The Stationers Guild

I continue to be surprised by the number of people seeking “thank you notes” when they should really be looking for stationery.  A typical conversation will go something like this:

Stationer:  “May I help you?”

Client:  “Yes, where are your thank you notes?”

Stationer:  “We have a nice selection of  ‘thank you notes’ on the spinner, but perhaps stationery might prove more useful.”

Client:  “Stationery?”

Stationer:  “Sure, stationery is generally far more practical than thank you notes.  For instance, personalized stationery works well for both business and social correspondence and can be used for birthdays, anniversaries, promotions and condolences as well as for saying ‘thank you.”

Client: “Oh, I hadn’t really considered it.  But I think I’ll just take the thank you notes now and come back later for stationery when I have more time.”

I suspect that this conversation is similar to that which occurs in many stationery stores across the United States.  Clearly, the client recognizes the importance of using written correspondence for this particular occasion but has somehow been led to believe that a “thank you note” is the appropriate form of correspondence.  I have no idea if this is attributable to “good” marketing or simply that personalized stationery is no longer deemed necessary by a generation that has become attached to digital communications.

At the Dallas Market, William Arthur showed us some of their new Thank You Notes and boxed foldover notes that can be personalized.  Both of these attractive cards are useful for simple “thank yous” and the personalized card from Vera Wang with Emily’s first name can easily be used for a thank you note or social correspondence.

While both forms of correspondence are perfectly acceptable, personalized stationery is far more versatile and, in my opinion, is preferable to the more commercial “Thank You” Note.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Now through March 28th, Crane & Co. is offering a free name or monogram die and free return address plate (a $96 value) with any order of 100 printed cards, fold-over notes, folders or sheets and envelopes that are engraved of printed in letterpress.  This is Crane’s signature stationery event and a most popular one for those looking for beautiful engraved stationery printed on 100% cotton paper by Crane.  So popular is this stationery sale, that we strongly recommend that you schedule an appointment with your local stationery store and see hundreds of sample cards and notes printed in letterpress or engraved on Crane paper. 

Engraving is one of the oldest and most elegant processes for reproducing images on paper.  Engraving  etches an image onto a copper plate. Ink is then applied to the copper plate or die where the ink gathers in the engraved cavity. Cotton paper is then pressed into the cavity of the plate, resulting in a raised right-reading image on the front and a slight bruising on the back where pressure was applied.   

Engraving is used for all types of events on many forms of stationery. Every piece of engraved stationery is fed into the engraving press by hand. Because there is no mass production in engraving, each impression — be it a note, invitation or card — is a customized one. The most elegant invitations are engraved. Wedding invitations, in particular, are commonly engraved. The finished product has a warmth all its own that conveys an unspoken message of distinction and timelessness.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

One of my favorite puns and one which could well serve as tag line for the Stationers’ Guild is: “No matter how far you push the envelope, it is still stationery.”   While this is always good for a laugh – at least for those that know how to spell “stationery” – I suspect that the relevance of stationery is fast becoming lost to a growing number of people who live online.   This was brought home to me today when I received an email from Envelopes.com.

The subject line of the email was “Push the Design Envelope” followed by “Your Designs + Our Envelope = Perfect.”   Now, I have never heard of Envelope.com but I discovered near the bottom of their website that  Envelopes.com claims to be  “the leading supplier of plain and printed envelopes in all sizes, styles and colors, to businesses, organizations, and individuals. © 2010. All rights reserved.”

The fact that I have “never heard” of Envelope.com is not disturbing.  In fact, with a little research the company was formerly known as Action Envelope and is headquartered in Long Island.  I find it surprising that the “leading supplier” of envelopes would change their name if they were that well known, but very little surprises me anymore in the stationery industry.

