The Stationers Guild

Sheila and I just received an autographed copy of Marjorie Maxfield’s delightful new book entitled The Write Stuff:  A Modern Guide to Personal Stationery & Weddings.  With accolades from Brian Lawrence of Encore Studios and Nancy Lowell Lashley of Lallie (among others), this short and entertaining book is an educational quick read for those interested in fine stationery and custom wedding invitations.  With etiquette and civility often overlooked in today’s wedding planning, The Write Stuff is a useful guide to help  bridal couples cope with the demands on their time and sensibilities.    The Write Stuff: A Modern Guide to Personal Stationery & Weddings may be purchased online for $19.95.  Found below is a recent interview with Marjorie on a Fox affiliate in Houston, Texas.

In The Write Stuff, Marjorie offers some practical and helpful advice with wit and charm to help plan a successful wedding.   With over 20 years experience in the stationery business and the former owner of Tanglewood Gifts and Stationery, in Houston, TX, Marjorie’s client list includes Presidents and First Ladies, astronauts, sports and rock legends and celebrities from literally all walks of life.  Now a professional guest speaker, Marjorie will be a featured guest speaker at Bridal Showcase productions in Baltimore, Richmond, Washington, D.C. and Denver in the coming months.

The twelve chapter book (excuse me, Twelve “Cantos” which in Latin is cantus and in Sanskrit means chapter) covers such topics as “e-business communiques,”  “the art of being remembered,” and “a modern guide to wedding stationery.”   One area that was certainly music to my ears was her section on “Stationery Stores are the Brides Best Friend.”    ”The staff will listen to your thoughts, understand your timetable, and translate your tastes into something beautiful and within your budget.  They will share with you their knowledge of wedding stationery and social etiquette, and basically guide your every choice.  The advantages of a stationery store?  Priceless. I promise.”  Marjorie said it far better than I could:  Maybe that is why she is on the speaking tour!

Cover of The Write Stuff

Marjorie is refeshingly hip and deftly moves between the traditional and what’s in vogue in wedding stationery etiquette without losing her balance or sense of humor.  Sophisticates from the Northeast might quibble at some of her etiquette suggestions, but The Write Stuff has been put together with grace and elegance and certainly deserves exposure in leading stationery stores throughout the US.

Thank you Marjorie for this precious contribution of “Wed-etiquette.”  Bridal couples can save themselves much angst and many wrong turns by purchasing Marjorie Maxfield’s The Write Stuff.

Sheila and Richard 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

Sarah Schwartz, the talented editor of Stationery Trends magazine, gave two standing-room only presentations at the National Stationery Show last week.  The topic was Stationery Trends for 2009.  There was so much useful and practical information crammed into Sarah’s colorful presentation that it was sometimes difficult to keep pace with her rapid-fire overview of 2009 stationery trends.  With apologies to Sarah for missing something significant, I would like to comment briefly on the six key themes highlighted in her presentation.  I am doing so without graphics since I don’t want to overload the server.

Trend 1 - The Value Proposition:  Clearly, the economic recession has had a marked impact on consumer purchasing decisions.  There were numerous examples of companies offering different printing alternatives (flat-printing or lithography vs. letterpress) to provide more affordable options for the consumer.  Along that same line, several companies were offering less expensive substitutes.  For instance, Demby and Solomon have an attractive line of return address stickers rather than the generally more expensive printed envelope.

Trend 2 – Colors to Covet:  Purple is emerging as a “hot” new color.  Orange and yellow have been around for several years and both remain popular choices for today’s young consumer.  Gray features in many upscale designs.

Trend 3 – New vs. Old Patterns:  Several companies have created a modern twist on old patterns.  For instance, Elum Designs has created some truly contemporary stationery letterpress designs using old patterns.  Lucky Onion is another company that comes to mind that is producing some “hip” invitations using traditional designs.

Trend 4 – The Perfect Green Storm:  Many companies are offering Eco-friendly stationery or invitation papers.  Playing the “green” card has become quite fashionable.  I did give the papers made from elephant dung a pass, but Night Owl Paper Goods has some attractive greeting cards and invitations made from wood.

Trend 5 – Designer Cachet:  A number of fashion trend-setters have added their name to stationery and invitation lines.  Vera Wang branches into new territory with the debut of Wedding Invitations II in June.  This follows Vera’s very successful Wedding Invitations I with William Arthur in 2005.  Martha Stewart has partnered with Crane & Co. to produced a line of 24 wedding invitation styles.  Lilly Pulitzer, MOMA and several others are adding their own distinctive touch to new stationery and invitation lines.

Trend 6 – Design Trends:  Sarah cited so many design trends that I will only highlight a few.  Animal prints (particularly wild animals), birds and butterflies are popular across many invitation lines.  Cityscape patterns found in Lallie and Faux Designs are also proving to be quite popular.  For me, the most distinctive trend was the introduction of texture into the design process.  Lattice, lace, damask and toile were evident across may lines and in some cases, like the new Vera Wang wedding invitation line, were the most riveting feature of the stationery ensemble.   Personalization, through monograms or names, continues to a growing trend in stationery.

