BITA X POKETO FALL 2015 WORKSHOP!!

October 12, 2015 in Designing

We always love partnering up with Poketo to spread the joy of paper flowers. We recently hosted another workshop with them at The Line Hotel on October 3rd and it was a blast! Our wonderful sponsor Carte Fini supplied their fantastic Italian crepe paper and The Pot Cafe kept us full with their always delicious baked goods. Being able to share our craft this way is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. As we design new products we can't wait to introduce so much more into our workshops. If you couldn't make it to this one, stay tuned for upcoming workshops and other BITA news by subscribing to our mailing list on the upper right corner of our blog page! We hope to see at the next one!

Each workshop attendee gets a BITA crafting  box,  a carte fini crepe paper swatch sheet,  yummy snacks and a paper flower guide where they can also take notes of their own! — Each workshop attendee gets a BITA crafting box, a carte fini crepe paper swatch sheet, yummy snacks and a paper flower guide where they can also take notes of their own!

“If what I do during the day is all very intentional and explanatory then what I do at night should be all very intuitive and expressive.
If my days run on on efficiency and then my nights should be progressive.
If I strive for perfection during the day then I should strive for gratification during the night.
If I’m productive during the day then I should be reflective at night.”

— BITA

Ji's Quotes

September 28, 2015 in Designing, Writing

Jamie Derringer's Abstract Painting - Untitled 8

Ji and I have have been doing a lot of brainstorming for our new products and direction lately. She sent me these wonderful words one night as a reflection of what motivates her to create for BITA and I wanted to share it with you all. Ji and I both work full time and BITA began as a time and space for us to unwind and escape from the hustle and bustle of life. Mixing words with visual art is our passion and what she put into words perfectly shows the inspiration behind why we create and our design style for BITA!

“May the memories of your loved ones be held in the everlasting beauty of blooming flowers”

— BITA

Design Inspiration: Sympathy Flowers

July 27, 2015 in Designing

Two weeks ago I got the sad news that my boss' grandmother had passed away. Ironically, it's sad moments like these that made me love flowers. As I got older I recognized that only flowers could deliver all that my heart wanted to say in these moments.

Since I had already given my boss a BITA bouquet before, creating a real flower bouquet felt right this time. I decided to make two bouquets, one my boss and one for her mother, since both of them had lost such an important person in their lives. To create these I took a visit to the LA flower market where an entrance fee of just $1 gives you access to rows and rows of floral vendors. The market is open to the public early in the morning and is even just a fun place to see so many beautiful flowers! It can get a little overwhelming though, so I make sure I have some decisions about the types of flowers I'm going for made in advance. This time, I walked in knowing I wanted the arrangements to be white mixed with soft, comforting color(s). After I got my flowers, I purchased the glass vases at Mosketels, a giant arts & craft store in the floral district.

Although these were born out of a unfortunate moment, putting these together was extremely inspirational. Giving a handmade bouquet is a wonderful gesture for any occasion and I hope you all are inspired to try your own soon!

-Ji

BITA Quotes Keep Blooming

June 08, 2015 in Designing

Lately Ji and I have been showcasing some of our inspirational quotes on our blog posts and are looking forward to creating meaningful and creative products out them. Similar to the fog and downcast that plagues LA in June we are in the "june gloom-like" development stage of designing and crafting our BITA visuals and other products with quotes. As hard as some parts of the creative process is, they must be embraced because it is all part of creating something beautiful for others to enjoy. We like sharing both all sides our process to keep you motivated when it gets tough! We will be sharing more of these in our journey with you and keep you all updated once our new products launch. We appreciate all your support and hope our quotes motivate and inspire you and your loved ones!

BITA x Oh Joy! Spreading Crafting Inspiration!

April 20, 2015 in BITA update, Designing

It is finally here! If you haven't already checked out Oh Joy!'s fabulous new book, you definitely must! And we aren't just saying that we because we are so thrilled and grateful to be a part of it, I promise! If you need some creative, crafty and colorful inspiration for events, gifts or just for fun, this is the perfect book for you. BITA's flowers were chosen as one of the 60 fun projects Joy features, but the project's range from fashion to food to DIY! Congrats to OhJoy! on this amazing project and thank you for continuing to inspire us. We hope you all enjoy the book and continue to find new design and style inspirations this Spring!

SPRING PAPER FLOWER WORKSHOP WITH POKETO

March 16, 2015 in BITA update, Designing

Spring time means lots of new dazzling colors and designs! We are happy to announce that on April 11th we are partnering with the amazing Poketo to bring you guys another fun workshop on how to make our favorite spring themed peonies and flower wreaths. The workshop will be at the beautiful Line Hotel on April 11th from 2pm-5pm. To sign up and find out more info click here. We hope to see you all there and in the meantime if you have questions about the workshop please don't hesitate to ask in the comments section below!

We Love Seed Paper!

February 16, 2015 in Designing

We love paper!! All shapes, sizes, colors, weights, materials-all of it. One of my favorite types of paper to create with is seed paper. Seed paper is a hearty paper with great durability and texture. Best of all it is great for the environment and can be perfect for a symbolic gesture of anything you make it from it to be planted and grown into something amazing! Great brands like Bloomin offer printed seed paper stationery and even wedding invitations!

Crepe Paper

January 12, 2015 in Designing

“How did you start making paper flowers?” “What got you started?” are one of the most asked questions when people find out that I’m the hands behind BITA. The long answer starts with the word “recession”, I won’t get into that now. But the short answer is “European Crepe Paper”. Once I started "sculpting" my petals with it, I couldn't stop.

Crepe Paper is a essentially tissue paper that is sized and then “creped” (crinkled) to create gathers. It has a very distinct texture and feel. Unlike any other paper (at least the ones I know of) it can be stretched and sculpted as you see in the images below.

European crepe papers are special because of it is so densely creped, allowing it to stretch 3 times it’s original size. When you take a workshop with me, you'll get to learn and feel the difference between all different types of crepe paper. Now, that's a fun (crafty geeky) learning experience. The ones I use most is from Italy and Germany.

The colors of the crepe paper is still mixed by hand and fed into a machine that dyes the paper and then crinkles it. Therefore, each batch can vary slightly, which I've learned to love as well. Crepe paper is also UV ray sensitive, some colors more than others, which is was what really taught me to embrace the paper for what it is. Some colors age/fade really beautifully, loosing its original vibrance and intensity and instead start carrying its color in softer ways. However, some colors such as "sage" totally loose it's color. It actually turns brown. Which is why I now take swatches time to time and test them. Also the reason why I no longer use sage at all. I'm still sad about it. I don't think I'll ever get over that.

My "someday" visit to Italy or Germany will definitely include a visit to the factory such as the one shown here. This one is located in Italy. And of course, I'll share all the images from the visit right here on BITA blog. Until then, enjoy these images from the paper makers themselves here.

Blooming BITA

October 20, 2014 in BITA update, Designing

As BITA transitions into a new direction, we've been working on many new and exciting things! Ji and I have been working hard to not only design great new products but also to find creative ways to display who BITA is as a brand. We've learned just how important unique, cohesive and creative branding is for your business and have been working on branding that really showcases our story. Ji and I have a passion for modern design, patterns, color and the beauty of typeface and those are the four main elements we have focused on developing during our production and branding process. We will be solidifying our branding, products other items soon and can’t wait to share them with you. Stay tuned!