The Stationers Guild

I recently came across an article by Schuyler Maedjaja entitled “Wedding invitations: how to win the battle.”  Mrs. Maedjaja is the wedding editor for the Lynchburg (VA) Examiner.    While Mrs. Maedjaja does provide some helpful advice, the article simply does not go far enough to properly explain how bridal couples should select their wedding invitations.

Mrs. Maedjaja suggests two ways of “researching” wedding invitations:  the first is online and the second is to visit a neighborhood stationer.  While the Internet is often used to research wedding invitations, it leaves much to be desired as an unbiased “research” resource.  Specifically, the search results are far too large to be of much relevance.  For instance, today a Google search for “wedding invitations” yielded over 20 million results.

Goggle Wedding Invitations Search

Also, companies listed on the first few pages of search results are interested in “selling” not informing.  The information provided on their websites is generally a sales pitch rather than information. 

While someone who knows what they are looking for can narrow down the search results (for instance, “letterpress wedding invitations” yielded 125 thousand results), it is very difficult to find relevant and unbiased information on the internet to guide your search.  In fact, the only unbiased online reference source for leading wedding invitation suppliers is the Stationers Guild which lists over 50 leading wedding invitation vendors with hyperlinks to their websites.   Some of these companies sell online, but many do not.

Mrs. Maedjaja cites All Wedding Essentials as having an ” . . . amazing selection and many different possibilities. No matter what your taste is, you are bound to find something you love here.”  Perhaps you will, but this is a rather poor and limited sample of the universe of custom wedding invitations. Therese Saint Clair carries two of the three lines listed on the All Wedding Essentials website and they can hardly be considered trend-setters for wedding invitation design.  In fact, one is a commercial printer better known for its business stationery than its wedding invitations.   

For those seeking to avoid template-based online solutions, the best way to research invitations is to visit a qualified stationer. Mrs. Maedjaja suggests The Farm Basket in Lynchburg.   I do not personally know the owners of  The Farm Basket, but seeing paper and printing options first-hand is far preferable to coping with low resolution images and template-based online solutions.  Unfortunately, the article leaves the impression that it is “cheaper” to shop online than it is to do so in a store.   This is generally not the case.

Storefront stationers carry a variety of wedding invitation lines and customization options at different price points.  When you work with an experienced stationer, you receive expertise that is generally lacking in the online world.  These stationers work to create the best custom wedding invitation for your budget.   Furthermore, they are often full of suggestions on how to economize on other aspects of your wedding that online retailers are simply not in a position to provide.

The Stationers Guild has approximately 300 qualified stationers listed on their website.  Nine of these stationers are within a 100 mile radius of Lynchburg.  While this is by no means an exhaustive list of “qualified” stationers, it does provide the consumer with a dependable resource well within their extended neighborhood.  Crafting your wedding invitation with an experienced stationer makes a lot of common sense and may just save you some dollars and cents.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

I recently came across an online news release promoting “Cheap Office Stationery” by a UK company called Discount Office Needs.    Now, I have no way of knowing – and even less interest in finding out – if this is a UK company or is simply a UK-resident company owned by foreign interests.   What I do know, is that Discount Office Needs can’t even seem to spell their primary business line – stationery - properly. 

In the short news release, stationery is spelled stationary no less than 11 times (spelled properly 3 times).  Furthermore, I discovered a new word “stationeries.”  Now, it is quite possible that “stationeries” is an accepted version for the plural of stationery in Her Majesty’s version of the English language, but it does seem somewhat out of context in an article where stationery is misspelled so many times.

The point of this article is not to promote literacy, but simply to ask the  question:  Would you purchase your business stationery from a company that can’t even spell their main product correctly?  I wouldn’t, but presumably people on both sides of the Atlantic do.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

A disturbing but not unanticipated trend is the rather hasty disappearance of the often maligned stationery and invitation sales representative.  For the most part,  knowledgeable sales representatives are being displaced by cheap catalogues and the dreaded phrase that is a certain harbinger of doom:  “You can see our products online.”

Since my husband and I acquired Therese Saint Clair seven years ago, I estimate that representative sales calls have fallen by more than two-thirds.  No longer do I have the benefit of seeing and touching paper stock samples and viewing designs in their natural state  – rather than making decisions based on hastily photographed reproductions that tend to populate most “stationery” and “invitation” websites.  Furthermore,  I was dealing with an experienced sales representative who understands my business and is in touch with current trends in stationery and invitations.  More than that, I got to know my sales representatives as human beings and my day was often enriched by their visit.

