Brotið Blað — Tides Magazine

The creative duo Brotið Blað is an Icelandic Lisbon based design and print studio that specializes in elegant and modern wedding stationery for couples who are design conscious. They offer everything from ‘save the date’ to ‘thank you’ cards and everything else related to any printed matter one (or two to be correct!) might require for a wedding. They offer semi-bespoke designs on their website that they customize for each couple and they also make bespoke designs for couples who want their invitations to be unique to them.

‘Brotið Blað' literally translates to ‘folding paper’ in English, so directly refers to the element of folding which occurs with either cards for example, or envelopes. In Icelandic, it’s also a saying which is similar to ‘making a mark on history’ therefore referring to the couples wedding, which is making a mark on their own personal history.

Founded by Einar Guðmundsson and Aron Freyr Heimisson, both hailing from Iceland. Einar from Reykjavík, the capital where he gained his degree in graphic design from The Icelandic University of the Arts in 2012. Einar later worked amongst the most prestigious advertising agencies in Iceland, but went freelance in 2018 and has been working under the name of Woodland Studio. Aron is from the North of Iceland, more specifically Árskógssandur (that’s a fun name to say!), and he got his degree in graphic design from Akureyri School of Visual Arts in 2014. Since then he has managed at renowned fashion and design shop Geysir in Reykjavík, as well as later becoming Buying Director of Geysir home, the design and homeware branch of Geysir.

They later moved to Lisbon, and Brotið Blað was launched in January 2020 after having been in fruition for a year.

Where did the idea come from to start a print studio in Lisbon alongside both of you being graphic designers?

The idea came partly from the desire to use our personal asthetic to create something beautiful. That mixed with our interest in printed materials, quality paper and working manually instead of being stuck behind the computer screen all day became the foundation that Brotið Blað was built on.

We saw a gap in the market for people who want to use professional services to help them coordinate the look and feel of their weddings and we decided to look into that further. That’s why we offer not just invitations, but a range of these ‘day-of’ items, menus, name cards on the tables and so on.

Specialising in weddings, did you feel like there was something missing for this market within the printing industry?

The idea of a studio of this kind is not something new around the world, but we feel that it has been missing in Iceland and that there was a market for it. Printing is one thing, but offering everything from the design, customization and taking care of the printing process is a market we wanted to enter.

So what is it Brotið Blað offers specifically to clients?

We help couples realize their vision for their big day and that includes creating a cohesive and elegant look in regards to printed materials.

On our website we offer semi-bespoke designs couples can choose from and then we help them in making it personal. What makes the process especially convenient is that we take care of everything from designing, printing and shipping the printed goods to the client.

We also do bespoke designs for couples who want their wedding stationery to be truly unique and reflect who they are.

You both live and work in Lisbon, does having mainly clients in Iceland complicate things or does it function quite well with todays technology and fast communication via the internet?

We don’t feel it complicates things at all! Almost all of our communication with clients goes through email or phone, but on those rare occasions we do have to sit down face to face for a large project it’s always a nice excuse to go back home for a short visit.

Are you looking to branch out more and make it more international, or would you like to stick to a specific market such as Iceland?

Our main focus at this point is the Icelandic market for sure but as we develop the brand and the concept more thoroughly we’re open to branching out to new markets in the future. Having said that, if someone happens to drop by our site right now and loves what they see we’re more than happy to ship to anywhere in the world!

Tell us about your process from getting a request until the client has their product?

Most of our designs are pre-made and available through our website, www.brotidblad.is. The process of ordering is simple, after couples have purchased their preferred design we contact them directly to gather the information needed to start customizing their design. They then have the chance of seeing what the printed material will look like and comment on it before we start printing. After printing is completed we carefully assemble and prepare the items to get them ready for shipping.

If couples prefer a bespoke design the first step is getting in touch through our site. After that we get to know the couple and gather information on how they would like their wedding day to look and feel. This process takes much longer and we recommend couples to get in touch at least a year before the wedding date for everything to be perfect and to be delivered in time.

How would you describe your style and aesthetics?

We’d say our style tends to be fairly minimal and elegant. We want to make designs that stand out in their simplicity and focus somewhat on typography.

Aron, you have a lot of retail experience, having set up a whole design shop in Reykjavík, Iceland. Has that experience helped you a lot setting up this venture?

I’d say it has definitely been an advantage, if just looking at it from a business standpoint alone. The process of finding and getting in touch with suppliers, calculating taxes, costs and prices, etc. It has been very helpful having that background in retail.

You are both graphic designers and have a very keen eye for good design. Do you both share certain jobs within your business equally? Or do you tend to delegate them according to each of your expertise or preferences?

The partnership is divided quite equally. The time leading up to the launch of our site was very hectic and there were so many things to consider that we didn’t realize beforehand in regards to starting a business. Back then there was a lot of delegation going on but now we’re in a nice and even workflow.

The idea of each design on the site usually comes from one of us who then comes up with a concept around it. Then we work further on it as a team.

What do you think are the main differences in working in Lisbon and in Reykjavík? Both in regards to your studio and being freelance graphic designers?

Although we live in Lisbon, we mainly work in Reykjavík for Icelandic clients so the difference is mostly in better weather and lower living costs!

And what are the differences in living? Are there plans on the horizon to go back to Iceland?

The southern mentality of Lisbon has taught us to slow down and not to be in such a rush all the time as is common with Icelanders. That took a while to get used to! The Portuguese are very laid back and friendly and with over 300 days of sun a year it can only have a positive impact on ones mental health. And let’s not forget all the wine!

Does Brotið Blað have any exciting ventures happening in the near future that we should keep our eyes peeled for?

We’re always working on new designs and on growing our collection of wedding stationery but we have a few ideas for expansion we want to keep under wraps for now. But stay tuned!

Words by Lilja Hrönn. All images courtesy of Brotið Blað.