When London Turned One

This week London turns two! We are going to celebrate with a tiny little party at our house with our family and a few close friends. Last year we celebrated big with a Laduree themed party for her first birthday. We love going big for first birthdays; some of you might remember back to Grey’s cardboard castle party!

I’ve hesitated in sharing these photos before now because of a few hurtful comments that were sent to us on Instagram about her party. A year later, I simply just don’t care what people say or think. So I’m sharing this celebration as it was a special day for our family and brought us so much joy- both in creating the details and the time we spent with those that mean the most to us.

We hand painted the little Laduree stand and filled it with desserts that were also hand made from felt. Our friend Andrew at the Olympic Fairmont Hotel opened up a small gathering space for us to use. Another friend, Brittany, created the invitation, napkins and that balloon arch. And yet another friend, Morgan, baked and decorated all of the incredible cakes, macarons and small sweet bites! All of it was beautifully captured by another dear friend, Kristen. I know some people will think we are crazy and this party was too over the top. Thats fine… everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But this party was a labor of love, created by friends, to be enjoyed by friends and it still brings me so much joy. I have no regrets, wouldn’t change a thing and would do it all over again!

These images are in no way insinuating that every parent should throw parties like this for their kids. Remember… this is what we do for a living. I’ve spent my entire adult life planning celebrations for other people, so of course I want to put effort and energy into the celebrations for my own children. And… most importantly… it brings us joy to be able to do it.

So with that disclaimer, I hope you enjoy this peek into London’s party! 

13/40

Who is Sinclair?

Even before I joined the business, Steve and I had a lot of discussion and brainstorming ideas for the future of the business model and name. With the original name Steven Moore Designs solely representing Steve, there came a misunderstanding of my role once I was onboard. I was often referred to as Steve’s assistant or worse… his secretary – ahh! While I love him dearly and of course support him in every way I can, our roles within our company are very different. The name Sinclair & Moore was a joint decision to involve me as co-owner and reflect our business partnership.

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One of the most common questions we get asked since we launched Sinclair & Moore as our new name is, ‘who/what is Sinclair?’. The short answer is that it’s me, Jamie. Sinclair is my middle name and a family name that has been passed through generations.

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Sinclair was a name that I used to hate as a kid. I remember taking on my sister’s middle name and introducing myself as ‘Jamie Renée’ for a few years because I thought Sinclair was too weird. That, and I don’t think I fully understood that my middle name would be different than my sister’s. But now that I’m older, I appreciate and love the name I was given.

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What makes it even cooler is that the name ‘Sinclair’ comes with its own Scottish plaid design and carries the chief proverb “Commit Thy Work To God’, which I think is such a great motto and perspective for Steve and I to have in our business.

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One of our favorite parts of changing the name was rebranding with La Happy. She created a new logo, designed our website and then curated these beautiful branded pieces of stationery and marketing tools. We love how she combined letterpress techniques and foiling to create such high quality stationery. The paper is rich and thick and printing impression is nice and deep. Everything was so well executed. Steve and I wanted to elevate our client experience and investing in these pieces was a big part of that. It’s fun seeing our clients’ response when they receive their tote bag filled with goodies and beautiful planning resources. Thanks Sally for all your hard work, we couldn’t be happier with what you created!

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Photo credit: Matthew Land Studios