Sisters’ Creative Events Create Synergy

Jenna Means and Brittany Moskowitz, nee Barnett, are a one-stop shop for details in creating a fully cohesive event from start to finish. As the Barnett Crafted team, Moskowitz handles marketing, and Means balances finances. They both do client management and design, which often means that clients get two design options — one from each.

Means said, “When we were younger and first started dabbling in graphic design, we would have themed photo-editing-competitions for silly things, like images and quotes from ‘Harry Potter’ movies. It’s infinitely special that we now get to do that as our actual jobs.”

A colorful birthday design for a young boy.

Now, it’s all about baby namings, weddings, birthdays and even family reunions. Evaluating trends, Moskowitz said, “We are seeing a return to big weddings and events post-pandemic. I think people really missed these during COVID and are excited to gather with friends and family again. We are also seeing a trend in non-traditional design — with funky and fun colors, shapes, and designs. Another trend that we love seeing is the thoughtfulness behind personal details — and this is where we thrive. We want our products to be one-of-a-kind, specific to the people and event being celebrated.”

Thinking outside the box for a book club, they created some coasters with quotes from the book that month, shot glasses, large canvas for signs/seating charts/welcome. Signage in general is their forte.

This custom-made tree was for a family reunion as a particularly favorite project.

Moskowitz said, “It’s a fun challenge to turn something so simple, like needing to direct someone to where the bathroom is at your venue, into something pretty and cohesive to the event.”

For weddings, they provide save the date, the invitation suite, details like table numbers, welcome and seating chart signs, escort cards, menus, signature drink signs, koozies, cups, coasters, programs, and finally, the thank you notes and holiday cards to wrap it all up.

Barnett Crafted’s version of a wedding head table place card.

For a family reunion, they started with a simple invite and schedule, and brainstormed a theme of “Celebrating Our Roots,” incorporating an old photo of parents, and drew the tree with the family members branching out. The simple version of that tree was used on invitations, and the intricate version was applied with all the names on acrylic cups and tote bags for the weekend.

In terms of cost, Barnett Crafted revealed these stats for budgeting:
• Single item: ~$200
• Invitation suite: ~$2,000
• Full event details: ~$3,500
• Party goods only: ~$750

Signs are one of Barnett Crafted’s fortes.

Moskowitz concluded, “My favorite thing about our business is how we are constantly evolving, dreaming up new ideas and getting inspired by our clients and their needs. When we plan our own events or when people ask us for something we’ve never done before, we figure it out and add it to our offerings. We love a challenge…this week we figured out how to do place cards on paper airplanes…we love thinking creatively…based on our client’s story and event — what cool thing can we do to make it different and unique? And we love a theme…we just added bibs to our offerings because a one-year-old obviously needs a bib that matches his party for the cake smash.”

Three years apart, sisters Jenna Means and Brittany Moskowitz have been designing together for their whole lives.

Barnett Crafted’s best advice for entertaining includes communication, allowing ample time, and organizing a “to-do” list.

“Have fun and ask, ‘how can I make this event feel like me or the honoree?’ And something will always go wrong. Always. Don’t sweat it, your guests will probably not notice if something is missing or didn’t go how you envisioned it. Depending on the event, their timelines range from a month to a few months. They can do rush orders but work best with time to “mull over the details and allow the creativity to flow.”

For more information, contact hi@barnettcrafted.com.