Photograph by Luanne Demeo
Photograph by Luanne Demeo
Your wedding day theme should reflect you—and for most, branding the big day first begins with the invites and save-the-dates. That’s where Handzy, a custom stationery and paper goods shop in Covington, can be your savior: With a wealth of know-how and a catchy can-do attitude, they’ll expertly bring your unique wedding vision to fruition.
“If you have a crazy vision for [your big day] and want to make it happen, we’ll make it happen,” says Handzy cofounder Suzy Strachan.
When she says anything, she means it. Handzy’s recent wedding stationery packages have encompassed everything from a playful zoo theme for two soon-to-be-wedded zoo employees to a hand-painted illustration of the Roebling Suspension Bridge. While a basic suite offers the standard items—save-the-dates, invitations, programs—they also offer custom wedding websites, and will do any other add-ons (seating charts and menus) as desired.
Photograph by Luanne Demeo
“As designers, we don’t have one illustration style,” says cofounder Brittney Braemer. “Of course there are limits to what we can do…but if there’s not something here [that you like], it just means we haven’t done it yet.”
Just two years ago, Handzy itself was little more than a long-held “crazy vision,” too. When Braemer and Strachan met at the University of Cincinnati in 2010, after transferring to DAAP, they joked that one day they’d open a shop together.
Neither expected it to happen quite so quickly, though: After graduating, Braemer jumped right into the world of corporate design at LPK, while Strachan taught canoeing in the boundary waters of Ely, Minnesota.
Photograph by Luanne Demeo
Braemer started doing freelance graphic design on the side—working with Eli’s BBQ and several other local restaurants; selling greeting cards at City Flea—and Handzy was born. When Strachan returned to Cincinnati a few months later, the duo decided to set up shop, opening their Pike Street location in July 2016. A third designer, Leah Kroeger, joined the team shortly after. Today, the trio stocks their airy space with a carefully curated selection of greeting cards, notebooks, pens, paper goods, design supplies, and more, sourcing nearly exclusively from local and/or indie designers in the U.S.
“We don’t want to just have what every tiny shop in Cincinnati has,” Braemer says.
Photograph by Luanne Demeo
Getting crafty
For a one-of-a-kind bachelorette party, gather your bridesmaids for a custom craft-y workshop at Handzy. They’ve offered mini-classes on everything from woven wall hangings to flower arranging to calligraphy and more, and the trio will gladly tailor a session to a topic of your choosing.
Handzy Shop + Studio, 15 W. Pike St., Covington, (859) 261-0493, hellohandzy.com
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