Webinar Report and Tips

Yesterday (Wednesday), I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of presenting a webinar for NSS exhibitors with two “veterans” (well, they are!) of the industry – Mike Oleskow of Max & Lucy & Modus Operandi, and Anna Griffin, president of Anna Griffin, Incorporated.























The webinar was on Exhibitor Display and Sales, and both Mike and Anna certainly know what they are doing when it comes to creating a great looking booth and selling! My part in the webinar was facilitate the discussion and present the boring stuff (“this is an “S” hook, the floor is made of cement…” ) away from these two superstars!

We had a record number of participants on the call – about 60! It’s terrific to know that so many exhibitors (and they weren’t all new) are so keenly interested and invested in their participation in the Show that they spent the time to “attend” this webinar. Mike and Anna shared fantastic tips & tricks – a few of my favorites were:

On booth design:

1. From Mike - Make sure that your tables do not block access to your product – that is, make sure that your buyers can get right up to your product and can touch it – don’t make them have to reach over anything.

2. From Anna - It’s okay to “double-face” your product. This means you can put the same product in two different places in your booth - a trick that helps you look like you are a bigger company with more product than you might actually be! And it gives you an opportunity to service more than one customer at a time.

What I would add to this is from the show management perspective:

3. Make sure that you display your company name and booth number so that buyers can see it – this is your “address” at the Show, and the way buyers will find you again once they walk away.

On sales:

1. From Mike – make a great first impression – Your booth is your company. Be positive, friendly and professional at all times. More on this - don’t sit down – instead stand and welcome your customers in for a look - all with a smile!

2. From Anna – give your elevator speech. An elevator speech is what you would say about your company or line in the length of an elevator ride. You include 4 things that you want the customer to remember – who, what, where and when. Anna included her own example. So nice of her to share!

What I would add to these two points is this:

3. Don’t forget to ask for the sale! Too many times I hear from exhibitors that they are so excited that stores are interested in what they have, that they forget to ask “would you like to start an order?”

The webinar covered so much more – with photos used as examples for booth display and selling. I can’t give it all away here, of course – those who participated paid for these great tips, after all!

Here are a few comments we received after the presentation:

“Even though 2009 will be our 5th show, we still found much of the information helpful and we have already been in contact with Mike. Please extend our thanks to Anna Griffin as well. Aside from being very entertaining and charming, we thought it was so thoughtful for her to share her insight and knowledge with the rest of us. We so greatly appreciate it and hope to be able to give back in the same way one day.” Lisa Chin Potash, PiPo Press - Booth # 2136”

“Good job... Content was helpful. Pictures were good. Looking forward to a great Show” Regina Goernemann, Designing Ducks – booth 1208

“The comments on various booth layouts helped me in (hopefully) improving upon my design from last year (though I will keep a significant part of the original appearance the same), I will hopefully make some good improvements.” Brigitte Thieme, BeeTeeWorld LLC – booth 1852


“Great information even for a seasoned exhibitor. Got my juices flowing for preparation for the upcoming Show.” Jan Sevadjian, Jan Sevadjian Designs, Booth 3426

We’re looking forward to a great Show, too! Whether you are a retailer or an exhibitor, please feel free to contact us here at any time with questions about the Show.
- Until next time – Kelly

Changes Changes!

I’m very happy to be blogging again; I’ve really missed it. But boy, has it ever been a crazy year, one filled with highs and lows, and lots of diligence on the Team’s part to stay on top of what’s happening out there. Our business is a mirror reflection of what our exhibitors are experiencing in their businesses. And caution is playing a critical role in riding out this wacky world economy.

The National Stationery Show (NSS) will be chock full of wonderful new collections from seasoned vendors, and delightful young companies who are getting started in the business – one of the most exciting aspects of the Show! It will have a new feel, as many exhibitors have changed the scale of their exhibits, and a new energy.

We’re in show business, so setting the stage for the curtain to rise is something we care a lot about. Now eight weeks out, we’re focusing on delivering a high energy, fun ambiance on the Show floor – one that is as productive as it is memorable. I’m very excited to tell you that SURTEX will co-locate adjacent to the NSS in the north end of the floor. SURTEX presents 2-dimensional original art for sale or for license, and features several of the world’s leading surface designers. In fact many of the current popular licenses in stationery originated in SURTEX, and needless to say, many of tomorrow’s trends will begin there, too! The artistic synergy between the shows has always been fantastic, but with the adjacency, will be palpable. I can’t wait for you to experience it.

