Running on Empty and Loving It!

I had the best 30 hours in London! Sounds crazy, I know, but I went to attend the Henries, an event named after Sir Henry Cole, a 17th century civil servant who founded the English Christmas Card (he’s also the pioneer of the Penny Post and the director of the renown V&A museum). The Henries, presented by Progressive Greetings magazine, is the greeting card industry’s awards program that honors outstanding card ranges, recognizes excellence in service and pays tribute to key leaders.

The event was FANTASTIC. And, whomever thinks the English are not up to the task of partying and celebration, I’m here to tell you this was a night – and late early morning - to remember! The James Bond theme threaded throughout all aspects of the program. From the Mylar-sealed invitation, marked “Top Secret”, to the martini glass motif, to the phenomenal score, décor, favors and eveningwear, we shook and stirred the night away! We ate “Prawn Connery”, “Moon’Racker’er of Lamb” and if you were a vegetarian, “Pierce’D Pepper”. The “Halle Berry Brulee”, actually, was to die for!




Jaqui & Warren in their Bonded best!











The wonderful Red-tailed Master of Ceremonies

The brother and sister duo who run the large chain of Clinton’s and Birthdays shops accepting their Achievement award


Jaqui Brown and Warren Lomax, editor-in-chief and publisher respectively, were the hosts of the 1000-person dinner. Glamour, sizzle and laughter carried the evening through with the awards presented by a wonderfully talented comedian whose name escapes me – and I did know it! A dignified, elegant and very funny emcee kept things moving. This nearly SRO event begin at 6:45 pm and continued well until 3 am! Of course, no one worked that next day!

England is the second largest card-consuming country in the world, next to the United States. The English send cards for every occasion and largely “just because”. Personal communication is a core value in their culture regardless of the pace of life. The industry is healthy and the future looks very strong, this according to Jaqui and Warren and to the General Manager of the Greeting Card Association in the UK, Sharon Little.

Patti and Sharon getting punchy after 5 hours of touring and 2 hours of sleep

The second best part of my 30 hours was spending the day with Sharon doing a retail tour. Selfridges, Clinton’s, Cards Galour, The Paper Chase, Harrods (actually did Harrods on my own). I wanted to see different interpretations to merchandising cards, as well as trends, store content, visual merchandising and commitment to the category. The two department stores reinforced the extensive love of the category, with some 5,000 square feet devoted to the broad range of social stationery products – from cards and custom invitations, to extensive writing instruments collections, to ribbons, giftwrap, boxes and so much more.


Images of Harrods and Selfridges merchandising concepts – look how much space is devoted to the stationery department!







A glimpse of the 1st floor of Paper Chase.
Not shown here are the extensive hip school supplies, ipod/cellphone accessories and the café.





Paper Chase, a dynamite chain of specialty stores, housing 3 floors of fabulous. The theme colors were fuscia and silver, starting early for the holidays. And, the card shops were jammed packed with such a wide selection of greeting card choices – elegant, modern, embellished, rectangle, square, no fold, single fold, large format, metallic, foils…the kids’ cards are just great and humor appears to be the category that receives the most square footage. The choices range from hilarious to edgy, to political to r a u n c h y!!! It’s all in fun.


A tiny sample of some of what’s selling big in the UK






All told, it was a super stimulating, educational, exhausting and fun trip. Can’t wait til next year!


-Patti

And the winner is…(Arque’s Getting Personal Update)

As you might imagine, I know a lot of companies in this business, I love the industry and love what I do. So, I was very excited about embarking on the search for the perfect moving announcement! I enjoyed researching and finally deciding on the design direction, but boy was I surprised at how hard it was to settle firmly on one concept. There were so many that felt like “me.”

I looked at many websites - Colors By Design, Cid Pear Stationery, Dabney Lee Stationery, CardsCreative, Cat Seto, Bell’Invito Couture Stationery, Anna Griffin Incorporated, Birchcraft Studios, InScribe, and Cielo Blu Studios. All of these companies presented unbelievably great choices! In the end, though, I went for something from InvitationConsultants.com This was after Olivier posted a reply to my blog. And when I checked out his site, I zeroed in on one in particular that not just felt like me, but was me!

