Wiley Valentine Presses On
Irvine-based Wiley Valentine makes exquisite paper creations for epic celebrations.
A good invitation is like a promise. Beyond the who, what, where, when, and why, a beautiful paper invite tells the invitee how. How the event will look. How the attendees will feel. How the celebration will be remembered for years to come. And no one makes a more exquisite promise than the amazing duo at the Irvine-based stationery business, Wiley Valentine.
The Vine chatted with Wiley Valentine co-founder Rachelle Schwartz to explore the business’s beginnings in Irvine, the effects of Covid, and the future.
Wiley Valentine co-owners Rachelle Schwartz and Emily Owen
Photo credit Elizabeth Messina
When Rachelle first met her business partner, Emily Owen, they were working together at a small graphic design firm in Orange.
“That was really my first job out of college,” says Rachelle. “We learned a huge amount just with regards to graphic design. But what we were doing there wasn't really our passion.”
When Emily’s sister and some of Rachelle’s friends started getting married, inspiration took hold.
“We thought, ‘Oh, wouldn't this be fun if we did their invitations?’ So we started doing that on the side, and then we started doing freelance work and eventually left to form Wiley Valentine,” says Rachelle. “Wiley Valentine is named after our grandmothers, who we got our creativity and artistic expressions from. Mary Wiley is Emily’s grandma and Norma Jean Valentine was my grandma.”
Finding a physical space to run Wiley Valentine eventually led Rachelle and Emily to Irvine.
“First, just in terms of location, with me being in Laguna Hills and Emily being in Orange, [Irvine is] kind of a neutral ground for us both,” says Rachelle. “Also, in the beginning of our business, we needed a lot of warehouse space because we had a stock product portion of our business, which was greeting cards and other paper goods. It was pretty crucial to for us to have all that warehouse space. We were looking for something that had a warehouse space as well as office space, and Sky Park had the perfect mix of that.”
The spot selected to run Wiley Valentine in the Airport Business Center on Sky Park Circle is renowned for its success in fostering independent upstarts.
Wiley Valentine invites range from elegantly simple to lavishly ornate.
Photo credit Aaron Delesie
“We have 500 tenants and they’re almost all small businesses,” says Eric Schoof, Airport Business Center’s Director of Leasing. “Location is the number one thing. It’s also a good spot with access to many freeways. And the family that built it still owns it today. It’s a family owned business that supports other small businesses.”
As Wiley Valentine amassed experience and clientele, they began to hone their focus. And they brought on a key component to help propel the business forward: Rachelle’s husband, Michael Schwartz.
“We started focusing on invitations,” says Rachelle. “We also did some branding and logo work, but we moved away from the general graphic design industry and more towards the event industry. Then about 11 or 12 years ago, Michael started working with us. We were using a letter press printer who we loved, but she moved to Canada, and that didn't quite work with shipping and costs and timing and all that.
“So we said to Michael, joking, ‘Why don't you become our letter press printer?’ And he was not in a job where he was super challenged or inspired or anything at the time. So he was like, ‘Okay, sure.’ And he researched this amazing woman in LA to teach him the craft. I remember picking him up the first day and her saying, ‘Wow, he really has a talent for this.’”
Once Michael learned the letter press process, it quickly became his passion.
“With my history major, the whole history of letter press appeals to me,” says Michael. “And then, once I spent a weekend doing it, that was pretty much it. I went full steam at it.”
Michael refined his letter press skills in the Schwartz family garage, but he quickly outgrew the area. He moved into the space next door to Wiley Valentine at the Airport Business Center.
“When he first moved into the space next to us, the whole front of our office was the nursery for our daughter, Piper,” says Rachelle. “She was a baby, and we had the crib in there. I would nurse her and put her down for naps right there in the office.”
As Michael’s independent press company, Czar Press, continued to grow, so did the space he needed. Luckily Wiley Valentine was ready to get rid of the warehouse just as Czar Press needed one.
The Czar Bar for employees and clients of Wiley Valentine and Czar Press.
“He kept growing and adding more presses and more employees,” says Rachelle. “Eventually, when we got rid of the stock part of our business, he took over our warehouse base because we didn't really need that anymore. So we downsized to a traditional office and he took over all the rest of it.”
Once Michael settled into the office space, he added another dimension to the business: coffee.
“We got spoiled when Michael moved in and created the coffee bar, Czar Bar,” says Rachelle. “He's such a coffee snob. He wanted to create a real coffee shop experience, but in the office, that he and all his employees and his clients could enjoy. It’s a perk for the office and for us as well. When we meet with clients, I can say, ‘Can I get you a latte or a cappuccino?’ It's just so nice.”
Nowadays, Wiley Valentine and Czar Press sadly do not see many clients in person. As the world waits to see when it’s safe to hold large celebrations, some have paused planning while others have downsized.
“We're still doing weddings, but they're all for next year,” says Rachelle. “A lot of our clients are doing these really elaborate big events, and they have their heart set on that. So they're waiting. A lot of times we will get started designing, and then people decide they might want to push it to 2022 or they’re not sure what they’re going to do.”
Rachelle creates leggings and matching tops for adults and children.
While some clients slam on the brakes, others are pressing ahead. Those throwing events in an era of social distancing have had to find new ways of celebrating.
Michael’s granola will launch later this month.
“There's definitely a trend towards micro weddings and micro events where other people Zoom in,” says Rachelle. “It’s nice because I hate to see these events not happen or for people to not feel special. That's the whole point. Even if it's small, you should be able to have your special day. We think it’s so important.”
As Rachelle waits for clients to give her the green light, she has started a pandemic passion project to keep her busy.
“I launched another business in the midst of all this because I needed a creative outlet,” says Rachelle. “It's in my DNA: I have to keep busy doing things. [The new business] is called Sweat Goddess. It’s mainly leggings. But also, we have matching tops and will launch some new things, hopefully for Black Friday and that weekend. It's super fun to design those and I've had a good response for just starting, so that’s fun.”
In addition to Rachelle’s new company, Michael is getting in on the entrepreneurial act. He is launching a product that routinely gets rave reviews.
“So Michael makes the best granola of all time. Everybody has always said ‘You should sell it,’” says Rachelle. “We finally branded it. We made the boxes (letterpress of course) and we're hoping to launch that probably at the end of this month. He’s going to offer it online and also offer a subscription based option for people too. It’s called Oat House.”
As Michael explains, his granola has been a stand out success in the Schwartz family kitchen. When Czar Press turned its attention to consumer packaging, it was only natural for Michael to use the resources at his disposal.
“I've been making this particular granola for years, and I really do believe it tastes better than any other granola that I've had,” says Michael. “I was looking to branch out into doing more types of packaging and trying to find packaging customers. And then I thought, ‘Well heck, maybe I should just start the company that needs packaging.’ And that's where I decided to push forward with Oat House.”
Of course, when large scale events resume, Michael and Rachelle Schwartz will be glad to finally press print on all those postponed invites. In part, their readiness is due to some support from the city of Irvine.
“They did an amazing financial grant for small businesses during Covid,” says Rachelle. “Being in the wedding industry and having all of these events canceled or postponed has been pretty hard on us. So that was great and helpful to get that support from Irvine for sure.”
In the meantime, Wiley Valentine will continue to lift spirits with exquisitely designed invitations for celebrations to come. It may feel far away, but eventually social distancing will be a thing of the past and we will party again. That’s a promise.