Double Take: National Stationery Show 2008

By Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 6/13/2008 7:33:00 AM

The National Stationery Show drew exhibitors and retailers from around the world to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, May 18–21. In a changing world where electronic communication challenges the hand-written word to remain relevant, the stationery industry and the show itself rose to meet those challenges as they continue to evolve and show strength. If one had to describe this year’s show with one word, it would be ‘quality’ — quality buyers, quality exhibits and quality exhibitors.

“We were very pleased with the quality and caliber of the 2008 National Stationery Show (NSS) from many perspectives,” states George Little Management (GLM) show manager Patti Stracher. “As an annual show it is a critical platform for established companies to meet face-to-face with their customers and present their new product releases, and for companies new to the industry it is the place to put their business on the map,” she tells Gifts & Decorative Accessories. “The buying was robust and steady. The show had a palpable energy running through the exhibit hall each day. I think this has a lot to do with the entrepreneurial spirit so pervasive in this business and, frankly, the collective commitment to the industry’s health and well being far into the future,” Stracher adds.

Evidence of the robustness and quality was reflected in several ways. The International Pen Association (IPA) once again brought a large representation of high-end and luxury writing instrument exhibitors, including Yafa, Cross, Frederick Handcrafted Writing Instruments, Retro 51 and others. Launch of the first collection of luxury stationery products in the Walt Disney Signature Collection, the first “upscale, non-character, adult lifestyle brand from Walt Disney Consumer Products made a big splash with licensed products produced by Crane, Monteverde and Eccolo. And several vendors absent from the show for some time retuned signaling their belief in the NSS as the platform for the stationery segment of the industry.

One of the show’s strengths is that it is an incubator for new talent. Many good artists and designers with fresh ideas often launch their careers at the show and go on to grow as their product lines and ideas catch on with customers. Whimsy Press is only one of many examples. These young, small companies are one of the reasons for the energy felt on the show floor. They bring an infectious enthusiasm for what they do and they have an outlook that is tapped into what types of products a younger consumer is looking for to connect with friends and family.

Market-time means trend-spotting time, and of course, when it comes to trends of note, the biggest buzz — and we knew that going into the show — is “Green.” The NSS itself even focused on the Green issue by expanding the Best New Product Awards to recognize eco-friendly products in each of the categories. All across the show floor, vendor after vendor touted their “Green-ness.” Even a venerated company like Crane, which has “always been Green” (Crane papers are made from 100 percent cotton fibers), promoted it vigorously. Nature-related themes, notably bird motifs, bright florals and animal prints, carried the earth-loving message forward. There was also a greater presence of technology resources for retailers. And the biggest surprise? Wall stickers!

Going for the Green The Green message was delivered loud and clear across all product categories at the show. The stationery industry is really embracing the concept and helping to move it forward. Much of the paper being marketed has at least some recycled content. And companies are taking other measures toward conserving the earth as well — from recycling within their factories to using wind- and solar-generated power. But clearly it is the “green” product that is of the most interest here. And the best thing about the new “green”? It doesn’t look it! View the Gallery here	Stationery Takes Flight One of the trends noted from seeing a sampling of product introductions prior to the NSS, is the prevalence of nature motifs, especially birds, as a design element. In the “Double Take” reports from the winter gift markets, Gifts & Decorative Accessories noted the widespread presence of peacocks and peacock-related motifs on tabletop, home décor, textiles and other gift items. In stationery, it’s not just peacocks that trumpet their presence and dominate design motifs, but birds of all feathers. And it seems that the wise old owl may be one to watch. View the Gallery here
Bright Blooms Florals have always been a popular design element in the stationery category, especially for feminine papers and sentimental cards, but like animal prints they have their cycles. With mod patterns and geometrics on the wane, and the eco-nature theme in vogue, flowers and floral-inspired patterns are sprouting once again—from realistic photographic iterations to painterly interpretations to stylized designs. View the Gallery here	Totes to Carry the Eco Message A subset of the eco message is the call to arms for consumers to use their own bags when shopping. Ground-swell for this movement has gained momentum ever since towns and cities like  San Francisco banned plastic bags. Sturdy reusable shopping totes were much in evidence as an eco-fashion statement. View the Gallery here
The Roar of the Wild  Animal prints never truly go out of fashion, but they do have their cycles of high and low demand. The black-and-white graphic appeal of the zebra stripes and giraffe blocks has been strong across stationery, gift and fashion accessories categories for several seasons. And in paper especially, designers took creative liberty by changing the colors of the zebra pattern for a punchier, more contemporary graphic look. At this year’s NSS, the spotted cat patterns are once again returning to the fore, and the zebra stripes are now morphing into wood grain patterns. Hooray for Mother Nature! View the Gallery here	Color Bright, Color Serene Color is always one of the yearly fashion drivers, whether it is in stationery, apparel or home décor. Color choices often help define a particular lifestyle. Bright orange and rosy pinks, sometimes combined with purple, were noted in products geared to the more contemporary customer. The more serene combination of aqueous blues and greens accented with yellow and/or purple was seen in a variety of combinations designed to appeal to both the contemporary and the traditional customer. Blue-green combinations derive their influence from both the peacock trend and the rising marine motif trend. View the Gallery here
High Tech, Low Tech One of the key strengths visible at the show is that the industry itself has embraced and adapted to the new technologies that also challenge it. Rather than totally viewing it as the “enemy” that takes business away from the stores, vendors and retailers are finding ways to utilize technology to their benefit. Long-established technology vendors shared the floor with relative newcomers. Epson’s presence for a second year indicated its belief in and support of the smaller independent stationery retailers. Another company, Checkerboard took a slightly different tech track by partnering with Wedding Window to offer bridal couples a one-year web site hosting at a special rate. On the other side of the coin, yesterday’s technologies, especially letterpress, are strong and continuing to be used in very creative ways and with the human element in the process, giving it more special meaning. Alan Friedman, president of Great Arrow Graphics, explained the technique while he did some in-booth silk-screen printing to show just how handmade his company’s cards really are. Friedman admitted with a smile that he was enjoying doing the demos because he hadn’t personally done any printing in quite some time. View the Gallery here	Pretty Chic Office and Executive Suites A growing category over the past few years has been in office accessories. With the growth of more workers doing their jobs out of home offices and more full time moms needing organizational items for recipes, family papers and other things, creative vendors have responded by taking file folders, binders and other desk accessories from the realm of businesss bland to home décor chic. Companies like Russell + Hazel paved the way with contemporary Urban Chic minimalist styles while Gina B Designs combined stationery designs with home office accessories. And companies such as Anna Griffin and CR Gibson have added their ideas to the mix to make it grow  and be more meaningful to a range of consumers. View the Gallery here
Stick it On! Wall stickers. This is where stationery, scrapbooking and home décor come together. Wall stickers is a décor category on the rise and was prevalent from a number of vendors throughout the show. Removable and repositionable, these large stickers are a simple, non-permanent decorating solution to brightening up a room on a limited budget. And they help to make personal space more personalized. Not entirely a new category, some of the vendors have been in the marketplace for some time, such as Wallcandy Arts and Wallies. View the Gallery here	Cool Connections The stationery industry is all about communicating and connecting in many different ways. These were among the cool products noted at the show that communicate a message or help make some sort of a connection. View the Gallery here
Light It Up! Tiny LED lights are adding a new kind of holiday sparkle to greeting cards and gift bags View the Gallery here	Displays Market time also means display idea sourcing time. And there was plenty of inspiration to note in every aisle. “Visually, the show was gorgeous. noted show manager Patti Stracher. “The exhibits and visual merchandising innovations were truly stunning.” View the Gallery here