Here’s the winning design; it’s by Rainboworld:…

(Sorry I didn’t scan this exactly straight!)

I spoke with Olivier, and he put me in touch with Jessica (not our Jess from NSS girls) to help me navigate the site. Once there, I quickly narrowed my choices down to 7 designs that best reflected my personality and the style of my new abode. This design was presented with different wording, but I got to “mix & match” . I always like to get second and third opinions on big decisions, so I polled a select few GLMers (mnemonic for employees of GLM) and my sister to get their opinions. The design that received the most votes would be the winner! Below are a few of the runner-ups (all from Invitation Consultants):



Thank you to all who participated: The NSS girls- you know who we are from our blog, Lori (former NSS Show Manager), Candace, Melissa, Annie, and my sister and BFF, (best friend forever), Kenda. Kenda also gets a special thanks for catching the typos in my home phone and cell numbers! Rule of thumb here, never proof read your own work. I was the lone proof reader and missed both! I must have been so excited by the navy blue typography that I forgot I actually needed to check what was written on the announcement.

I have received a lot of compliments on my announcement, and sending it helped me feel a great sense of accomplishment and ownership – did I mention that this is my first-ever real estate purchase? Now I expect to receive all my holiday cards from friends and family at the new, correct address. I‘m sure they have actually stashed the announcement in their address book, or hung it on their fridge! (Isn’t it just too cute to toss?)

And to those of you who emailed me curious about how I got my name, here it is, short and sweet. I was named after a good friend of my maternal grandfather. Her name was Arque Owens, and Mrs. Owens’ mother got the name from a nurse in the Chicago hospital where she was born So I owe my unique name to my grandfather, who just loved the name Arque and whose name was also unusual -- Alta Lee McCarthy, Sr. I come from a family of people with unique names.

Uh oh, I think I feel another blog coming...

Until next time,
Arque

Ready to Give!

Last weekend, I shopped for presents for a number of friends and family (birthdays, parties, etc.). It was so nice out (with temperatures in the 80s!), that I decided to go to several shops that are within walking distance of my Scarsdale apartment. What really made my shopping trip great was that each store packaged my gift very nicely. This meant no extra work for me once I got home!

First on my list? A gift for my best friend Susan. There’s a store on my street called Sol La, which specializes in handmade gifts, and I found something perfect (can’t tell you what…) for Susan here. The item I bought comes in a cute little box already, and the owner of Sol La made it ready for giving by placing the box in his store’s signature brown bag surrounded by lots of tissue, then “tied up with string.” The store’s name, address and phone number are on the bag, (in foil). Of course, this is great marketing, and my friends love the gifts I get them from there. And yes, I got a greeting card here, too – handmade from Tori Higa. I plan to show it to you in another posting!





Next on my list was a housewarming gift, so it was off to La Dentelliere a wonderful specialty store that carries gifts for the home, paper products and personal care items... The last gift I bought there was a beautifully-designed outdoor thermometer. This time I bought a cheese board and spreader. The signature gift wrap at La Dentelliere is a decorative cellophane bag with colored tissue surrounding the gift and enclosed in the bag. They always include a silk flower tucked into the ribbon. Their boxes are equally fabulous, an earthtone box filled with colorful tissue and embellished with a silk flower. The signature styling is part of their branding. When one sees the package, it’s clear that it’s from La Dentelliere!


Yet another gift on my list was something for my soon-to-be 8-year-old nephew, my sister told me that he’s into “Spy Gear” – whatever that is! So off I went to Learning Express. Lucky for me, this store had loads of “Spy Gear” sets. After calling my sister for approval, I selected the laser tag game. As I was paying for this nifty item, the young woman behind the counter asked if I would like it gift-wrapped. Of course! At Learning Express they have their own logo’d gift wrap paper. And it’s cute! (Their branding is reinforced by the circular sticker with a “to/from” feature that they place on the package). I will just need to add my own ribbon or bow. (For me, this will not be a problem, as I have quite a stash of bows – I just can’t see throwing them away!!)



Finally, for the last gift on my list, I headed back towards home to a store called Folio Per Se, which is well known for its distinctive wrapping. (The owner, Josh, can wrap just about anything!) The store specializes in beautifully designed Italian-made products. I purchased a frame for a friend I’ve known since high school. To make the gift complete, nothing else would do, but a Florentine patterned paper! Here it is.



