In our new Vendor Spotlight blog series, we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite Annapolis-based event vendors and turning the spotlight back on them. How did they get into the industry? How do they spend their time when not working events? What trends are they excited to see couples explore over the next year? We’ll have a wide variety of vendors from different backgrounds answer these questions and more.
Are you currently dreaming of a beautiful custom wedding invitation suite to set the tone for your elegant wedding? Looking for an artist to bring out your quirky, fun personality in your save the dates and invitations but would also like to tie it into your wedding day? Then the Cink Art team is here for you! Read on to learn about Cink – graphic designer, illustrator, and owner – and what makes her unique in the industry!
Cink Art – Cink DeVeas
How did you get into the event industry?
Soon after my husband and I got married, I began attending graduate school for a master’s degree in graphic design. One day, my husband came home from work and told me that his boss’s daughter was getting married at the US Naval Academy Chapel, and his boss had asked if we knew anyone who had chapel artwork his daughter could use on a wedding invitation. My husband informed me that he’d told his boss that I could draw the building and make their invitations! At that point, I’d never drawn a building or made wedding invitations but moved forward with the drawing and printing anyways. The invitations were a hit with the boss who then showed them to the USNA Chapel wedding coordinator who started referring me to her clients. And Cink Art was born.
What’s your favorite part of every wedding day?
Since my role is completed before each wedding – with invitations going out six to eight weeks before the big day, and day-of items due a few days before – I’m not present at each wedding. But I watch the weather and think of each of my customers on their day, imagining all the details and plans coming together. My favorite part of my job in the wedding process is watching the couple’s faces as they get a first look at their fully printed and assembled invitation that we have created together.
What should every couple be asking of vendors in your industry when considering booking for an event?
Engaged couples should always inquire of custom wedding stationers what time line is involved with the creation of the invitations they would like. Custom invitations involving hand-created artwork take more time to make than those that are more standard, so having enough time to create exactly what the customer wants is paramount. Also important is the kind of customer service that the client expects to be provided with throughout the process. From save the date cards to invitations to wedding-day items, we could be spending over a year or more together. So here at Cink Art, our goal is to establish a close relationship with each client to make sure we meet their needs and are always communicating directly with them.
What’s a trend for the upcoming year that you would like to see more couples embrace?
Love in the time of COVID-19 is currently what we in the industry are all thinking about, so smaller weddings are now popular. Invitations are very important to set the tone of the event to come and should not be dismissed because the wedding is smaller in size. Custom designed invitations at any quantity are the best way to set that tone and should definitely be considered when planning any wedding – large or small. Couples can get the same quality invitations at a reduced number from us.
What’s the most unique client request that you’ve ever had for a wedding or event?
Wedding day menus with live plants attached to them! We had to keep 200 mini air plants alive for several weeks before the wedding, and we then glued them on the menus and transported them to the venue the day before the event. They turned out great, and the couple was thrilled with the way they looked on each plate. Whew!
What makes you and your business unique?
Our ability to provide hand drawn and painted artwork for each unique invitation design, and our personable customer service.
What’s your favorite thing to do when not working weddings/events?
Spend time with my family, travel, read, and hike outdoors.
How can potential clients best contact you?
Best way to contact us is through email at cinkart@mac.com and through our website at www.cinkart.com. After that, we usually start with a phone call and then arrange a meeting – if customers are local – and handle the rest of the process via email.
Special thanks to Savannah Smith Photography for the featured image.
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