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November 15, 2007

Talking Letters with Joy of Nantaka Joy

The Modern Letter Project talks to one of our favorite designers, Joy of Nantaka Joy, the Oh Joy! blog, and Oh Joy! Studio about her background in design, her favorite haunts in Philadelphia, artists she loves, and her inspirations.

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MLP: Hi Joy. Please introduce yourself!
Joy: Hello! I am a freelance textile & graphic designer who works with a variety of clients in the fashion and home decor industries through my company Oh Joy! Studio. In May, I launched a collection of ready-made stationery called Nantaka Joy which sells at boutiques & paperies nationwide. I also run the Oh Joy! blog and have a weekly column, LifeStyle, in the Philadelphia Inquirer's Home & Design section.

MLP: Do you have a background in design? What is your training?
Joy: I do have a background in design. When I was in high school, I either wanted to be a designer or a scientist (I know, how different could they be?!). Luckily, art school won out, and I went to Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts and majored in Communications Design (the same as Graphic Design). I took a lot of elective classes in fibers, paper-making, and print-making because enjoyed getting my hands dirty and making stuff. It was a nice contrast to sitting in front of the computer designing. I think the mix of the two really helps me to still enjoy both the technical aspect of design as well as those things that happen by accident when you’re experimenting and making things by hand.

After college, I moved to New York and worked with numerous fashion clients
at a boutique advertising agency in SoHo. Eventually, I wanted to create things that people actually kept and made them happy. So I transitioned into textile design at Cynthia Rowley designing home accessories for the Swell line at Target. The first time I saw something that I had designed in Target was one of the coolest moments of my career.

I moved back to Philadelphia (where I am from) in 2005, to be in the same city as my then-boyfriend (now husband) and found myself freelancing. The freelancing grew into a full-time career and now I couldn’t imagine working for anyone else!

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MLP: Are you native to Philadelphia? What are some of your favorite spots around town?
Joy: Yes, I was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. I went away to school and to work after school in the New York area, but am now back near my family. My husband and I are huge foodies having both grown up with parents in the restaurant business, so we enjoy the amazing restaurants Philadelphia has to offer. A few of my favorites are Vetri for Italian, Tinto for Tapas, Raw for Sushi, and Siam Cuisine for Thai. As for shopping, Petulia’s Folly (for the new designer clothing I love but can’t yet afford), Open House (for home goods), and Grocery 13 (for their cupcakes).

MLP: What inspired you to start Nantaka Joy, and can you tell us a bit about where the name comes from?
Joy: As a graphic designer, I’ve always designed for a client. It’s my design, but catered to a client’s needs. I wanted to do something that was completely my own. I had planned to start a home accessories line originally. But budget-wise, it was just too much to handle as we had just gotten married and anything with textiles is much more involved time and cost-wise. So I decided to start small with paper and I’m really glad I did. In a lot of ways I brought my ideas of from a textile line into my collection (thus the paper & pattern) and it helped me to ease into having a product line with materials I am already familiar with. The plan to grow my line into textiles is still in the works…so stay tuned!

I am Thai-American (Thai parents but born in the US) so the name is my Thai name and American name. Pronounced "nahn-ta-ka joy", when put together literally translates to "Happy Lady Joy".

MLP: How would you describe the style of your work?
Joy: I think it always incorporates a mix of whimsy & elegance. I love color, texture, pattern, and the mix of hand-drawn and refined elements.

MLP: We love your use of woodcut—and integration of copper, gold, and platinum – what inspired this line?
Joy: One of the first print-making classes I took in college was linoleum & woodcut. I love the slightly imperfect look of this because no carving was ever completely smooth or perfect. The metallic woodcuts are inspired by the chunkiness and texture of a woodcut while being a bit more refined and smoothed out. The metallics add a touch of luxe to the casual and earthy nature of the kraft paper.

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MLP: Describe your workspace to us. How is it organized? Any special mementos hanging above your desk?
Joy: My studio is a part of our home. It’s small, but it does the job. I’ve got a pretty big desk with my computer and printer, a large work table with tons of drawers, a bulletin board with current projects and inspirations, and there’s a large area of bookshelves that serve as a packing area for when I ship out orders for my stationery line.

MLP: What are some of your design inspirations?
Joy: That’s got to be the hardest question to answer. I’m inspired a lot, and my blog has really helped me to keep track of all those things (sometimes too much so!) Colors and textures really inspire me…whether it’s in fabric, on a building, in nature, or in food. I love seeing interiors, visual styling, photography…I enjoy seeing how a mixture of things work together to create something beautiful.

MLP: Who are some of your favorite card/stationery designers and artists?
Joy: This is hard! There are so many, and I have since become friends or acquaintances with a lot of the people that I admire. For stationery, a small sampling of my favorites include…Binth, Paper + Cup, Egg Press, Port2Port, Whimsy Press, Millimeter/Milligram, and Uncooked. I also love the custom wedding work from Bird & Banner, Good on Paper, and Hello Lucky. My current favorites artist/designer crushes include…Julia Rothman, Elisabeth Dunker, Phillip Lim, Mina Perhonen, Stina Persson, Matthew Williamson, Madison Marcus, Ditte Isager, Artfool, Livia Cetti…and many more…

And then legends like Charles & Ray Eames, Lucienne Day and Maira Kalman will always be favorites.

MLP: We know you do design work through Oh Joy! Studio, but do you also do custom card design for special occasions? What is the process like?
Joy: Yes, I do custom designs for special occasions through my studio. While most of the work my studio does is graphic & textile design for fashion companies, I also design custom wedding invitations, baby announcements, and other event-related pieces. The custom stationery is a much smaller part of my business, but I love creating custom pieces for people who really appreciate having some unique and special to celebrate a specific occasion.

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MLP: How do you select the materials you use for your collection? Any favorite materials?
Joy: I select based on the concept for each collection or project. The materials often come to me before the design does. I’ve always loved papers so whenever I get the chance to use interesting materials, I take full advantage of it.

MLP: What do you forecast for trends in paper for 2008?
Joy: Personalization has had a revival in the past couple years and I think it will continue as the idea of old-fashioned letter-writing with your own stationery seems so elegant. Also, stationery designers are experimenting more with materials…wood veneer became a new great material this year so I think we’ll continue to see more of that.

MLP: Do you have any special cards and designs coming up for the holidays?
Joy: Since I just launched my line in May, I decided not to do any holiday items this year so I could stay focused on the spring line. Stay tuned in the early spring for some new items! Click HERE to see a list of stores that sell Nantaka Joy's stationery.

MLP: And last, but not least: are you a letter-writer? If so, who do you usually write to?
Joy: In college, I was lucky to have a lot of creative and thoughtful friends who enjoyed writing letters and making beautiful letters out of random things as much as I did. So that was a time when my letter-writing was at it’s best. Now, I send cards but they are not full-on letters. It’s something I’d love to do more.

+ More on Nantaka Joy stationery HERE

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COMMENTS


Great interview! Joy is so talented. Her stationery is exceptionally beautiful and stands out from the crowd.

Posted by The Modern Letter

What a lovely workspace.

I love Joy's feminine and cheery designs.

Posted by The Modern Letter

Great interview. She's pretty cute too, eh?

Posted by The Modern Letter