The Stationers Guild

At this year’s International Gift Show at the Javits Center, Sheila and I were thrilled to find Forgetful Gentleman stationery. Nate and Brett, the two young owners of Forgetful Gentleman, are graduates of the University of Virginia who decided to take what started out to be a college business project (i.e. start a new business) to the next level.  Nate, who lives in New York City, explained that they wanted to create an elegant line of assorted stationery for “forgetful” gentlemen to pen a short note for both important and casual occasions. 

The idea was to provide time-challenged men with the necessary tools (i.e. fine stationery) to connect with others by way of a hand-written note.  In a world gone digitally overboard, this is an ambitious task.  In fact, it was Nate who suggested that I take a look at John Freeman’s The Tyranny of E-Mail, since he refused to have his life chained to the immediacy of a Blackberry.   Is this maturity beyond their years or simply a sign that the digital assault on our senses and sensibilities is drawing to a close?   I certainly don’t have the answer, but it is quite refreshing that these two young gentleman have embarked on this ambitious quest. 

Brett, who lives in San Francisco, explained that Forgetful Gentleman sells an assortment of notes printed in letterpress or flat-printed on quality paper.  Their “Elephant Line” consists of 12 note cards:  3 Thank You notes, 3 Birthday notes , 2 Thinking of You, 2 blank correspondence cards, 1 Congratulations and 1 “I love You.”  They even have included four stamped envelopes for those who have difficultly finding a Post Office.  We opted for the luxury suite in letterpress, which comes with a beautiful wooden box resembling a cigar box.  For those gentlemen who suffer from writer’s cramp, the box comes with a primer on articulate letter writing.

We wish Nate and Brett much success and do hope that they can make the National Stationery Show in May.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

The legendary Smythson of Bond Street has been sold once again to Greenwill SA, the holding company for the Tivoli group, an Italian leather goods manufacturer.  Now, better known for its luxury leather goods than its stationery, Smythson has undergone several ownership changes in recent years, the latest being the 2005 acquisition by Mike Sherwood, a Goldman Sachs banker.

Smythson was granted a Royal Warrant to Her Majesty the Queen in 1964 and other Royal warrants have followed.  Presumably, this Royal blessing allows you to price your products at levels which gives nose bleed to even the most intrepid shopper.

I do recall visiting Smythson’s Bond Street store many years ago and marvelled at their beautiful papers, exquisite designs and bold colors.  In the back of the store, there was a small room which had samples of “Royal” stationery, old engraving dies and a few photographs which traced the history of this esteemed stationer.  Like many others, I have hopeful that the new Italian owners will keep the paper presses and designers producing Smythson’s elegant stationery.  We would all be royally blessed.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, The Morgan Library & Museum  in midtown New York City will have on display a hand-drawn Valentine Day’s cartoon from poet  E.E. Cummings to Marion Morehouse. 

Without question, the Morgan Library is one of the great architectural and cultural treasures in New York.  A visit to this magnificent Museum is provides a historical and visual perspective of the great traditions of Western culture that, in my experience, is not matched by any other museum in the world with the possible exception of the Getty Museum on the West Coast. 

While I was first drawn to the Morgan Museum to see the illustrated manuscripts (see above), I have now become a “book junkie” that has fallen in love with the Morgan Library.  The beauty of this three-story wood library makes you want to settle in for a lifetime of reading.  Each volume tells a story far  beyond the actual words in the book.  For instance, where else in the world would the find Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther that was reportedly carried by Napoleon?   Where else can you see original music scores written by Mozart in his own hand and hand-written novels by the Bronte sisters?   The Morgan Library and Museum is a sacred place that inspires by its unique perspective on the rich traditions of Western culture.

In a delicious article, Alison Leigh Cowan of the New York Times writes of the many exhibits in the metro-area that will display memorable love letters and notes  to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Ms. Cowan quotes Mark Twain as saying that ‘“The frankest and freest product of the human mind and heart is a love letter.  The writer gets his limitless freedom of statement and expression from his sense that no stranger is going to see what he is writing.”

