BOO!!

Happy Halloween!

What's in My Stationery Stash: The tip of the iceberg

As promised in my previous stationery stash post, let's look inside my baskets to see what I keep around.

A looooooooong time ago, I came across these cards on sale at Hallmark. I bought 3 boxes!! I am still working my way through them. They are blank on the inside which makes them perfect for ANYTHING. I used them the other day for a thank you note & just for funsies grabbed 2 extras out of the box to send to random friends just to say hi. 

I've said before, if you see a card you like, just buy it. You'll find a reason to use it! The card above I bought in Amsterdam & I wish I'd bought a thousand of them. This card above sort of says "wedding" but I bought a bunch from this illustrator with all different pictures of girlfriends hanging out. This is my LAST ONE. I'm so sad. They have been great for all kinds of occasions. 

By the way, Amsterdam, in general, had amazing stationery & paper stores. If you go there, seek them out. You will not be sorry!!

So, clearly this is a baby-themed card. I couldn't decide what to get a girl friend a year or so ago, so I bought more than one card & thought I'd decide which one to send later. Plenty of friends are having babies these days, so this will not stay in the stash much longer I'm sure.

Oh...one of my favorites!! I picked this up at Black Ink in Pacific Palisades, CA while visiting family. GREAT card shop if you're in the LA area & head out to the beach. The card was made by Copper Willow & is one of a few in this size & style that I got. The rest have been used already!! This one is an anniversary card. The inside says: another year together. Happy Anniversary. It's a little difficult to see in the photo above, but the ink on this letterpressed card has a little metallic shine to it.

But wait! There's more! I seriously pick up cards...or make them for myself...all the time. But, that's enough for now. I want to keep you yearning for more!

Anyone keep cards on hand? Birthday? Thank you notes?? I would love to see & hear about them. Head over to Facebook & show me your goods!

Paper is Wearable

Halloween isn't really my thing, but I could get into with a DIY project idea like this. It's a paper wig!! Choose your paper carefully & you could have any color or theme you can think up. This gem comes from Whimseybox, a subscription service that sends DIY projects to your home each month. Their blog is FULL of great ideas as well!

Get the full tutorial here.

NSS or Bust

{the floor at the National Stationery Show, via MyMomShops.com}

Big announcement!!!

I WILL BE EXHIBITING AT THE 2014 NATIONAL STATIONERY SHOW!!

OMG, just typing that makes my hands & feet sweat. That's what my body does when I get nervous. My hands & feet turn into a hot mess. That was probably TMI...

I love selling at markets, but I don't love doing it every weekend or even every month. Greeting cards is a very occasion based business to be in. Even though many more people are sending them these days, it is still hard to justify the costs of markets each weekend. And don't even get me started on the time it takes to do them. 

Boy, do I miss the Dekalb Market & having a regular retail location. That was the best.

So, to grow my business, I am looking to wholesale. I am looking forward to forming relationships with stores & sellers who interact with my target market, who have insight into what they are buying. My goal for the show is to write 5 orders with potential recurring clients. Some stationers write 3 orders at their first show, some 20...some don't write any at all. My business goals are not just about selling my products but about forming relationships with people who like what I have to offer & want to work with me as much as I with them.

Sending cards, notes & sweet paper items is so much about relationships - not only those that you have with friends which inspire you to send cards or use fun wrapping paper BUT ALSO!! The relationship that I have with all of you, my clients & potential clients... Well, at least the one I have in my mind that inspires you to send cards... {insert big toothy grin}

So, my goals for the show are to have products that showcase my talents & start building new exciting relationships through them.

Stay tuned as I share the details on how this will all come together.  Come hell or high water, on May 18th, the doors of the Jacob Javits Center here in New York will open & I will be ready!!

What's in my Stationery Stash

I have said it before & I'll say it again: The secret to sending cards & notes is to have them handy!! To show you that I practice what I preach I'm giving you a peek into... {drum roll...wait for it...}

...my Stationery Stash. It is a many varied & wondrous thing.

At the moment, I keep it in a few places. It's grown over the years, as I moved to different apartments, homes & so the containers, boxes & baskets have changed with it. Right now, most of it is stored in this silver wire basket. Easy to see what I have, easy to flip through & find what I need. I also have some of it in a blue metal magnetic basket that hangs on my fridge. Very handy!

Notice I've kept everything together in one convenient place there?? Stamps, pens, cards all next to each other.

