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National Stationery Show 2012, Part 12

Aaaaand… with a dozen posts full of paper awesomeness, we’ve reached the final recap of exhibitor booths from this year’s National Stationery Show!  I’m ready for a super long nap as we head into the weekend, but first let’s take a look at some of the final stationery eye candy from the show!  First up, the Smock and Bella Figura booth.  I was super excited to check out the new gift wrap patterns and notebook collection, not to mention some of the new foil printed greeting card and wedding invitation designs!

 

 

 

Smock + Bella Figura

Every year, the Crane & Co. booth looks like a Fifth Avenue storefront – complete with gorgeous window displays inspired by Bergdorf Goodman and other classic department stores!  I always spend a few minutes gazing at the beautiful collection in each display…

 

 

 

 

I’m so happy to see Crane & Co. embracing its extensive history with Americana-inspired stationery collections – they’ve been around since 1801 and have printed stationery for several presidents and even foreign kings and queens!  At the same time, they’re incorporating modern design with bright new color options for the classic Crane & Co. hand bordered correspondence cards.  And is there anything more classic and elegant than white engraved text on red paper?  Beautiful!

Crane & Co.

I’m a big fan of the rustic vibe over at Old School Stationers.  I always love their colorful letterpress art prints, greeting cards, and calendars featuring their signature hand-drawn illustrations!

 

 

Old School Stationers

Nashville-based Erin from Arboreal also has somewhat of a rustic vibe going on, but with a stationery collection largely inspired by Erin’s travels to Italy.  The line includes gift wrap sheets, gift tags, and beautiful boxed note card sets.

 

 

Arboreal

The talented sisters of Spark Letterpress made a return to the Stationery Show with a huge booth full of gorgeous invitations, fun party bunting, and beautiful foil printed certificates and greeting cards.  I’m a longtime fan of the Spark wedding invitation collection, but I’m so happy to see them branching out with more Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations and other party invitation designs!

 

 

 

 

Spark Letterpress

L2 Design Collective never fails to make me smile with their colorful screen printed cards and journals.  I’m seriously loving all the new holiday and Halloween card designs, and the bagel and cream cheese card below still makes me laugh!

 

 

 

 

L2 Design Collective

Envelopments recently collaborated with Kristy Rice of Momental Designs on an exclusive new wedding collection, called Trellis.  Kristy was on hand at the Envelopments booth to talk about the new designs in person.  Kristy creates the most amazing one of a kind hand painted wedding invitations  – and the Trellis collection captures her unique style in such a beautiful way.

 

 

 

 

Envelopments

That’s it folks!  I hope you enjoyed the recaps from this year’s National Stationery Show!  If you missed any of the last eleven posts or want to check out the booths from last year, you can see all of my stationery show coverage from the last four years right here!

Photo Credits: Stephen Michael Garey and Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Pretty Paper in the Office: Push Pins

I always like my spaces tidy, so a bulletin board is an office staple for me.  You can quickly swap out and add to your mood boards as you please.  (Which, if you’re anything like me it, is something you do quite often.)  Who’s to say that the bulletin board itself can’t be as inspiring as what’s pinned to it?  There are so many cute and quirky ways to tack up your eye candy that there might be one just right for your style and your workspace.  I’ve put together a round up of some of the most charming pins, worthy of even the most creative spaces. – Julie

Push Pin Round Up

No. 1 Antique gold finished tacks by Ballard Designs; No. 2 See Jane Work push pins from Paper Source; No. 3 Italian push pins from The Curiosity Shoppe; No. 4 Hardwood push pins from The Container Store; No. 5 Fabric covered push pins by Not Sew Strange; No. 6 Numbered push pins from Present & Correct

{images via their respective sources}

Friday Happy Hour: The Norwegian Wood

We have in our bar a bottle of Akvavit, a strange, superb Scandinavian liquor that tastes, of all things, like caraway seed.  It’s fantastic and complex, but strongly reminiscent of rye bread – it’s not the easiest flavor to blend into a cocktail.  So, our bottle has been sitting there for a while, unused and unloved.  Until now!  A recent web search revealed this fantastic winter drink by an awesome Portland bartender, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, that does justice to this odd spirit and has quickly entered my rotation.

Read below for the full recipe!

Norwegian Wood

1 oz Akvavit
1 oz Apple Brandy or Calvados
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Combine all the ingredients, stir well with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel and enjoy.

