I'm the boss...

Emily H. Martin is the owner and principal designer of OrangeBeautiful. The company started in 2004, in the same way that many small businesses do: in the living room of her Ravenswood home. After years of bookbinding, creating art and working for a stationery company, it was finally time to strike out on her own and create the work that she wanted to create...
in the way she wanted to create it.

The first few years of the business centered around creating custom wedding invitations, most of which were entirely designed by Martin, but sent out to various printers for much of the production. Today, we're proud to say that we continue to work with many of those same local companies, but now do the majority of our printing in-house in our north side studio.

OB's first studio, an 800 sq. foot loft space in North Center, served the company well for 5 years. In May of 2010, Martin stumbled upon a newly-available storefront in her very own neighborhood, and - with the help of an amazing landlord and enthusiastic and loyal neighbors - a completely renovated shop + studio was ready for OrangeBeautiful to move into!

The retail half of the shop opened up on May 15th, 2010, and has been, by far, the most exciting addition to the company!
Current offerings include stationery, design goods + accessories from an array of local and independent designers (including OrangeBeautiful's cards + prints, of course!)... and, you can even view our chaotic-yet-productive workspace while you shop!

Come visit us soon!