One reason I like to purchase products from stores with their own wrapping is to demonstrate my commitment to local stores and boutiques. I wholeheartedly believe in supporting small, local stores. These folks are my neighbors, I see a couple of them each day on my way to and from the train station, and I always get (and give) a friendly wave. Their stores add a little something special to my neighborhood, and I like to buy from them when I can. I know I’m like many consumers who highly value the customer service aspect provided by small retailers – like in-store gift wrapping (just perfect when I am pressed for time). I particularly like that the recipient of my gift can immediately see that the present I’m giving came from a great store.

I wonder: for you retailers reading this, what kind of packaging options do you offer your customers? Do you have a store bag with your name on it, or some other distinctive packaging? We all on the NSS team would love to see photos of what you do! Please reply with a photo or two!

Kelly

Fall Into Action

Am I the only one that’s in shock that it’s fall already? In the world of the NSS girls that means one thing –the 2008 National Stationery Show is officially in motion! Post-show analysis is complete and exciting promotions are in the works. So is the planning for seminars, special events and other activities to make the show fun, interesting, exciting and productive. On the admin and customer care front, fall also means meetings galore to be sure we’ve covered all of the bases in our communication to customers! Most notable in my role as Show Coordinator, is that contracts and deposits are pouring in (the due date was yesterday – October 3) from returning exhibitors.

So what’s the inside scoop?

Looks like NSS 2008 is going to be great! Sure, it’s only October, BUT our long-standing exhibitors are returning and expressing plans to unveil new booth displays, and many of last May’s first-timers are asking to double their booth space or upgrade to a corner! From my point of view, this means they had a REALLY strong first Show. And I can’t forget to mention that we have more applications for the 2008 Show than we have had at this point in the past 3 years, with lots of brand new companies as well as some former NSS favorites looking to return to the market with new product collections to debut!

The boss (Patti) tells me that my instincts are right on; that these are important indicators of the strength of last year’s show and the confidence that May 2008 will provide the return on investment “ROI”, she says, is key to their decision making. I have learned a lot about the business in my first full year on the job. One thing I can say for sure is that it is an exciting business, and our industry is filled with fantastic, creative people.

I hope you’re looking forward to the Show as much as we are! If you’re considering applying for exhibit space, I recommend doing it now – the small booths are going fast! And if you’re an Attendee – did you know that you can register to attend AND book your travel plans already? Just click here to get started. Get the best deal at your favorite hotel before it fills up – might as well do it now -- I know I’m going to!

**Jess**

Cup 'o Pens

What do you use when you write your greeting cards and invitation? A ballpoint pen? A felt-tip? A roller ball? Or maybe, even – a fountain pen? I have to admit to a penchant (get it?) for the Uni-ball Rollerball, as I do love the liquid ink. I just checked out Uni-ball’s website, and it said “Rollers are for consumers who demand the smoothest writing.” Actually, I like to think it brings me closer to a fountain pen experience, but then again, there’s nothing like that, either! Fountain pen enthusiasts will tell you how personal using such a pen can be. First of all, there’s that whole thing with the nib – the pressure a person exerts on the pen while writing shapes the nib, which is sort of like someone wearing in a new pair of shoes. No one else can really wear them, and no one else will really be able to use the fountain pen with your nib intact!

I have to say that over the years, I have gotten quite a collection of pens going. It’s nothing like what real collectors have, I just mean how many I have in my pen cup (I have more than one) and in my desk drawers. Absolutely no one will dispute this!
Here’s a photo of my pen cup.



That big flower pen is from Pen-damonium. It came with a really cute cube of note squares, but I’ve gone through those already! Aside from the cute “from the desk of stamp from PSA Essentials,” do you recognize any of the other pens in there? I have an ergonomic pen from Yoropen, a ball point from Visconti (it’s orange and has my initials on the top), another pretty ballpoint from MonteVerde (it’s black and red), a turquoise and silver number from Xonex, a Fisher Space pen – great for taking with me to trade shows, a pen that was part of a gift set from Lady Jayne (that’s the black & white polka-dot one), a felt tip and some highlighters, along with the tools of our trade, a couple of regular pencils (including a really cool one from Faber Castel that has grips on it), a blue pencil, a red pencil and a green pencil (all used for marking floorplans – yes, the old-fashioned way!) Can you believe there are so many choices out there?!

