The Stationers Guild

I don’t know about you, but I find the National Stationery Show website one of the most frustrating and user unfriendly websites in cyberspace.   I was trying to register for Seth Godin’s presentation entitled “Put it on Paper:  The importance of pen and ink in the digital age,” and the system collapsed as I was checking out.  Mr. Godin is one of the key tribal leaders of the digital generation (not sure he would like that designation) and the author of some 13 books on marketing and relevancy in the digital age.

Oddly enough, I came across Seth Godin when I installed my first Wordpress Blog and one of the PlugIns was entitled “What would Seth Godin do?”   Like most people with a new toy, I really didn’t give a fig what Seth Godin would do, but in retrospect it would have been useful to listen to this wise “young” man since he is one of the few people to sort through the bits and bytes and make sense of this digital revolution.   I  commend Patti Stracher and the other NSS organizers for snaring Mr. Godin and I would encourage anyone who reads this article to get their tickets now.  You will not be disappointed.

Ah, the National Stationery Show (“NSS”) website.  In an effort to modernize, the NSS now has attendees register online.  When you get to the show your digital pass will be scanned and you will be issued a paper registration tag with some mystery code that hides all kinds of personal data that might be useful to vendors.   I liken the process to going through scanners at the airport.  Fortunately, no groping is allowed.

While I am now immune to the dehumanization process of electronic screening, I blew a gasket when the registration system crashed as I was trying to checkout.    The system simply swallowed my credit card information that I had used to sign up for a few courses and I had no idea whether I was registered since the system simply advised me to “come back later.”    This was not the first time it had happened, but what can you do?

I then received a digital invitation to attend Seth Godin’s presentation as well as a paper invitation.  Thank God for paper.  Neither my wife nor I could open the digital invitation – it was so well encrypted that my browser refused to open the images.   In fact, we were prompted to download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer 8.  It was then I realized how clever Patti had been:  She was making the point that there are many gremlins in digital communications.  Indeed!

As much as we beat up on the poor Postal Service, e-vites have their own inconveniences.  I made the mistake of opening a “song and dance” video birthday card on my smart-phone and realized that it was configured for a 4G network rather than a 2G network.  It  took forever to download and by the time it did, my battery had died so I missed the cool e-Birthday greeting.   Rather than spending  time disabling the pop-up suppressor and going to the tools menu to all “pictures,” I have simply stopped reading evites.  Eventually, someone will call you and ask you if you are attending.   Is it rude not to open an evite along with the other junk mail in your inbox?

Last weekend, a woman walked into Thérèse Saint Clair looking for ecru sheets that matched the engraved, double hand-bordered sheets of her personalized stationery.   It isn’t often that you see engraved stationery of this quality and I commented on its elegance.  She explained that her husband had bought the stationery for her some years ago in London and that sadly all she had left were a few envelopes.

Her husband arrived shortly thereafter after parking the car in snow-challenged Greenwich and brought with him the matching envelope.  As I suspected, it was engraved stationery from Smythson of Bond Street.   In recent years, Smythson has been a playtoy for investment bankers, but was acquired last year by the Italian group Tivoli.    I tend to think of Smythson more for their leather products than their stationery, but Smythson craftsmanship and paper quality remains high.

Unfortunately, we were not able to match Smythson’s paper (color and size were a bit off), but I did suggest that Crane had some beautiful hand-bordered papers and could certainly match the color palatte of her existing stationery.  For those not familiar with hand-bordering, the video clip below shows Crane’s experienced and talented artisans demonstrating how card stock is hand-bordered.  This demo took place at the 2010 National Stationery Show:

In a world of flat-printed Photoshop cards, it is a breath of fresh air to see skilled artisans practice their trade and produced hand-bordered stationery of exquisite beauty. To see examples of Crane’s elegant stationery, visit a stationery store located in your neighborhood.

