National Stationery Show 2010 : World of Illustration, Part 1

I have a soft spot for great illustration, and there was no shortage of fantastic illustrated greeting cards and stationery at this year’s stationery show. From the wonderfully fun creations of Brad Woods (Maginating Letterpress + Design) to Carolyn Gavin’s (Ecojot) illustrated notebooks for a great cause, there was so much to see.

The Maginating Letterpress + Design booth was so much fun. Even the grumpy clouds made me smile, and the From the Tools card is perfect for Father’s Day, which will be here before we know it:

Maginating Letterpress + Design

Lots of buzz about the Rifle Paper Co. booth, and with good reason. Anna Bond’s illustrated cards and invitations are absolutely beautiful. She really takes it to the next level, and I cannot wait until her line of personalized wedding and event invitation templates launches later this year.

Anna Bond Rifle Paper Co.

And these recipe boxes, made from reclaimed wood, plus coordinating recipe cards would make fantastic gifts. Plus, a calendar! Can’t wait until that’s released later this year.

Anna Bond Rifle Paper Co.

I cannot get enough of Cindy Tomczyk’s whimsical illustrations, and I had so much fun in the Let {her} Press booth, of which Paper Parasol, Cindy’s greeting card and stationery shop, was a part. A little more from Cindy later, but here’s a peek at her all occasion line:

Cindy Tomczyk Paper Parasol

Pie! Seriously, I’m gobbling up this print from Old School Stationers as soon as I spot it in their shop. They’ve really tapped into the do-it-yourself/back to the land zeitgeist with their In the Kitchen line, which features prints and letterpress cards in four designs:

Old School Stationers

Ecojot debuted a new line of notebooks, illustrated by Carolyn Gavin, at the stationery show. The line represents a new partnership with Jane Goodall, and a royalty from the purchase of each of the new wildlife notebooks will be given to the Jane Goodall Institute to help conserve an endangered species.

Ecojot Carolyn Gavin

photos by yours truly

National Stationery Show 2010 : Overview

Envelopments

This year was my first at the National Stationery Show, and what a whirlwind it was! My NSS buddy, Erin Vale, and I had an absolute blast, and I was so happy to finally be able to meet so many of the talented paper gals and guys whose work I admire. I seriously felt like, for the two days I was there, I was walking around a huge eye candy store for paper lovers. Above: a rainbow of paper from the Envelopments booth.

It’s wonderful to check out paper goods online, and thank goodness for the internet because I don’t know what I’d do without my daily dose of pretty paper, but it’s even better to see high quality paper goods up close and personal, where you can feel the texture of the paper, run your fingers over the impressions (if it’s letterpress), and have the tactile experience that you can’t get online. I was so jazzed to see:

Monsieur Boudin

Monsieur Boudin! I’ve been completely enamored with this collection, illustrated by Labpartners, since it came out, and seeing it in person at the Vigo booth was fantastic.

Sycamore Street Press

Sycamore Street Press’ letterpress cards on display. Doesn’t the collection look lovely all together like this?

Hello Hanna

Fun, oh so whimsical, three dimensional Wishing Trees from Hello Hanna (available in July). These will be perfect for centerpieces at weddings, showers, birthdays, and other special days. I can definitely see why these won the NSS’s Best New Product award in the Party category.

Red Oak Press

Loved seeing Red Oak Press’ line in person, especially the William Morris letterpress cards (second shelf), which are even more beautiful in person. And their new Dog Wisdom line (third shelf) is so much fun.

Pomsicles by Cat Seto

Pomsicles from Cat Seto! Seriously, these are so cute, and I think that having a fuzzy pom pencil topper would make taking tests and writing grocery and to do list so much more fun.

Hello! Lucky Letterpress Cards

Just a few of the new letterpress cards from Hello! Lucky, including Sock Monkey Sam cards and mermaid and unicorn cards, illustrated by Julia Rothman.

images by yours truly

A Sneaky Sneak Peek : A. Favorite

Hello, paper lovers! I didn’t want to leave you completely hanging while I’m off exploring the stationery show, so I saved an extra sneaky sneak peek from a. favorite, whose clever, vintage-inspired letterpress greetings are always among my favorites … no pun intended. Rubber duckies, carnival fun, and neato typography — what’s not to love?

A. Favorite Letterpress Duckies Card
A. Favorite Carnival Letterpress Card
A. Favorite Shooting Ducks Letterpress
A. Favorite Holy Matrimony Letterpress

P.S. I’ll catch you back here on Thursday to share my stationery show adventures, eye candy included!

images from a. favorite

Stationery Show Sneak Peek : Let {Her} Press

My final stationery show sneak peek comes from two of the fabulous shops exhibiting under the oh so clever moniker, Let {her} Press (Booth #1555-1557). First up is Paper Stories, whose new line includes both flat printed and letterpress printed collections. The Cityscape collection is a flat printed menagerie of colorful representations of famous cityscapes from around the world, and their new letterpress collections include clever origami and playful “shadows” greeting cards. Check it out:

Paper Stories
Paper Stories
Paper Stories

Let {her} Press boothmate, Robin Beth, will be debuting a number of lovely, letterpressed Mitzvah and wedding invitations designs featuring everything from fun, sketched fonts to sophisticated florals. Here’s a little peek at what’s new from Robin Beth at the stationery show:

Robin Beth
Robin Beth
Robin Beth
Robin Beth

images from Paper Stories and Robin Beth

Stationery Show Sneak Peek : Albertine Press

Albertine Press Letterpress Library

Thanks to Shelley from Albertine Press (Booth #2142) for giving me a peek at their big new stationery show release, the Letterpress Library. An entire library filled with letterpress? This is an idea that I can certainly get behind! Each volume of the Letterpress Library houses its own set of decorative note cards, and I love the packaging, which is made to look like beautiful, letterpressed book covers, and the Albertine Press logo at the bottom of the spine is a perfect touch. Don’t they look wonderful placed all in a row? Albertine Press will be sharing a booth with Carta Inc., whose lovely cards and ribbons I’m anxiously waiting to see in person, as well. Plus, their stationery show favors are vintage stamps! Hello, vintage stamp love.

images from Albertine Press