The Paper Fold

Carissa Potter of People I've Loved

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Every year in the winter issue of Stationery Trends, I compile a department called 10 Makers to Watch. Throughout the year I will be highlighting my special 10 — including my very special guest today, Carissa Potter of People I've Loved. Much like that of my other guests, this brand offers stationery and gifts, but with a radically different, deceptively simple approach.

Rather than seeing her wares as yet another commodity, Carissa utilizes them to develop ourselves and our relationships. In her words, "Each is a conversation we long to have, a feeling we are hoping for, an object to do the impossible."

This out-of-the-box approach has garnered this very small California house of design collaborations with some very big brands, including Facebook, The Body Shop, Pinterest, Google, SFMOMA, YouTube, Anthropologie, Madewell, The Wall Street Journal and Nylon Magazine. Our discussion about design and the ability of smart yet simple product to upend your entire perspective is not to be missed!

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Mark Woodman of Mark Woodman Design

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Stationery is this podcaster's favorite subject — but color comes in a close second! After all, color doesn't just shade our world, it elevates, deflates or defines a mood — and it can make or break any given design.

If you have never heard an expert discuss how color trends are formed and evolve, get ready for a treat! I have had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Woodman of Mark Woodman Design + Color many times over the years for my publication's trend coverage — now I'm bringing his insights, garnered during a prestigious 40-plus-year career, here.

In The Paper Fold episode 66, I hosted the brilliant Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and the generator of every Pantone Color of the Year. I wanted to get Mark's thoughts on Pantone's Color of the Year 2026, Cloud Dancer, and its less than positive reception. Not only did he share those, but so many gems about the many ways that a color or color grouping comes into vogue, establishing this episode as must-listen for any design nerd.

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Monika + George of UWP Luxe

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:32:00 -0000

Recently I hosted Wolf & Wren Press' Lauren and Liz, who just won the Louie Award for the Card of the Year. But there are actually two divisions of Card of the Year, $5.50 and above and $5.50 and below. Wolf & Wren took the below slot, while UWP Luxe took the above $5.50 slot with their fabulous tea-themed birthday creation that must be experienced in life to be fully appreciated.*

That's because UWP Luxe is a pop-up card company, and while this market has gotten more crowded of late, UWP Luxe — as well as its sister companies Up With Paper and Jumping Jack Press — consistently takes a cutting-edge approach to not just stationery, but the entire pop up category as well.

Pop-ups take the expected and turn it on its ear, and my guests Monika Brandrup, EVP and Creative Director, UWP and UWP Luxe, and George White, who was president at Up With Paper for many years but is now CEO of its parent company, CM Paula, discuss the evolution of their brands and the category as a whole. How exactly does this brand put the ship in the bottle, over and over in different formats, with extraordinary results every last time?

*Please note: The Louie Award for Card of the Year was NOT a cat-a-rific birthday card as I state in my podcast intro — I jumbled UWP Luxe's Card of the Year with one of its other FIVE Louie Award winners. Such are the paper nerd problems caused by this prolific, award-winning brand!

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Rachel Kroh of Heartell (2 of 2)

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0000

In the Part 1 of our chat, Rachel took us behind the vibrant, woodblocked Heartell Press design curtain, now we delve into its ethos of sustainability, and the many challenges it poses to a stationery brand. For example, shoppers absolutely loves seeing cards printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper — but it drives up costs, and brings a bevy of creative limitations.

For Rachel, action — not discussion — always brings clarity. Thus many of Heartell's introductions, like its upcycle-able boxed note boxes, successfully cut down on single-use plastics as they differentiate themselves at point of purchase.

It's all in the name of finding 21st-century solutions to lingering 20th-century problems. Best of all, Rachel's inspiring creative process is something anyone, anywhere can try.

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Rachel Kroh of Heartell (1 of 2)

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Greeting cards have the nearly impossible task of connecting us with loved ones when we don't know what to say — so we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to makers like Rachel Kroh of Heartell Press, who have made it their life's work to help others give and get the emotional support they need. Today we travel behind the vibrant Heartell design curtain to learn what drives these irresistible, timeless woodblock designs.

Rachel well understands grief, our enduring taboo against discussing grief — and even the many types of loss and change that can spark this staggering emotion. In fact, she founded her entire house of cards following her own Mother's terminal cancer diagnosis.

In this, the first of two episodes, we discuss the evolution of Heartell, which started in Brooklyn but spread westward with a one-of-a-kind production process in tow. While navigating grief is the cornerstone of this brand — and Rachel's collaboration with grief counselor and author Lisa Keefauver offers both visual and emotional comfort in stationery form — she also finds a great healing power within arresting beauty. So whether Rachel is figuring out how to incorporate risograph offerings alongside her existing letterpress designs, or working on portraying the powerful bodies of women, her constant experimentation drives our collective growth.

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Lauren & Liz of Wolf & Wren

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0000

What goes into a Louie Award-winning Card of the Year? In the case of Wolf & Wren Press, every design grows from the 30-year friendship of co-founders Liz Wolf and Lauren Stapleton. That precious connection, born in middle school, is the kind where one finishes the other's sentences ... and the other picks right up on the story! I's at the core of every design Wolf & Wren prints — including their winning pet sympathy card that from first glance honors both the love and grief of these companionships.

While their cards connect and uplift those separated by emotional and physical distances, Liz and Lauren also actually live far apart. Liz designs and illustrates the range while also working an art teacher in Rockford, Illinois, while Lauren does the printing and everything else that goes into running the Wolf & Wren stationery shop in Longmont, Colorado — some 946 miles away.

While every house of stationery tends to take a distinctive approach to running its brand these days, that of Wolf & Wren is completely unique. Our chat covers not just the origins of Wolf & Wren, but where they see themselves — and the stationery community — evolving.

Every house of stationery takes a distinctive approach to running itself these days, but that of Wolf & Wren is like no other — and that co-founder connection keeps the brand fresh and authentic. While our chat covers the origins of Wolf & Wren, Liz and Lauren also share where they see Wolf & Wren — and the stationery community — evolving.

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Victoria Kirst of Pouch Studio (2 of 2)

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0000

While journalers and junk journalers exist in this digital age alongside the rest of us, they crave the tactile and in-person elements of the analog world. In part 2 of my chat with Software Engineer Victoria Kirst, we take a deep dive into this non-digital community in the pages of her stationery zine Pouch and beyond.

If you are unfamiliar with stationery clubs and swaps, it is positively heartwarming to learn of tools like washi tape or stickers being lovingly bartered or shared by these offline groups. Here, stationery is not a commodity but a tool for collective expression.

For Victoria, Pouch is the ultimate passion project turned side hustle, and she perceives it as a tool to grow her community as she scratches her own creative itches. This becomes exceedingly clear in Victoria's surprising Nerd Notes, where this micro-bride turns her very wedding into stationery to mail and share!