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

This year at the National Stationery Show (“NSS”) I had a sneak preview of the new Vera Wang Folio Collection that will be released this Fall (sometime in October is the planned release date).  While many of the final sample invitations and stationery are still in the production phase, the Vera Wang Folio Collection will consist of four folios:  Wedding Accents, Invitations, Writing Papers and Design Elements.  From what I saw, we are all in for a big treat with this vibrant and feature-rich collection that captures Vera’s distinctive style.

Meghan Carey and Vera Wang Gown

Meghan Carey, the enthusiastic “Lead Designer for Vera Wang Fine Papers” walked me through the new Vera Wang Folio Collection.  As you may recall, I had a lengthy conversation with Meghan and Lisa Blinn of William Arthur regarding Vera’s Wang’s On Weddings that was released at the 2009 National Stationery Show.  It is clear that William Arthur and Vera Vang have spared no effort to produce invitations and stationery that capture Vera’s elegant style and passion for expression.  This is a welcome relief for many of us in the  industry who often see “brand names” attached to generic papers and formula designs with little thought of creating something distinctive and beautiful.  Clearly, Vera Wang and William Arthur have a symbiotic relationship which, in my estimation, define how “branding” should be done in the stationery industry.

Without going into too many details – which I plan to cover when the Folio Collection is released –  Vera’s new collection will introduce five new paper colors with offerings from the invitation to wedding reception coasters.  In addition, there will be a wider selection of paper sizes and formats, 14 new patterns in a new digital palette and much more design flexibility overall.  One of the features I felt was most clever was a detachable reply card (perforated) that works well for corporate events.

Vera Wang and William Arthur seems to be a marriage made in heaven.  Vera’s bold and contemporary fabric designs have been faithfully reproduced on paper by William Arthur’s talented designers.  We are very much looking forward to the release of Vera’s Folio collection later this fall.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

Sheila and I had a most welcome opportunity to sit down with Kim Kreis of Sweet Pea Designs to discuss the launch of their new stationery and invitations album.  Her partner, Anne Johnson, was corralling clients who also wanted to take a peak at the new album that will be released toward the end of June.

As readers of the Stationers Guild News are aware, Sweet Pea Designs and Printswell decided to go their separate ways earlier this year.  The rather unsettling turn of events left some 2,000 dealers in the dark as to the plans of either company.  Fortunately, both companies resurfaced at the National Stationery Show and the world is a better place for it.  We wish them both well as they pursue their vision.

We had a chance to look at some of the preliminary pages of the new Sweet Pea Designs album that will begin to be distributed toward the end of June to dealers who have signed the new application form.   Instead of several albums, Sweet Pea has had the good sense to create a substantial album incorporating many new designs and their traditional “best sellers.”  Based on the sample pages we saw, the colors are far richer and the paper (#110) more substantial and bright than Sweet Pea’s old papers.  Rather than showing many samples in the old albums, the new album provides many more customization options and is laid out more rationally to assist in the visualization and customization process. 

Printing will now occur on the west coast, but we understand that deliveries will occur within 3 days anywhere in the United States.  Kim mentioned that Sweet Pea intends to be more selective with their dealers to insure that stationers who promote their brand will not be selling against other stores in the immediate vicinity.  This is a welcome relief to the proliferation of stationery products and greeting cards that seems to crop up on every street corner.   The Sweet Pea website is expected to be fully operational by the end of September for those who wish to promote Sweet Pea online.

It was good to see Kris and Anne in good spirits and on behalf of dealers everywhere, we are looking forward to seeing their great looking designs once again. 

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

One of the more useful benefits of attending the National Stationery Show (“NSS”) is the opportunity to attend highly targeted seminars that fill our impressionable minds with the many things we can do with our store and provide a context for identifying new products and trends.  The 2010 NSS was no exception with daily “How-to” exhibits  ranging from making wedding favors to holiday wrap and tying bows.  In addition, there were educational seminars ranging from stationery trends to how to use social media tools to market your bricks-and-mortar store.