Which brings to a serious question:  What is the difference – if any – between stationery and paper?  To many, I suspect there is not a lot.  Nevertheless, I hate it when people refer to Saint Clair as a “paper shop.”  Perhaps, I am getting a little sensitive as I grow older, but I am confident that I know the difference between “paper” and fine stationery.   It may simply be a question of style and elegance, but to me stationery is reflected in a quality paper that begs to be touched.   Monograms or names that are embossed or engraved on fine stationery simply add another layer of elegance to an already rich stationery experience.

The stationery industry is overrun with flat and insipid designs printed on “paper” – not paper that raises to the level of  “stationery.”   While we can lament the decline in the informed consumer, let us spend our time rejoicing in the many who still treasure the craftsmanship that goes into making fine stationery.

And for those designers and printing companies who are inspired to create beautiful stationery rather than become leaders of mass-marketed papers, we salute you and wish you well.

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

While in Vermont for a wedding, I happened to be driving by a Church and noticed the following message posted on a large sign near the entrance:

Honk if you love Jesus!
Text while driving
if you want to meet him!

Regardless of your religious affiliation, the message is quite powerful.  Nevertheless, I am not sure it is a ringing endorsement to attend Church since the message implies that you can get closer to Jesus by texting while you drive than by sitting in a pew.

Now, I am all for clever word play to make your point, but the context or setting must be taken into consideration when crafting your message.   While the message at the Church entrance is certainly a  “public service” and “driver safety” message, many would consider it out of place at a House of Worship.

Similarly, “texting,” “writing” on someone’s Facebook Wall or “tweeting,” is very much different than sending a personal note on fine stationery.  For the most part, digital exchanges on Facebook and Twitter are public manifestations and lack the warmth and intimacy of a personal exchange of correspondence.

While the words or message may be identical in either medium, the handwritten note bestows a level of considered importance that most forms of digital communication simply can’t match.  A well-crafted note written on elegant stationery simply stands out from the seemingly endless clutter that daily piles up in our inbox or the ever-present demands to stay in touch with our social media friends.

Discounting has always been a source of conflict within the stationery industry.   Many see it as a normal competitive business practice, while others view it as irresponsible behavior that does not properly reflect the appropriate “value” of the product or service provided.   This is clearly a very difficult concept to get your hands around and, I suspect, that there is no clear consensus on how to enforce (assuming it is needed) ”fair and reasonable” pricing to protect a brand.    While “pricing competitiveness”  is an important component of discussion on discounting, the subject has ramifications that have a huge impact on business in general and far-reaching but less well understood social consequences.

Rather than discuss this in a conceptual framework, I think it is useful to highlight some of the radical changes that are occurring in the publishing industry.    As we all know, the newspaper industry is imploding on itself as print advertising revenue is displaced by online advertising and cable TV.  Warren Buffet remarked that with “news” content distributed free (or nearly free) over the Internet it is difficult to build a convincing business case for the survivability of the newspaper industry.  I tend to agree with him.

Similarly, with price wars heating up in the book publishing industry and the growing acceptance of downloading and reading books digitally it would appear that a similar revolution is taking place in the book publishing industry.  Barnes & Noble has put itself up for sale and I suspect that the days of “print publishing” are numbered.    Certainly, there is a compelling case to be able to access any book (whether in print or not) immediately online; however, some of us still prefer the touch and feel of paper to back-lit digital readers.

Regardless of how we feel about these changes, change is coming and it is being driven by a more efficient and less-costly distribution system.  In effect, while you may prefer to read a print version of the New York Times with your morning coffee and pop down to the library to check out a book, it seems likely that these everyday rituals will soon be displaced by something quite different.  Some of us may find the transition easy, but others less so.   For me, it is difficult to imagine the beautiful Barnes and Noble bookstore in Union Square (NYC) turned into a warehouse to sell third-world arts and crafts.  And what about the employees, the editors and publishers?  What will become of them in this brave new world?  Is Walmart hiring?