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Victoria Kirst of Pouch Studio (1 of 2)

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 04:00:00 -0000

Like me, my guest today is a huge paper nerd who is the founding editor of a stationery publication. Unlike me, Victoria Kirst is also a software engineer who created her fabulous zine Pouch as an offline labor of love to share her passion for analog tools with an ever-growing community.

If you haven't seen a zine in a few decades or so, prepare to be dazzled! This purely 21st-century publication truly celebrates our medium, showcasing its endless potential — as well as the seemingly endless creative ways individuals in the stationery community express their inner lives and experiences through journals, planners, washi tapes, pens, cards, rubber stamps, and the like.

With a mission is to inspire every reader to start doodling, junk journaling or other stationery project, of course I have plenty of questions that we begin tackling in the first of two episodes. What attracts a software engineer to the world of analog — and what does stationery have that the digital domain lacks? Why are stationery clubs and meetups and junk journaling retreats happening now? Whatever your role in stationery, it is nearly impossible to not catch Victoria's excitement — or begin a journal of one's own!

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Vicky Barone of Barone & Co.

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Just because a maker isn't already a household name, that doesn't mean you're not already a big fan! You have most likely seen (many times!) and possibly even purchased the uplifting, inspiring and heartfelt greeting card designs of my guest today — and not even known it. For the past 24 years, Vicky Barone has been quietly licensing her designs behind the scenes to larger card brands like Papyrus and American Greetings. While she has stayed behind the design curtain, her thousands of cards have generated millions of dollars in products sold. Now Vicky has officially entered the stationery spotlight solo with her own brand, Barone & Co. While it’s a huge shift and a big risk, it’s also an enormous creative opportunity.

We discuss Vicky's transition from freelancer to founder, but also the evolution within greeting cards and communication over the past quarter century. What is the difference between humor and relatable humor? How difficult is it to debut an inclusive brand in these times — to say nothing of this challenging economy?

We also discuss the role of social media, specifically Instagram, to a brand. Vicky's personal IG page, starring much of the same work that adorns her cards, has over 50K followers, while that for her brand is still growing. Do online likes translate into business growth? Does generating work for social media undercut creativity? Whatever role you play in the stationery community, there's plenty to consider here — including of course Vicky's colorful, uplifting work!

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Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. (2 of 2)

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:00:00 -0000

For Anna Bond, being a creative is certainly about generating jaw-dropping imagery to be presented just so on irresistible products — but creativity is also a key to enabling this CEO to navigate Rifle Paper Co. forward as both a business and a brand. In Part 2 of our chat, we discuss subtly evolving the Rifle look to keep it consistently looking fresh and new, yet true to its signature style, as time passes and tastes evolve.

We also delve into navigating the larger challenges facing small businesses, such as tariffs. It's rather unsurprising that Anna often feels like she is facing a wily carnival Whack-A-Mole. And while I knew my listeners and I would be treated to an incredible Nerd Note, even *I* was wowed by her childhood correspondence!

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Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.

Fri, 30 May 2025 11:00:00 -0000

In 2009, freelance illustrator Anna Bond and her musician husband Nathan debuted Rifle Paper Co. to the trade in a double booth buried deep in the back aisles of the National Stationery Show. They were but one of dozens upon dozens of small (often forgotten) stationery brands showing there, but in Rifle's case, a stationery, gift and lifestyle star was born those five days in May.

Rifle's dizzying trajectory into the collective American design unconscious was singularly dramatic, with Anna's signature hand-painted artwork and vibrant color palette having headlining collaborations over the years with Keds, Target and Pottery Barn Kids, among seemingly countless other high-profile brands. Meanwhile, every stationery maker setting up shop dreams of a similar ascent.

Still, at the core of every Rifle offering remains the brand's tagline: 'We create moments of unexpected beauty in the real world.' So when I was given the real-world opportunity to interview Anna — now Rifle CEO — of course I had questions!

In this, part one of two, we discuss Rifle's humble origins, how Anna differentiated it from the very start, dealt with imitators over the years, and grew the brand alongside Nathan as they simultaneously grew their own family. With five young children and an ever-growing brand and body of work, Anna's strategy of success may surprise you as much as it did me!

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Sally Diguette (2 of 2)

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Don't miss Part 2 of my chat with type A über-creative Sally Diguette! In Sally's role as specialty buyer for Anthropologie, the merchandise she painstakingly sources from small, quirky makers are often where the brand's fans find the connection and community they seek as they shop.

Sally honed this expertise at Atlanta's Citizen Suppy, an artisan marketplace that showcases handmade goods, clothing, and standout finds from independent makers. Sally joined the Ponce City Market venue at its inception in 2017 to build all operations — and then heralded it through COVID, finessing her skill set all the more.

These lessons and skills are put to great use in her independent consultancy — and we close discussing the types of challenges we see our small maker clients grappling with, and our approaches to solving them. Finally, epistolary lovers will be utterly knocked out by Sally's precious Nerd Note — it's definitely Anthropologie shelf-worthy!

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Sally Diguette

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0000

This Type A über-creative wears a lot of hats, every last one of them impressive and fabulous. Sally Diguette is a specialty retail buyer for Anthropologie, tasked with buying in the stationery and related gift and home categories, as well as spearheading collaborations such as Papier x Anthropologie.

But Anthropologie is also where many a small maker gets her first big break — even if it's just one greeting card on its enormous website. Not only does Sally undertake the enormous task of selecting each maker to tell certain trend stories across every inch of Anthropologie retail space (both actual + virtual), she also offers consulting services to help brands get shelf-ready.

Sally and I delve into defining the Anthropologie magic — and the nuts and bolts of generating it. How does she navigate the overstimulation of trade shows to ascertain the trend stories to fill store shelves? What catches Sally's eye — and what are the design must-haves on a given product? With that kind of perspective and drive, I was thrilled to have audience with her here, and accordingly, this is the first of two episodes of our interview!

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Catherine Hildner of KMB/Shade Tree Greetings

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:39:00 -0000

For many in our community, running a stationery brand turns out to be but a single milestone on an incredible larger journey. That's the case with Catherine Hildner of Kitty Meow Boutique, now a part of Shade Tree Greetings. Over the past several years, this dynamo — also my guest in episode 20 — not only established her own brand, she also helped create the Ultimate Product Party series of events and podcasts to empower other product-based creatives (mostly women) to bring their own visions to life.

But part of being a smart entrepreneur is knowing when it's time to move on. And in Catherine's case, it turns out that I actually helped jumpstart the process just over a year ago, at the February edition of NY NOW 2024. Tune in to hear this fantastic tale and what's next for Catherine!

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Susan January

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0000

How better to kick off January 2025 — and the eighth season of this podcast — than with a visit from this bona fide industry legend? While Susan January has been at the helm of Leanin' Tree, a mid-sized Colorado house of stationery, for over a quarter century, she has also served as president of the Greeting Card Association, from 2011 to 2013. More recently, she spearheaded a team of women from across generations to debut Willow & Ivy, a boutique brand devised solely for our times — and the women navigating them.