Being the geek that I am, I attended two social media seminars brilliantly hosted by Patricia Norins, of Specialty Retail Expert from Gift Shop Magazine and the enthusiastic and engaging Carolyn Howard-Johnson from How to do it Frugally Publishing.  Both seminars were targeted at those who wanted to find out more about Twitter, Facebook and Blogging or those that were sceptical and wanted to see what the fuss was all about.  Judging from some of the questions that were asked, I suspect that most people who attended were novices.

Personally, I think both speakers made a convincing case as to the merits of engaging in social media marketing.  Carolyn stressed the importance of connecting with your clients in this new digital medium in an open-handed and friendly manner that was less about promoting your business than being a part of your community.   Both speakers made the point that Facebook is a more relevant social platform for exchanging information with family and friends, while Twitter has become far more commercial and “immediate.”  I certainly agree with them on this point, but feel that both platforms should be used to creatively engage, build and sustain a loyal following of customers.  The idea is to befriend your digital audience and come across as a “real” human being with a sense of humor and personal  interests rather than the proverbial one-dimensional used car salesperson.

It is difficult to judge how many attendees will heed Carolyn’s and Patricia’s advice.  I suspect that the digital revolution remains an anathema  to most storefront retailers.   While many have gotten over the hurdle of having a website, this is not a medium where they feel comfortable  and most appear unwilling to make the effort to do more.  It is not difficult to get started as Carolyn and Patricia demonstrated, but it does take time and effort to build new skills and engage in the online debate. Frankly, it is fun and interesting once you get the hang of it. 

We all know that the Yellow Pages (“YP”) brings in little or no business, but many stationers continue to pay ridiculous fees to YP to highlight their store rather than spend the time using free social media tools to market their business.  Hard to understand, but sadly true.  For those out there who want to know if your store can be found online (no, you do not have to have a website!), please visit getlisted.org to see if you are on the right track.  A listing below 50% means you have some work to do.  This is a good litmus test to join the 21st century. 

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

As readers of the Stationers Guild News are aware, the stationery world was rocked earlier this year when Sweet Pea Designs and Printswell decided to part ways after many years of collaboration.  I am pleased to report that both companies were exhibiting at the National Stationery Show and geared up for what we all hope will be an exciting year. 

I had a long chat with Ralph Dewberry, the CEO of Printswell, regarding the “new” configuration of the company.  Printswell debuted at the Stationery Show with three active lines and an additional four that will be coming on line by September:

• Stacy Claire Boyd
• KimPrints Paper & Gifts
• Rosanne Beck Collections (formerly Cross-My-Heart)
• Starfish Art
• Putnam House
• Prints Charming Papers
• PicMe Prints

Printswell provides the printing and fulfillment services for these seven product lines.  Using a state-of-the-art Indigo printer, Mr. Dewberry seemed confident that he would be able to meet the expected demand of a vibrant holiday season.   With a network of over 2,000 dealers, Printswell is now in a position to begin fulfilling orders (both Internet and through the Albums) that had been disrupted when Printswell was no longer authorized to use Sweet Pea’s designs.  Dealers were encouraged to order albums at the Printswell booth and, in fact, this offer has been extended until June 30th for those who were not able to take advantage of this offer in May.

Many stationers have used the Printswell affiliate program website to leverage their online sales.  Certainly, the revamped website looks poised to help reanimate sales.  Those with questions on Printswell’s affiliate program should contact Rick Peyton, the Fullfillment Coordinator.

One would have thought that the New York Times would have had the good sense to say something positive about the National Stationery Show, but clearly it looks like they are short-staffed and had to assign a rookie reporter from the crime beat to cover the show.  In a bizarre and senseless piece of “reporting” that seems to have been crafted in an Irish pub, NYT reporter Corey Kilgannon  focused on the case of the purloined letter and the scatological humor of one award recipient as the defining moments of his Javits Center experience. 

