L&H for Galison: Labels & Note Cards

For the first time in six years, I did not exhibit at the National Stationery Show. As any exhibitor knows, the lead up to the show is nutty. There's so much prep work. So last fall when the deposit was due & my belly was out to Alaska, I decided to pass. Instead, I've been silently working on some new things that I'll debut this summer. (More on that later!) 

Towards the end of last year, I had the pleasure to work with Galison, a division of Chronicle Books, on some new designs for holiday labels and note cards - which I got to see in person at NSS yesterday. It was super exciting to hold them in my hands, and I can't wait to get some for myself! Sticker labels are SO useful. Especially when you give gifts to 19 nieces and nephews! When I was designing the labels, I purposely left a few blank instead of writing anything so that they could be used for labeling more than just gifts - addressing envelopes,  writing merry messages on wine bottles, lunch bags & gift boxes, or sprucing up plain gift tags. So obviously the labels are useful, but my favorite non-useful but fun feature of the label pack are the patterns on the inside flap - the candy canes, below - and then what I call the sweater pattern, which is used on the back. The whole thing is just so cute. Can you tell I'm so pleased with how it all turned out?! :)

They should be available for purchase soon - I'll be sure to let you know.

NSS 2012: The Booth

The Stationery Show is now over - phew!

It was so nice to see my favorite stationery friends and meet some news ones - including two big names in art & design, Rena Tom and Lisa Congdon. Love these women & felt super nerdy-excited to meet them. That's got to be the best part of this big expensive production - the friendships, camaraderie and connections surrounding it. 

Above & below are a few Instagram shots from the booth. Immediately below is the brand new Pony Bob Card Carrier, named after the most famous rider of the Pony Express. I had the idea for a stationery carrier after my son was born & I found myself writing thank you notes in the doctor's office, pulling them out of my purse in a ziplock bag. Handy, but not pretty. I wanted to create something nicer and a bit more thank-you-note-inspiring than a plastic sandwich bag.

I hope to put both the Pony Bob and the Quilt Calendar online in the next couple weeks as coming soon products. I expect both to be available for purchase by mid to late summer.

Stay tuned next week for some more NSS follow up, as well as the announcement of the big winner in the Paper Quilt Contest! 

NSS 2012: Best Honor Ever

Yesterday, Grace of design*sponge wrote up her first post on the National Stationery Show and said our 2013 oversized Quilt Calendar was her favorite piece of the entire show. Pardon the toot toot of my own horn here, but TOOT TOOT!

This calendar has been in my head for over a year, but I knew that not everyone would get it. (You have no idea how many people asked if this was the real size or just the size we were showing at the show. Wha???) It was a bit risky, and I wasn't exactly sure (as I never am) how people would respond. So Grace, a design blogger I love & respect, saying that it was her favorite piece at the show is the biggest honor I could ever hope for because it means that my audience gets it & likes it as much as I do.

Big big big thanks to Grace at design*sponge for getting it & loving it!

I'll post more pics from the show tomorrow, but check out Grace's first day's coverage here.

NSS 2012: Quilt Cal Debut / Day 1

Here it is! The 2013 Quilt Calendar. A beast of a calendar at 26" x 40". It's hand screenprinted on 100# cover, 100% recycled stock, and hangs from two oak bars clamped together by two brass bolts & wing nuts. It's a statement piece that turns into frameable art print after the month has passed. I love this calendar so much & am so excited that it was so well-received on the first day. 

The highlight of the day was Lotta Jansdotter visiting our booth, pointing to the calendar & asking if she can get it. I was starstruck. I could barely answer. Luckily, I pulled myself together enough to mutter an obvious yes! I was so bummed that she left no more than 1 minute before my Swedish speaking husband (and child, sort of) arrived! I love when he can speak Swedish to people & I would have died for him to speak to Lotta! Like I said, starstruck.