With such an illustrious career under her stylish belt, Susan's perspective on the greeting card category is unparalleled. Our discussion delves into how diverse, rich voices — from Emily McDowell to The Noble Paperie to Colleen Harrington to many, many others — have united to create a dynamic marketplace awash with offerings that authentically speak to today's discerning greeting card audience. In this forum, ideally no one should feel isolated — all that's required is the right card in the right card sender's hands.

Meanwhile, the distinctive path upon which Willow & Ivy was brought to exquisite life enabled it to truly reflect the 21st-century woman's shared experiences, dreams, and needs, regardless of generation, as it seeks to connect us. Whatever you already know about greeting cards and stationery, prepare to have your perspective tweaked, courtesy of this month's five-star guest.

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Michele Ferron of Good Tuesday

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0000

How does what began as a pandemic pastime become the UK's first stationery B Corp? For Michele Feron of Good Tuesday, her sustainable brand came to life in 2020 on Etsy as Once Upon a Tuesday. Her then-eight-year-old daughter Flora created the name, but as this color-driven Cornwall brand grew, Michele realized a big evolution was in order.

However, the rebranding paled next to becoming a B Corp. Michele shares how the transition is far more than an icon to place on one's site — it represents a dramatic change in perspective to every conceivable area of her business. While all Good Tuesday merchandise was always 100% recycled, the transition entails a fresh emphasis on employees, environmental footprint, waste management, sourcing materials, ethical and transparent practices, customer service, impact on local community and involvement in social causes.

Thus as Michele sagely points out, receiving the official the designation only represents the first chapter of many positive changes, some small, some large, but all together they represent a complete transformation. You become a B Corp, she explains, and it becomes you.

Michele gives a colorful glimpse into the ever-growing B Corp community — and plenty of inspiration for other stationery makers on this side of the pond to consider taking the plunge as well!

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Michele from Meant to be Calligraphy & Amy from Penny Post

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 14:01:57 -0000

Since its premiere seven seasons ago, the Netflix reality show Love is Blind has only tightened its grasp on pop culture. According to Nielsen, Americans watcher over 1.1 billion million minutes of the most recent season of this will-they or won't-they get married show, set in Washington, D.C. — and that doesn't include infinite video discussions and gossip on social media. While those can get somewhat seamy, the season's fan favorite couple, Taylor and Garrett, put an enormous national spotlight on how stationery, correspondence and calligraphy can connect, capture and elevate a relationship, now and forever — with a little help from their local paper nerd friends, that is!

In episode 10, the engaged couple had a televised calligraphy lesson at Old Alexandria's Penny Post, owned by Amy Rutherford and taught by Michele Hatty Fritz of Meant to Be Calligraphy. Predictably, the segment detailed the gorgeous art of calligraphy, presented through Michele's most capable hands. Surprisingly, the discussion delved into how Taylor and Garrett's practice of leaving notes for one another not only kept them connected to each other, but also honored departed family members who did the same thing. The concept was so meaningful to them, they decided during filming to actually have what is perhaps the world's first letter-writing station at their wedding — and of course only, Michele could run it!

Both Amy and Michele take listeners behind the scenes of this larger-than-life experience. From prepping the cozy shop for shooting, to stuffing crew members in its ADA accessible bathroom, from selling the crew stationery after shooting ended for the day, to that nuptial letter-writing station viewers were never shown, they spill it all! It all begs the larger question, could we be seeing a resurgence in stationery?

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Tyler McCall of Paper & Pencil AND Chicago Stationery Fest

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0000

As the economy flounders and the election cycle drags on, many makers and retailers in the stationery space are simply navigating their way through the best they can so that their businesses survive the downturn. But stationery success stories still happen! Tyler McCall and his husband and business partner Eric Campbell have been on an upward trajectory since opening their 400-square-foot shop in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, Paper & Pencil, in May 2023.

The two built the highly curated Paper & Pencil on their own terms, and when attending the New York markets for the first time in Winter 2024, the first kernel of Chicago Stationery Fest was planted. Happening March 22 and 23, 2025, this consumer-facing event may just break down the "trade-only" wall to let paper nerds in the wild experience the magic that the stationery trade has privately enjoyed for decades.

While Chicago Stationery Fest is just one of several similar events popping up around the country, its springtime dates also lend itself to wholesale buying that for this category has always occurred in that specific window. It all begs the question, are we are on the verge of a stationery renaissance?

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Leatrice Eisman of the Pantone Color Institute

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:00:00 -0000

For the past quarter century, the Pantone Color Institute has grabbed headlines each December with its Color of the Year (COTY) announcement. Each selection is carefully formulated to reflect our global culture, expressing the zeitgeist through the dynamic language of color.

Peek behind the curtain as I host the incredible Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Lee generates each COTY, and also teaches color forecasting to burgeoning gurus at The Eiseman Center for Color Information & Training in Tucson, Arizona. Recognized by Fortune Magazine and The Wall Street Journal as one of the most influential people in the world of color, Lee actually galvanized the entire COTY concept by first devising the Color of the Millennium back in 1999.

Lee examines what goes into each last selection, perhaps providing a hint into the 2025 COTY. While the goal of the entire COTY program is to help better understand the power of color, our discussion will leave you reevaluating what you thought you understood about this most important communication tool, whose message has the potential to cross genders, generations, and geographies.

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Amanda and Susan of Golden Gems

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 12:00:00 -0000

Golden Gems was brought to life in a St. Louis living room by sisters Susan Logsdon and Amanda Helman. Despite these humble beginnings, this brazen lifestyle brand distinguished itself right out of the wholesale gate, buoyed by its larger-than-life mission to inspire us all to live life unapologetically, on our own terms. Thus at trade shows, it was impossible to miss this colorful, pithy array of stationery and gifts emblazoned with empowering phrases like "Not Here For You" or "Take Up Space." Meanwhile its free giveaway — hot pink totes warning of "Cool Sh*t Inside" with a catalog tucked within — brilliantly served as mobile market advertising, enticing attendees to track down that booth for themselves. (Their booth, by the way, won Best Booth at Las Vegas Market in July.)

In addition to its wholesale business, Golden Gems is also conquering St. Louis with three retail destinations, as well as Hidden Gem, its "one of a kind dive disco bar" just two doors down from its flagship. This is more than just a locale for fans to immerse themselves in the brand with a cocktail; events like 'Toxxed and Tatted' offer tattoos, piercings, tooth gems and even botox on a first-come, first-served basis.

Creating instant community and camaraderie at any locale, along with a big dose of giving back, seems to come as naturally to Susan and Amanda as their brilliant messaging. Listen in to experience learn how they built their precious brand, and you'll experience a taste of that heady Golden Gems magic for yourself!

