Graphic design shop now open on Main Street

Megan Ferden, left, and Taylor Starrett opened The Lettered Lily above Caniche. Cynthia Hooper, for the Salisbury Post

Some of their creations. Cynthia Hooper, for the Salisbury Post

By Cynthia Hooper

For the Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — When Taylor Starrett and Megan Ferden met three years ago, they never imagined that in such a short time, they would be partners running their own graphic design studio, but that is exactly what happened.

Starrett and Ferden met while they were employed by the same company in Mooresville. Not long after meeting they began to realize that they had many things in common and shared a lot of the same professional goals in life. They both dreamed of opening their own graphic design shop in a small town where they could work face to face with their customers to make whatever they needed a reality, whether it be wedding invitations, a new business logo or marketing materials.

 In January, when Starrett and Ferden learned that Pleasant Papers had closed and relocated their business files to the second floor of the Caniche building downtown, they were intrigued by the possibilities. Before long they worked a deal to take over the business and expand in the directions they had always dreamed of. By March 1st the Lettered Lily Design Studio was open for business and have since done over 200 orders.

 Starrett is a 2004 graduate of Salisbury High and  earned her BFA degree in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. Following graduation, she got married and returned to Salisbury.

 Ferden is a native of Manchester, Iowa, and graduated from University of Northern Iowa also with a BFA in Graphic Design. She relocated to North Carolina in 2008 with her now husband and fell in love with the area.

 “Our husbands have been so supportive, this has been our dream since we decided what we wanted to do with our lives,” Ferden said, “and for us to just jump in and have it become a reality so soon is just good news for everyone.”

 “It is kind of unreal,” Starrett added.

 The Lettered Lily Design Studio has assumed the majority of the former Pleasant Papers invitation stock and is carrying many of the same brands, however they also offer custom design services that Pleasant Papers did not.  Their in-house paper selection includes popular names like Caspari, William Arthur, Ann Scott, Kate Spade and Odd Balls, a beautiful hand painted paper line. Customers who love the designer names, but are working on a budget will be glad to hear that custom designs done on a lower priced paper can be made to look just as fabulous.

 The Lettered Lily is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be found online at www.theletteredlily.com and also at facebook.com. After hour appointment can be arranged for customers who are unable to make it during normal operating hours.

 Starrett and Ferden have been very pleased with their relationship with Judy Isenhour, owner of now closed Pleasant Papers. Isenhour has been called in to assist Starrett and Ferden with the machines that they were not previously familiar with. They are now able to do many things in house that really speed up the turn around time. Machines that allow them to engrave metal and acrylic as well as foil stamp napkins or books without having to ship them off, can cut delivery time in half.

 "We have literally no impossible turn around time," Ferden said, "Except for maybe, yesterday."

 "One of the missions of the Lettered Lily Design Studio," Starrett said, "is to really work one-on-one with the clients needs, interests, budget and time frame. We will beat any competitors price, either locally or online."

 "A bride can come in dreaming of an invitation with a horse on it, but she wants the horse to be wearing a cowboy hat, after looking through all the books, none of the horses have a hat on," Starrett said, "so instead of settling for something stock, that isn't exactly what the customer wants, we can make it specifically for them. The cost is very similar between the big name brand stock items and custom orders, and we can make as many changes as necessary, until it is perfect."

 Invitations and stationery are featured in the recently renovated showroom located above Caniche, at 200 South Main St, but The Lettered Lily offers more than just personalized stationary and party invitations.  Being graphic artists, they can also create and design business cards, marketing materials- such as posters and flyers, small business web sites, labels, stickers, brochures, letterheads, vinyl signage and also do calligraphy.

 A gentleman recently came into the studio and told Starrett and Ferden about his family of "Stick People" animals he had on the back window of his car. He had stickers of his cats and dogs, even his horse, but unfortunately was unable to find a likeness of his pet goat to add with the others. They made him one right up and he liked it so much that a few days later he came back in and asked them to make him several giant bumble bee's to add to his menagerie, telling them that he is after all a bee-keeper.

 Heather Link, a previous intern at Caniche, has also joined the Lettered Lily team on a full time basis and helps with cutting and organizing and is also learning some graphic design in the process.

 Starrett and Ferden love the idea of keeping things local and personal, they hope to become Salisbury's one stop shop for all of their design needs.