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Growing up in the small town of Gilroy, California, Janina Rachele Elia, now Janina Pepper, was classic and trendy yet inquisitive and unique. Creative, witty, and loud in the “Italian way,“ Janina could stand out in a crowd. After graduating from college in 2000, Janina spent her professional career in the advertising business, but outside the office, Janina, was always looking for fun ways to keep her creative juices flowing.

In March of 2003, after 6 years of patiently waiting, Janina finally found herself engaged and there she began her mission to plan a fresh unique wedding. Something classic, but of course, different. In pursuit to find a wedding invitation that had pizzazz, Janina realized the market lacked, affordable, custom invitations that met the individual brides needs. So she thought, why not? And with that began designing her own. Janina, along with her partner and fabulous friend, Kristi Harrington, launched "pepperdotdesigns" in November of 2004.

Growing up, Kristi was the all-American tom-girl who loved to compete with the boys and was often getting dirty on the softball field. Being from a sports family none of her family members paid much attention to Kristi’s discrete artistic talent. It wasn’t until her 3rd grade teacher entered one of her paintings in a contest and she came back with a first place ribbon that Kristi saw a glimpse into her own secret talent.

Creative, insightful and thoughtful, Kristi is sure to add her charming artistic flair to everything she does. Not afraid of getting her hands wet, she’s embarked on many artistic endeavors. Whether it was painting, dancing, dabbling with interior design, or taking computer design classes on the side, being creative is definitely the way she loves to express herself. After graduating from Santa Clara University in 2002 Kristi was always looking for a chance to pursue her artistic passion professionally.

As a great friend would, Kristi helped Janina with her wedding plans and when the thought of creating their own invitations came along, sparks began to fly. With the combination of simple creativity, savvy business skills, a love for art and a wedding to plan the beginning stages of pepperdot•designs was well on its way.