Jade Social
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your business and what you do?
I’m Liz Fons, Founder and Designer at Jade Social. I design custom wedding invitations and day of stationery and signage.
How did you get started?
Growing up I was always drawing, painting and creating something. I knew very early on that I wanted to go to art school to pursue a career in design. I have always been a person who loves to make others happy so being able to use my design ability to create something beautiful and unique for my clients is a true passion. I began designing wedding invitation packages after graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2008. While living in New York after college, I worked as an event designer for an ad agency. That design experience had a huge influence on the direction of my work. I had the opportunity to work with a diverse client portfolio. It also honed the organization and management skills needed to get the job done perfectly! Knowing I wanted to start my own business, I took the leap and founded Jade Social in 2013. Its been an honor and a privilege to be in business for over 6 years now!
Just curious, how did you come up with the name Jade Social? What is the significance?
I choose “jade” because it’s a multifaceted word describing a color, name, gem and plant. All things that I love and inspire my work. I decided on the “social" piece because it’s the end goal of the work! Invitations and event related design materials - it's all about bringing people together!
What is your best advice for your clients planning their weddings?
To hire a planner and trust your vendors!
You see so many weddings and all the gorgeous details, if you were getting married right now what would you incorporate into your special day?
I actually just got married in August of last year! I had the opportunity to create my dream wedding invitation suite. I included all my favorite invitation elements and each suite included a painting from me. It was a labor of love but such a special touch! As far as the other details go, I picked an overall palette that was new and different and I let my vendors be creative with their individual pieces of the wedding. I knew I loved all of their work and wanted to let them run with it!
What is one of the most interest things you have done for a client? Or what was the most interesting inspiration you’ve used from a client to create a suite?
I think this wedding at Planterra has been one of my most interesting projects to date. The design for Ariel + Cam was inspired by Planterra :), particularly the hanging greenery and floral chandeliers. I wanted to do something different and loved the idea of doing a Monet-style painting of the greenery and floral. Something a little more abstract! We got creative with the artwork for the day of pieces. A hanging floral seating sign and an interactive menu!
Typically how long do you need start to finish to complete an entirely custom wedding suite? Ideally, how far in advance is the consultation from the wedding?
I typically book out my clients 1 year - 6 months prior to the wedding. Once they have their date picked and the venue booked! My design process takes about 2 weeks, though I keep all my couples in my head so the process begins internally far before I actually start designing. Once the initial design process is done, it usually takes 2-3 weeks to finalize and another 2-3 weeks to produce the invitations. Day of stationery and signage is a lot faster of a turnaround because we usually have the design ready to go!
Describe your work space for us.
I work out of my home studio! It has lots of light, pretty rugs, a very white desk and a jade plant! I also have shelves of my favorite papers and lots of art supplies! It’s my happy place! Liz, thanks again for sharing with us a little bit about yourself and your work. Here is more of Liz's amazing work. Enjoy!