It would be amusing – if it were not so pathetic – to see how many companies attribute their lack of success in today’s competitive market to the “competency” of their sales representatives.  Instead of looking inward to their insipid Photoshop designs, cheap papers and poor merchandising, they tend to blame their over-worked and unappreciated sales representatives.  The overriding corporate logic seems to be that “our retailers will find it easier to shop online” and we no longer have need of our representative sales force.

Perhaps I am in a minority, but I tend to allocate a disproportionate amount of my business to companies that have sales representatives.   It is reassuring to have an extra set of experienced eyes helping me make my selections.  Furthermore, there is a sense of personal accountability and responsibility rather than the vague hope that “they will sort things out at the corporate level.”  Most importantly, there is a choice.  Most sales representatives handle a variety of lines and one uses these varied styles and designs to make informed cost/value decisions.   Unfortunately, sales catalogues and websites are one-dimensional, offering the retailer and, indeed, the consumer, little basis for comparison shopping other than price.

While I recognize the need for efficiency, I am hopeful that Sales Representatives will not become dinosaurs.  Our industry will sorely miss them.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

One Federal Progam that has not yet received a lot of press coverage, but may be a useful life-preserver for small businesses is the American Recovery Capital loan program, commonly referred to as an ARC Loan.  The ARC program provides up to $35,000 in no-interest financing for up to five years to meet current debt obligations, credit card debt and other financial needs.

This new program is administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is available for companies who have been in business for at least two years and are suffering financial difficulties caused by the recession.   While the loan can be used for a variety of purposes, it is generally used to pay down existing loan facilities or credit card debt.  The ARC loan carries no interest or front-end fees and, depending on the drawdown schedule, is repaid over 5 and a half  years.  The ARC loan is a great way to reduce interest payments and spread out the amortization of your borrowings over a longer period.

Like all SBA loans, these loans are granted by an SBA-Certified Lender in your state.    To find a certified lender, select your state and then choose “financing” on the right side of your state’s SBA web page.   Easy navigation is not one of the SBA’s strong points, but with a little effort you should be able to track down the list of “Certified Lenders” in your state.

Most commercial banks that are Certified Lenders tend to use the ARC program to assist their existing clients, so it is best to seek out your local banker to help you sort through the enormous amount of paperwork this loan entails.    If you are experiencing liquidity problems and/or would like to reduce your interest payments, the ARC loan program might prove useful.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Getting good press is normally quite helpful for a new business.   In an otherwise excellent article introducing The Stationery Loft to Lakeland, Florida, the Ledger mistakenly referred to this new store as The Stationary Loft.   I realize that proper spelling is becoming somewhat of a lost art and, indeed, a deterrent to speed-texting by today’s younger generation.  Nevertheless, there is nothing that makes a stationer more upset than finding stationery spelled incorrectly.   Please, stationery is spelled with an ery, not ary!

On behalf of  bricks-and-mortar stationers everywhere, we would like to welcome Heidi Campbell and Mary Bayes to the joys of selling fine stationery and custom invitations.   Polk County will be well-served by people who are passionate about fine paper and have the elegance and grace to word (and spell!) invitations properly.

Richard W. May
Founding Member of the Stationers Guild

The August 2009 New York Gift Show at the Javits Center was certainly more animated than January’s exhibition.  While the overall mood remains subdued, buyers and exhibitors commented that there is cautious optimism as retailers move into the holiday season.  One excited exhibitor mentioned that this has been her best trade show of the season and she cites the return of queues at  restrooms for women as an indication that the buyers are back.  While I am not sure that this is a valid indicator signaling an economic turnaround, I too felt that there was a level of excitement lacking in previous shows.

While we spent some of our time filling in the gaps of merchandise lines left over from last year’s dismal holiday sales, Sheila and I were excited to find a number of new and unusual products.   While the focus of our business is primarily stationery and invitations, Thérèse Saint Clair has always carried an eclectic line of gift items for the holidays.  This year we were thrilled to discover some unique gift items.

One of our favorite book lines is Assouline, a delightful French company that prides itself on publishing high quality coffee-table books that appeal to the publisher’s sense of curiosity and simple joie de vivre.   While we bought several books from their inspired collection, one that stood out was 1000⁰ (degrees) that will be released later this year.   1000⁰ is a stunning pictorial of an unlikely form of new “art”  that was created when famed Parisian taxidermist Deyrolle burnt down in 2008.   It was as if this legendary collection of stuffed animals, butterflies and birds took flight in a dazzling display of – dare I say it – Divine creativity.   We are most thankful to Ausbert de Arce, for bringing this remarkable book to our attention and his guidance and enthusiasm in helping us round out this year’s delightful collection.

