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C20 celebrate! • 2017 jn Local entrepreneurs offer invitations, gift tags, hand-holding and more. Paper Mates V alerie Harb, who formerly designed printed mar- keting materials for small businesses, offered a job-related gift to a friend. When the woman casually discussed budgeting for a son's bar mitzvah party, Harb offered to take care of the invitations. What had been a tedious process for her friend became an act of enjoyment for Harb. She loved designing how the invitations would fit in with the theme of the party. "From that point on, four years ago, I knew the kind of work I wanted to do," says Harb, who isn't Jewish but has learned about Jewish event customs and consults with a tutor to check the Hebrew lettering she is asked to use. In her Farmington Hills home, she designs and forms place cards, name tags for favors, small signage and other paper products to decorate and distinguish each party. She is among a group of paper product specialists provid- ing creative, customized services to party hosts. "I'm a one-woman show, and I like interacting with clients," she says of her business, Valerie Harb Graphic Design Services. "I've bought computer products, print- ers, die-cut machines, photo reproduction materials and more. Every project teaches me something new." Harb treats every party as a special commitment, and she recalls a bat mitzvah held at the College for Creative Studies among the most innovative. The teen was devot- ed to creativity so Harb followed through with materials for stations devoted to different aspects of that interest. The sign-in board, for example, asked each guest to write a haiku. The board was framed in bamboo to con- nect to the geographical area associated with that poetry style. The reception cards were fun bookmarks. "I put my name on the backs of invitations so that's one way prospective customers find me," Harb says. "People who have used my services also pass along my name." Harb does not charge for the first meeting with each potential client. She wants to give them ideas of what is available according to the budgets presented. "I was always a creative person," Harb says. "When I meet with clients, I want to use my creativity to meet their specialized needs. "I prepare designs to suit what they tell me. I email five designs and they can mix and match according to what they like. I don't want them to feel overwhelmed." Harb, who had lots of support from her husband in establishing her business, began making a profit in the middle of her second year. "My goal for all my clients is to see faces light up when products are picked up," Harb says. "I want the products to be exactly what they wanted them to be so these parts of any party planning are not stressful for customers." Franci Hirsch is another business owner working out of her home to help clients plan for innovative paper prod- ucts that personalize and enhance parties. She provides an extra service by wrapping favors for everyone and packaging gifts given to out-of-towners. "I try to work with anything that can have special print- ing, including save-the-date cards, napkins, menus, even yarmulkes," she says. "I don't make them, but I help shop different vendors." Hirsch, who lives and works in her West Bloomfield home, began her business two years ago. The Paper Press emerged after she enjoyed planning her own daughter's bat mitzvah. Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, Hirsch worked in public relations and broadcasting, other fields requir- ing fresh approaches. Creativity has always has attracted her. When she was working on the b'nai mitzvot of twins, Hirsch suggested a black-and-white color scheme because the siblings couldn't agree on any colors. "It all turned out very crisp and cool," she says. "I used clear invitations with black and silver print, and that worked out well. For other parties, a popular theme has become using monograms on whatever can have an imprint." SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Franci Hirsch Valerie Harb continued on page 22