Last month I had the opportunity to attend the National Stationery Show— THE trade show for stationery, creative design, paper and gifts. Basically, heaven. This was my second year attending, but it had been a few years since experiencing my last show, and I knew there would be some new awesome booths to discover.
The show took place May 17-20, at the Jacob Javitz Center in NYC, a gigantic convention space on the West Side. I had already planned to be back home (NYC area) during that entire week to celebrate my baby sister’s college graduation and my other sister’s bachelorette party, the following weekend, so the timing worked out perfectly. Due to the amount of plans I had crammed in during our eight day trip, I was only able to squeeze in one morning at the show, which happened to be the last day (Wednesday). Compared to my 2012 visit to NSS, which was on a weekend, my Wednesday morning was far more enjoyable, way less crowded, and best of all, it gave me the opportunity to engage with some wonderful vendors.
The first booth I stepped into was Kate Spade, whose style I could not adore more. Bright cheery colors, classic patterns and clean type are all the elements that I think add up to a home run when it comes to design. I did my best not to throw everything on those shelves into my bag. Except maybe that scary looking owl, next to the tumblers.
Adjacent to the Kate Spade booth was Bando— a really fun, youthful and colorful brand that I’m sure many of you are familiar with. My favorite item that they sell is their genius “I am very busy” design (not pictured). I thought it was very fitting that they were located so close to Kate Spade, because as a brand I feel like they are Kate’s slightly sassy and very hip younger sister.
PS if you aren’t already following Bando on Instagram, please do. You are in for a treat!
My next stop was Holstee, a clean and retro styled company with a little Brooklyn flair. I really loved their art prints, posters and overall vibe. Everything they had on display felt very smart, but also cozy and inviting. Like a friend who is way more intelligent than you, but who doesn’t make you feel inferior.
Their desk setup was perfection. I really wanted to open my laptop and set up shop for the rest of the afternoon!
I headed over to the other end of the Convention Center to meet up with my friend Holly from PaperCrush and on the way I stumbled upon Claudia Pearson‘s darling booth! She had so many pretty, hand illustrated pieces on display, all with a rustic, friendly style.
I found Miss Holly who was visiting the show with her friend Debbie from Wants and Wishes and we were able to chat about all things stationery and paper goods. Unlike me who was just there to gawk, Holly was there shopping to stock her fabulous online store. I had a lot of fun tagging along and getting a little preview of what she would be adding to her inventory.
Next stop was Printable Wisdom, one of my favorite Etsy shops! Ashley (the designer), has such gorgeous style and many of her prints are hand lettered using her own stunning calligraphy.
I was so excited to meet Ashley and tell her what an inspiration she has been to me as a fellow designer. Like almost every creative I’ve ever met, she was as sweet as can be and we got to chat a bit about designing, working with printers and wholesale. Seeing graphic design success stories makes me so happy for our industry and I am so excited to follow Ashley’s journey!
I spied Liddabits‘ booth and was immediately drawn in because their style is so similar to mine. Plus, I spotted a kitty head on the wall, and I knew these people were my kind of people. Unfortunately Liz, the owner wasn’t around when I stopped by but I showed myself around and admired all of their awesome banners, photo booth props, cake toppers and signs.
Can you spot some of my favorite fonts used to create these awesome products?
Next, I swung over to Sunny Life. You couldn’t walk by this booth without wanting to go in and play. They were fully stocked with everything that was fun, summery, colorful and one of a kind. My favorite items were their silicone ice cube molds (which came in shapes like flamingos, anchors, and pineapples). Basically, I left the booth planning a pool party.
You can spot Holly in the background shopping for some quirky radios (among other goodies).
I didn’t stop in this next booth, but I had to snap a photo because, well, it was a giant retro mint green van, and when you see one of those, it needs to be documented. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t even catch the name of this fab company, but I do really enjoy their artwork, especially the inspirationalquote.jpg print. As you can imagine I have quite a few files with that name on my computer.
I couldn’t leave NSS without stopping by the great Emily McDowell‘s booth, another designer who has been a huge inspiration to me. I got to chat with Emily herself about her appearance on The Today Show (which was filming the next day) and I think I got a little starstruck because I forgot to ask to take a photo with her, but I did get a couple shots of her awesome booth.
Her line of greeting cards are equally beautiful and smart. Emily not only writes her own sentiments but also does her own lettering and illustrations. So much talent oozing from one booth!
After spending a few hours at the show, it was time for me to scoot out to my next activity, so I started heading toward the exit when I spotted this awesome booth. Pop Chart Lab‘s speciality is infographics and industrial styled designs and all of their art prints, cards and products had so much going on that I had to stop in and take a closer look.
I probably could have spent a few hours in this spot alone! The detailing in each item made each piece like their own little museum.
Having my own booth at NSS is definitely something I’ve dreamed about but at the same time completely intimidated me. After walking the floor this year, and chatting with some of the exhibitors, it doesn’t seem quite as scary as I had made it out to be in my head. Perhaps the next time I walk under that arch, it will be armed with my own designs!
