‘Dream Come True’ for Business Owner Behind Oscar Envelope

It’s the biggest night of the year for the film industry – and also a hometown Hollywood business. Marc Friedland’s meticulously handcrafted cards and envelopes will reveal the 24 Oscar winners this coming Sunday. While this is the fourth year Friedland's company, Marc Friedland Couture Communications, has made the Oscar envelopes, it is still a pretty big deal. “It’s a dream come true,” says Friedland. After the nominees are announced, Friedland and his team of ten staffers spend approximately 110 hours crafting the gold envelopes and cards. Friedland says the team makes three sets of cards for PriceWaterhouseCooper, the accounting firm that tallies up the Academy votes.    “It’s very shrouded in secrecy. We have no idea where they tabulate the votes, and we do the printing for every nominee. The cards for those not selected as winners get destroyed, so they don’t end up on eBay or auctioned off,” says Friedland. Friedland says he sources raw material from all over the world, and puts the papers through numerous processes to make them Oscar-ready. All told, the glossy gold envelope, red lacquered lining and heavy ecru paper weigh a quarter of a pound. “There’s so few [cards and envelopes] that it drives the cost up,” says Friedland. He estimates that each card and envelope set costs between $200 and $500. While Friedland’s name will take a backseat to the nominees’ on Sunday, he says the bragging rights are more than enough. “It’s solidified my place as the foremost designer of luxury social communications,” says Friedland. “It’s a tremendous amount of attention.” And with four years of Oscars soon to be under his belt, the designer says he’s now ready to branch out. “I hope we do the Tony’s next!” he says.