Whatever kind of pen you use, I wonder - do you use a special ink color? Sometimes I try to match a color in a card, and I’ll choose a pen with a specific color of ink. I remember when I was in grade school I used to write out my Christmas cards making every other letter in green and red. Honestly, I may have also done this in college, right about when I was supposed to be studying for finals. Oh, but that was so long ago. When those silver and gold ink pens came out, I was in heaven. I bought fancy Christmas cards (from Caspari, I remember) with beautiful museum-type prints and foils – and the envelopes had silver or gold linings! Of course I used the gold and silver pens for my messages. This was well before I joined the National Stationery Show team, but I was clearly showing an interest in cards and finishes!

This past May at the National Stationery Show, our team left a personally signed welcome note in every exhibitors’ booth. We really wanted to convey to each exhibitor that we were excited for the Show, and that they were there. We also wanted them to know that we each personally signed (not scanned a signature, but really signed) the letter that they received. To do that we decided to use different ink colors. I signed on for the purple. Patti got orange, Arque had green, Rosanne used blue and Jess got the pink (she really wanted the pink!) Coincidentally, these pens were from Uni-ball, but were their Gelsticks. Since then, I have really been into the purple pen and having been using it and a purple Papermate around the office.

I think it is important to show a bit of your personality, not just with the card you chose, but with the ink and/or pen you sign with! It doesn’t have to be the same every time, but it’s fun to have the ink color match the message (a color in the card, or the mood of the message). I wonder how much importance our retailer friends give to writing instruments in their stores – be it fine writing instruments such as fountain pens and the like, or all the way down the line to the fun stuff – decorated pens, like some of the cute pens from Inoxcrom – like this one, featuring a design by Jordi Labanda -
or foufy pens like that one with the flower on the top. I could while away as much time in a store making my pen choices as I spend making my greeting card choices (and we all know how long that can take!)

I also really like pencils (it’s all in how the lead feels as I write), but that’s a different story!

It would be fun to hear from you about your favorite ink colors, or if you have a favorite pen, or even how you incorporate pens into your merchandise mix, if you have a store.
--Kelly--

A Twist on Halloween Traditions

Earlier in September, I attended the Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, NY, for the first time. For those of you who have never heard of it, the Renaissance Faire is an escape back to the days of Shakespeare and court jesters, knights and dragons.


The days when there were no words like “computer” in the dictionary. Wait – did they even HAVE a dictionary? Anyway, being there and seeing all of the colorful, detailed costumes got me thinking about Halloween and the past Halloween parties I’ve thrown.

Although I’m not throwing one this year, I have hosted some fun Halloween bashes! Parties filled with skeletons and bats, glow in the dark lights and spooky music – year after year my collection of decorations grew. Like many holidays – traditional Halloween images haven’t changed much. Pumpkins, bats, ghosts, skeletons and witches are always a hit. And, the scary masks, animal costumes and trick-or-treating door-to-door are perennial favorites. But so much has evolved; there are twists on the traditions that are so much fun!



Growing up we had plastic pumpkins or D.A.R.E. bags to tote around our treats. These days’ kids have a few more options!Peaceable Kingdom Press has created a glow-in-the-dark goodie bag (safety and fun all in one – something my mom would have liked!)











Want to be a bit more fashionable? How about Groovy Holidays’ felt bags? I think I would probably use this bag for more things than trick-or-treating!














When I threw Halloween parties, I couldn’t find any invitations that I liked, so I made them myself on the computer. Not only did it take a long time, I often ran out of printer ink along the way. Companies like Picture Perfect would have solved my problem quickly – Halloween invitations for kids and adults that are fun and easy to read.




These days everything is about customization and personalization…anything you can come up with! So, if I want my napkins and cups to read something like these below, all I would have to do is order them from Print Appeal and *like magic* – I have the perfect table settings!