 

Scandinavians have been drinking Akvavit since at least the 16th Century as a tonic for all sorts of ailments, as its name – from the Latin aqua vÄ«tae or “water of live” – suggests.  Traditionally, Akvavit is consumed unadorned, paired with food or in a Christmas toast.  There aren’t many cocktail recipes that incorporate Akvavit, which is why I was so delighted to find Mr. Morgenthaler’s recipe.

Here’s what you’ll get: an enormously complex, bold, well-balanced (but boozy) drink.  I was honestly surprised at how good this drink was when I first tried it.  The Akvavit’s caraway seed flavor is a major component but doesn’t dominate the drink; it’s a little sweet and a little spicy and a lot herbal. It brings foremost to mind the warmth of a roaring fire on a frigid northern night.

 

Akvavit is the Scandanavian cousin of English dry gin.  Both start as a neutral spirit that is then distilled again with botanicals to impart flavor: juniper is the most prominent for gin, and caraway dominates Akvavit.  But just as gin is more than just juniper, Akvavit also carries such flavors as dill, fennel, coriander, clove, anise, and cardamom.

I don’t expect most people to have at home a bottle of Akvavit or Chartreuse (an amazingly complex liqueur made by French monks from a secret combination of herbs, spices, and flowers).  But here’s what I strongly suggest: that you pick up a bottle of one or both and give them a try.  Americans have been conditioned by hundreds of varieties of flavored vodkas to expect spirits to taste exactly like a thing, whether that thing is vanilla or raspberry or pears or bubble gum or espresso.  Instead, Akvavit and Chartreuse are big, bold, complex Old World Flavors that are as impossible to pin down as they are memorable.  If you haven’t already, branch out and try something new.  You might find yourself a convert.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Kate + Rob’s Sea Creature Letterpress Wedding Invitations

Kseniya from Thomas Printers sent over this totally adorable wedding invitation for an upcoming beach wedding in New Zealand.  Designed by Katie from Rocket Ink, the invitation features a four-color illustration of native New Zealand marine life on one side and text on the other, along with a reception card and other enclosures.  So pretty!

From the bride, Kate: We will be married on New Zealand’s northern west coast overlooking a black sand beach – it’s one of my favourite stretches of beach and such a magical place.  We both love the ocean and wanted an ocean theme to our wedding.   Rob and I are both advertising creatives (copywriters) so doing some lovely artwork was really important to us; our invitations include illustrations of native New Zealand marine life.

From the designer, Katie Gastley of Rocket Ink:  Kate and Rob wanted to incorporate indigenous creatures into their wedding invitations.  I did a lot of research on the typical New Zealand wildlife and illustrated them throughout their pieces.  This particular design was definitely a pet project!

From Kseniya of Thomas Printers:  This invitation is almost like a book jacket illustration, with the beautiful underwater scene on one side and all the wedding details on the other.  The four colors of the design are so harmonious together: bright and cheerful without being overpowering.

The jellyfish was my favorite; I loved his delicate tentacles and beautiful brown-black color.  Katie and her client wanted a very substantial paper, so we used 220# cotton Lettra in a warm ecru, which was heavy enough that the letterpress impression could be palpable on both sides. 

Thanks Kseniya!

Design: Rocket Ink

Letterpress Printing: Thomas Printers

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Rocket Ink

*Thomas Printers is one of my fab­u­lous spon­sors; for more on my edi­to­r­ial poli­cies please click here.

Pretty Paper in the Office: Time to Get Organized!

With each new year comes a blank slate and the oh so familiar resolution to keep organized.  It’s all well and good at first, but it can be easy to lose your way with so may projects, papers, and bills to keep track of.  So it’s only fitting that the first Pretty Paper in the Office post of the year be a roundup of office organization arsenal.  From correspondence to finances, everyday tasks to New Year’s resolutions, I’ve got you covered!

Office Stationery - Organization

No. 1 File folder set by Lotta Jansdotter; No. 2 Desktop details calendar by Our Paper Shop; No. 3 2012 Bills calendar by REDSTARink; No. 4 Tally notebooks by Set Editions; No. 5 36 month goal tracker by Michelle Smith

Office Stationery - Organization letter ledger

I came across lots of different organizers in my search for this post.  But one of my favourites has to be The Letter Ledger by Paper & Type.  Nothing thrills me more than writing letters.  But when it comes to keeping track of whether or not I replied to my penpal or mailed that Thank You card to my aunt, I’m a scatterbrain.  This nifty ledger will put an end to that and my scavenger hunt for stamps in my drawers.

{images via their respective sources}

p.s. Ed Note: If you’re still on the hunt for a planner to help keep you organized in 2012, check out a few planner ideas right here and my personal favorite, the Laurel Denise planner here