Committing to take the leap and exhibit at the National Stationery Show is no small decision for any stationer, and this year’s show saw the debut of many new and talented exhibitors, including Tina Pham and the crew at Joie Studio.
So, what’s that first year like, when everything is new and you’re figuring things out for the first time? That’s what I wanted to know, and Tina candidly answered the many questions that I had for her about her pre-show, at the show, and post-show experiences as a first time exhibitor. It was great to get a bit of a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, and I hope that this three part series will help those of you who may be on the fence about attending the show as an exhibitor in future years, or those of you who have already made the decision to exhibit next year.
Today, we’re talking pre-show process with Tina, so let’s get started!
Above : Joie Studio’s Letterpress NSS Invitations
What first made you decide that you wanted to exhibit at the show?
When I started Joie Studio in 2007, I had made it a goal to exhibit at the National Stationery Show by 2010. The National Stationery Show is really the major trade show for the industry, and I felt like Joie Studio would eventually have to have a presence at NSS. I figured by mid-2009, my product line and offerings would be more clearly defined and I would be in a good place to exhibit. Thing is, life sometimes gets in the way of your plans. I had a baby in 2009, and that honestly derailed the 2010 goal. I wasn’t sure I was ready to take on such a big task so soon after baby, but my local letterpress friends (Fugu Fugu, Tiselle, and Maginating) convinced me that I should exhibit.
When did you begin to actually prepare for the show, and was it constant work, or did you schedule blocks of time for specific tasks (example: building your booth) and take breaks before moving on to the next task?
You know, it was constant work on a lot of different fronts. We have an artisanal process here at Joie Studio, so I wanted everything that represented Joie Studio to have that handmade, well-crafted quality to it. Our wedding albums are handmade by a wonderful bookbinder. We letterpress printed all 1000 covers for our wedding catalog and our catalogs were offset printed not 15 minutes away. Our booth was made down the street from the studio and then shipped to New York. The signage and artwork for the booth walls were cut right here in Pasadena. But all this southern California goodness meant that I did a lot of running around to keep each project going. I had a timeline but that was pretty much blown out of the water because there were so many different projects going on here at Joie Studio in addition to preparing for the National Stationery Show. So at some point in March or April we went from being ahead of the game to just trying to meet deadlines as they came up.
What was the most challenging part of the preparation process for you?
Definitely, the most challenging aspect of preparing for NSS was honestly finding the extra time I needed to prepare for the show. Joie Studio is me and one assistant at most on good days. I’m a new mom with my own business who is in charge of a major home renovation right now, and that equals absolutely no extra time. And prepping for NSS is like taking care of a whole other baby who needed more time and attention than I had. My toddler didn’t care that Mommy had only 6 weeks left before the show. So there were a lot of long nights with not a lot of sleep.
How were your day to day business operations affected by the time needed for show prep, if at all?
Even though we limited our custom orders before the show, Joie Studio actually had some of our biggest custom letterpress projects to date while we were preparing for the National Stationery Show. I actually had to bring in a second letterpress printer to help me prepare everything for the National Stationery Show and break my cardinal rule of not letterpress printing past midnight.
Off to the NSS!
Was there any part of the process that was easier than you thought it would be?
I was obsessively worried about how to get everything from California to New York. Sleepless nights worried about move in dates and logistics, on if I could find a big enough pallet, if I could get a good enough crate, if I could find a trustworthy freight company. But it was honestly the easiest part of the process. We used a leftover pallet from some home renovation delivery and Chris, who had built my booth walls, was good enough to build the crate as well. I called the freight company that everyone in the area recommended and set up a time and that was it. 11 days later it was magically at Javits waiting for us.
Who or what were you most thankful for during the preparation process?
My friends and family were enormously helpful during this time. I cannot tell you how talented this group of people are. My mom came up from Hawaii a month before the show and watched my son for a week, and at night, she helped me stuff and stamp all 425 of my NSS promotional mailers. My husband was a great sounding board as a fellow technical artist and was wonderful in taking over baby duties as soon as he got home so I could continue working. My friend Chris designed and built my modular booth walls and crate, while Jennifer, who I met in letterpress class so many years ago, hand made each and every one of my wedding albums. Sharon of Papermum Press was so gracious as to come in as Joie Studio’s 2nd letterpress printer and run my Vandercook 4 while I printed on the Golding Pearl. And Brad from Maginating and Shelley from Albertine Press were so so supportive, answering all my questions and offering advice. I would not have been able to make it without all of their help and support.
Stay tuned for part two of the series, “At the Show”, coming up on Thursday!
images from Joie Studio