So for the party I am not throwing, there is only one thing missing…something no one will expect (it’s Halloween – it’s a must for all parties). I think these nametags from Groovy Holidays will work:



What about those people, like me, who are not throwing a party? Well, these days – no holiday is complete without the perfect greeting card to help acknowledge it. There are many great companies with fantastic cards. I am personally not able to pass up Up With Paper/PopShots Studio Halloween cards. They’re cute, they set the mood; they’re a party all in themselves!







And last but not least…what’s the best thing to send a friend that couldn’t make your party? Or, a distant relative that can’t see you on Halloween? A picture of what they missed! We often see personalized cards such as these for winter holidays, but did you ever think to send one for Halloween? Picture Perfect did.




So, all you need to do is go out and find yourself a costume. I’d love to hear what you’re going to be. Let me know! My husband and I are going as Alvin and Brittany from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Now all we have to do is find a party to crash…

Until next time,
Jess

Back-to-School – or is it Reality Bites “Back?”

The back-to-school frenzy officially took hold in my household when the girls came home from camp a month ago. First, though, we had “re-entry” to life with rules, boundaries, showering – thank goodness -- and yes, air conditioning! Oh, did I forget to say parents? That, too. So once the five of us got reacquainted (I am including our pup, Maggie), the hunt for the clothing and school supplies began.

Some might consider it an adventure – the concept anyway. But it has become more a right of passage to dress the part – up to the “affordable minute” -- from accessorized head to sneakered toe (Converse or Vans, of course!) -- and the back pack or side slung bag is a must, in the right color. We went for black for the freshman, Sydney, and lilac for the 6th grader, Carly. It works. But, what to do about capacity – do we buy the double zipper, plus the three compartments inside, with the exterior water bottle (“mom, that’s for hikers”, said my little one, Carly). We decided on the one with organizational features and not worry about thirst-quenching. Sydney went for the quintessential simple black one – two exterior zippers, one front compartment and a few secret stash places on the inside. Carly’s was straightforward, and a lot less money!

Next on our list was school supplies. We searched high and low for the cool, the chic, the just right for each kid. So to Office Max, Staples, Office Depot and Target we ventured, and a few zeros later, procured the perfect combination of striped, plaid, argyle, solid saturated color, multi-zippered, spiral or perfect bound, sticky, but not too much, not-to-dry and wet ink white-out or white tape, a variety of folders, binders, index cards, pens, pencils, dividers, accordion organizers, dictionaries, thesauruses, locker magnets, combination locks, protractors, calculators, graph and lined paper – oh, and, composition books! I probably forgot a few items, but you get the gist.

Here’s just some of what was selected:







Amassing the supplies in living color







Carly went for the fluorescent flowers against the black
Syd went for the stripes with coordinating pastels











All told, it took nearly a full week to gear the girls up. We had fun, we had a lot of laughs – and I was able to give them a little lesson in design trending along the way. Was it any surprise that some of the patterns and prints we saw in the clothing stores were also applied to the packaging or covers of our school supplies? “We are such a fashion-forward industry,” I tell them! Well, they’re all set! Me? Another story.






It all gets quiet the night before. Girls tucked in, and magically everything is all ready when the kids awaken. Syd’s out the door first…Carly’s backpack must be in the kitchen!




Now, I have all the rejects to return…better have the receipts, better know what I bought from where, better have my patience to do it within the 10-day-mark. Get ready, get set. Because once these are restocked, I’ll be off for the Halloween extravaganza. Scary thought.

-Patti

Getting Personal

With an uncommon name like Arque, I had to develop a fondness for personalization because I cannot find my name on anything. There is a story behind how I got my name and I can share that with you at another time. I’m a fan of sending personalized greetings (especially for Christmas), although I have not done so in a while. These last few years, I have gone to the Hallmark Store, found a design that fits who I am, filled out the cards, and popped them in the mail. Sounds simple enough, right? Well here’s my latest dilemma. I just purchased a co-op, (thanks to Kelly Bristol, who introduced me to her realtor), and now I need to decide from which company to buy “I’ve Moved” personalized cards, and give them the honor of announcing my relocation to friends and family. My colleague Lori Robinson (if the name sounds familiar she used to manage the National Stationery Show) chuckled when I said the word “honor,” but then she thought about it and realized that it really is an honor. Think about it, whichever company I choose will communicate one of the biggest and long lasting decisions I will ever make in my life!

