A few weeks back I visited The National Stationery Show with my dear friend + The Beehive shop owner Sandra! For those that don’t know, NSS is an annual show in New York City where paper + gift designers showcase their offerings for wholesale purchase. They’re trying to get their products into stores, and many designers like me also attend to check out what is trending for next season and meet up with vendors. It was a blast seeing it through a buyer’s eyes, and I loved when Sandra would ask for my input. But really, it’s just such a treat to peruse the rows of paper loveliness!We arrived with a list of booths we wanted to visit (with hundreds of them, it’s important to be organized!), but we definitely found some newbies that caught our eye. These cutting boards from AHeirloom are a big hit for Sandra, but we were stopped in our tracks by these adorable stuffed animals from Finkelstein’s Center. AshKahn had fabulous greeting cards, but what made them stand out were the bright pink envelopes that accompanied each one. A genius way to market + brand a line!One of the highlights for me was meeting Emily Ley. I cannot live without my Simplified Planner, and Emily was just as lovely in person as she seems on social media. I’m pumped for Sandra to have these great planners in her store this summer! We were in search of great art prints for the store, and I of course have nursery on the brain. We loved all these illustrations from Gingiber! No visit to NSS is complete without a stop at Sugar Paper. Their line is WHITE hot, and Sandra stocked up for the shop. Sugar was just one of the booths that proved gold foil is still all the rage! They had a great line of new products that I know will be a hit. Country chic was definitely trending at the show. I loved this booth from Belle & Union, and the way their circular art prints come “framed” was so innovative. Thimblepress was on our must list, and we were psyched to be part of the instagram sensation, #Willowley the shop dog! He was really digging the baby bump.And speaking of baby bumps, check out this card from Ladyfingers Letterpress’ luxe card line. Imagine getting this in the mail! Also debuting were their custom order stamps, which are great for envelopes and day-of paper projects like favors + tags. Moglea was one of our favorites. As you walk the many aisles of NSS, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. It’s like wine tasting, where after your fourth vineyard visit your palette is shot. But sometimes you just need something fresh + new to get you going again. Their watercolor work on their paper goods did it for me!I also got to see my man Jack from my go-to printer. Their company has such great tongue-and-cheek branding, and this canvas gave me a good chuckle. Gotta love typography humor!Linda & Harriet was an exciting new find. Calendars that double as gift wrap? Genius!Idlewild Co. stayed strong with their awesome art prints, as well as highlighting one of the big booth trends: neon light signs.Reviewing the business cards and giveaways is always a fun way to end the day. The luggage tags from Rifle Paper Co. were awesome! So I survived NSS 2014, but my feet were not happy with me. Fortunately I played the pregnancy card on the train, and allowed myself to take up an extra seat as I noshed on my Two Boots pizza. All + all, it was such a rewarding experience being around all this art + creative genius!
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