What's in the basket? Stay tuned. I'm going to show you...

Paper Porn :: Men's Stationery

More cool stationery for the man in your life! From William Arthur, another reliable resource for classic designs that never go out of style. See the selection here.

Check out my previous post on men's stationery for other masculine options.

** Love stationery & paper products? Submit something for Paper Porn: Kbatty {at} ymail.com or tweet @kmbatty **

Tuesday Talk :: Farewell Paperie

Happy October 1st! It's the first Tuesday of the month and today on Tuesday Talk I am chatting with Jen & Lisa of Farewell Paperie.

{Lisa (l) & Jen (r) and Harley}

Why Jen & Lisa? Go to their Etsy shop & check it out...I'll wait...SEE?!?!?!? Awesome cards, great sense of humor & all letterpressed. {le sigh...} 

Are you ready to find out more?!!

{Holy Bleep You Had A Baby}

Where do you find your inspiration?
We used to work bicoastally, so there were a lot of different types of communicado going on between us.

Our texting, emailing, skyping, and chatting cyberspeak got pretty ridiculous sometimes, and we quickly found our brand voice to be at its best with that same fun, conversational messaging. We'll just bounce random lines and phrases back and forth and craft them until it's perfectly amusing to us.

{Annoying/Amazing card}

I love your use of color & typography. What fonts are you using a lot these days? Any go-to colors?

We are looking at fonts all the time. We are kind of type nerds and scour the internet and pinterest for what's new and interesting. It's hard to say what fonts we are using a lot these days. It seems like a lot of art deco and handwritten fonts are in right now, so may be leaning towards those. Colors we are loving right now are minty green and Fuchsia.

Since there are 2 of you, how do you split up the creation of your cards/lines, as well as other general duties?

It's a total collaborative effort. We used to work together in advertising then transitioned over into our business, so we are very used to working with each other. It's been 6 years now since we started working together, so we definitely know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Our work flow is so seamless, we have our status meeting then just get working. It's crazy jedi-mind trick stuff.

Naturally since you guys use a letterpress & I just got my first press in January, I want to know all about your press. What was your first press?

We have a C&P 10x16 named Bill that we got in San Fran. Somehow his name just came out one day. Bill.

We just bought a Windmill at the end of July and named her Helga. She's big and burly, so the name just fit.

{I like-like you card}

Letterpress has really blown up again in the last few years. What kind of advice can you give someone new to this form of printing? 
Letterpress is a beautiful form of printing, but it definitely tests your patience. There's always something new to learn, so try to soak up as much info as you can.

{Their booth at NSS 2012 via their blog, Paper Relish}

How as the National Stationery Show changed your business? Where on the East Coast can I get your wonderful cards?

The NSS has helped our busies grow so much. If it weren't for the NSS we wouldn't be in half of the stores we are in now. It's just a great way to not only get in front of store owners, but to get connected in the stationery world as well.  Are cards are all along the east coast. Check out our "stores" section on our site to find out where to buy our cards.

{Sapling Press - Dear Fork Letterpress card. If you don't laugh at this you are a robot}

What stationers/designers do you admire?
- Amy Graham: She was a the forefront of the letterpress movement.
- Lisa from Sapling press. Her cards are so funny and smart and you can tell right away they are her brand voice
- Carrie from Anemone Press. We love her use of bright colors and cute imagery. From a printing perspective she's impeccable.

{I love you more than bacon and then some}

What is the best/funniest/most memorable greeting card you’ve ever received?
Lisa - A post-it note from my husband on Valentine's day. He said nothing could compare to our cards, so why try to find another card

Jen - My mom gets me a really sappy card every year for my birthday that says "Daughter" at the top and then has a really long poem inside. Those kinds of cards are what made me want to create designs that were funny, thoughtful and something a loved one would appreciate receiving.

Other than the shelves of your studio, where do you go when you need a greeting card?
We seriously shop on our shelves all the time. It's just too easy ;)
If I'm at paper source or a local shop, I tend to look for our friends cards and buy those.

{Any Occasion Card Set}

Finish this sentence: A friend has just told you they are terrible at sending greeting cards. “What?!” you exclaim. “All you need to do is…”
…remember how much junk mail and bills sucks and how much fun it is to get a surprise in the mail. It will put a smile on anyone's face.

Thank you Lisa & Jen!! I so appreciate your participation in my tiny corner of the internet.