Direct from Market: National Stationery Show
By Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts and Dec, 5/23/2010 4:17:00 PM
The 64th annual National Stationery Show at the Javits Convention Center in New York started off with a lot of energy and excitement, and the momentum kept going from there. This year’s show indicated a measure of economic recovery with 100 new and returning vendors over last year. Some attendees with whom Gifts & Decorative Accessories spoke said that the show “seemed smaller,” but that perception may be attributed to the number of vendors who “downsized” their booth space last year because of the economy and maintained the same this year, when they realized that they could manage just as well in a more compact space.
Mirroring impressions that we have been hearing repeatedly at shows over the past year or so, many exhibitors commented that buyer traffic seemed slow, yet they were very happy with the quality of the buyers, the interest shown in their lines and orders placed. More than one vendor enthused that they were having a great show, while others noted that they do not exhibit planning to write a lot of orders but rather to meet with current customers and make new connections. This just shows what all know to be true, crowded aisles do not a good show make; more bodies does not necessarily translate to more order-writing. The show was well attended by retail buyers from both small and large stores, as well as special event and wedding planners.
And the synergy created by the co-location of the Surtex surface design show and the Supply Side area created opportunity for NSS exhibitors to source new licensing opportunities and meet with suppliers all in one place. Surtex exhibitor Kathy Alpert commented that she had “never seen it more positive. A lot of people are coming here wanting to do business.” The show was also co-located with the Intl. Contemporary Furniture Fair.
A special invitation-only conference, “Navigating the Journey from the 2D to the 3D World,” held on the day before the show opened, was both motivating and educational. Noted author and retail behavior analyst Paco Underhill kicked off the session with a stimulating look at the science and psychology of creating a positive shopping experience through signage, traffic flow, exterior windows and “interior parking lots” (a.k.a.: seating). Underhill’s presentation was followed by two different panel discussions, one addressing issues and solutions for the next five years, and the other discussing how to connect with the next generation customer. The day culminated with a special tribute and toast to Hallmark, marking its 100th anniversary this year.
Networking and Celebration
The conference was the first of a number of networking festivities to take place during the show. Late Sunday afternoon, Inviting Company hosted a Meet the Artists event on the show floor. Mindy Weiss and others were on hand to give more personal insight into their lines. And on Sunday evening, buyers and exhibitors mixed and mingled at the NSS Opening Night Party, which was held at Battery Gardens on the lower tip of Manhattan. The warm spring evening was perfect for enjoying the outdoor venue looking out on New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.
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| Peter, Peggy and Anna Post launch the Emily Post Collection for M. Middleton |
On Monday morning, the United States Postal Service held a First Day of Issue ceremony to launch the new 64¢ Butterfly stamp, which is designed to be used on all those square cards that are so popular. The Greeting Card Association worked with the USPS to make this happen for the convenience of their mutual consumers.
M Middleton hosted a reception to celebrate the launch of its new licensed Emily Post Weddings collection of invitations. Peggy, Peter and Anna Post, all members of the Post family carrying on the etiquette legacy of Emily Post, were on hand to introduce the collection and meet with buyers.
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| Hello Hanna's Wishing Tree took home the Best New Product Award in the Party category |
Best New Product Awards were presented to exhitors in seven categories. And of course, one of the highlights of the market is the Greeting Card Association’s International Greeting Card Awards, the LOUIEs.
Color, Color Everywhere
A bright rainbow of color was rampant everywhere, especially in solid-colored notebook journals. Ecosystem debuted its new Grape color in its notebook line, joining pink, orange, green, turquoise and black. The notebooks are made in the USA of totally post-consumer recycled paper content and recyclable. Each journal comes with an identification number that can be registered in case of loss.
Jasper + Black’s brightly colored Archie Grand notebook line features fun titles, such as Gardeners I Have Liked and Met, on the cover. The Arwey line represented by Eccolo has a slightly more toned down color palette for a more sophisticated look. The books are designed to easily fold back upon themselves and have blank pages with a lined or a gridded guide sheet that slips under a page for multi-functional use. Eccolo and Live What You Love both introduced sets of small pocket notebooks in bright colors and designs offered at relatively low price points for that easy pick-up gift.