Sarah seminar is clearly a must-see for those who are looking for something new and distinctive.  While the National Stationery Show was somewhat smaller this year, I did manage to discover 10 new companies that were not on my initial target list.  Thanks Sarah for a great introduction to this year’s National Stationery Show.

We have just received word that the talented stationery designer Lallie will supply ”The Calendar” for 2010.  Following the unfortunate closure of the esteemed Consortium group late last year, Nancy “Lallie” Lashley has been fielding phone calls from distraught dealers all over the country to fill the void left by Jansson’s coveted calendar.  Not one to step away from a challenge, Nancy will debut her distinctive Lallie Calendar for 2010 at the National Stationery Show which opens this weekend.

“You never have a second chance to make a first impression.”  I can’t remember who had this sage but practical piece of advice, but nothing could be more true in today’s electronic workplace.  With website page views clocking in at 1.8 seconds and a “twit” on Twitter limited to 140 characters, you’ve got to make a strong positive impression from the get-go.

With your social and business network persona on display 24/7, one might ask if the business card is still relevant?  Thank you, it is!  In fact, we are seeing a resurgence in consumer demand for tastefully designed calling cards and business cards.   Despite the down economy, customers at Therese Saint Clair are trading in their fast-print cards for more distinctive business cards.  Business professionals recognize that their non-descript business cards just may not make it to their recipient’s Rolodex.  Maybe it makes sense to invest in a little image-building.  One way of doing so is to have an elegant business card printed on fine paper stock.

While Crane & Co. has long been the company of choice for fine business stationery, many other companies are now introducing their own distinct lines of business stationery.  William Arthur has a good selection of business cards printed on 96# paper stock to go along with a growing selection of fine stationery.  Smock Paper has a stylish but somewhat pricey line of letterpress business cards printed on bamboo paper.  Lallie and Encore have some great designs for truly distinctive business cards.

If you feel your stationery is not making that right “first impression” then perhaps a visit to a Stationers Guild member store is in order.  There you can work with experienced stationers to custom design a business card of your choice.

There is a huge difference between designing a custom wedding invitation with an experienced stationer and populating a website template supplied by an Internet dealer.  While you may have some initial ideas in terms of colors, time of the season or, perhaps, you have seen a sample invitation in a bridal magazine, most young couples will use a search engine.

“Custom wedding invitations” must be a very popular search term as evidenced by the fact that there were more than 2 million pages listed on Google when I entered that phrase into the search bar today.  While there are many websites competing for your eyes, the question is whether they are useful.  I guess it depends on what you are searching for and whether you wish to play a meaningful role in designing your wedding invitation.

Based on the sheer number of websites that appear in the top listings for organic search (not paid), it appears as if the vast majority of these websites represent online printers or online resellers.  Customization to an online printer or reseller means selecting from a number of sample images on their website and then filling-in an online template for the wording, font style, inks colors and quite possibly the printing process.  While some of these websites are very sophisticated, the process is similar to painting by the numbers.  I have written previously about the pitfalls of selecting wedding invitations online, but this approach may work for some people.

For those seeking a truly “custom” wedding invitation, I strongly recommend that you consult an experienced stationer in your neighborhood.  You may find one of these stationers by entering your zip code or city and state in the search bar on the StationersGuild website.  These stationers carry a number of samples provided by leading designers and fine paper companies in the industry.  Many of these companies such as Arabella, Smock, Page, Mr. Boddington, Oblation, Lallie, Prentiss Douthit, Encore and Julie Holcomb do not sell online and instead rely on their authorized dealers to act as an interface between the client and the printing company.  Seeing invitation samples from a variety of designers and paper companies is essential to help refine your customization options.  While at first it may seem a bit overwhelming, when your work with a leading stationer you will be able to narrow down your options and discuss ways to add your own customization ideas to create a truly personalized invitation.

While leading companies such as Crane & Co. and William Arthur have a large network of qualified dealers, they also allow you to create your wedding invitation online.  While some people may find this more convenient, all of their online customization options and many more can be obtained by working with one of their qualified dealers.  As Sheila May of Therese Saint Clair points out, “99% of my wedding invitations contain one or more customization features that are simply not available in the samples provided by my fine paper companies or online.  Most brides want to stamp their personality on the event with something meaningful or of special significance to the bridal couple and their families.”

Known for its distinctive style and playful designs, Lallie is one of the most sought after holiday card lines.  In fact, Lallie generally turns away all new orders well before the end of November.  This year, you can get a leg up on holiday stress for next year and save 20% by ordering now from their stunning 2008 Holiday Card Album.  This special promotion qualifies for all orders submitted by February 1st, 2009.  In addition, Lallie is also providing a free return address on all stationery orders in January.  Contact a Guild member store in your neighborhood who carries the Lallie line for more details.