Hi there, readers! We’re so excited to welcome you back to another installment of Cocktails with Calluna. This blog series highlights some of the talented creatives and industry friends we have the immense pleasure of working alongside. This month, we caught up with Frannie Priley, owner and creative director of Tiny Hours, to chat all things custom embroidery, what inspires her both in and out of the studio, and a fun glimpse into life beyond the wedding world.
Tell us a little more about yourself and Tiny Hours?
Tiny Hours is a modern embroidery studio that creates heirloom-quality goods. Meant for gathering, hosting, and slowing down. The brand is a culmination of so many parts of me. I’ve been in the events industry for 12 years, and growing up in a big Italian family meant dinner guests were regular and parties were an olympic sport.
The name, “Tiny Hours”, refers to the “wee hours” of the night— that part of the evening when the excitement softens and it’s just you and your closest people. The candles have burned low, wine glasses sit in the sink, leftover nibbles linger on the table, and conversation stretches a little longer than planned. It’s that feeling of warmth, ease, and connection that inspires everything we make.
Aside from embroidery, we’ve also hosted pop-up dinners to connect with our community and create this environment that our brand is centered around. I’m on a mission to bring back good, old-fashioned dinner parties!
What is your favorite part of the design process with Tiny Hours?
Definitely brainstorming new designs/products. I have a note in my notes app called “brain dump”, and it’s just random ideas that pop in my head throughout the day. There are so many things I want to make, and not enough hours in the day!!
I try to forecast what customers may also be craving, but sometimes the things that get prioritized are just things I want for myself (lol).
What trends are you seeing right now that you love?
I feel like we’re starting to over-correct years of beige and millennial grey by adding more whimsy into our lives. Lots of colors, shapes, and bold patterns– things that feel fun and full of life.
For embroidery, this has manifested in personalization in bold colors, monogrammed napkins with wavy or scalloped edges, adding cute little icons to clothes. (I’ve personally been really enjoying embroidering icons onto striped shirts.) It’s also been fun to experiment with different shapes like our wine charms and shaped cocktail napkins.
Where & what do you pull from for inspiration?
Mostly vintage or nostalgia. When I started Tiny Hours, I bought a bulk lot of 90’s Martha Stewart magazines on Ebay. Flipping through magazines is a much more grounding way to gather inspiration than endlessly scrolling on social media. I want our products to feel familiar, but also fresh, and I feel like drawing inspiration from decades past connects those dots for me.
Our wine charms actually came from me scrolling on Ebay for beaded wine charms (something my parents had at dinner parties, and I decided I wanted to bring back). I ended up stumbling upon wine “coasters” that were sewn to be like a sock at the base of a wine glass, and thought maybe we could recreate something similar with our embroidery machines.
How far in advance do you recommend getting a custom order in with you?
We are a small but mighty studio! We try to keep all our products in stock and ready to ship. For anything custom, it can vary depending on the complexity of the project and quantities.
Standard custom orders– monograms, names, dates, phrases, etc.– have about a 2 week lead time. Detailed custom orders– custom designs, sourcing custom blanks, digitizing a client’s design– about a 4-6 week lead time
There are certain times of the year where we have an influx in orders, but I would say generally 4 weeks is a safe lead time!
What’s the best advice you’d give your younger self?
I know we’ve beat the word authentic to death, BUT– the more authentic you are, the more confidence you build, and the right people will find you because of it.
It’s what helped me trust that my ideas, perspective, and creativity had value. That confidence gave me the audacity to start businesses and believe I had something unique to contribute.
Give us a glimpse into life outside of work?
I’m a true homebody. I love to cook– I’m a bit of a cookbook hoarder but also have family recipes that are always in the rotation (polenta and meatballs are a staple at our house). I love reality tv and a classic romcom (I’m talkin’ Father of the Bride, You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally). I could also spend hours scrolling through The RealReal!
But I also love a Sunday brunch date with my husband, an art museum visit, going to the movies, and my monthly dinner dates with my girlfriends.
What is your favorite cocktail or what are you loving to drink currently?!
I love a dirty gin martini with olives and a twist. There’s usually a 50% chance I get a weird look when I order it this way in public, but the twist makes all the difference! I feel like I read somewhere that Stanley Tucci drinks a martini this way, and I adopted it as my own. In Stanley Tucci we trust!
A huge thank you to Frannie for sharing more about the creative heart behind Tiny Hours! Be sure to check out Tiny Hours HERE to explore more of her beautiful work + more.
Photo Credits: Meredith Diamond Photography & Kelly Mour