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| R. Nichols |
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| Working Class Studio |
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| Knock Knock |
On the high-end side of bright statements was Campo Marzio Design, which showcased fashion colors in leather business and desk accessories, as well as writing instruments.
But beyond solid colors on notebooks, bright color dominated many of the patterns on paper and accessories. R. Nichols brought out a collection of greeting cards featuring his whimsical, stylized artwork. The Wellspring of Colours line combines rich hues with ethnically influenced patterns that bring the feel of the bohemian ‘60s into this millennium. The collection expanded with the addition of scarves and bracelets, hand-painted trunks and cabinet knobs. And SCAD’s Working Class Studio introduced its Re-Gift Collection of boxes, bags and notecards in rich colors and striking patterns with a somewhat ethnic influence. The fabric-covered, collapsible boxes are designed to be reused, as are the bags. The coordinated notecards are made of recycled post-consumer paper printed with soy inks. Knock Knock also joined the fray with ceramic mugs, white on the outside and bright on the inside, along with a funny message.
Inviting Times are Changing
Invitations have always been a core element of the National Stationery Show and for stationery retailers. Long a category in exhibited in abundance, there were noticeably fewer flat imprintable invitations featured. Anna Griffin noted that so much of the flat imprintable business has migrated to the Internet, that retailers are opting for more of the layered and hand-embellished designs. New this year for Anna Griffin are imprintables for Christenings, which are embellished with glitter, ribbons and laser-cutting.
Stevie Streck introduced wedding, baby, holiday and everyday invitation albums in response to more of her customers not wanting to stock papers and print in-store anymore. She also has branched out into enclosure cards, notecards and notepads, all bearing her artwork.
Checkerboard reintroduced its Modern Wedding album with updated contemporary designs and unveiled it Inspired album, which the company likens to having a personal designer to help create a very personal look for the whole event. The mix and match elements allow the customer to express themselves through color and design.
Inviting Company noted that its imprintables are still strong but that the company is looking to bring in more albums. A new licensee is Julia D. Azar.
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| Crane & Co. Crane Studio |
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| Compendium |
All About Kids
Many companies were focusing on the younger generation. Crane debuted the Crane Studio line, which is the result of an open call for art — a first for the company. The result is a collection of papers with a younger look but that still reflect the Crane aesthetic of beauty and quality.
C.R. Gibson introduced a licensed Classic Pooh collection of memory books, albums and papers. The books and albums featured embroidered fabric covers with velvet ribbon embellishment. To capture the attention of teens as well as well as savvy adults, it introduced the TXT Style collection of notes, notepads and journals featuring die-cut texting shortcut messages and a smiley face emoticon. The notecards come in a package designed to look like a touch-screen mobile phone.
Penny Laine presented its collection of Proud Parent Pouches and memory books in which parents can preserve all those bits and pieces of art, memory and papers related to their childs school years.
Compendium is focusing on developing more children’s products. New this show is the World of Thanks note kits, which is all about kids learning to send thank-yous. Compendium also introduced a new children’s book gift set: The I Love Monkey boxed set includes the book and a stuffed monkey toy.
Katney B’s Pen Pal Kit is designed to encourage kids to write letters rather than email or text. And Meri Meri has signed its first licensing agreements for Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit licenses. 9Spotmonk also offered greeting cards and placemat sets for kids that are packaged with crayons for the kids to color in the design and personalized it.
Kate Aspen, known for its shower and wedding favors, branched into the younger gift market and introduced Baby Aspen. The Baby Aspen brand offers layette sets and other baby gift items.
For the back-to-school market, Capri Designs introduced its stationery lines of dry-erase boards, pocket folders, journals, planners, notepads and more all featuring the licensed designs that coordinate with Room It Up’s backpacks, totes, lap desks, binders and other accessories.
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| Elum |
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| Mind Art Studios |
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| Urubbu |
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| Cardigans |
Notable Greetings
And what about greeting cards? Major card companies such as American Greetings, Avanti Press, Notes & Queries and Design Design shared the show floor with smaller niche brands and up-and-comers.