To add to the energy, we’re also presenting the Louie Awards display on the Show floor along the back of the 2200-3000 aisles; the Demo Theatre in the rear of the 2500 aisle, featuring 4 dynamic programs each day; and, for a real visual merchandising treat, bridal-themed table settings in the 1400 aisle. And, Passport to Discovery is back, a program that emphasizes discovery as a key opportunity for NSS buyers. Did you know that most new companies are making their splash here – and can only be found at the NSS? This unique quality means buyers can be the first to discover new talent and new trends, and bring in product that will enliven their stores and stimulate sales. A good, no a great thing!

Until next time…

-Patti

Coming Soon!

Hey everyone! We're so sorry that we haven't posted in a while but the team has been real busy gearing up for the 2009 Show. I am, however, the bearer of great news. You can soon expect to read some great blogs with management updates, industry news and, of course, a sneak peak of what you can expect to see at the Show. Can you believe the 63rd annual National Stationery Show is in just over 2 months? We hope you're ready!

*Jess*

“Client Visits”

Recently, Patti and I had the opportunity to visit with two NSS exhibitors while we were on a trip to California.

Our first stop was San Francisco (or, more accurately, Emeryville) to visit with the folks at Cardstore.com

Cardstore.com offers personalized cards for every occasion, and they license artwork from exhibitors in the National Stationery Show for its on-demand portion of the business. Some of these companies include Driscoll Design, Great Arrow Graphics, Spruce Avenue and Pipo Press – to name but a few.

Their offices are in this former industrial section of town, and they occupy a few spaces on the block – all just steps away from each other. They have one area for their offices (with loft ceilings), one for print and production and another for fulfillment. It was fun for Patti and me to see their printing equipment in action – and to see the custom orders coming out the other side. The VP of Operations, Paul Felber is amazingly knowledgeable in all kinds of printing equipment and inks (that’s years of experience for you), and he described how the different machines worked to Patti and me. I love this behind the scenes stuff! I’m sorry I can’t show you!

But here is a photo outside the office.

That’s Paul (L), Matt Cedillo, account manager (center) and Marty Reed, the company’s new CEO, (R) . (Matt has been my main contact at the company for 3 years and it was fun to see him in his home environment, so to speak).

Patti and I also met with Katy Borden, the Creative Production Director, but alas, only after this photo was taken. Katy has a great artistic eye, and I had a lot of fun getting to know her.

On Monday, I received this great, personalized thank you card from Marty. (I’ll just show you the front…)

The design is by Lilla Rogers Studio.

The next day, Patti and I went down to La Jolla, and got to stop in on Elum Designs! I have known Melissa and Brad Foster since before they joined the National Stationery Show for the first time back in 2002, so needless to say I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see how they create their beautiful line, and what it takes to store, pack & ship!

When we were visiting, we got to see Melissa finishing up an order of gorgeous letterpress invitations to a swanky fete that was being held in, of all places, White Plains! (That’s where we are, here at GLM). Her choice of paper and ink color and overall design – exquisite! It sure made me want to go to that party! (Don’t worry, I didn’t crash it!)

Elum has a few Heidelberg presses to handle the volume of custom letterpress invitations and announcements they create. I love these dependable machines – they look so big and clunky, and make a bit of noise, but they produce such lovely, even delicate results. Here’s one all inked up for a run. The press guys were shy about having their photos taken, though!

We also were treated to a tour of the warehouse. I was amazed by all the products there – staged to be shipped. I get to know exhibitors products by how they display it in their booths. So to see all the great giftwrap, notecards, journals and those amazing stationery desk sets (a Best New Product winner at the 2008 Show) on high shelves was really cool. I got a better idea of the sheer volume of products that this company is turning out. And to think, they got their start just a few years ago with a few lines of letterpress invitations. That Melissa, she’s talented!! (And she has a great team, too!)

When we were there, Patti asked about their efforts to be a “green” company. Brad told us that they use tree-free and recycled papers for their various products, and that they even recycle their steel-backed letterpress plates.

Here’s Melissa and Brad in one of their workrooms at the offices / warehouse.

You might be able to see that their workspace is clean, bright, organized and beautiful. What else would I expect from such a well-run company?

Thanks to both of these great companies for allowing Patti and me to have an inside look at their operations! We love to always be learning about how our customers do their business in order to fulfill the needs of their customers!

“Until next time!”

Kelly

Oh, Baby!