This year, as in year’s past, I will pen a short love note to my wife of near forty years for Valentine’s Day.  Like Mark Twain, those few hand-written words reflect a “limitless freedom of statement and expression” that no other form of communication can match.  This Valentine’s Day, why don’t you plan on doing the same.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Pam Danzinger of Unity Marketing reports that changing consumer communication behavior suggests bleak times ahead for the stationery and greeting card industry.  Ms. Danzinger, in a summary of her company’s report, argues that “the market for greeting cards is a tough one in today’s environment . . . as consumers turn to newer, faster and more user-friendly  communications alternatives.”   This should come as no surprise to anyone, but clearly it is already having a profound effect on manufacturers and distributors in this $41 billion industry. 

Excerpts of the Unity Marketing study printed on Newswire find young adults (age 25-to-34), are looking for alternatives to traditional paper cards and that, “Social Media” – notably Facebook, MySpace and Twitter – could be the future for this generation to send greetings.   Organizers of the National Stationery Show seem to be leading the way for this new adventure in digital correspondence. 

I have not read the report ($3,500 is a bit out of my league), but Ms. Danzinger segments her market into four “psychographic” groups with the “alternative seeker” comprising the largest segment.  I have no idea whether Ms. Danzinger coined these definitions or whether these are generally accepted academic terms describing social behavior.  In any event, I find the term “alternative seeker” rather vague and somewhat akin to “alpha female” or “Yuppie.”  Presumably, if you are marketing an “alternative seeker” you must have some idea where he or she is today. 

The compelling argument(s) for shifting from paper correspondence to digital communication is cost and efficiency.  It costs virtually nothing to send out “greetings” or “tweets” to your contacts and followers and this can be done so with a minimum of effort.  The question is:  If it costs nothing and is easy to do, does it have any value? 

In purely economic terms, if there is an unlimited supply of a product that costs nothing or virtually nothing to produce (i.e. air)  it has little perceived value to a buyer.  Why pay for something that is free?   Newpapers who give their content away for free online cannot be surprised that paid circulation and advertising revenue is declining rapidly. 

Without looking too hard into the crytal ball and trying to interpret what “alternative behavior” market segments will do, I believe that the end is in sight for companies that sell “paper stationery” online.   The justification is simple:  Why should I go online to purchase paper stationery when I can just as easily go online to send digital correspondence for free and with far less hassle?  In other words, once you are committed to the online experience, why go half-way?  Sure, some better known greeting card companies that provide digital stationery and invitations will survive simply collecting affilitate income and advertising revenue from those obnoxious ads that accompany most emails and “free” digital communication. 

Paper companies that continue to invest in quality products and designs may be forced to contract, but overtime they will become the value proposition to “alternative seekers” who eventually decide that “cheap” and “efficient” may send the wrong message for job interviews, getting married or annual holiday greeting cards.  I certainly hope so.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

I was saddened to learn that the last bookstore in Laredo, Texas – a city with the population of 250,000 – closed its doors shortly before Christmas.  Timothy Egan, from the New York Times Opinionator, reports that this sad event coincides with the fact that on Christmas day, Amazon.com sold more digital book downloads than physical books.  Granted, most people don’t shop on Christmas day, but one can only speculate what this means for our society.  Timothy Egan argues that it “raises two issues: what the loss of bookstores does to communities and what the brave new publishing world will mean to authors and readers.”   I believe that Mr. Egan would concur with Thomas Jefferson who in 1815 wrote to John Adams that  “I cannot live in a world without books.”

If this is the fate that lies ahead for bookstores, what does it foretell for independent stationers whose business is already under assault by dot.com companies masquerading as stationery companies; suppliers who now sell directly to consumers online; and event organizers for the National Stationery Show who now see social networking as their savior for declining attendance?  I wish  the “true” leaders of the stationery industry step up and say “In the best interests of the consumer, the craftspeople and designers we are proud to sponsor, and the many fine stationers who merchandize our products professionally, we do not intend to compromise our standards of excellence.”  Unfortunately, I suspect this will not happen anytime too soon.