Perhaps Kilgannon is trying his hand (I assume Corey is a male) at blogging rather than journalism since his days at the New York Times are probably numbered if this is the best he can do.    It is no wonder that NYT’s readership is declining with Kilgannon missing everything that it is relevant to focus on sensationalist tidbits that may appeal to his small base of followers on Twitter.  If this is all the news the New York Times sees “fit to print” then the editor has obviously had a bad hair day.  Pitiful and sad.

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

National Stationery Show (“NSS”) organizers deserve a hardy pat on the back for arranging the fascinating seminar:  Navigating the Journey from the 2D to 3D World.  The Saturday (May 15th) seminar provided considerable analysis and discussion of the rapidly changing patterns in social communication and its impact on the stationery industry.   It is the first time that I can recall that the “Elephant in the Room” (i.e. online communications) has ever been discussed in a public forum at the NSS.  It was a most timely and useful wake-up call for the stationery industry.

The seminar was organized into three distinct segments.  The first was  by Keynote speaker Paco Underhill of Envirosell who gave a charming and insightful presentation on emerging trends in consumer behavior and how savvy retailers should position their businesses to prosper.   Mr. Underhill provided many useful suggestions on how store-owners might want to creatively engage their clients through better communication and improved store design.  I intend to post a more detailed summary of Mr. Underhill’s comments at a later time. 

The more controversial and unsettling discussions took place later.  The first panel was hosted by Adam Glassman, Creative Director of O. The Oprah Magazine to discuss “Today – The Issues, Solutions and the Next 5 Years.”   Dan Rubinstein, Editor-in-Chief of Surface Magazine, hosted the second panel focusing on “Connecting with tomorrow’s customer and the one 10 years from now.”    While the first panel sought to address some of the unsettling issues facing bricks-and-mortar stationers as their suppliers turn to the Internet to deliver stationery products to the end-user, the second panel sought to project current behavior patterns of children 7 to 12 years old and teenagers into future purchasing patterns.  At one time, I felt that I just might have to turn my stationery store into an App Store for the iPhone (App is short for Application which is down-loadable software).

Judging from the number of faces in people’s hands at the end of the presentation, you would have thought that Armageddon had arrived.  Both discussion moderators deserve praise since they were serving up hard-ball questions to the panelists.  I suspect that most everyone who attended the discussion had a slightly different interpretation or spin on the information they were receiving.  Some vendors mentioned to me that it was “quite frightening” while others argued that it was “much ado about nothing.”   I suspect this was false bravado for, most certainly, there is cause for concern.

One of the panelists argued persuasively that it was great to to use the new technology  to schedule birthdays, anniversaries and other milestone events online and have “personalized” greeting cards sent out either digitally or by snail mail.  I suspect that many people feel that this is perfectly rational behavior.   When people regard communication as little more than an online scheduling exercise, the battle is largely lost.   For this panelist, the interpersonal relationships with people he should care most for has now simply been reduced to a programming event.  Frankly, this is a world where personal correspondence has little perceived value other than the satisfaction one gets from “mission completed.”

Violet Brandwein, Senior Buyer Kate’s Paperie, commented that “as online and traditional distribution channels become blurred, bricks-and-mortar dealers need to forge a new relationship with their vendors to coexist and prosper.”  There is no question that distribution channels have turned into what Paco Underhill refers to as a “bar fight” where bricks-and-mortar dealers, online resellers and suppliers of fine papers are elbowing each other to reach the consumer with the “best package.”  Continued friction among distribution channels within the industry will necessarily lead to consequences that are not good for the industry as a whole.

As I have stated on many occasions, unless leaders in the industry step up and take action which may now seem counter-intuitive, the battle is lost.  For instance (as one example), I was pleased to learn that Jane Boatman Geller pulled her designs from Shutterfly (not SnapFish as previously reported) since she felt it was not fair to her dealers and distorted the way she wished her line to be represented.  This is a courageous decision with the economy being what it is.  Companies that continue to overexpose their lines through multiple distribution channels will diminish the value of their brands. 