Elum’s new letterpress cards are striking with their retro imagery on the front and a recipe printed on the back.
Calypso Cards launched 250 new cards in a new catalog. Sellers Publishing expanded it card line to include 900 everyday and 500 seasonal designs, with more humor as part of the line. New in its card offerings is a licensed selection from Teresa Roberts Logan.
Newcomer Mind Art Studios introduced its line of upscale handmade blank cards, with embellishments that range from Swarovski crystals to grommets and chains. The cards have a jewelry-like fashion look and feature leather and fabric coverings. They really make an impression.
Steven Mitchell’s MindgasmZ combine beautiful photographic imagery with contemporary sentiments on the cover and are blank inside. It’s not only the card line that is attractive, but the price points as well. They are priced to retail under $2. In addition to the greeting cards, there are also notepads, t-shirts and giclee prints in the line.
Madison Park Group debuted its new line licensed from the CheezBurger Network. The cards feature images that have been uploaded by consumers onto CheezBurger Network blog sites, with captions are offered by other consumers and the world gets to vote on the best captions and photos. To begin with, Madison Park presents cards in two lines, I Can Has Cheez Burger and I Has a Hotdog, featuring cat and dog humorous greetings respectively with all photos and captions taken directly from the public’s postings — misspellings and all — on the Network.
The True Feelings line garnered a lot of attention because “people react to a literal gift card.” True Feeling cards include a cast pewter charm on an 18” chain along with a simple inspirational message.
Urubbu debuted greeting cards featuring imaginative illustrations of animals and plants by Geraldo Valerio, along with fair trade wooden bird carvings produced in Brazil. And for those pesky photocards that are hard to display because they won't stand up, Cardigans offer a simple solution: cardstock easel stands and holders that you can send with the card.
Several card lines addressed niche categories. Kimo Kards are cards by “cancer survivors for survivors” with appropriate sentiments for recovery and support. Him to Him Cards debuted its line of cards for a masculine audience, both straight and gay. And Fishbowl Cards offer greetings for people living with disabilities.
Technology and Personalization
Crane is moving into the digital age and offering photo greetings printed on Crane paper. The end result is a card with a matte-like photo finish.
Up With Paper has added sound effects to some of its popular pop-up cards. The Halloween panoramics have eerie sound effects. A line of everyday pop-up sound cards were previewed for January 2011 shipping.
Alicia Klein is now offering a custom program to customers who wish to put their own artwork on her wallets. And Lifeguard Press has a personalization program with its Lilly Pulitzer and Jonathan Adler lines.
The English Paper Company (formerly Whitney English) offers a branding program to customers. Retailers can have custom boxes imprinted with their store name and the store URL imprinted on the back of personalized English Papers. The company also is offering a marketing program to its customers.
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| Arona Kahn demonstrates at Vivid Wrap |
And newcomer Foxy Blunt is using the power of social media to virally spread the word on this new line of contemporary greeting cards. Co-founder Danielle Caro noted that the line has already developed quite a consumer following through the use of Facebook and Twitter.
Floor Demos
Adding a little something extra to capture the interest of buyers were in-booth and on-the-show floor demonstrations. Giftwrapping expert Arona Kahn demonstrated her wrapping artistry in the Vivid Wrap Ltd. booth using the company’s lush papers and ribbon to create packages that make a real presentation. Lifestyle Crafts demoed its personal letterpress craft kit for the home D-I-Y printer. And artisan Debra Larkin from Crane & Co. drew crowds of interested onlookers as she showed how the borders are still hand-applied to its papers. Buyers also participated in several make-and-take demonstration sessions sponsored by the NSS.
There was quite interesting comment few days ago reg NSS policies. I see is removed.
Where I can retrieve it?
Jack - 2010-06-01 23:44:28 EDT
Incredibly extensive post-show report!
Kathy Krassner - 2010-05-24 13:49:00 EDT
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Direct from Market: National Stationery Show
May 22, 2011 -
Market Report — National Stationery Show
May 22, 2007
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