But back to the show. John and Griffin came to visit, play with the calculator, and chase all the balloon animals around. It was a great day seeing all my favorite stationery friends! More to come tomorrow. 

NSS 2012: Booth Sneak Peek

Phew! It's been a busy week. And the show hasn't even started! We moved in on Thursday, tweaked a few things today, and head back for the show's start on Sunday. 

I was all about changing up the booth display this year. Each year, we use the same foam core boards, fabric covering, rug & table. It has saved us a lot of money, but it was time for a change. Same foam core boards, new covering. And all new furniture - some bought, some rented, some hand made by a certain handy friend. With two brand new exciting products to show, this booth display feels like a perfect fit. 

Come by & say hi. We're in booth # 2070.

NSS Prep

We're in major prep mode for the National Stationery Show. Above, a few shots I'm working into the catalog. Busy busy busy, as usual for the one-week countdown to move-in day. Eeee!

NSS 2012: Another Peek

Another peek at a NSS debut piece. Cannot wait to show you the whole thing. This one is a biggie. Stay tuned for more this week!

NSS Preview

 

It's that time of year - some preview pics of what's to come at the NSS! And this year, L&H is changing it up! I feel like I say that every year, but this year I mean it:) Here are some in-progress shots of the thing I'm most excited about. Stay tuned for more.

Neon

I'm in the thick of NSS prep these days - designing, tweaking, even selling already if you can believe it. Bright & neon colors continue to pepper my work this year - and possibly even more so. I'm so excited to show & share in the next few weeks. Speaking of neon, how pretty are these tea towels that Scholten & Baijings did for Hay Denmark? See more of their work at A + R.

[image courtesy of A + R]

design*sponge NSS Coverage

Going into the National Stationery Show with your biggest wall featuring a product in a completely new medium (digitally printed watercolor) was a little scary. Are people going to like this as much as I do? Will they like/understand the big size? Is the focus on lettering & color variations too simple?

I felt better after Day One when the response was good, but seeing Grace's post on it this morning was the best gold star I could get. See her full post here, including her shout out to my business cards for best at the show. In a sea full of paper, to me, that's the best compliment you can get.

Thanks so much to Grace & Amy for coming by!

[images courtesy of design*sponge]

NSS: The End

Now that NSS is over, we all get to rest. Well, rest a little, then start fulfilling orders. We'll be in some great new shops, so stay tuned for those announcements as we get things shipped out. The notepads will be available online June 1. The 2012 Letterpress and Watercolor Calendars will go up in July.

 

[Some final pics of the Watercolor Calendar from our booth.]

NSS: The Booth

Just a few shots from the booth. We have reused the same stuff (foamcore boards, the material pinned to the boards, door-as-table, dining room chairs, bedroom rug) for the past four years and yet it still looked fresh this year. We had so many compliments on our set up & I can't take any credit. It was all my talented friend Lizzy. (Lucky RISD gets her for the next two years. Sniff, sniff.)

Today is the last day and is only three hours, which means no one comes, which means we get to buzz around visiting each others' booths. I hate the price tag of the show, the "awards" they call "awards," and I certainly never look forward to moving stuff in & out, but I really do love talking to and meeting with fellow stationers, designers, buyers and editors. Cut out the crap, and it's really pretty fun.

 

NSS Prep

Last minute prep today. Tomorrow is move-in day!

Follow me on Twitter for updates & pics.

New for NSS 2011

We're debuting a brand new product at the stationery show this year. Can you guess?

More on this as we get closer to the show.

Two days til we move in!

From the Desk Fridays: Another NSS Peek

We're bringing back an oldie but a goodie, exclusively for this year's National Stationery Show. And I loooooove them. Above is a peek at two of the six we're debuting. Can you guess? Excited to show you more next week!

Have a great weekend!

NSS 2011: First Sneak Peek

Just a quick sneak peek of what's to come at next month's National Stationery Show. We're doing some same and some different this year. Can't wait to share!

Have a great weekend!