The sad reality is that the true craftsmanship that goes into making fine papers and the labor of love that goes into creating exquiste designs and new font styles has been usurped by digital mercenaries flogging vastly inferior products to an unsuspecting public that assume Google search results will point them in the direction of fine stationery.  Indeed, there are many printing companies now selling their wares to the public who can’t even print in a straight line.  In fact, I recently came across a vendor introducing a new line of letterpress stationery when she couldn’t even spell stationary correctly.  She seemed angry when I suggested that it might help her sales if she could spell the product properly. 

I know it may seem silly to suggest it, but wouldn’t it be nice if “quality” rather than “quantity” were the mantra of the National Stationery Show.    Or perhaps, “correspondence” rather than “tweeting” or “communication” rather than “promotion.”  It might be a far smaller show, but dealers and vendors would rejoice and, the consumer, would most certainly begin to realize that paper is not stationery.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild

I came across an interesting article in today’s New York Times by Sam Roberts with the intriguing title that “More Men Marrying Better Educated, Wealthier Wives.”   The gist of the article suggests that men who have sought marriage “from the standpoint of physical and mental well being”  now realize that a better-educated partner can also contribute to their “economic well-being.”   While this might be seen as a major evolutionary break-through in male maturity and self-realization,  the “alpha female” (The Knot’s characterization of the upwardly mobile female) is unlikely to compromise her rigorous approval standards.  One anonymous textile executive quoted in the article reportedly queries bar slugs and first dates with “Do you have a passport and a library card?”  Gosh, that will certainly weed out the field of eligible males rather quickly and so much for “Love at first sight!”

As I have no skin in the game (married to a far smarter woman and breadwinner -a fact which she reminds me of each day), I am free to offer this advice to men whose emotional IQ is higher than their testosterone level:  Buy engraved stationery and seek out a woman with an expensive pen.   I might add that Crane & Co. and William Arthur have sensational personalized stationery promotions going on right now, so you can buy in cheap and score big with a personalized note to the woman of your dreams who is currently involved in an unhealthy relationship with her Blackberry.   Can you imagine her reaction when she receives your hand-written note on engraved stationery?   Her Facebook “friends” and “Twits” on Twitter will simply fade into oblivion proving decisively that the pen is mightier than texting. 

If you need help selecting your stationery, please enter your Zip code or City and State in the Search Bar in the right hand corner to locate a qualified stationery store in your neighborhood.   If, however, you are looking for a woman with the “right”  fountain pen, might I suggest a limited edition Omas Château Lafite Rothschild fountain pen with a sterling silver nib which retails for $1,750.  I ordered the Chateau Lafitite pen for a woman as a birthday gift to the man of her dream’s whose passions were limited edition pens and French wine.  Apparently, his passions didn’t extend to the woman in question and I still have the Omas pen.  If your bride-to-be is looking for a pen to ink the relationship, tell her I have a great deal for her at Thérèse Saint Clair.

Chateau Lafite Fountain Pen

Richard May
Therese Saint Clair

As a stationery store with an online presence, we receive many requests for a catalogue or samples of  wedding invitations.  Visitors are surprised that Thérèse Saint Clair has no catalogue nor do we send out “sample” wedding invitations.  Usually these visitors to our website come to understand that there is more to selecting a wedding invitation than looking at paper samples or limiting oneself to a few designs in an catalogue or online store.   Let me explain why.

Like most of the fine stationers found on the Stationers Guild website, we represent many excellent design companies and printers.    In the case of Thérèse Saint Clair, we represent over 60 companies that print wedding invitations; each of whom has their own unique style or designs, custom printing process and papers.   It would be presumptious of me to select sample designs for someone I have never met without having the benefit of a conversation and, most likely, a meeting to discuss their requirements, budget and style preferences.  If there is one piece of advice I can give prospective bridal couples, it is this:   If you decide to purchase a wedding invitation from a catalogue or online be prepared to be disappointed.  The outcome is unlikely to meet your expectations.  Let me show you why.

