Category: Features
NY NOW
NY NOW February finds bloomed with stationery and gifts galore.
This Little Bubble
Belle & Union Founder and Creative Director Meg Sutton first became captivated by letterpressed cards while working in a gift store during college — but assembling trade show selling spaces for her wholesale range was when she first became enchanted with retail.
Dazzling Destinations
Despite the ongoing media narrative regarding the Retail Apocalypse, people still inherently like to shop — and according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), that will spur retail sales to increase in 2020 between 3.5 and 4.1%, to over $3.9 trillion.
Bridal 2020
This tricky market is as diverse as today’s brides, and while invitations and custom pieces are driven by design trends, individual taste is paramount.
The Color Wheel: The Classics, Revisited
With its latest Color of the Year, Pantone sets the tone for a new age.
Reach Out & Indirectly Touch Someone
So, a lot has happened since I turned in my original spring editor’s letter in early March. It focused on how Papyrus shutting its doors played into the ongoing media narrative about the retail apocalypse, and how garnering clicks can stand in the way of reporting more nuanced truths. I think my conclusions still stand: Namely, that the card buyer demographic is shifting from baby boomer to millennial, and the younger generation responds less to a traditional card shop environment and more to that of a curated card and gift shop. Interestingly, Paper Source did acquire 30 Papyrus stores a few weeks after the big announcement, news that was barely reported.
Show Us Your Shop: The Avera Boutique
Julie Freeman from The Avera Boutique, an online retailer based in Friendswood, Texas shares information on her best sellers.
Springtime Salutes
Mom, Dad and Grad finds celebrate the true stars of the season. Find ways to stock your shelves with greeting cards shoppers will flock to, just in time for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduation.
A Small World
By and large, the stationery industry is filled with inexpensive, palm-sized baubles. Last year, Stationery Trends’ State of Paper Report found the sweet spot for cards to be $3-$5 retail, according to 63% of our respondents; 53% cited $11-$20 as the sweet spot to retail small gifts and impulse items.
Made to Measure
Design can be useful, artful or inspiring. Occasionally, it’s all three — and this triad makes a fitting mantra for 2020 as makers revisit and even reinvent the world around us.
Risk & Reward
Like many letterpressers, Shayna Norwood fell in love with the medium at a young age while earning her BFA at San Francisco Institute. But it wasn’t until she began working on her MFA at Columbia College Chicago that Steel Petal Press came into existence, initially as a side project.
Winter Show Guide
Whatever city and show you shop in the coming weeks and months, it will surely be filled with plenty of product to make your shelves pop and your customers swoon.
Off the Beaten (Paper) Path
Stationery merchandise to help you stand out from other stores are popular at the winter shows. Want to set your store apart? Look to these smaller, artisanal stationery brands.
The Cool Office Space
Amazing work-related products to look for at winter shows, and work is that much like, well, work, with these pieces. By turns homey and helpful, they make tackling any task feel like a snap!
Party On!
These products are great to search for at Winter Markets and these pieces just don’t stand apart from the mass-produced offerings, they set a celebratory stage wherever they are displayed.
On the Spectrum
Fantastic product finds to sneak a peak at during winter shows as rainbows and complementary color arrangements are trending up in a big way. Display the entire range against a monochromatic background for an easy vignette.
Extreme Neutrals
While color stories abound, so too does the lack of it. These pieces make a strong statement in tandem with each other, or try integrating one into a more vibrant color palette.