Ma Nubiah, a London based greeting cards publishers specialise in creating a wide
range of multicultural and ethnic designed products. Their inspiration is derived of the wide palette of diverse and dynamic mix of people and cultures in the UK, Africa, the Caribbean and beyond!
Alongside greeting cards, Ma Nubiah also offer bespoke wedding invitations and stationery, as well as beautiful gift ideas.
In this latest installment of our "Ethnic Bride Series", we meet owner Josie Fadlin, and find out more...
My name is Josie and I'm a greeting card publisher who is passionate about developing products that are reflective of my African/Caribbean culture and heritage. After years of being left disappointed with the lack of choice on the market in terms of accessing multicultural and afrocentric greeting cards, I decided to launch my own greeting cards publishing company Ma Nubiah, 2 years ago. Since then Our product range has expanded to include gift ideas such as Mugs, T-Shirts, Picture Frames and Cushions.
Our transition into designing wedding stationery was quite organic in that it happened through its own natural process! We were approached by someone from America who asked if we would design her invitations and we said yes! We were then commissioned by a Nigerian/Ghanian couple to design their wedding stationery as the bride explained she had exhausted the market searching for wedding invitations that would reflect not just her and her fiancée's personalities, but also their different ethnic cultures. Since then we have taken on several commissions and designing stationery is now an established part of the services we provide.
Tell us about your most popular range?
Every couple has their own unique style and preferences and so far all the invitations we've designed have been very bespoke, however there is clearly a central theme running through all of them, and that is they reflect the couples ethnic backgrounds. That said, currently our illustrated invitations are very popular and many couples are choosing to have illustrated images of themselves incorporated within their design.
Tell us how will your products benefit the ethnic bride?
From my own experience, ethnic brides struggle to source wedding products that allow them to incorporate elements of their ethnicity in their wedding theme. The benefits of using our services is that we are passionate about working with couples to bring their visions to life. The bride will be involved in every stage of the design process and they will have the guarantee that their wedding stationery is truly unique and most importantly, if this is a priority and necessity for her and husband to be, not to mention their extended family! their invitations will also be reflective of their cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Whether you choose to send a save-the-date card or an elegant invitation, your wedding stationery gives guests their first glimpse of your wedding theme. So choosing the right set of stationery is the first step in setting the tone for your big day! My advise to couples is to get your stationery designer involved very early in the process of planning your wedding. Ask to view samples of their work and start the process early. Unlike off the shelf invitations, bespoke designs can take at least 4-6 weeks to complete the design process and even longer if it is a large order with lots of hand finished details in the design.
Any new products for 2015?
The last two years have been amazing for us and in 2015 we are hoping to launch our sister company Adero Invitations! The name Adero is South African and means 'She Who Creates Life.' The Adero brand will follow the Ma Nubiah model, in that it will be specialising in bringing the ethnic bride's dreams of multicultural and Afrocentric wedding stationery and products to life. Our aim is to establish ourselves as the first choice for ethnic brides in the U.K.
Photos complements of Ma Nubiah
For more Information see Ma Nubiah's website - manubiah.co.uk
