Every fall for the past 20+ years, I’ve attended the Greeting Card Association’s annual convention. This year the GCA held the event in Nashville, TN, where the intersection of music and storytelling is central to the air you breathe in that town! It was such a wonderful and synergistic backdrop for an industry that weaves images and words together so artfully.

I am always energized by the shared passions, great programming and renewed relationships; I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world. As we look to the 70th National Stationery Show taking place May 15-18, 2016, you can expect a similar takeaway. While larger in scale and with a broader community in attendance, the shared energy, relevant content, exciting product and terrific people are qualities unique in business today, but that are the things that make the NSS so special. Save the date!

Daisy's

Barbara Mooney, owner of two Daisy's gift shops in California, has been addicted to all things paper since she was a little kid. "My personal collection of stationery items is almost as big as the shop's," she says, noting that greeting cards are a huge part of her business. "A $5 card may not seem like a big sale, but added up over the year, along with the increased foot traffic that cards bring, make them an important part of the stores."

Mooney's staff is always teasing her about the quantity of "Love" cards offered at Daisy's. Her answer to them is: "I was put on this Earth to spread love, and these are the perfect way to do that." The shops also sell ribbon, boxed notes, Waste Not Paper blank paper, washi tape and wrapping paper; and Mooney plans to add custom wedding suites. All of this stationery merchandise complements the large selection of gift and home products carried at Daisy's' 1,400-sq.-ft. Alameda location, which it moved to in 2006; and at its 2,100-sq.-ft. Oakland store, which opened in 2011.

"I have lots of people who could care less about any of my home decor but just adore my cards," Mooney remarks, adding that she's "very careful to mix some stationery products into all the home-decor displays so that people know they really need to tour the store." Stationery areas are also cleverly set up by color, not by item, adding to their visual appeal.

Although she has a staff of eight, Mooney's only escort to the NSS so far - which she has attended for about seven years - has been her husband ("the accountant"), but she'll be "amping it up" and bringing a staffer with her to the next show. She says she has found at least 50 companies at the NSS, including such favorites as Bench Pressed, Ladyfingers Letterpress, Modern Printed Matter and MakersKit; and states that seeing the Rifle Paper Co. booth in person is worth the trip alone.

"There are always new, sweet young makers with their new or recently launched lines that give me energy and keep my offerings fresh," Mooney relates. "The addition of a few days in NYC gets my creative juices going, so I consider it vital to my business."

Oblation Papers & Press

The couple started out making rough nature paper embedded with plant inclusions; since then, Oblation's products have evolved - as has its business, which today includes the paper mill, a letterpress print shop, as well as a paper boutique located in the trendy Pearl District of the city. Each of these distinct but related areas helps to make Oblation successful.

She explains that the company's letterpress print shop works closely with Oblation's design review team, "offering the layering of image and text to celebrate tangible connection made by humans." And, as buyers for the paper boutique - which specializes in custom wedding invitations, baby announcements and personal correspondence - Jennifer shares that, "customer interest shapes our buying decisions as we hunt for new and delightful ideas. I get to see what's out there and try to develop designs in opposite directions for our wholesale product lines."

Oblation's wholesale line is currently sold in approximately 1,000 stationery, gift and book stores, whose offerings "are intentionally about surprising their customers with the unexpected," according to Jennifer. The company also has key accounts in Paris, Tokyo and Berlin. "My background is in languages," she notes, "so allowing that to open up new avenues for our paper goods has been a fun adventure."

The "Hat-Wig-Glove" line of simple, humorous, letterpress-printed cards is currently Oblation's best-selling line. Its rough handmade papers, fashioned into cards, gift tags and wedding invitations, are also in demand, along with its "English Lit" cards and journals designed to resemble tooled leather books.

Oblation has exhibited at the NSS for about 22 years, and Jennifer acknowledges that the relationships built over the years have continued to make it their best show each year. "The buyers there are serious about paper goods, and they know what they're looking for," she states.

The Color Purple

"With the consumer's desire for artistic expression continuing to grow, purple hues have been soaring in popularity," according to the Pantone Color Institute, which says that purple has "transitioned into a lifestyle shade range penetrating into mass consumer levels of fashion, interiors, soft furnishings and package design" ... and, as evidenced by these NSS exhibitors, into the stationery marketplace.

75th Annual LOUIE Awards Call for Entries Now Open

The Call for Entries for the Greeting Card Association's 75th Annual LOUIE Awards is open now through December 11, 2015. The LOUIE Awards recognize, reward and celebrate the art, editorial and design of greeting cards and invitations. For full details and to submit an online application, click here.

National Stationery Show • 1133 Westchester Avenue, Suite N136 • White Plains, NY 10604 USA