Cirque Du Noir and the folks of eInvite

{images l to r: guests lisa crislip, j.fatima martins, chad sirois; musician valerie thompson of goli; eInvite photographer amy demar; eInvite artists: emily quillen and scott boilard; vip passes courtesy of checkerboard; louie despres and his wife tina zlody; angela cannistraro and myself,
and the art fusion audience, all images here by louie despres}

Our recent frolicking at Cirque Du Noir was such an enjoyable night. Every year we get dressed up in our finest noir and celebrate for a good cause. The premise is a simple one, with a huge artist community right here in town, the Worcester area is thriving with talent. We gather them up, watch them create incredible collaborative pieces before our eyes, while auctioning off donated pieces of art from many other generous and talented artists. All this happens while listening to incredible music. This year Esthema and Goli of Boston joined us for the haute evening of incredible creativity and fantastic costumes.

The event was actually inspired by all the creativity surrounding us at work. From this pool of amazing friends and creative spirit, the event became a reality. In its third year Cirque Du Noir has grown so much and we are so happy, as proceeds from the event support the Worcester County Food Bank. Our sponsors like eInvite and Checkerboard help to make the night a success adding the details that make it special. The VIP passes, programs and printing donations were customized for the event. Thank you to all that came out to enjoy art, music in the spirit of Halloween and giving back to our community.

Cirque Du Noir was Sunday evening, followed by a Halloween themed celebration at our annual company picnic the day before. We are just a bunch of party people here. We are now looking to Friday, which will bring yet another costumed day of fun!

Typographic Pumpkins!

Following the spirit of the previous two posts, I was delighted to come across these typographic pumpkin carvings. There is something endearing about precise and austere glyphs of Helvetica being carved out of a giant vegetable/fruit. So in addition to the typical staple of Jack-O-Lantern faces, don't be afraid to celebrate the season by showing off your inner design nerd! Just watch your kerning.

Images from: Veer , Swiss Miss ,http://www.myttonwilliams.co.uk/blog/?p=101 , http://chancentrate.blogspot.com/2008/10/pumpkin-party-pumping-arty.html

Halloween favorites

Michelle's fun post made me want to share a few of my favorite halloween cards and accessories on eInvite!

We Summon You for Hallow's Eve Inspiration!

{images l to r via: einvite.com, cheeseclothe welcome beautifully used, ghosts: martha stewart, cookies: good house keeping, fabric flora: dragonflys and stars and mask: sarah thomas designs}

Halloween is such a fun holiday for children and adults. The folks here at eInvite tend to get a little hokey around Halloween and have a lot of fun. This invitation shown above is from our digital invitation line, perfectly priced for a fun event like All Hallow's Eve, and sets the tone perfectly for a night of childish fun. You get to dress up and eat absurd amounts of candy. When I see elegant Halloween ideas, I am really drawn to them, like this mask by Sarah Thomas Designs. You can even make something out of recycled pieces from around the house. Autumn is vibrant in New England and it is also a time we can all reflect on the passing summer, rustle through the leaves and think about the approaching holidays with family, hopefully while stopping at a neighbors for some warm cider and apple bobbing!

A Romantic Halloween for Clover & Joe

Congratulations Clover & Joe! What an amazingly creative Halloween wedding!

~ Beautiful photos by Gregory Weed Photography {http://www.glwphoto.blogspot.com/}
~ Spectacular floral arrangements by the grooms mother, Sue Mancusi
~ My favorite part of Halloween - CANDY - custom M&Ms!
~ Black Cat & Haunted House Invitation on eInvite.com

artist friends, skulls and scotts

{image via scottboilard.com}

{image via the paintingloft.com}

This time of year, near All Hallows Eve is a wonderful time to spotlight spooky art, like our own Scott Boilard and our friend, relic painter Scott Holloway. The latter gives us insight into his process, pretty cool stuff. Holloway is currently showing at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in LA.

Perhaps you saw the skull mask in a recent post that Scott Boilard made for the recent Halloween party we all ventured out to. Boilard's work has taken him all the way to St. Petersburg. We are lucky over here. Our community is brimming with incredibly talented artists that inspire us everyday.

After I posted this, we were all chuckling a little bit about Scott designing skulls at home and chickies and airplanes any given day here. I am sure his fellow artists don't know how fuzzy and cute his chickies are, but I can attest. Being versatile is pretty key.

{also designed by Scott Boilard}

Cirque Du Noir 2009

{scott boilard working his octo-magic with "deep sea" in the art fusion}

{jessica burhans illustrator extraordinaire sketching away}

{payal kripalani and derek ring work magic in minutes}


{derek ring on the dark side, recently featured on behance and fuel your creativity}

{creative black attire winners, 2 of which were our own scott boilard and jessica burhans}

{esthema of boston}

{liz charbonnier, erin wolczik and emily quillen and cynthia woehrle}

{artistic guests rocked the creative black, todd rawley and aaron white,
both winning contest prizes}


{scott boilard and me, michelle may having fun in the fusion, oooo check out the hat I made at a workshop at sprout before the festivities, graciously hosted by cathy walsh}

{andreea waters getting caught in the shot of guests watching the art fusion}

{extraordinary flora and candy du noir by Cathy Walsh of SPROUT}

{this handmade "ghost rider" mask by scott boilard definately won some votes for best costume}

ALL OF THESE AMAZING IMAGES BY THE VERY TALENTED

LOUIE DESPRES

Sunday night at Bocado in Worcester was filled with creativity, as the folks from eInvite stepped out onto the dark side to support the Worcester County Food Bank. {Yeah, we party like rockstars!}

You all were invited...Live violin from Onur Dilisen and then the rest of Esthema joined him to set the tone and kick off the evening. We celebrated with a live art fusion, a silent art auction, and prizes for best creative black attire. There is always next year...

additional pix can be view here

Fun ways to say "Happy Halloween"

~ send a card that says it all! {marmalade ink featured on eInvite.com}
~ bake pumpkin cupcakes from real simple
~ make some fun spooky cocktails {recipes by martha stewart}
~ decorate with black corinthian candles by wisteria

eInvite at the pumpkin festival

{eInvite at the Life is Good pumpkin festival circa 2005}

Witches Brew and Crow Tail Stew...

{images: crow pumpkin carving via marthastewart.com, skeleton "bottoms up" invite from Checkerboard via eInvite, spooky bottle labels via marthastewart.com, glitter skulls via martha (she is just getting her spooky on all over town), lastly, this spooky harvest via, yes once again miss martha}

Creative people just love Halloween. It is the most opportune time to let your imagination run wild. Never before have I seen more sophisticated and fun decor than in the last two years. Halloween is going "haunted glam" and I have to say, I just love it! You can find elegant and spooky inspiration at every turn. Loose the kitch and sophisticate your witch-y self!

Also, I find that using this kind of imagery and coordinating literature bring conversation to a festive halloween party.

...But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered- Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before- On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before." Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

~ except from the raven / poe

How nice would this be on a plaque at the front door after just passing your lovely and welcoming raven? While your guests wait for you to answer and before the creek of the opening door, the wicked blustery wind howls by as the goose bumps form on their skin as the words of Poe strike chords of memory, erases whatever else was on their mind and sets the tone for your party! { the far off owl can be heard hooting in the distance}