the headline: Love isn’t cancelled! Many of my original (30+) events have been rescheduled to next year. And some clients have gone ahead and had small, intimate, micro weddings with big celebrations planned for the future. It has required intense creativity and flexibility to make these events happen beautifully and safely.
GL: How did you pivot to keep your business afloat?
SL: When the studio was required to close due to the lockdown in early spring, everything came to a standstill. My team was homebound and living in different states. Fortunately, we were still brimming with creativity, and I was determined to keep everyone employed. I applied and received a PPP loan, which was helpful. And, channeling my entrepreneurial spirit, I took the pandemic as an opportunity to create our own product line. If we couldn’t have people come to us for the Truly Bespoke experience, then we would bring the Semi Bespoke experience to them wherever they lived.
GL: Tell us about your Semi Bespoke collection.
SL: The Semi Bespoke Collection is a group of invitations with twelve distinct vibes, plus three classics. Why do we call it a vibe? Because often a clients will describe what they want their event to feel like, rather than be able to say exactly what they want the invitations to look like. The Bohemian couple, for example, can be more unconventional. They’re often travelers with a slightly nomadic style, layered with cultural influences, and loosely structured. They’ll share a Pinterest board with us that reveals an eclectic mix of pattern, color and texture, and lots of natural elements. It’s our job to interpret this, piece together the vibe, and then represent it graphically. The invitation sets the tone of the event. It’s important to note that the Semi Bespoke collection is not just for weddings. These invitations can be used for just about any event you can imagine. Each vibe has a full line of accessories including napkins, cups, matches, thank you notes, and wax seal stamps.
GL: How do you brand an event from start to finish?
SL: It starts with what is received in the mail. But we also consider each touch point that a guest will experience at an event. Usually working closely with an event planner, it can include signage (we are doing weddings now that have sanitation stations with custom hand sanitizers), menus that are personalized with each guest’s name, couples’ monograms that we create and then stitch on to napkins and tablecloths, chocolates that resemble the wax seal from the invitations, gifts for the guests to take home, and stationery for thank you notes.
GL: What’s one of the most unique event elements you’ve crafted?
SL: We recently created an invitation that’s a light box. It’s spectacular.
GL: You have a beautifully curated shop with an array of gift items. Tell us about your new floral and silver collections.
SL: This holiday season most entertaining will be at home, so we’ve welcomed two brands into the shop for a pop up focused on “Home. Holidays. Entertaining.” We have a gorgeous collection of vintage silver from Hôtel Silver. They are pieces collected from European hotels, railway lines, and steam ships. You can use them for entertaining or in other unexpected ways. And we have Diane James Home, a gorgeous collection of faux floral couture.
GL: What kinds of holiday cards are you designing and is it still possible to place an order?
Yes, there’s always time! More than ever, our family, friends, and colleagues need connectivity. Of course we offer traditional holiday cards, but we love designing cards with unexpected paper and ink colors and also fun fonts that are fresh, current, and optimistic. Holiday cards can arrive before the year end or after!
GL: What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about Bespoke Designs?
SL: We’re a creative studio spreading love through design. Visit us safely in Westport or work with us virtually. We can design and make just about anything.
GL: Any bucket list items you’d like to expand into?
SL: We’ve begun to take some patterns from the Semi Bespoke collection and explore wallpaper. The liner from Bohemian has been installed in the studio and is bringing us all so much joy. We’ll see where that goes!
For more information on Bespoke Designs, visit: bespokedesigns.com