My responsibility as a stationer is to help my client select a wedding invitation and reply card set that reflects their preferences and design features – not my own!  For instance, I find Vera Wang wedding invitations to be particularly stylish in that they seemlessly incorporate many of Vera’s latest fabric designs into the actual invitation itself as shown below:

Vera Wang Wedding Invitation

While this is obviously a very striking invitation ensemble, the colors, the paper and, indeed, even the elaborate styling may not appeal to you.   For instance, you may be more attracted to the classic simplicity of Crane & Co.’s classic wedding  invitations or, perhaps, the bold designs of Oblation’s letterpress wedding invitations.

Oblation Letterpress Wedding Invitation

Imagine the complications of being faced with samples from over 60 companies:  Your head would likely be spinning.   There is a tendency for people to throw up their hands in frustration at the seemingly endless number of choices.  Nevertheless, working with an experienced stationer can often help narrow down the viable choices fairly quickly.  There is  a distinct advantage to working with an experienced stationer who has many samples of custom invitations, printed ink colors and paper swatches to help insure that your printed invitation meets your expectations.  This is simply not possible in the online world where low image resolutions distort ink colors and, most certainly, don’t begin to pick up the subtle textures of paper and their different weights.

The Stationers Guild has hyperlinks to many fine paper companies who sell wedding invitations.    Some of these printing companies sell online, but many do not.  Let  these designers and craftspeople tell you their story in their own words and see samples of their great designs.  While this is a useful way to do your research, there is no substitute to visiting a qualified stationer in your neighborhood.  While Guild member stores may not carry all the lines shown on our website, spending an hour with an experienced stationer will help point you in the right direction and will probably save you both money and many hours of frustration.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

Another online invitation and announcement company surfaced today:   Chickadee Prints.    In the tag line of its online Press Release, Chickadee claims to be “a company that aspires to create unique designs for stationary . . .”  Well that stopped me in my tracks.  How can a company aspire to create “unique” designs for a market that they can’t even spell properly?  

We just received an email from a friend of one of our European clients asking us how she can order stationery.  Found below is a slightly editorialized (names removed) and abridged version of her email request:

“I have just been admiring the (pale blue) card and envelope sent me by Jane Doe of Oslo, Norway, and would like to know how I can order some similar cards and envelopes as well as sheets of letter paper.  Until recently, I have used the stationery I bought through Merrimade, but after they went  ’modern’  they only answer standardized, in robot-like-fashion to my questions, and there is no r e a l  person I can write to or  e-mail with. So I have given them up. But I urgently need new stationery!”

I suspect that this is not unusual in our increasingly digital world:  personal service has been replaced robots.  As stationers, we are finding that there is a clear negative correlation in the “quality of service” and “quality of stationery” as our suppliers increase the level of automation in their front and back office.   As the email above suggests, the buyer is also finding it increasing difficult to interact with moronic robots that have replaced common sense with efficiency. 

As the  evidence of a disconnect between discerning clients and the skilled artisans that produce fine stationery continues to accumulate, I suspect that fine paper manufacturers must eventually decide whether they want to be all-things-to-all-people or concentrate on providing distinctive papers, quality designs and great customer service to a more restricted client base that appreciates personalized stationery and custom invitations.  It is not an easy decision. 

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

I am delighted to report that I have learned from reliable sources that Mrs. John L. Strong will reopen shortly at their original address on Madison Avenue.   As many loyal patrons are no doubt aware, this esteemed stationer was forced to close its doors earlier this spring.   I was advised that a new and reinvigorated Mrs. John L. Strong will emerge shortly following the sale of the company to a new owner.

Sources close to transaction have informed me that “the new owner will, no doubt, be in contact with the customer base within a matter of weeks of reopening.  You can make an appropriate entry on your blog to this effect.”

Consider it done!

I have received several inquires regarding the whereabouts of personal engraving dies from loyal patrons of Mrs. John L. Strong. My advice to them is to wait until the new owner gets their feet on the ground. I am sure you will be contacted in the near future. If I receive any additional information, I will gladly pass it on.

This is very good news indeed when one of the icons of fine stationery and good taste is given another life to thrill and enchant those who admire great craftsmanship and the elegance of beautiful paper.

Richard W. May
Founding Member of the Stationers Guild