Another “discovery” was Washi Paper Jewelry by Legend Design.  I must give credit to Larry Nelson from Hanson Galleries in Houston for suggesting that we might want to try some unusual “paper” jewelry this holiday season.   Using traditional origami patterns and Japanese Washi paper, artisans in Toronto have created a beautiful collection of earrings, broaches and bracelets.  Each design is hand-lacquered and will easily stand up to the elements.   With all of the dreary and self-serving focus on recycled paper and the largely insipid designs they breed, we are delighted to see a new and unusual application for fine paper.

This year we have added Liberty Puzzles to our line of game collectibles.  These sturdy wooden jigsaws are made in Boulder, Colorado and contain a number of whimsy pieces that make for a fun yet challenging jigsaw experience.  A whimsy is a puzzle piece cut into the outline of a recognizable shape, such as a person, animal or geometric pattern.    The puzzles are not inexpensive ($55 retail price for a puzzle of approximately 250 pieces), but their elegance and stunning designs are a thrill for all generations.

Like most other retailers, we continue to be motivated by the creativity of artisans and people who pursue their craft and occupation with love and passion.  The August 2009 New York Gift Show certainly served notice that creativity and good taste continues to flourish.  We feel privileged to represent their lines.

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

George Orwell must be having a chuckle – maybe even a hearty laugh – at the hullabaloo that ensued when Amazon deleted Orwell’s 1984 from it’s Kindle library because it didn’t have publishing rights to the digital reproduction.  Big Brother must certainly have been impressed by the ease with which faceless technocrats can deprive us of one our most sacred rights:  the right to read.   In his wildest imagination, Orwell could never have dreamt that Big Brother could control what people read with the simple flick of a switch.  Makes me start to wonder about the implications of Google’s digital library.   

Maybe I’m paranoid, but I don’t think I will be recycling my book collection any time soon.    For that matter, I’m taking a long position in personalized stationery even though the Post Office may not be around much longer.  I have even stopped converting my photographs to digital images and gone back to leather photo albums.   I’m stopping short of building a bomb shelter, but will seriously consider getting rid of the TV if they have anymore “reality” TV shows.   I guess Paula Abdul’s abrupt departure from American Idol is a sign that reality TV is even less silly and hilarious than life in digiworld.

Just when I thought that digiworld couldn’t get any loonier, I discovered that someone was actually converting John Quincy Adam’s 1809 diary entries into Tweets.  In today’s New York Times, reporter Katie Zezima writes that a college student has been taking JQA’s journal entries of his boat trip to Russia and coverting them to tweets on Twitter.  According to the article, JQ already has 4,800 followers (I’m not one of them) and “the number was climbing.”  This clearly adds a new dimension to the Twitter tag line “What are you doing?”  In John Quincy’s case it might be “I’m dead, but still chirping!”  I wonder how many more people will become followers of someone who has been dead for more than 150 years.   ”Curiouser and curiouser!” said Alice in Wonderland (Yep, I have the book).

As we race down the digital highway of new “awareness” and greater “sensitivity” and “connectivity,” I do hope that some of us will pause to consider the consequences.   We  refer to that as “stopping to smell the roses.”  Personally, I find digiworld as confusing and as transient as Alice. 

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Many people have opted to purchase their birth announcements from online printing companies.   Sadly, many proud parents are overlooking the great possibilities to craft a truly memorable custom birth announcement.  Whether you are looking for a traditional birth announcement or something more contemporary, I strongly encourage you to shop at a store in your neighborhood to see the many splendid samples of baby announcements.   Online companies simply offer you a cookie-cutter solution, while an experienced stationer can help you create a unique announcement that is well within your budget. 

Parents claim to find it “more convenient” to purchase their baby announcements online.   I find this surprising, since couples who purchase their baby birth announcements from a reputable stationer will often receive their envelopes and address them well before the baby is born.  Gosh, I wouldn’t want to spend the first few days with my new baby scrambling to address birth announcements.

Our family is very traditional.  In fact, for our two daughters, we have used the same Crane & Co. engraved birth announcement that was used by their mother and grandmother (Sample BC4021 in Crane’s Joy Album).

Crane Pink Baby Footprints

 While Crane & Co. has some more contemporary designs, there are a number of talented new designers who have created birth announcements rich in customization features.  Change the card stock, the motifs, ribbons, die-cut motifs to create a memorable baby announcement that will be cherished for generations.   Some of our client favorites are Lallie, Luscious Verde, Page and William Arthur.

William Arthur Giraffe Baby Announcement

Contact your neighborhood stationer now to create your custom baby announcement.   Don’t settle for low resolution images and template-based customization options:  Your new baby deserves a far better introduction to this world.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair