i recently returned from a quick visit to nyc to walk the national stationery show at the javits center, the biggest trade show for the industry. how big? there were roughly 800 some exhibitors, 11,000 some buyers from stationery, card and gift shops; bookstores; bridal shops; party stores; department, chain and specialty stores; large chains and "big box" mass retailers; online retailers and mail order catalogs; as well as special event planners, corporate marketers, importers and distributors, and 300 some members of the trade and consumer press {stats from the nationalstationeryshow.com}... that's how big! the show is only open to those in the trade and press, not the public, so i was surrounded by true paper lovers, it was a fantastic experience!
i took the first flight in on saturday and with me, took my photographer friend elaine, and my flower friend, jackie for a mini "working" vacation. upon arrival, we visited the flower district {on west 28th street between 6th and 7th avenue}, ate some food truck gyros, and oohed and aahed over all the pretty flowers and foliage.
the next day was the big show! i only had one day to walk the show, sunday, but i arrived at the show at opening and stayed until close. elaine came with me and was my official photographer for the day. naturally, as a photographer, she wants to take pictures of EVERYTHING creative and interesting. sadly, but understandably, some exhibitors didn't want photos of their booth or product taken. the exhibitors that didn't mind though, were gracious, thankful, and welcoming!
enough "talking" already and on to the pictures. all of these photos were taken by my awesome friend elaine. she's having a new home built on the web, but in the meantime you can visit her here. i do not like getting in front of the camera, but elaine insisted on documenting my whole experience.
and thank goodness she was there to take photos, because most of the time, my hands were full, and my face looked like this {completely candid photo, ha!}...
as soon as we walked in, the first booth we saw was of b.t. elements... we were blown away!
i had a long list of exhibitors i wanted to meet, so it was booth after booth after booth! we started at 10am and took our first and only break at 3:45pm then kept going until close at 6pm. this is only a sampling of all the photos elaine took! first up was blue barnhouse.
the ladies of letterpress {which i am a member of} had a combined booth showcasing 11 talented stationers. among my favorites were seed house, moglea, and petal press...
adrienne of dingat press and i in her super, fabulous, scalloped wall-filled booth.
the cute husband and wife duo, garett + jessica, of wednesday
me with the ladies of sugarcube press
the sisters of fawnsberg and i... they have awesome stamps that i must buy soon.
i met sarah of the permanent collection press last year at the ladies of letterpress conference where we chatted it up and quickly became friends. this year she debuted at the stationery show... so proud of her!
allison of the social type with her refreshing + colorful goods
the awesome booth of one canoe two
rebekah of wild ink press with her ridiculously awesome ombre walls
super adorable kim of paper lovely
the nic studio and their awesome artwork {how many times have i used the word "awesome" in this post?}
the funny jodi of paisley tree press
amber of flywheel press was so kind... she took some time to chat with me about exhibiting... she was so encouraging and offered to give me advice anytime! incredible!
lisa of sapling press has the wittiest cards
pistachio press sans rachael who i heard speak at the ladies of letterpress conference last year
the incredible booths of blackbird letterpress
and two paper dolls
paper boat studios had awesome letterpress game pieces, dominos and checkers, so cool!
katie of kelp designs runs tradeshow bootcamp an awesome resource if you're looking to exhibit at the stationery show {i took one seminar last year to get my feet wet and cannot wait to take part in the upcoming series}
egg press with their incredible line of cards
i cannot get enough of kate & birdie paper co.
this is me saying, "your stuff is so awesome!" {see there's the word awesome again} to the sisters of 9spotmonk. vivian thought she was being "punked" with ashton kutcher {that one show} because i kept oohing and ahhing. she said people like me don't come into booths with my reaction. i know, i was a big dork that day with either eyes of wonder or the goofiest grin plastered on my face.
while at 9spotmonk, i ran into retailer kara of magnificent milestones where my chicago line of cards and notes that my sister illustrated are sold
and last, but not least for photos, is suann of simplesong design and fifteen/eleven. i love everything about her designs, style, and inspirational style blog
phew that was a long post {that's not even a fraction of all of the photos that were taken}! again, a huge thanks to elaine for taking all the photos!
the talent was amazing, products beautiful, and exhibitors exceptionally encouraging and kind! it is incredible meeting the folks behinds the products that i've admired online, who's blogs i've read up and down, and websites i stalk {there were dozens more i wish i had the time to meet}! i came back with awesome paper goodies and samples, made many stationery contacts, and have a renewed sense of creativity and energy! thank you nyc for a fantastic working vacation! i hope to return next year as an exhibitor! cheers to you... i hope you do something creative this memorial day weekend!