I could invest in an Epson Printer (or borrow Kelly’s) and do it myself, but I’m not sure I would do as good a job. You see, although we are living in the age of technology, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m technologically challenged, in large part because I am not a fan of reading directions (it always frustrates my sister, Kenda). I’m the one who thinks that with a little common sense I could figure out how an item works by ripping a box open, plugging up whatever is in it, and them pushing a few buttons. I’ll have you know that this approach has worked for me on a number of occasions! Ask me sometime about my IPOD experience!

If I had the luxury of time, I would probably try printing them myself. But I’d like my new whereabouts to be known this century. So I have decided to leave it to the experts this time. I have worked on the National Stationery Show for 15 years, and have developed hundreds of wonderful relationships with exhibitors that specialize in personalization. How do I narrow it down? I could simply choose from the pool of exhibitors who have given me personalized thank you gifts over the years- Perfect Printer (see the pink heart notepaper at top); Olivia Mullin – I really love this notecard below -


Personalized Expressions, (here’s what they gave me at this year’s Show, below – love the stripe, Patti was right, stripes are in!)


and NRN – they gave me this, right after I got married.


But that would be too easy. I want to put more thought into it and expand my options.

I have decided to start by doing a search on the National Stationery Show website and looking at those companies in the personalization, imprintables, or invitations and announcements categories; then visit their websites and check out the designs, colors, and typography. I’m looking for simple, but elegant. My favorite color is navy blue, so I will definitely be drawn to anything that has blue in it.

I’m not sure who will end up with this important job, but I will update you in a future blog. I’ll even post the winning company and the design I chose. I’d love to hear who you suggest! Does anyone have any recommendations?

-Arque

Getting Catty

I couldn’t agree more with Jess’s last post. Pet products are hot! But, as the happy owner (mommy?) of two cats (and Jess, herself has a kitty…) I had to wonder why she’d gone to the dogs!! Well, it certainly is much more difficult to put a cat in a cutesy outfit, or on a leash, so I get that there would be less of this kind of thing available, but how about all the great products that help us celebrate our fabulous feline friends?

I am a huge fan of the fold and mail line that Cat Fish Greetings is doing. Look at this cute one with Milton featured on what becomes the back of the mailer. The color is great, and Milton is so cute. I would love to use these to send to my friend who lives in Rome, Italy. She’s a cat-lover, and the fold and mail aspect of this really appeals to me.

And have you seen this “Stuff on My Cat” line? I think the whole thing started with a website and contest! Folks were asked to submit photos of their cats adorned with “stuff” (bows, feathers, stuffed animals, fake antlers…you get the picture) and from there Chronicle Books has licensed the line. .They are producing calendars, stationery and notecards (pictured below) - Apparently, this line has quite a following!

My cats just wouldn’t be patient enough for me to do this to them! You have to laugh. In fact, I don’t think I can stop.

If putting stuff on your cat isn’t funny enough, (poor babies) how about the Bad Cat card line from Nobleworks. This one gets me every time! Look at that face!

It’s that time of year to go calendar shopping, and every year I buy a travel-related calendar - Italy, France, England… This year, I found this: Cats of the Greek Isles by Graphique de France. I leave my cats at home when I travel, but always come home with pics of cats in their native environment. This calendar may save me the trip! (Yeah, right – hope to go to Greece one day!)

And how about this wrapping paper?

Cute, right? It’s from Design Design. I will wrap my cat-to-cat presents in this paper. (What…you don’t do this? Well, there are plenty of us out there who do!)

I’ve been having fun with words lately (another story, another day) and Magnetic Poetry’s Cat Lover edition is…umm…well, the cat’s pajamas? Get it?

Anyway, this kit makes a great gift for any cat lover, for kids or any wordsmith!

If that’s not enough, how about this funny “Little Ugly” from UglyDolls – his name is Gato Deluxe, and he was introduced to the line earlier this year. I’ve always had a soft spot for these homely little guys, and Gato is no exception!

I know there is just so much more out there celebrating cats, and the love of them. (Frames, magnets, gift bags, tags, paper plates – you name it!) It was really hard to choose what I wanted to show you!

- Kelly