Now to a practical case.  Our store, like many stationery stores, carries Filofax.  Yes, not everybody has migrated to an iPhone or Blackberry.   For several years, I have been following the evolution of Filofax to determine how they intend to deal with the digital assault on their dated merchandise.  The first thing Filofax USA did was to setup a rather cheap Yahoo online store some years ago to sell their merchandise directly to the public.  The website is far better today, but in an effort to retain sales they began to sell their products to online discounters and now offer consumers special deals that their retail outlets can’t match.  In effect, Filofax is competing with their own retail outlets at terms and conditions not available to their retailers.  This creates an awkward situation for retailers who have been servicing an aging client base who still use the Filofax product.

My objective here is not to throw cold water on Filofax’s merchandising strategy, but to highlight how extraordinarily difficult it is for store-front dealers to retain a stiff upper lip as they are being systematically disintermediated by their suppliers.    I suspect that many retailers will soon decide that the level of customer maintenance to support the yearly agendas and refills doesn’t justify the time and money commitment.    It’s sad to tell your regular clients to shop online, but quite frankly it may be the best solution (at least over the short run) for the client, the retail store and for Filofax.

As boutique stores begin to shed lines and, perhaps, determine that it is no longer worth the effort to remain open, the entire commercial real estate landscape of towns will begin to change.  We are already witnessing this across large stretches of the United States.   The business centers of small towns will simply disappear, strip mall will be plowed under and vacancy rates are likely to sky rocket as the “fixed” infrastructure costs no longer justify selling products that are being systematically discounted by big box stores and online retailers.   Perhaps, these towns will evolve into something quite beautiful and unexpected, but I have my doubts. 

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

For many years I was addicted to the “talking heads” on CNBC, the financial news network that is currently owned by General Electric.   The CNBC “news” formula is to bring in “experts” to share their reaction to late breaking financial and industry news.  Many consider their comments self-serving and manipulative, but others consider CNBC useful in making sound investment decisions. 

Some weeks ago, I was listening to a program in which CNBC was analysing Walmart’s (or Wal-Mart) retail sales and how a same-store-sale’s increase of 3.2% augured well for the retail industry.  Well, I work in the retail industry and, quite frankly, Walmart’s same-store sales don’t strike me as a useful barometer of how well or how poorly the retail industry is doing.   Since Walmart represents  a disproportionately large percentage of total retail sales, does it necessarily follow that all retail sales increased in the same proportion or did Walmart’s  “good” performance occur at the expense of local competition? 

I, therefore, decided to do a bit of research and have now decided we all need to adopt a ”Walmart State of Mind” if we truly want  to see where this is all heading.  (Think Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind if you want to hum along). Trust me, it ain’t pretty.

Most people know that Walmart is the largest retailer in the world with 2009 sales of over $300 billion and close to two million employees.    Wal-Mart’s sales are four times larger than the second-place retailer, Kroger.  Even more, if you combine the sales of the retailers rated two through six (Kroger, Target, Walgreen, The Home Depot and Costco) this total only barely exceeds Wal-Mart’s total sales ($305 billion for Wal-Mart vs. $319 billion for the group).

While big and successful, Walmart has attracted a number of detractors ranging from criticism of their employment practices, third-world sourcing, the environment and the devastating impact on local businesses and the communities they serve. Stacy Mitchell’s Big-Box Swindle is perhaps the most disturbing analysis of how “Big Box” stores impact community life.

What is less well known is how Walmart’s scorched earth retail marketing strategies have permanently altered the economic and social landscape of many states in the United States.   For instance, in seven states Walmart accounts for more than 50% of retail sales.    In fact, in many states Walmart has managed to get tax breaks and incentives from State and Local governments to open stores to the detriment of many local businesses.

In a University of Illinois (“UIC”) study evaluating the opening of a Wal-Mart store in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood in 2006 concluded that it “has not increased retail activity or employment opportunities in the years since. Researchers found that stores near Wal-Mart were more likely to go out of business, eliminating the equivalent of about 300 full-time jobs – about as many as Wal-Mart initially added to the area.”  UIC researcher David Merriman concludes that “‘What we’re seeing here is that placing a Wal-Mart in an urban setting is basically a wash in terms of sales revenue for the city and jobs for local residents.”  There are even more alarming details of the economic consequences of big box stores from other resources.

This Blog Post  is not an exposé of Walmart, whose “issues” are addressed by people far more competent that I am.   A Walmart State of Mind addresses a far more fundamental question for independent storefront retailers:  What must an independent storeowner do to survive and, hopefully, make a decent living with the dramatic changes that are occurring in today’s market place?  

The question becomes significant for stationers when you learn that Walmart is selling individual greeting cards for $0.46.  Furthermore, seemingly every store in town, from the local car wash to the grocery store, is selling identical greeting cards to the ones whose lines you have nurtured for the last 10 years or so.  What to do?

There are many other examples where the joy of running your own business has now been superceded by the frustration of running faster to just to make ends meet.  This is not good for your piece-of-mind, health or economic well-being.    Short of closing our businesses is there anything we can do?    In the next series of articles we will seek to examine several concrete strategies to avoid getting into a Walmart State of Mind.  Some of these strategies may not be immediately “good” for your pocketbook, but they will focus your mind.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

It is with deep regret that I learned that Village Stationery of Omaha, Nebraska is closing its doors after some 35 years at the same location in Countryside Village near 87th and Pacific Streets.   Louise Rasmussen, a former teacher who bought the shop with her husband, Wayne, five years ago, claims that the Internet and a depressed economy have caused sales to plummet.  Louise is quoted in the article as saying “people are doing it all online.” She views the handwritten note as a tangible piece of history that  is rapidly disappearing from our society.

Stationery employee Judith Brodnicki is quoted as saying that “handwriting, in and of itself, is a technical skill, the foundation of literacy.  But it’s also become a way to make something incredibly personal. It’s unlike a phone call. A letter pretty much sits there and waits for you.”

Annabelle Stefanski, co-president of the Invitation & Stationery Alliance and who is quoted in the Omaha World-Hearld article agrees with Judith, but believes ”people are now cautiously optimistic, and things (for the industry) are certainly looking much better.”

As a stationer, I lament the closing of any stationery store, particularly one that has been so closely integrated into their community.  One needs only to look back over the number birthday parties, weddings and birth announcements, retirement parties, anniversaries and sympathy acknowledgements that have passed through Village Stationery.   When a store with rich community links and memories disappears from the town landscape we are much the poorer as a society.   Village Stationery – you will be missed.  I join other stationers in wishing the Rasmussen family well and I do hope that Village Stationery’s employees find meaningful jobs.

Richard W. May
Founding Member Stationers Guild.

Just received an announcement that Jamie Ostrow has resurfaced and has set up shop in East Hampton, New York.  While her website in not yet up, Jamie has contacted many of her dealers to encourage them to order her new letterpress invitation album and stationery album.  Her holiday album is also available and we understand that she is also working on a Wedding Invitation Album. 

According to Jamie, she will be manufacturing on premises “so that we can control all phases of productions, from order taking through shipping.  Some of you know that for the last several years, we relied on outside printers, now we’re back on our own presses.”

The biggest change Jamie’s loyal customers will notice is that Jamie Ostrow has now moved to letterpress rather than engraving.  While her sharp design, contemporary font styles and very clever wording remain, letterpress will give her  invitations, stationery and holiday cards a “softer” edge.  Personally, I think her clients will be pleased. 

If you are interested in receiving more information about the Jamie Ostrow line, please email Jamie at jamie@jamieostrow.com

Richard W. May

This week at the National Stationery Show (“NSS”) a colleague of mine told me that the Editor of Get Married, an online wedding website, was going to visit a bricks-and-mortar stationery store and find out what actually goes on when someone seeks advice on wedding invitations.  I was intrigued:  gosh, will a “real world” experience get in the way of shamelessly promoting the same monotonous and tedious designs from online resellers?  Sceptical, but willing to give Get Married the benefit of the doubt, I trekked over to their booth at the back of Javits Center to see if they had made any relevant  improvements to their website.