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Todd Kletter of Crane

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:00:00 -0000

Crane came to life alongside America — and like America, it's had quite a challenging 2024. Actually, make that a few challenging years. This is actually the second episode of The Paper Fold covering Crane; my first dealt with its previous owner, Mohawk Fine Papers, having to move the entire Crane operation from its North Adams, Massachusetts, facility, opened in 1799, to Cohoes, New York, during lockdown in 2020.

The Crane story reignited last February as Mohawk Fine Papers was being acquired by the International Fedrigoni Group, owned by Bain Capital, a Boston-based private investment firm, and BC Partners, a British international investment firm. Once the acquisition went through, Fedrigoni abruptly shuttered Crane and unceremoniously laid off 76 employees. Retailers who had open orders hadn't a clue what to tell their customers. I followed the story at Stationery Trends and as February slipped into March, I began to fear that Crane had printed its last piece.

But, with assistance from the former CEO at Mohawk Paper, an Albany, New York, investment firm, WP Strategic Holdings, was able to acquire Crane, and its Managing Partner Todd Kletter suddenly found himself with a new title: Crane CEO! Now Todd himself drops in The Paper Fold to recount it all — and give a glimpse of what the future holds for this all-American brand.

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Sammy Rich of Sammy Gorin

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0000

You've most likely already seen designs from Sammy Gorin, and just not known it. This young New York-based artist and musician has quickly made a name for herself in stationery and gifts by turning pop culture moments into fantastically fun and funny art prints, stickers, cards, and pens. But rather than satirizing the topical domain with, say, a spellbindingly clever Taylor Swift sticker, Sammy Rich recently found herself in the social media spotlight.

Owed over $25,000 by the retailer Francesca's and unable to get a response, Sammy (alongside several other makers in the same situation) shot herself a little vlog — actually her first! — and posted it. It went viral, receiving at least 236,000 views on Instagram and 275,000 on TikTok — along with several stitches and comments running the gamut from approving to acrimonious. But Sammy stayed focused on her invoices. Fortunately, her vlog soon got the attention of the Francesca's CEO, who scheduled a call with Sammy and got her paid.

Sammy chose to take the video down, but drops in The Paper Fold to expand on her backstory and experience. For Sammy, going viral included new followers and sales, but also victim-blaming and adversarial store managers. Beyond all social media pandamonium however, Sammy has emerged from the situation to provide plenty of wisdom (and more than a little wit) for today's indie makers.

GREETING CARD

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Talia Bromstad of Bromstad Printing Co.

Tue, 28 May 2024 12:49:36 -0000

For this paper nerd, there are few pleasures in life akin to traveling to market and discovering a standout stationery brand fairly fresh out of the gate. Bromstad Printing Co. was just such a find last month at the *Noted Expo in San Francisco. That's the stationery community's annual wholesale meet-up put on by The Greeting Card Association. The fun kicks off the night before with the Louie Awards, AKA the Academy Awards for greeting cards.

Bromstad Printing's distinctive risograph designs earned owner and operator Talia Bromstad six Louie Award finalist nods, incredibly rare for a newbie. These included placing in the highly competitive Rising Star and Artist of the Year categories. At the end of the night, Talia won the coveted Superbly Stated Louie.

Although Talia is well-acquainted with the letterpress, risograph is her game. While that printing method was invented in the 1980s, it is currently trending in stationery in a big way. But it is more than simply method that distinguishes this Atlanta house of stationery. While cats comprise roughly half of this range's subject matter — modeled by studio cats Nadine, Stuart and Sylvia — Talia's grasp of color, brevity of sentiment, and sprinkling of dark humor elevate her output into a brand to definitely watch!

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Alex Gagné of Chez Gagné

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 13:31:23 -0000

No matter the brilliance of your offerings, hitting your brand stride takes time. For Alex Gagné of Chez Gagné, reaching her 10th anniversary is the ultimate validation — but that doesn't mean this fantastic founder is slowing down anytime soon.

This LA house of design debuted a decade back with just letterpress cards, but has since evolved into a thriving indie lifestyle brand. Every last SKU, from Hand Job Hand Lotion to I Hate Everyone Rocks Glasses, unites beneath the Chez Gagné maxim, "If you can't make it nice, make it funny."

Alex shares how she painstakingly built her house of cards, sample by sample, carefully choosing and slowly sourcing every last product expansion, from shower steamers to matches. But at the core of every sleek offering beneath the broad Chez Gagné umbrella is Alex' own story.

From dating to childbirth to buying a house to divorce, all her life milestones (as well as those still to come) have been transparently translated into her product offerings. It's all in the name of connection, comfort and camaraderie — so by all means, don't miss my special sit-down with this stationery siren!

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Kristina Burkey of Calliope Paperie

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Record stores have a day (April 20), independent bookstores have a day (April 27), and even independent pet stores have a day (September 28). But what about the independent card and gift shop? Thanks to my incredible guest today, now they do!

Kristina Burkey of Calliope Paperie in Natick, Massachusetts, is the founder of International Stationery Store Day, celebrated the first Saturday in August. This year's is August 3. As Kristina describes it, International Stationery Store Day has a simple mission of celebrating and lifting up "the most special specialty store: the paper shop!”

Frankly, it's about time. These independent shops — typically women-owned — tirelessly and carefully curate independent stationery brands just so. It's all in the name of enabling their discerning paper nerd clienteles to discover and experience our fantastic medium off a screen, locally and in person.

Unsurprisingly, this grassroots event grows bigger each year. Listen in to get involved — and help put cards and letters into the hands of those that will cherish them forever.

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Lauren Miele of KushKards

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 13:00:00 -0000

What does it mean to be a disruptor? For Lauren Miele of KushKards, it means getting people to talk about you when you are not around. And that's precisely how *I* first heard about this cannabis-tinged brand at its National Stationery Show debut in early 2020. There, KushKards distinguished itself out of the gate by winning Best New Product for its Polka Pot Gift Bag — an enormous accomplishment not just as a newbie but also a sign of the quick inroads she made in our sometimes rather traditional community.

Meanwhile, Lauren didn't just bring cannabis to stationery and gifts, she also brought greeting cards to the male-dominated cannabis industry. Soon thereafter, Lauren officially entered the burgeoning sexual wellness domain by attaching vibrators instead of one-hitters to her card designs.

Now Lauren spills on everything from social media strategy to troll management. To her, it's all about embracing what she is disrupting — and even becoming the niche itself. And just as she provides 'a gift with a lift' with her offerings, Lauren's path illuminates how any brand can blaze to the righteous spot it deserves.

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Shannon Martin of Shannon Martin Design

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 13:00:00 -0000

Every picture tells a story — unless you are Shannon Martin, of course: Her pictures tell your stories as well. Now celebrating 20 years in business, Shannon Martin Design's signature sepia creations have attained a definite ubiquity and immediate recognition. That's no easy task, and Shannon takes us behind the scenes to share how she consistently churns out distinctive designs by turns heartfelt and humorous — AKA, the Lay's potato chip of greeting cards.