Oh boy, oh boy – it’s a boy! One of my closest friends is having a baby boy in November, and I (silly me) offered to help her select the announcement. Of course, since I work in the stationery industry, I am supposed to be the expert amongst my friends. Sure. My friend’s mom said, when a person is surrounded by beautiful things all the time, it is harder to make a single choice. Does she have that right! I see amazing baby announcements all the time! Some of the most delightful and enduring social stationery design trends come from the "New Baby" category. How will we be able to whittle it down to just one? And my friend is not sure whether or not she will use a photo of her little newborn, either. So, we’ve got lots of options!

Here are some of the contenders for photos announcements:
From Stacy Claire Boyd for Tiny Prints. The colors match the colors my friend is painting the baby’s room – blue & white, with brown & green accents.



I also found this next announcment Tinyprints.com It's from Simply Put by Ashley Woodman. I think this looks wintry – perfect for a November baby.



Here are a couple that would work if she goes sans baby’s photo:

This one is from Inviting Company. We’re still going with the blues and browns, but now with cute illustration.


This one from Bonnie Marcus spells out Bebe in blocks. It’s definitely a great choice for my friend, as she is part French, and proud of it! (And so is grandmere!) And as you can see, blue and brown again.


And finally, this announcement is from Oblation Papers and Press. I love the size of the letterpress on this one, and the simplicity of it. Plus, the paper is handmade. And the type is brown!


I have no idea what announcement my friend will select. But, I can tell her – “the clock is ticking like this!” She only has another month or so to go before we meet her baby! I will get her to make that decision soon!

There are a growing number of companies focusing specifically on baby announcements, and the National Stationery Show is where they will debut their new collections. Be sure you put the show on your calendar now; May 17-20, 2009.

Until next time.. .

- Kelly

We’re back!

Oh, who knew there would be such a delay in our postings? It has been a busy summer thus far. How does a girl get it all done? In fact, how does a man?

Speaking of men, we now have a guy on the NSS team. How ‘bout that? So what do we do about our blog name? Shall we become the NSS Girls and a Guy? That doesn’t sound bad – kind of has a ring to it!

Soon, exhibitors in the National Stationery Show and friends in the blog community will get to know the new members of our team:

Alyson Milbourn



Alessia Adler


and… the “guy” – John Kelly


All of them have worked at GLM for a number of years, and I’m excited to have the chance to work with each of them as they join the team.

They all have joined the team because we’ve done some shuffling around of jobs here, and that has really been keeping us on our toes!

That said, remember when Jess posted her farewell blog? Well, there must be some kind of saying about saying goodbye too soon. Whatever it is, it applies to this situation, because as it turns out, she will continue to help out on our team, along with her new responsibilities here at GLM. And, we just couldn’t let her off the hook with blogging (and frankly, I think she would have missed it!) so, she will be back on our page here soon!

Arque has joined the operations team here at GLM, so exhibitors can and will chat with her about booth display, move-in, move-out and all kinds of logistics related to the NSS, and all of our other Shows.

Rosanne has left us, and is about to set sail on a wonderful family reunion cruise! We wish her nothing but the best!

Meantime, Patti and I have been out and about in the market this summer (and we’re not done yet!) I’ve had the opportunity to chat with current NSS exhibitors as well as potential new ones, and I can tell you, the excitement and interest for the 2009 Show is already building! One new company I met is very well positioned to join the Show. That company is Tachits. The product is a decorative item that allows one to attach a greeting card to a wrapped gift or gift bag. This is most handy for showers, as any of us “girls” who have attended showers can attest. It is not a good thing when the card and gift are separated from each other! The clever sisters behind the product spent a lot of time in research and development on their line and it shows. They have a good sized line (and growing) and they would find a great audience in the buyers at the National Stationery Show! Fingers crossed they’ll be with us next May!

Where I was, I couldn’t help but notice that the black & white trend is going strong! You already know this of course, but that color combo is on everything – invitations, notebooks, notecards, pens, pads, bags – you name it! And it does look stylish right now. One of my very favorite items is this computer bag from Anna Griffin, sported by our very own Patti Stracher.



And I love this chain link pattern on notecards from Boatman Geller.


Animal patterns are still going strong, and the zebra stripe hits the mark twice – black & white and animal. Check out this great invitation from Whitney English.


Another animal trend going strong is the giraffe pattern. You must have seen this at the National Stationery Show this past May, but have another look at this great set of notecards from Toss.

I’m a fan!

