Mark Friedland and THE envelope. Photo: L.A. Times
Did you know that the famous Oscar envelope is handcrafted of metallic, matte gold paper; that the envelopes are individually die-cut and hand-folded and weigh a hefty 4 ounces? The interiors shine with a vivid red lacquer that is hand-stamped with gold-leaf, repeating imprints of the Oscar statuette. Created by ‘Stationer to the Stars,’ Marc Freidland, he pitched the Oscar-powers-that-be to replace the boring white envelope with something worthy of the occasion. After all, it’s seen by a BILLION people on the telecast and the winners hold on to them as souvenirs.
Bet you didn’t know –but could guess — why the labels on the front of front and back list the award category in LARGE print (yes, so the cameras and the nervous presenters can read it with ease.)
As Marc says, “The labels are so prominent because of the pressure and the anticipation of 1 billion people watching. We designed this to make it almost 100% foolproof. We want no one to pick up the wrong envelope.”
Another fun fact : For security reasons, Friedland Couture creates THREE sets of nominee cards and transfers 72 unstuffed envelopes and 363 cards to the accounting firm that has been counting Oscar ballots since the 1935 ceremony. Just in case, they use lined, opaque envelopes sealed with wax so no one can read the winners names.t names of winners from leaking, the academy began using lined, opaque envelopes sealed with wax in 1941.
Feel free to use this cocktail conversation at your Oscar party and impress your guests. We won’t tell.
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