As an OG stationery maker, Shannon's wholesale strategy is as polished as her designs; once a retailer commits to stock this range, it's typically the start of a long, fruitful relationship. At the core of both her artistry and her business savvy is a commitment to authentic connection that cannot be faked.

Thus in both product and practice, she shows us all how to embrace our inner Pippi Longstocking, not our inner Kardashian. This grande dame of design also provides a glimpse into her own stationery ritual — a must for any paper nerd!

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Dominique Schurman of NIQUEA.D

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 14:00:48 -0000

Like all my guests, Dominique Schurman is a paper nerd .... but one with a most distinguished stationery pedigree! In 1950, her father Marcel founded Schurman Fine Papers, which, informed by his global "treasure hunts," brought exquisite stationery artistry and bespoke paper traditions to American shelves. Meanwhile, her mother Margrit opened the first PAPYRUS store in Berkeley, California, in 1973. That one exclusive stationery shop would grow to over 450 stores throughout the US and Canada. Dominique joined the family business in 1982, so when she founded NIQUEA.D in 2020, she drew on decades of wisdom gained from her many sourcing trips as well as her extensive retail experiences.

With NIQUEA.D's founding, the artisanal embellishments that can elevate stationery from commodity to fine art were officially back in circulation. From flocking to letterpress to ornate foiling to tipped-in pages, this upscale card range is treasure to send and receive — every last one a joy to pull out of the proverbial drawer to revisit in posterity. Moreso, its Collector's Edition Cards raise the handmade stakes exponentially, presenting larger-than-life designs full of striking surprises, like double envelopes and wooden papercuts inside. Combined with a heartfelt message from a loved one, the opening of every last one of these texture-rich keepsakes is a experience to remember.

Dominique shares what it was like growing up in a stationery family, and also provides a glimpse into her famed eye. How exactly does one go about generating not just the right card at the right time with the right words, but something that has never been created before? Listen in to truly appreciate the enormous gift Dominique is to the entire stationery community.

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Christy Asper of Paper Baristas

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:11:00 -0000

Can a maker make the world a better place, one gorgeous, handmade sheet of Fair Trade paper at a time? For Chisty Asper, the answer is a resounding yes — and her efforts involve so much more than simply donating a small percentage of her profits to charity. Instead, every last Paper Baristas offering is brewed to do good by careful, complicated design.

This Iowa house of paper has a lofty mission: Leave this earth better than its current state — emotionally, culturally and spiritually. By deeply aligning with IJM, a global non-profit that partners with communities to end modern slavery, exploitation and abuse, and employing survivors of sex trafficking in India, Christy and her husband Jon Marc help liberate people and families. In India, their employees, often victims of the Caste System, receive a living wage to up-cycle cotton rag discards into the brand's wood-free, pollution-free paper. Plans are also underway to start a similar operation in Mexico.

If you ever thought one person couldn't change countless lives for the better, think again. For the 50 million people that IJM estimates are currently victims of modern-day slavery, freedom and safety are now that much closer, spurred on by every last Paper Baristas purchase. So while Christy's exquisitely letterpressed, deckle-edged cards and planners are inspiring in and of themselves, her never-ending passion and dedication to this cause is legitimately awe-inspiring.

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Holiday Junkie: Jennifer Love Hewitt x 2021 Co.

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:00:00 -0000

It's officially the spooky season, so I've got a triple treat! The actress Jennifer Love Hewitt drops in The Paper Fold along with the power duo that is 2021 Co. — Nicole Couto and Emily King — to talk all things Holiday Junkie. This refers of course to the ever-growing collection the three have collaborated on to celebrate the joy and magic of various holidays — but it's also a certain state of mind.

For Jennifer, Halloween is a way of life; for 2021 Co., it is a fresh category through which their brand can bring us closer to those we love. Jennifer is not just the biggest celebrity to champion stationery that I can recall, her approach to connecting through the medium is as fresh as it is funny. Jennifer obviously brings star power to the table and is a clever card-writer extraordinaire, but it is really authentic connection that lies at the heart of every Holiday Junkie design.

Don't miss out as we examine the distinctive power of paper to traverse time and space — and how that has shaped each of us both personally and professionally. It's downright impossible not to be inspired by the spirit of collaboration among these three powerful women, so listen in to bring your own personal Holiday Junkie to life!

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Suzy Ultman

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 12:00:00 -0000

I really like Suzy Ultman’s chutzpah … and you will too, nerds! Suzy is a lifelong and prolific illustrator, card and stationery designer, toy creator, and bookmaker. The simultaneously sophisticated and simple objects that she brings to offbeat life delight young and old alike.

Really, every last one of her playful creations — and even her much-loved Instagram feed — are but a medium through which she spins many a tale to her super-engaged audience. Now, on the heels of her vibrant letterpress card collab with the esteemed Egg Press, Suzy drops in The Paper Fold to share not just her story, but her backstory as well.

Don’t miss our chat on licensing, creativity, the creative process, beginner’s mind, collaboration as well as thoughtfully conceptualizing merchandise in a waste-filled world. And, since Suzy and I are both Jewish, and September brings with it the Jewish New Year — a time for looking backwards and forwards — we discuss how those values, memories and traditions guide us.

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Elicia Castaldi of Girl w/Knife

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Where does stellar design begin and end? I used to think I knew the answer, but witnessing the ascension of Girl w/Knife, I've found myself rethinking that. Over the last several years, Elicia Castaldi has sliced not just a singular path through stationery, but home décor and even home design as well. Her stylish wake reveals that rewriting the rules to your own liking is simply a matter of confidence and vision — preferably accessorized with a pair of killer stilettos, of course.

Extending as it does across many product segments, Girl w/Knife is both a lifestyle and a mood, but at its core is the 'digital photoshop collage' process Elicia invented. This framework truly blooms in her greeting cards. She painstakingly paints and collects visual elements, then layers them with just the right copy, reflecting our beautiful but too-often sad world with truth, heart, fashion and the occasional sharp edge. As such, receiving one of these from a loved one during one of life's highs or lows is bound to solicit a deep emotional response. Unsurprisingly, in the stationery domain, Elicia has won a slew of Noted@*Noted Awards and Louie Awards, including the highly competitive 2022 Artist of the Year.

Elicia drops in to discuss not just her design process, but the autobiographical elements running through all her work. From childhood cat best friends to otherworldly interactions with spectacular insects, it's all just fodder for Elicia's next fantastic, elevated creation. Just remember: the biggest consistency here is an element of surprise. Today you might find Elicia on the American Dream Network discussing the renovation of her latest Knife/House in Palm Springs; tomorrow she may be at a book signing promoting her inclusion in the just released Wisdom Of Wildly Creative Women. Yet Elicia is a paper person through and through — and that element remains the lifeblood of her brand.

