PROFILE

If you are willing to dish out Rs 495 (and more) for having an invitation card designed, Ravish Kapoor is the man for you. Named after him, his company is a one-stop-shop for those looking for unusual invitation cards. His client list is a starry one and includes actors Shilpa Shetty, Karisma Kapoor and Shamita Shetty while fashion designer Ashish Soni too is hooked to his out-of-the-box creations.

Though he was not armed with a formal degree in design, Kapoor began creating cards the day he decided to do something different within the ambit of his family’s printing business. “I wanted to do something which wasn’t being done in the market and realised there was scope for innovative, custom-made invitation cards, which would delight those receiving them,” he says.

It all started six years ago with him designing birthday and wedding cards which looked — and read — different. For instance, a card to announce the birth of a baby girl had fun lines like ‘Oh Boy, Oh Boy... It’s a Girl’. Then again, for a client who was a big fan of Old Monk rum, Kapoor designed an invitation box which came with an Old Monk bottle and the invitation written on the bottle’s label.

What set his cards apart was the fact that he personalised them. “I decided to print the names of the people being invited for the event,” says Kapoor. So, guests received invitations with their names on each item of the invitation — be it on a carry bag or nametags.

In no time at all, Kapoor started getting queries and orders for designing invites for anniversaries, inaugurations, parties and birthday parties. For the first four years Kapoor managed the orders single-handedly but with the business ready to take off, he engaged a team of designers and creative writers to pen witty lines for different occasions.

Along with cards, you can also order Kapoor’s signature chocolates or other gift items which he outsources for an invitation.

For wedding cards you may receive something as elaborate as a big glittering carry bag with an ornate box inside, in which you’ll find the invitations to the functions as well as the goodies like the sweets or dry fruit.

Kapoor’s forté lies in theme-party invitations. For instance, recently he created a Roman theme party invite. Kapoor came up with a red and gold box, the lid of which opened to reveal a fresco painting as a backdrop for Roman columns. The invitation was rolled around the central column.

Encouraged by the success of his concepts, Kapoor set up an office in Los Angeles three years ago and opened his first flagship store in Juhu two months ago. The cards can be ordered from Hyderabad too, through an event coordinator. In Delhi, you can catch him in his office-cum-studio to take a look at his repertoire of designs.

Trends

Kapoor says that he has managed to grab the imagination of people primarily because today people crave exclusivity in everything — from their clothes to something as regular as an invitation card. “That’s when customising cards for special occasions comes into the picture,” says Kapoor. He says that his designs can be executed within a framework of a variety of budgets — limited to very generous.

White and metallic papers as well as fabrics like velvet and suede are in vogue for cards. “People prefer modern designs with a hint of an Indian inspiration so that even while the overall look is contemporary, the Indian flavour remains intact,” he says.

Kapoor says that for weddings, people prefer to keep the cards traditional and sober but for occasions like birthday parties and bachelor parties they like to be quirky and even a wee bit wild. Some of his cards for youngsters have names like One Last Fling, Pole Dancing and Acrobats to convey a sense of fun and energy associated with the young crowd.

PROducts

Since the cards are custom made for each client, changes and adjustments are made according to what they want. Some cards have extensive laser work while some cards even have names written in real gold.

Kapoor says that the price of an invitation can go up depending on how elaborate the card is and the materials are used. His floor price is Rs 495 and this can go up to thousands depending on the printing technology and design techniques employed to create the invite.

For the wedding season this year, his invitation ‘box’ called Saath Pheras is much in demand since it comes with a mini mandap and has seven small gifts around the miniature mandap. Under each gift is the prayer which the Pandit says as the bride and groom walk around the sacred fire.

One Last Fling is perfect for a bachelor party and is accompanied with cutouts of dancing girls. This one costs around Rs 1,275, while the one with an elaborate acrobat theme is priced at Rs 2,500 per card.

For toddlers’ birthday parties there are invites which are accompanied by teddy bears, chocolates and toys — or anything else that the parents ask for.

The best part is that you can have your batch of cards ready in as quickly as three days. “It’s best for the clients to come to our offices in Delhi and Mumbai where we can design an invitation that not only suits their tastes but also their budgets,” says Kapoor.