Stacie Tamaki got me curious. After writing on her renovated chandelier, I wanted to see what other things she was capable of. Tamaki specializes in personalized weddings. After working in the San Fransisco bridal industry creating bridal accessories, she made it her own, naming it The Flirty Bride, and soon developing her Web site, The Flirty Guide. She has also created a blog for brides-to-be.
Here she is!
Tamaki’s site focuses on sharing “fun and flirty” ideas for weddings, receptions and rehearsal dinners, however,her creativity is not limited to those special events. “Many of the ideas and resources on the guide are just as appropriate for a birthday or anniversary party,” said Tamaki, “as well as corporate events and private parties large or small, a BBQ to a gala event.” The Flirty Guide allows you to make your event yours. Tamaki said, “It’s all about being a great host or hostess and personalizing the details of your event in a way that reflects your own spirit and style.”
Stacie had a lot to say when I interviewed her on her own creativity and businesses. Here it is!
Did you start out your career in the wedding planning industry? Or was there something before that? I worked in retail sales before first at the Limited and then at Nordstrom for a total of 10 years.
You are very crafty and it looks like you make a lot of your own wedding decorations. What sparked you in doing this as opposed to finding them from other resources? I had already been designing custom bridal accessories for clients for 10 years before my wedding in 2007 so it was only natural for me to make everything for my own wedding. For my wedding in 2007 the timing was perfect to use my own wedding to define what I thought a “flirty” wedding should be like on The Flirty Guide.com. So many of the ideas on the Flirty Idea gallery are from my own wedding.
Because of all of your “custom” designs, do you have a lot of “funky” clientele? Or more traditional? I would say in the past with The Flirty Bride.com I had more traditional bridal accessory clients who were looking for delicate headpieces and understated bridal veils. With The Flirty Guide.com resource I think most of my audience is more modern and funky. They are looking for unique and flirty expressions of their personalities to enhance their wedding day.
What is your favorite creation for a wedding? I love to create cake toppers. Each one is like a tiny sculpture.
Do you use any alternate sources beyond the arts and crafts store for supplies? Yes, I also ordered accessory components online, attend bead trade shows and have shopped at fly fishing stores, vintage boutiques and other places for unique elements.
What is it that you enjoy most about your career? The freedom to choose my own company standards regarding both ethics and the level of service I offer along with the types of companies I choose to interact with. By choosing to work only with companies of the highest integrity, who really care about their clients, I remove a lot of stress out of my day to day life that comes from dealing with shady or fly by night companies who are just in it for the money and their own self interests.
What other Web sites/designers do you reference for help with creations? I don’t. I believe by not being influenced by what others are doing allows me to be more creative. Speaking only for myself I believe a pure expression is best when it comes to my own creativity. For this reason I don’t subscribe to bridal magazines or keep up with trends. I simply do what I feel like doing, create the things that I imagine and hope that others will find my work and ideas appealing. That has been one of the other great things about being self employed. The only constraints my creativity has ever had to deal with is a client’s budget but even then I can always make things just for the sake of making them because I wanted to and turn them into samples to showcase on my websites or blog. This freedom to express myself however I want has given me a much more fulfilling life then the one I had when I worked in retail sales.
Give a brief description of your ideal wedding. To me an ideal wedding is one where the comfort of the guests is given proper consideration, where the bride and groom can have as much fun as their guests, and they do all of this while honoring traditions but personalizing elements so that the wedding is a true expression of what is important to them, their personalities and love for each other.