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THE Mary Engelbreit

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 12:00:00 -0000

This month's dynamo guest is a trailblazer in countless senses of the word. Mary Engelbreit debuted at National Stationery Show in 1983 with just a dozen card designs and a decidedly under-decorated booth — but neither that quantity or the booth mattered. Mary paired her distinctive illustrations with clever messaging that transported viewers to an unexpected, charming place — and the world had never seen anything quite like it!

Mary's cards caught the eye of a NY Magazine editor during that market, and a design empire was born. Today, having generated nearly 6,500 products and over $1 billion in lifetime retail sales, Mary shows no sign of slowing her prolific roll, lately releasing everything from wallpaper to paint-by-number kits. And, she documents it all in her excellent Instagram feed. (If you want your feed to resemble Mary's, try following @housewrenstudio @noodleandlou @heybilljoyce @sarahvbattle @vintagebycrystal @davidwalker.)

The mark of a truly inspired maker is the ability to evolve. To reflect our challenging times, Mary created her stark yet still eloquent Engeldark. Any followers she lost were more than mitigated by those she gained.

Landing an interview with this doyenne of design was a dream come true for this paper nerd. Mary's thoughtful, informed perspective on design, licensing, expansion, authenticity, activism and collaboration offer countless insights for the entire stationery community.

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Behind the Graphic

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 12:00:00 -0000

The sixth season of The Paper Fold kicks off on a new network — Evergreen — and a slightly different format, but just this once. Instead of focusing on stationery within commerce, I am examining instead stationery within activism, with an admittedly personal bent.

When he was just 14, my nephew Sam Schwartz lost his first cousin, Alex Schachter, at the Parkland Massacre on February 14, 2018. In the ensuing years, both Alex’ dad Max Schachter, and Sam’s mom Gail Schwartz, my sister-in-law, have dedicated their lives to making sure no other families go through what they have. Several weeks back, Sam, now a rising sophomore at the Boston Conservatory, decided to hold a week-long sit-in outside The Capitol Building to to demand a vote on an assault weapons ban in the house and the senate, regardless of the outcome. It would all be in Alex' honor.

He needed a graphic, and that's where I came in. So, I introduced Sam and Gail to my dear friend Lindsay Henry of Inklings Paperie (Listen to her first drop into The Paper Fold here). After a few rushed emails, Lindsay brought this graphic to compelling life. Did I mention she was also prepping for *Noted, a major community event, at the same time? Everyone was thrilled with the final result.

The image did not just live online, however. With a little help from my Canva account, Sam turned it into a greeting card/invitation, which he then printed and hand-delivered to every congressperson and senator over the course of several days. Meanwhile, the graphic also took root on social media. It appeared in Laura Dern's Instagram feed; the actress and her daughter Jaya Harper even stopped by! Meanwhile on the Sunday evening of the sit-in, Sam was interviewed live on CNN by Jim Acosta.

His next interview was with The Paper Fold, but with a far different focus. I am so intrigued by the overlap between art and activism, and how a powerful image may invite tangible action and change. So listen in to hear both Sam and Lindsay discuss creating compelling imagery for this space — and how those in the maker community can dive in as well if they so choose.

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Alyson O'Connor of Rust Belt Love Paperie

Tue, 30 May 2023 12:00:00 -0000

Stop what you are doing this instant, Nerds, and listen up to the newly crowned, Louie Award-winning Writer of the Year! Alyson O'Connor is one half of the decade-old Rust Belt Love Paperie (RBL) team — husband Nick is the other half — but she shapes our stationery community in a big way, all on her own.

RBL's greeting cards spotlight the centuries-old letterpress medium exquisitely, and as such are gorgeous, artful creations in and of themselves — but their messaging elevates them into modern communication tools that hit you (and those you love) squarely in the feels.

It's an enormous challenge to communicate emotions that most people can't fully articulate until they see them staring back at them from a shelf, but Alyson spills on her process. We also touch on inclusion and multi-occasional versatility, which are both incredibly trendy topics in our community.

Finally, fresh off her win and this Louie awards program, Alyson is now officially the Greeting Card Association's Louie Chair. As a fellow Louie Committee member, I cannot pass up my chance to see where she wants to take the awards program during her two-year tenure. Don't miss my audience with this award winner!

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Emily McDowell of @emilyonlife (Part 2 of 2)

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 12:00:04 -0000

Paper nerds, here's the second part of my interview with this one-of-a-kind stationery innovator and disrupter! @emilyonlife and I kick off discussing The Long Table Collective. The collective provides invaluable mentoring for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian artists & creative entrepreneurs as it attempts to even out the design playing field.

Five ultra-lucky artists receive one year of professional mentoring in a small-group format, meeting virtually twice per month with Lisa Congdon and Emily. If you are interested in being a part, get on it: Applications close May 8!

Through the collective, Emily has mentored Carlos Carmonamedina of The Culture Curious. This "citizen of the world" creates stationery that focuses on the universality, not specificity, of card-sending occasions, with utterly vibrant, heartfelt results.

This direction ties into a trend both Emily and I are seeing, where one card speaks eloquently to several occasions. This flexible approach ties into our collective desire to simplify as we authentically connect with others — but mastering it as a maker is more challenging than you may think.

Whatever role you play in stationery — from maker to disrupter to frequent card sender — miss my audience with Emily at your own risk!

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Emily McDowell of @emilyonlife (Part 1 of 2)

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 12:00:03 -0000

A decade ago, Emily McDowell of Emily McDowell Studio sparked a greeting card revolution and evolution with the release of her Empathy Collection. Her card reading, "There is no good card for this" was both an acknowledgment that the market didn't reflect real life, and a challenge to makers to begin doing just that.

Emily's self-named stationery brand would eventually become Em & Friends; in 2022 it was acquired by Union Square Publishing, the publishing arm of Barnes & Noble. While she currently serves in a part-time consulting role, she is no longer an employee or part of its leadership.

Since @emilyonlife is currently on sabbatical from many of her endeavors, I am beyond grateful that she sat down with me to reflect on the art of disruption; the importance of timing; writing, rewriting and then rewriting again — as well as the dimensions and ultimate limitations of success. This interview was so compelling, I had to stretch it over two episodes!

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amy.atnynow of NY NOW

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 13:00:04 -0000

For this extra-special episode, my Paper Planes Cocktail Hour Podcast co-host and I decided to try something different. For decades now, Amy Loewenberg and I passed like stationery ships in the night, walking the same shows and stationery shops.

Ironically, we never really got acquainted until lockdown in 2020 — that's when we developed and starting churning out our NY NOW podcast once a month. While I have so enjoyed tag-teaming in our maker and retailer podcast interviews, we never turned the tables on each other ... until now that is.

So, February finds me in the hot seat on the Paper Planes Cocktail Hour Podcast, and Amy is dropping back into The Paper Fold! With her vast experience on both sides of the aisle, Amy's perspective on the stationery and gift space is priceless.

We look back on where stationery has been ... and where it is going. From pop-ups to zoomers, from hybrid market experiences to the inimitable power of connecting in person, you don't want to miss this interview of my brilliant partner in podcasting!

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Sadie Teper of Twentysome Design

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 13:00:02 -0000

True progress may occur only at the macro level, but it begins on the micro level. Just ask Sadie Teper, founder of the feminist stationery and gift brand Twentysome Design. Her hand-lettered range draws big laughs as it voices our often unspoken thoughts — just ask her craft fair patrons, or the stores across the country that stock her.

But beneath the humor, the message is always a positive, inclusive one, which is that much more powerful held in your hands. Thus one card reads, "I love watching you rise/Congrats on your promotion"; one of my favorite Twentysome birthday offerings reminds the recipient that "age is beauty." Vinyl stickers meanwhile share modern dictums like "love yourself first," "worthy + deserving" and "angry women will change the world."

Now the self-confessed plant whore, also recently named a Stationery Trends Designer to Watch in 2023, drops in The Paper Fold to spill on her big-picture goals, varied inspirations, upcoming collaborations, to say nothing of how her magnificent, distinctive hand-lettering — AKA Bad Bitch — evolved.

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Sharon Glassman of Smile Songs

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 14:00:03 -0000

It's tough getting any stationery brand off the ground, but one that goes an entirely new direction is a real challenge. Just ask Sharon Glassman of Smile Songs. This Brooklyn fashion writer turned Colorado songwriter actually came to stationery circuitously — as she was envisioning a way for her listeners to access her anytime, she actually was planning on making music boxes at first!

Sharon quickly realized that our smart phones ARE our music boxes ... with a little help from QR codes, that is. But a product that requires explanation can feel incongruous to its category counterparts, so Sharon decided that rather than exhibiting at a traditional gift show, she would instead try the resort and souvenir route.

So, she created her Natural Happiness Collection, featuring earthy symbols like mountains, water, flowers, and sun, pairing each with an inspirational message and a song about personal growth and happiness. Then, she took a deep breath and set up her very first table at her very first trade show, The Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show.

Sharon relaxed once she got her first sale within the first hour, but was really surprised on her last day, when she received the show award for Best New Product Flush from her success, Sharon drops in The Paper Fold to discuss how she developed Smile Songs, and that although the paper medium may evolve, the message is just the same. She shares lessons learned from her first trade show, and how she is bringing next-level collaborations to her most harmonious brand!

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Kristen Ley of Thimblepress

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:34:11 -0000

What is success exactly? That is the question Kristen Ley began asking herself following the meteoric rise of her paper and gift brand Thimblepress. Taking her creations from Etsy shop to Target shelves in a few short years was a dream come true, but at what cost?

Caught up in a mindset of "hurry rush do," Kristen became scattered. "I was spinning out, doing way too much, and not taking care of my mental and physical self," she wrote me. "I had put off doctor's appointments for years, I was cutting my own hair, and I was eating a very poor diet that kept me in a perpetual cycle of sickness. I was a mess."

So, Kristen decided to look inwards, slow down to an almost complete halt — including on social media! — and truly reevaluate what was actually going on in her business and heart.

As a result, she completely restructured her business — and mindset — so that Thimblepress serves her, not the other way around. These days you will find Kristen not only developing her own product range, but collaborating with others for a true design win-win. Whatever role you play in our community, you'll be inspired by this industry powerhouse's grace, strength and wisdom.

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Libby Llanso of Seedlings

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 13:00:11 -0000

Most of today's young stationery makers grew up swooning over our medium, but Libby Llanso of Seedlings literally grew up working in our trade. As the daughter of Legacy Publishing Group's Cathy and Carlos Llanso, her childhood was filled with packing orders, attending various markets and helping her mom select art for the next year's release.

But rather than continuing the status quo, when Libby came on board, she was able to create the range she envisioned. Thus Seedlings sprouted from Legacy — much like wildflowers spring from every last Seedlings envelope. With its focus on vibrant color, authentic messaging and sustainability, this innovative range keeps the medium exciting, fresh and fun.

This organic approach has distinguished Seedlings in a rather crowded maker market. The Louie Awards are the greeting card equivalent to the Academy Awards, and last April, Seedlings' gorgeous and heartfelt sympathy design snagged the stationery equivalent to Best Picture: Card of the Year, over $5. Then, last summer, Libby was named to the 2022 Gift + Stationery 40 under 40 class, another enormous honor. Not too shabby for a 26-year-old!

Tune in to hear Libby spill on the lessons learned from her upbringing, and what she seeks to originate. Her devotion to sustainability is not only passionate, it is practical, as Libby is helping bring necessary change and progress to the industry as she simultaneously keeps the medium mesmerizing to the next generation of paper nerds.

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Jocelyn + Roland Kirouac of Ümlaut Brooklyn

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 13:00:08 -0000

If you ever wanted to put your truth out there and hesitated due to the response you feared you’d get, hesitate no longer. Just ask Jocelyn + Roland Kirouac of Ümlaut Brooklyn. Although this range has a reputation for having the proverbial potty mouth, their product actually doesn't contain a lot of profanity.

What it does have, however, is the couple's uncensored and occasionally shocking take on the world around them. Thus, while their stationery is practically guaranteed to make you laugh out loud — "outrageous times deserve outrageous cards" is their working mantra — their Instagram feed reflects their belief that it's impossible to separate your personal views and politics from your creativity.

COVID-19 continues to color their approach to exhibiting in person at markets. For Jocelyn and Roland, the plague is not yet over. While they hope and plan to return to in-person market appearances — a notion I heartily endorse! — for now they're relying on those often-overlooked sales dynamos, road reps. They have so many, they can't name them all — and these "trade shows on wheels" literally drive their wholesale sales, even on Faire.

Finally, nearly every brand is expected to have a cause-related element, but Ümlaut Brooklyn carefully considered the inroads they wanted to pave before establishing their Young Artist Grant. Their philanthropic approach is as heartfelt as their cards are zany, and I'm hoping other makers in our community are inspired to similarly nurture the next generation of creatives!

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Brittany O'Brien of Brittany Paige Designs

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 13:00:08 -0000

If you've ever felt creatively restricted by your corporate job, move over! Brittany O’Brien of Brittany Paige Designs feels your pain, but better yet, she acted on it. She launched her namesake brand in 2017 with six greeting cards — all concerning break-ups — and although the release was small, it proved to be incredibly powerful. With it, Brittany was officially uncensored, untethering herself from how she was in her words "taught to be small."

Unsurprisingly, her stationery and gift range struck a collective nerve, and this one-woman operation accordingly grew exponentially — just ask her 500+ stockists, or maybe one of her 20K+ TikTok followers.

When the Dobbs ruling dropped in late June, Brittany channeled her energy into not just representing and interpreting the collective frustration of many Americans, but infusing some financial muscle as well.

First she pre-released a powerful "They Won't Stop at Roe' sticker June 24, with 100% of proceeds benefiting Arc Southeast. Then she got 29 other gift and stationery brands on board to donate all online sales for one day — July 12 — to The National Network of Abortion Funds. In all, over $15K was raised, with Brittany donating a cool grand.

