What trends do you see developing in stationery merchandise?

Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 4/1/2001

Patti Renner, Renner's Invitations Akron, OH

I see a trend toward paper quality improving, which makes sense: People who are willing to seek out specialty shops such as ours expect greater quality than they could get at their local drug store. Die cuts, including laser cuts, continue to be very popular. Some of the things that do the best are those that are packaged beautifully. Companies have been upgrading from cello bags to nice boxes with ribbons inside anchoring the stock. Designers are becoming more clever and design-oriented. Clients like translucent vellum, so now I see more where the design is on the vellum in the form of a wrap or pocket, and the invitation is on a plain card inside. It's a clever 180-degree twist on what was a very strong design style two years ago, the bow anchoring the piece of vellum on a decorative card. That continues to be popular, but it's not so much a trend anymore.

Judi Tewell, Los Osos Rexall Drug & Gift Store, Los Osos, CA

When we first bought the store, our stationery sales consisted mainly of 5"x7" stationery (most had little roses around the edges), almost no notecards except for thank-yous, and a rare journal or two. Four and five dollar counter cards for special occasions were also very prevalent. Today, I have almost no 5"x7" stationery, lots of notecards, and a much broader range of thank-you notes. Realizing that it is cheaper to make a long distance phone call (much less e-mail) than to send a card, card companies have become competitive, offering beautiful, thoughtful cards for as little as 99 cents. Journal sales have exploded, including many styles for men. I see the future of stationery continuing along these lines, keeping in step with fast-paced communications and supplementing where more personalization is desired. Even though most of my communicating is done by e-mail these days, nothing beats a hand-written note in my mailbox.

Daniel Hill, Botanicals on the Park St. Louis, MO

• I see stationery moving away from Hallmark-style merchandise toward something more artistic and less cute. Most of the manufacturers are going to a handmade look, and prices are doubled. Also, stationery is tying into the latest giftware trends. If butterflies and bugs are big, like they are now in gifts, paper manufacturers will follow suit. Also, the Asian theme that is so popular in home decor is all over paper plates, cards, and everything else. Paper plates are also picking up patterns from fine china like Royal Worcester and Spode. Because of this crossover, we're showing stationery product with our giftware, instead of separating it, for the first time. If we have a summer theme display of stemware with butterflies on it, we're showing disposable cocktail napkins with a similar theme alongside the stemware.

Tony Falcone, Fast Buck Freddie's Key West, FL

Years ago, stationery meant fine writing paper. But demand dwindled, so we cut back to almost no paper, just beautiful pens, books, bookends, calculators, and desktop equipment. Now, with the overpopularity of the Internet, people are using the mail again. They want notes, thank yous, and guest books. We're developing paper products in a way that we haven't in 15 years. We offer Asian patterns, handmade papers, and natural grass or bamboo. They're elegant, refined looks, with Zen simplicity, and the packaging reflects that. We don't do cute. Boxed and thank-you notes do best. Books still do extremely well. The Sharper Image-type product was strong for many years, but we've pulled them back now, though we still have some very viable unusual calculators and alarm clocks. We've also included watches: they have great acceptance within this mix.