Dealers are remiss in expecting the digital revolution to turn on itself.  Here again, all bricks-and-mortar stores who hope to stay in business, must now take decisive action to engage the digital consumer in their own medium.  Most consumers want to shop locally:  let’s make sure that they can find your store.

Once again, congratulations to the organizers of the National Stationery Show for putting together this great series of informative discussion groups. 

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

One of my special treats at the National Stationery Show is to visit the Saturn Press booth and see their old-fashioned designs on letterpress greeting cards.  It is a welcome relief to see something done in good taste with a printing process that brings back memories of a time when craft and tradition were still appreciated.  The Stationery Show has changed a lot in recent years, but Saturn Press confidently sticks to their traditions.  I am most happy that they have chosen to do so!  Sadly, Saturn Press will not be exhibiting this year and I for one will miss them.

Saturn Press was established in 1986 by designer Jane Goodrich and her printer James van Pernis.  Based in Swan’s Island, Maine near Bar Harbor, Jane had set about acquiring “letterpress stuff” from typesetters and printing companies that were “modernizing.”   With the simple premise that quality should never be compromised for expediency, Jane and James used their heavy presses to create a tactile impression that modern printing cannot duplicate.   Their client “saw something authentic, they saw something real.”

Now some 25 years pioneering a resurgence in letterpress printing, Jane and James (humorously referring to themselves as the “Grandpa and Grandma of Letterpress”) note that “we had no idea we’d be the link between the retiring generation of printers who rarely printed beyond black ink, to the new generation of designer-printers, who cherish the beauty only letterpress can create.  Let the craftsmanship continue!”

Saturn Press does not have a website or even an email address.  Honestly, who would want one after experiencing the beautiful scenery and light of the Maine coast.   In their most recent catalogue which contains beautiful samples of their greeting cards, bookplates and calling cards, they remark “Shopping the Internet is like standing beneath Niagara Falls with a teaspoon in order to get a sip of water.”  How true!

They continue with their letter of introduction to their new catalogue:  “So enjoy the catalog, comfortably knowing the only teaspoon you will require is the one needed to stir your tea or coffee, and the pages will graciously accommodate any spills.  In perusing our offerings you may find that your cup runneth over, but we guarantee you won’t leave feeling all wet.”  How gracious and reassuring.

We have been buying Saturn Press cards for years and will continue to do so.  My husband compares it to an “out-of-body experience” or “time-warp” when you run across their lovely greeting cards.  To appease my husband, we always buy six boxes of his “favorite” holiday greeting card (#0565 Juncos) which has two birds sitting on a leafless branch with the following quote by Rainer Maria Rilke, “And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.”

I had planned to include a few images in this Blog post, but realize that digital impressions do not do justice to the beautiful creations of Saturn Press.  Thank you Jane and Jim for preserving the craftsmanship and beauty of fine paper and printing.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

One of the truly remarkable features of fine stationery is the craftsmanship and number of times that fine paper is touched by hand to produce the elegant stationery and invitations that grace important social events. Nowhere is this better exemplified than the craft of hand-bordering.

This year at the National Stationery Show, Crane & Co. will be proudly exhibiting this beautiful craft as Deb Larkin and Sally Rice will demonstrate their hand-bordering technique. I know from past experience visiting Crane’s facilities in Dalton, MA that this is a must-see exhibit and will likely be the signature highlight of the Show. This exhibit will run at the Crane booth from Sunday to Tuesday (May 16th through May 18th). Found below is a short video prepared by Crane historian, Peter Hopkins, demonstrating this beautiful art.

I encourage all stationers and buyers to visit the Crane & Co. booth and revel in this beautiful art form that is gradually being displaced by shoddy digital reproduction and full-bleed digital printing. See and feel the difference of real craftsmanship on 100% cotton paper.  It is well worth noting that Crane & Co. has been recycling for over 200 years.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair