Pollyanna, what inspired you to set up Harmsworth Fine Stationery?

I was lucky enough to work for two of the best and most well respected printers in London – Alastair Lockhart in Knightsbridge, and Mount Street Printers in Mayfair. After 5 years, I moved to Winchester and set up Harmsworth in 2009, one year after marrying Tim.

It was important to establish the business before starting a family. Two years later when we had our daughter Amelia, I was able to run the business in conjunction with making every nativity, performance, sports day and prize-giving event.

Now I’ve been my own boss for over 10 years, I could not imagine ever answering to anyone ever again!

Have you always been into stationery?

Yes! My two great great uncles started up the Daily Mail so you might say that ink runs in my blood. My father is a publisher and as a child I spent hours in his office stuffing envelopes, stamping letters and compiling booklets for proofreading.

Fonts have always fascinated me, and laying out words on a page to herald a great occasion still thrills me. As a young adult I was asked to create invitations and table-setting stationery for friends and relatives but still had not realised that I could make a profession out of it. When the penny finally dropped at 21, I bought a stack of bridal magazines, flicked to the directories at the back and posted my CV to every private stationer in London.

Who is your ideal client?

I have been so lucky with clients – they've all been delightful. My ideal, I suppose, is –

a person in their 40s who appreciates the finer things in life. They are keen letter writers and encourage their children to do the same. All members of their family have their own set of personalised correspondence cards. They are traditionalists who still send Christmas cards (also printed and personalised) and enjoy a social gathering.

Give me a client like that and we can have a lovely time!

Have traditional wedding invitations become less traditional?

Not in my experience, but I market myself as a traditional British printer so the people who find me are drawn to a traditional style. They want a portrait-folded, engraved, wedding invitation that stands proudly on the mantelpiece. I print more of them than anything else, and I love them.

Having said that, it's also nice to produce something out of the ordinary. The request I hear most often is, “I’d like something traditional but with a modern twist”. This can be achieved in lots of ways – a bright ink colour, colourful tissue lining, traditional wording with a landscape stiff board, adding coloured edging, or a modern monogram.

Is ‘raised print’ de rigeur or a needless expense?

It's still incredibly popular. Fortunately there are two types of raised printing, thermography and engraving, with a big price difference between the two. Most people decide that thermography gives them the invitation quality they want without breaking the bank.

There's a lot of information on my website about the different printing options, but the glossary below covers the main terms.

Electronic invitations – good thing or the work of the devil?

Electronic invitations definitely have a place in today’s world. They are quick, less expensive and people feel they’re doing their bit for the planet. But in my (slightly biased) opinion,  the digital version will never compare to old fashioned printing, where the text is embossed or debossed.

In general, I have found that people are turning away from electronic invitations because they want to feel the physical card within their hands, and to appreciate its quality and craftsmanship.

If a wedding has 175 guests, and the invitation consists of a Save-the-Date, a main card, an information sheet, and a Reply postcard, plus one envelope, what’s the (approximate) cost?

It depends on the spec, but as a rough guide, the costs would be:

Flat printed invitation: £440
Thermo printed invitation: £690
Engraved invitations: £740

Those prices include all the items in your question, including envelopes, but obviously not the cost of posting.

How far in advance should hosts start thinking about the invitation design?

The earlier the better, but unless they want bespoke illustration, the design should not take long. Usually after ten minutes of talking to a client I can tell the style they should go for.

The basic rule is that the item should reflect the day itself, giving the guest an insight into what to expect. For example, if it's an extremely formal invitation the guest will know it's going to be a formal affair. If it's loud and colourful, they know it will be more relaxed.

As for timings, save-the-date cards can be sent up to a year before the event and invitations 6-8 weeks before. If the couple choose not to send save-the-date cards, invitations can be sent 8-12 weeks before. Usually the decision is based on when flights/hotels need to be booked.

What are the big do’s and don’ts when it comes to invitations?

Do

- Discuss everything with your stationer. They can be incredibly helpful with the prices and alternative suggestions.
- Get advice on wording.
- Get samples. Internet stationers often compromise heavily on quality of card.
- Work out quantities carefully, taking into account couples/families, errors in writing, batch B for those you can invite if you get many declines from batch A

Don’t

- Assume the quality of a product will be there without requesting a sample.
- Get too carried away. For example, an invitation with a monogram, border, colour, gilt edging is a little too much for the eye to take in. Try to choose no more than two.
- Feel overwhelmed with choice. Just ask for help!

Did you and Tim get your own wedding invitation absolutely right?

Yes, we did, but if you were to ask whether we’d go for the same style again... no! I suppose that’s inevitable after nearly 12 years; tastes change.

We went down the traditional route of a portrait folded card with the bits and pieces to go with it but wish we had gone for a single stiff landscape card with gold lettering, engraved of course! I also slightly cringe at the titles used on the items which now seem so ostentatious.

We also made a huge mistake on hotel rooms. Our wedding was on the most popular day of the year, so we rang a few local hotels and asked them to reserve the rooms for our guests who would be calling in the coming weeks.  One hotel misunderstood and turned away all our guests, saying the rooms had already been booked. On the day, Tim got a phone call from the manager asking where all the guests were. Tim said surely people have called to book the rooms and that’s when everyone realised what had happened. We had to stump up half the cost to cover the hotel's lost bookings.  All I can say is, be very clear when you ring the hotels!

If someone is unsure what they want, how far are you willing to advise before they commit to becoming a client?

Oh, this happens most of the time and I am very used to sitting for a good couple of hours over a cup of coffee and cake, ironing out the details. Of course a lot of my clients aren’t close enough to meet in person so it’s a combination of email, phone and post for sending samples. Either way is fine with me.

The initial process is fun and extremely important – I get an insight into the client's priorities, and they learn about options on invitation design which they may not have been aware of. I enjoy it EVERY time!!

Thank you Pollyanna!