I came across an enthusiastic young woman explaining the benefits of advertising on Get Married to two stationers.  As they were wrapping up, I jumped in and asked:  Will I be able to find a “real” stationery store on your website?    Using Connecticut as an example (my home state), I asked to see if they had any stores listed under invitations?

As I suspected, the only “local” stores you can find are “national” online resellers.    I think most people are savvy enough to know the difference between a business that sells “nationally” online and a local store, why can’t Get Married see the difference?    Despite the fact that wedding sites like The Knot, Martha Stewart Wedding and Get Married like to hype the local shopping experience, local relevance is determined solely by how much advertising dollars you are prepared to spend to “buy” local space. 

I explained to the young salesperson, that I considered this to be a deceptive promotion and it was causing people searching for local resources to move away from wedding portals.  She promised to bring this to the attention of her superiors.   Fortunately, I believe that mobile search will eventually kill these relics of self-promotion and deceptive claims whose primary interests are selling advertising and generating affiliate income.  Information from these websites is little more than promtional hype.  Let the buyer beware.

If you are an independent stationer thinking you will benefit from these websites, think again.  The money you spend on online marketing is far better spent promoting your own website and engaging in local search optimization. 

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

Vanessa Redgrave is my favorite actress and I have had a crush on her since the mid-60s when I saw her perform opposite David Warner in Morgan.    I make it a point of seeing every film she is in and when asked to see a sneak preview of Letters to Juliet (the Juliet of Romeo and Juliet fame) on Mother’s Day, how could I resist?

Now some might argue that Letters to Juliet  is a chick-flick, but any film set in Verona, Siena and the beautiful landscape of Tuscany can’t be all that bad.   With the exception of the dewey-eyed Vanessa and a cameo appearance by Franco Nero, most of the performances were Hollywood-lite but who cares as long as there is a happy ending.  I certainly didn’t.

The plot – if you can call it that – revolves around a young American girl on a pre-honeymoon trip with her boarish fiance.  While touring Verona, she notices many young women posting letters on the wall underneath Juliet’s balcony.   In much the same way people write to Ann Landers, women of all ages  seek advice from Juliet on “matters of the heart” and appear daily to blanket the wall with their letters.  While some may find this behavior somewhat bizarre since Juliet  has been dead for over 500 years and was only 13 years old when she stabbed herself with Romeo’s dagger, I find the ritual charming.

Each day at dusk the self-appointed secretaries of Juliet take down the letters and retire to a nearby palazzo to answer these letters on behalf of Juliet.  These lovely ladies give hope to these heart-stricken women by sending a hand-written note, no doubt written on Juliet’s engraved stationery.  In fact, the young American woman finds a letter hidden behind a stone written 50 years earlier by Vanessa who asks for Juliet’s advice on whether to settle for a conventional English marriage or run off with a young Italian man with whom she was passionately in love.  I won’t spill any further details.

Now imagine if this lovely ritual could occur in today’s digital society.  I suppose one could Tweet Juliet or become a Facebook Fan if Juliet has a “Fan” or “Like” Page, but it hardly seems the same compared to penning a letter in a small courtyard under the most famous balcony in the world.  I guess today’s techies could leave behind a RW CD or, perhaps, a USB port under the balcony in the hope that some “New Age” secretary would would care enough to send an e-mail.  Alas, I think not.  But imagine how rich our lives would be if a perfect stranger - in the interests of “love” – would simply pen a note and let you know they hear you and wish you well. 

Oh, it’s only a film.  We have little time for romance and passion in today’s world.  How sad.

Richard May
Thérèse Saint Clair