Celebrating 15 years of Paperless Post
Fifteen years ago, Paperless Post began with a simple idea: that online communication could be both beautiful and functional. Since 2009 we’ve helped over 200 million people connect for moments big and small—and as “The New York Times”’s Christopher Barnard puts it, “sent some 650 million invitations, has grown to employ a full-time staff of 110 people and, as of last year, has been immortalized in a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch.”
To celebrate, we invited some of our industry-leading partners to design a collection of special edition invitations, each born of their unique aesthetic and vision. “Paperless Post has opened many avenues for artists and their public,” says our longtime partner Bernard Maisner. “It was so new and radical 15 years ago, and has remained fresh, upbeat, and vital throughout the digital era.”
More kind words from our partners:
Sugar Paper: “Paperless Post is best-in-class. We send our own designs often and we’re always pleasantly surprised when we receive a Sugar Paper for Paperless Post design in our inbox.”
Happy Menocal Studio: “I liked imagining Paperless Post as a physical place, opening its doors on a spring evening for a party.”
The Indigo Bunting: “It’s the best feeling to know my designs are being used to share people’s most special moments, from a first Valentine to a crush, to wedding invitations and milestone birthdays.”
Cheree Berry Paper & Design: “Our partnership with Paperless Post has enabled us to deliver a richer event communication experience to guests around the world.”
To fête this milestone, we invited friends, editors, New York creatives, and of course, our Paperless Post design partners, to join us for dinner at Cafe Sabarsky inside Manhattan’s Neue Galerie. “Upon arrival, notables such as Amy Fine Collins, Angelica Hicks, and Anna Wintour were welcomed with wine and a band playing Austrian marching tunes by the marbled beaux-arts stairway,” writes “Vogue”’s Maia Torres. “Meanwhile, inside the Viennese restaurant, two long tables adorned with tablecloths and lampshades designed by Paperless Post’s in-house design team spread across the mahogany-paneled space.”
Inspired by the venue, the bespoke table décor—including custom menus and envelope-shaped place cards—gave a nod to the Vienna Secession through a modern lens. “As a company that thinks a lot about design, it was important to me to pick a location with a strong aesthetic DNA,” says Paperless Post co-founder and CEO James Hirschfeld. “The Neue Galerie’s collection of 20th-century Austrian art was a rich vein of inspiration.”
The evening came to life with the help of New York-based event planner Serena Merriman, of Merriman Events, who brought in sculptural, dream-like floral arrangements from Rana Flora and playful, gold-painted windup pigeons. In keeping with the theme, guests dined on bratwurst and schnitzel while sipping Lingonberry-flavored cocktails and Sekt. The festivities commenced with a custom-tiered cake and a Paperless Post toast. Próst!
Browse 15th Anniversary Collection
Images courtesy of BFA and Jess Focht.