One shot of color that I thought stood out was a bright sapphire/cobalt blue. I saw this at another show, in a booth of an exhibitor with home décor items. The rest of the booth was black, gray and white, and the blue looked especially beautiful. The company that did this (sorry, remaining nameless) is somewhat of a trend-setter, and I fully expect to see more of this color moving back onto all kinds of products. We’ll see if that bears out!

We should be back with a post soon, and as September rolls in, we’ll be back to our usual weekly schedule.

For now, I hope you are having a summer that is both productive and enjoyable!

-Kelly

About to be Summer

The NSSGirls are taking it slower now that the demands of National Stationery Show have calmed. Our blogging will be occasional through the summer and will pick up steam as we move into fall.

It’s been a lot of fun to chronicle the experience “show side”, talking with you, cultivating our community of “blogatives” – that’s our pun for relatives in the blog world – our extended family, so to speak. We’ll surely stay in touch through our favorite blogs. Remember, you can always find us at www.nationalstationeryshow.com

Thanks for your loyalty over the past several months, and for sharing your stories. We’ll be back soon!

Have a wonderful summer,

The NSSGirls

Patti, Kelly, Arque, Jess and Rosanne

Jessica's Fond Farewell

Although June is dedicated to post show talk, this week we’re taking a break with a special show team announcement. Our show coordinator, Jessica Reiche, has been promoted to Administrative/Conference Manager of the International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS) as well as the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) within GLM. As a result, tomorrow is her last day on the NSS/TSS team and this will be her last blog as part of the NSS Girls. Please join us in wishing her the best in her new role.

It’s with mixed feelings that I’m leaving the Show. With excitement for my new role and new shows but with sadness because of the great memories I have working with the NSS Team and of course the exhibitors. The Stationery Show was not only the first trade show I’ve ever worked on – it’s the first trade show I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe all the hard work and effort that goes on behind the scenes involving many people and companies to make an annual 4 day show so successful. At first it was so exciting to see the big displays and meet key people in large companies I only knew of from shopping in the stores, but as I got more involved I saw the excitement behind the smaller companies as well. Each new company has a dream and a story and I love hearing how the National Stationery Show helped them grow and succeed.

Looking back 2+ years ago, when I joined the National Stationery Show, I realize that I have changed a bit due to being in the industry.

No longer can I pick up (or receive) a card without turning it over to see who made it.

I truly appreciate handmade cards and will buy much nicer cards for my friends and relatives than I used to.

I’ve always loved stationery and “pretty paper” as I used to call it, but now I’ve got some of my friends into it also.

As a pen lover, I now know why people spend a lot of money on “the perfect pen.”

And I think most importantly to the Show, as a member of the “paperless” generation, and a person who communicates mostly through email and text messages (even with my own mom!), I truly know the importance of writing and receiving a handwritten letter or note.

Now I could end this blog here, but what fun would that be? Here are the top 10 things I will miss about working on the Stationery Show (and I apologize in advance to anyone that may get embarrassed by this – that’s what you get for not being in the office on my last day!)

10. Tuesday morning team meetings that usually do not have an “end time.” There’s nothing like walking into a meeting realizing that you probably shouldn’t have had a large mug of coffee right before sitting down.

9. Patti’s excitement when something good happens. It’s contagious.

8. Sitting between Rosanne and Arque every day – it’s always an adventure!

7. Answering the group line – you never know who’s going to be on the other end and what they’re looking for. I think we’ve all ended up in some really strange conversations.


6. Food shopping for the Show Office. It’s always interesting when Rosanne and I have to shop for 15+ people for 8 days, some with very specific requests!

5. Talking to really nice exhibitors. I think the Stationery Show probably has the most chatty, personable exhibitors around and its fun to hear their stories. So many of them really appreciate my help and it makes the job much more pleasurable.

4. Sitting down the hall from my best (work) friend. With a new position comes a new desk and I’ll be on the other side of the office! I think we became best friends because we see each other countless times during the day.


3. Sitting next to the copier that many people in the office do not know how to work. Lucky for them I knew how to help them, but they’re in trouble now!


2. Working on the blog. I’ve had a huge role developing and maintaining the blog; it’ll be hard to not be a part of it.

1. The NSS Girls as a whole. I’ve learned so much from each one on the team and I’m extremely grateful for this experience. I know whoever takes my place on the Show will learn as much as I did!

So farewell NSS/TSS and hello IH/M&RS & ICFF (what’s with GLM and all of our acronyms anyway??) - I’ll see everyone at the 2009 Show (although I’ll be downstairs now!)

