I’m fresh from the National Stationery Show and boy do I have lots to report. It was a long and jammed packed day, taking in lots of design eye candy at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC.
I started out my morning a bit late and grabbed a cab to the convention center. I got stuck in lots of rush hour traffic and spent quiet a penny to make it in time for my Wedding Trends 2008 Workshop from The Knot. I got there just in time while several people were waiting stand by for this lecture. I found a seat and shortly after it started. I got my notebook out and was ready to take as many notes as I could. Before I knew it the lecture was OVER! I’m serious this workshop was a speed lecture of 25 minutes of some lady just rattling off things from her Powerpoint presentation. My cab ride was longer then listening to her. It was interesting to hear about the upcoming wedding trends but I didn’t learn anything particular special that I couldn’t have found out on the web. I can’t believe people waited stand by for this.
Anyways, after the “workshop” I was starving and in need of caffeine. Off I went to look for food and coffee and paid through the note - $6 for a cup of Starbucks. It wasn’t that good and the food selection wasn’t the best but I wasn’t there for the food.
So onto the show…where do I begin?! There was so much to see and take in I don’t know where to begin. Thinking of it makes my head spin. Seeing all the products was very inspiring as well as creative overwhelming at the same time. Many of my favorite card, sticker and papers companies were there to display their new 2008 products.
There were definitely many popular themes and trends through many of the paper lines. I spotted a variety of bright and bold colors - greens, oranges, pinks and yellow in all combinations. And I’m happy to report everywhere I looked were prints of birds and OWLS! I loved it! Many companies use owls in there logos or brand ID and it was so fun to see how it was used so differently.
I picked up numerous business cards and catalogs to help inspire some creativity. Wherever there is free stuff I’m there, so I scored some free pens, pins and this great eco-friendly bag from the cool Ecojot. Since this show is essential for wholesalers I don’t think I should have gotten the bag without purchase but I’m glad I did - it’s GREEN!
Like I mentioned the show is mostly for wholesalers who have a business and buy products. I felt somewhat out of place when people where asking where I was from and what company I worked for. I gave away some business cards but that was mostly to get people to leave me alone and shut up. I’m not much into smoozing and talking myself up..least not today and not only on a half of $6 coffee. LOL!
I am looking forward to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) in July since it will be with my fellow “scrappers” and hopefully I’ll fit in more. Plus John will be there so I can enjoy the experience with someone. It’s hard to enjoy it alone sometimes and hard to remember it all. But anways for the most part it was definitely worth going to see what’s out there and hopefully it will get my creative juices flowing soon. I would have taken pictures but didn’t know the etiquette and didn’t want to stand out, so I opted for the catalogs.
I’ll post some links of the cool companies I got to see during the week. I have to weed through all the cards and catalogs and make sense of them all. Like I needed to add more clutter to my apartment. LOL!
Hope you’ve had a good Monday and talk to you later,
