{Today’s post is written by Stephannie Barba of Couture Maps. Founded in 1990, Stephannie’s first map was created for the famous upper east side market, The Vinegar Factory. Soon she was illustrating cities around the world, and her maps have even decorated the streets and subways of New York City. Her illustration style is whimsical and personal and each map is custom drawn for clients around the world. Currently, Couture Maps is based out of San Francisco, California.}
Tell us a bit about your business.
I consider myself a freelance illustrator, and I specialize in lettering and maps. I also design wedding and personal stationery using all of my own illustrative and lettering styles. My work reflects my love and passion for travel, design, handwriting and beautiful paper. What makes my product unique is that all of my stationery is custom made for each client.
How did Couture Maps get its start?
A long time ago in my little Greenwich Village studio, I began working as an illustrator and started designing all sorts of strange and unusual stationery products, including hand drawn wedding maps and stationery. Art school taught me the importance of breaking rules and making mistakes, so I set out to redefine the standard wedding invitation.
Many years later my map work became more widely accepted, and I decided to give them a name and their own website.
After doing extensive research, I was surprised and excited to find that there were no online sites that featured personalized illustrated maps. So I trademarked my business name, and began creating all sorts of maps and map products in addition to my stationery line.
How long have you been working in the industry?
I started my illustration career 20 years ago in New York City when I was at Parsons School of Design, and I began working in the wedding industry as a stationery designer soon after.
How has your process changed over the years, with the introduction of email and social networking?
The process in which I create my work has not changed over the years–all of my illustrations are created by hand in ink and watercolor without any digital design.
I started my career just before the popularity of the internet so I actually took the subway around the city to drop off my portfolios and met my clients in person. I definitely miss that aspect of my job!
When email began taking the place of face to face meetings, I had the luxury of moving my studio to wherever I wanted. Without the requirement of working near the publishing industry in New York, I decided to move to San Francisco, mostly because I wanted a new adventure.
Unfortunately I’ve been slow to embrace social networking into my business, but I do acknowledge that it can be a useful tool. Even though I know this is the direction the world is going in, I still love to write a personal note, purchase the postage stamp, walk to the post office and pop it into the mail.
Has your style always been as accepted by the wedding industry as it is now?
It was punk rock anti stationery when I first started, so it was not very accepted, and I was told that it was too unusual for the wedding market. However many art directors and editors loved it so I was lucky to get a lot of press. At that time, I was working for mostly people in the industry.
After my first trip to Paris, my work changed course, and I began including a French flair that more clients could relate to.
When you did receive resistance to your personal style, how did you adapt?
Even though my offbeat styles and products were not originally embraced by the wedding industry, I worked as a freelance illustrator for the publishing, advertising and fashion industry so I was always busy.
It probably doesn’t make much business sense, but I always create things that I love and not necessarily what is popular.
All photos courtesy of Stephannie Barba
Wow. Those maps are SO beautiful! Fabulous talent.