*Jess*

We’ve got that After Show Glow

Though a couple of weeks have passed since the conclusion of the National Stationery Show, this team still has that “After Show Glow!” On Wednesday, the last day of the Show, I think we would have meant the glow that comes from hard work (packing up boxes, just like the exhibitors – all that stuff we hauled in – phones, files, etc. had to be packed back up). But today, I mean that kind of glow that comes from knowing that the Show was incredible – “a triumphant Show” to quote a source!

As Jess said last week, we have loved reading the blogs being posted by exhibitors and attendees alike. The many members of this stationery-loving, design-oriented community clearly enjoyed – in fact, couldn’t get enough of – all the offerings at the Show.

We didn’t have enough time to blog from on-site once the NSS was open (we promise, we’ll work it into the schedule next year!) but here are some highlights:

I was beyond thrilled to meet Leslie Moak Murray, creator of Murray’s Law, the funny, funny line of cards, books, and other products she whips up for (and with) Design Design. Here I am with Leslie (center) and Don Kallil, president of Design Design at the Show’s Opening Night Party at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center.



It was a whole lot of fun to present the Best New Product winners with their awards on Sunday afternoon! Here’s a photo of Melissa and Brad Foster of Elum. They won for their Wood Grain Desk Set, a complete collection of varying sized letterpress note cards and custom envelopes, each designed with the latest interior design color trends and packaged in a custom-printed fabric box. I’ve known Melissa and before they’d ever exhibited in a trade show. It really was a thrill to present this award to them.



This year, our operations team came up with a great way to help attendees figure out where the line ended for each shuttle bus route. The start of the line is indicated with a big sign, but often lines can get so long, it’s hard to tell where, say, Route 1 ends and Route 2 begins. Here are our intrepid on-site staff members demonstrating the signage for the “end of the line!”

That’s Scott Kramer (#1), Mike Ruberry (#2) and Randi Mohr (#3). Note that Arque (bottom right) thinks this is pretty funny!


I also got to meet the “lips lady” at the Show this year. “Who is the ‘lips lady’?” you might ask. Well, if you’ve attended the Show, I’m sure you’ve noticed our big blue banner at the entrance. The design is of a back of an envelope, and it bears the Show name at the top, and then has this big “S.W.A.K.” (sealed with a kiss….) mark on the bottom and reads “P.S. we’re glad you’re here.” The banner was designed by the talented Cliff Doenges of Freeman, and it debuted at the 2007 Show. We love this banner, but had to know where the lips came from. Story is that he asked his colleague, Anita Moreano Zales to put on some red lipstick and kiss a piece of paper a few times. The rest is history. It was fun to meet Anita. Here she is under her big smooch!



By now you’ve seen some awesome booths at the Show from the pics posted on these various sites. Kudos to all those great companies who spend their year working on designs for paper, but for the Show, diverted their attention to designing for walls that are 8’ high and of various depths and widths. This is no small challenge, and we applaud the creativity that was so apparent.

Every year, I wonder what the color trend will be in booth design. To get a hint on this, I ask Lloyd Stone, of Manny Stone, to tell me what color of foam board was most requested. This year, not surprisingly, the color was brown (BTW, last year it was green). Check out all of these brown booths!



Abby Jean line by Fontaine Maury – sleek and stylish. I love the white carpet and those “ghost” acrylic chairs.


Always a Girl’s Girl – I like that she’s brought in the pink lilies that match the pink border.


9SpotMonk – very inviting booth, Vivian! Great job! The side walls were a different shade than the back wall. Check out that sofa - I bet the buyers were happy to have a chance to sit.


Marsupial – I like the different colored dots at the top, and the clever creation of an extra short wall inside their booth.


That Sky Blue - An unpredictably brown back wall, with great shelving used to display their designs.


Here’s the new team photo, taken during the Show…

Rosanne, Jess, Arque, Kelly, Patti

I know you’ve seen and heard lots more than this, and I am just scratching the surface. We plan to give you more pics and insights from our perspective of the 2008 National Stationery Show in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

- Kelly

In "Recovery"

Well we’re back in the office and still have not figured out where the time has gone. Was the show really over a week ago already?? I don’t know about you but the Show FLEW for us. We can’t wait to post about the Show but right now we’re still “recovering” a.k.a. tying up all of the loose ends so we can start planning the 2009 National Stationery Show! In the meantime we’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s posts about their experience. It’s great to read about the perspective of the exhibitors and the attendees. We’re glad to hear that so many exhibitors had great Shows and are already looking forward to next year.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,
The NSS Team