Brittany opens up about her approach to infusing her beliefs into her merchandise, lessons learned from July 12 and a peek into what she's showcasing at NY NOW. Finally, her take on that "cringey app I was resistant to," TikTok, is not to be missed!

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Stacie Bloomfield of Gingiber

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 13:01:05 -0000

Do you want to unleash that creative powerhouse that resides within you? Then you absolutely cannot miss my chat with Stacie Bloomfield. This design dynamo was just named a 2022 40 Under 40 Honoree by Stationery Trends and Gift Shop Plus magazines, and it will become pretty apparent, pretty quickly, why I gave her a perfect score when I judged the entries.

Stacie literally grew Gingiber, her Arkansas paper and home goods company, from her kitchen table to a seven-figure business now carried by over 1000 stores around the globe. Interestingly, her Gingiber journey began when she couldn't find nursery art she liked for her childrens' rooms, but as her children have grown, so too has her voice blossomed.

But Stacie didn't stop there. Genuinely wanting to encourage other makers, she founded The Creative Powerhouse Society. Stacie is as transparent as she is vulnerable, sharing every last pitfall and win, and ultimately freeing everyone in her powerful orbit to forge their own path, and completely customize it to their liking no less.

From the potential hazards of sharing your personal views to the knowledge that your follower count does not dictate your income, Stacie drops bits of creative and entrepreneurial wisdom like proverbial crumbs in the forest for us all to follow. Miss this empowering episode at your own risk!

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Rosanna Kvernmo of Shorthand

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 12:45:01 -0000

Hold onto your undated planners everyone, Rosanna is here, and my, does she have a lot to spill! When I last checked in with her, pre-pandemic, the founder of this letterpress brand and Los Angeles shop had just lost her husband and co-founder Joel to brain cancer, leaving their 18-month-old daughter Judith behind as well. Our stationery community is such that we rallied around Rosanna from around the nation however we could, but it was Rosanna's fortitude and mindset that enabled her to triumph.

Not only has Rosanna survived, she and Shorthand have thrived, with the latter growing according to the traditional definition of a corporation — "work being done by a group of people that cannot be achieved by an individual" — and she proudly and stably employs an ever-growing team of LA gig-economy creatives.

Shorthand also has a new official name as well as its largest release ever this summer, exhibiting at the Dallas and Atlanta markets respectively in June and July and Shoppe Object in New York in August. So just like the office goods and stationery Shorthand lovingly creates and curates, there is a lot more going on here than initially meets the eye. This episode takes a deep dive into life, love and letterpress, and as such is not to be missed!

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Wendy Hind of Tiny Poetry Project

Mon, 23 May 2022 13:01:03 -0000

We all know that a life lived in letters is a far richer one, but what about the letter itself? Former university vice president, professor, policy advisor, attorney and poet Wendy Hind tackled this question, and you may be surprised at the results.

The mission of her Tiny Poetry Project is to give, not receive, so for her poems printed on plantable paper, being stationery is just one step in its circle of life. After being read and digested, each notecard or postcard can be planted to yield wildflowers; any envelopes are 100% recycled and card sleeves are plant-based and compostable. Tiny Poetry cards are kind to our hearts and the environment, Wendy emphasizes.

The tagline of Tiny Poetry Project, medicine for the soul, alludes to Wendy's attachment to narrative medicine, which began after her own son was born with a life-threatening congenital heart condition. This medical approach utilizes patients' narratives in clinical practice, research, and education as a way to promote healing, and Wendy also conducts narrative medicine workshops and contributes to various poetry and medical humanities blogs and podcasts.

So, although Wendy is brand new to the wholesale stationery game, her perspective may just leave you rethinking not just your approach, but the magical potential of the medium to connect and even heal.

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Bonnie of The Bonnie Marcus Collection

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 13:00:08 -0000

Every last woman stationery maker you see today is building her brand upon the shoulders of the women who forged their paths before them — and the younger generation may not even know it. Bonnie Marcus has been a prominent figure in the stationery and gift industry for 20 years, counting celebrities like Cindy Crawford and Kathryn Heigl among her custom clientele and snagging the prestigious American Express “Make Mine a $Million Business” contest for women entrepreneurs.

Yet it only appeared easy from the outside; as Bonnie was building the Bonnie Marcus Collection of invitations, stationery, partyware and gifts, she was also raising three sons. For years at National Stationery Show, she would duck away from her booth while writing wholesale orders for baby shower invitations and announcements to nurse in the restroom next door. Such is the Mom-friendly spirit of our paper community that the booth space itself was implemented onto the show floor by management just to accommodate this new Mom's needs!

Today, two of those sons are college age, and Bonnie has shifted much of her wholesale business to the licensing model, but she still brings her unmistakable sense of style — to say nothing of hard-won wisdom and a surprise or two — to The Paper Fold.

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Michelle Angenent of 417 Press

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:00:09 -0000

So, you think you can write a clever card, the kind that makes you laugh uncontrollably and that you just HAVE to send your friend, who will totally get it? Maybe you should think again — it's not nearly as easy as it looks.

Just ask Michelle of 417 Press, who has been letterpressing her signature blend of wit and wisdom since 2015. The graphic designer first discovered letterpress while planning her own wedding — but soon realized she has a special affinity for one-liners.

So, quicker than you can say "good thing you're hot because your farts are nasty," an award-winning range was born. Now this fellow INFJ and GenXer swings by to discuss building a range, quickly transforming pop culture trends into cutting-edge messaging, and turning life's challenges into the correspondence that connects us.

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Ken and Rachel of The Lobster Studio

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 14:00:08 -0000

If you can make it in NYC, you can make it anywhere ... and that truism definitely applies to The Lobster Studio. This brand first came to life organically, as a hand-drawn, homemade Valentine from Ken Crossland to his wife Rachel Lauren James. It depicted the tails of the cats in their newly blended households forming a heart.

That one card became a small collection, and in 2018, The Lobster Studio was officially born. Since then, the lifestyle range has grown slowly and organically alongside Ken's other career, designing New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal winning children’s books, and Rachel Lauren's, as an actor and producer.

The lovebirds drop into The Paper Fold to discuss how a personal connection to nostalgic childhood properties like Winnie the Pooh can be reinterpreted into a loveable cast of characters who feel simultaneously familiar and fresh. Best of all, mirroring the animal menagerie that appears on Lobster Studio merchandise, Ken and Rachel are part of a real-life Stationery Gang, populated with makers from several other growing stationery brands. Just like a card, this gang provides key support behind the scenes to help them all grow, thrive, and in turn connect others through their offerings.

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Leah and Grace of Tiny and Snail

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 14:00:08 -0000

Like many stationery brands, Tiny and Snail is a family operation. Sisters Leah Nixon & Grace Nixon Peterson launched this brand in 2017, with both designing their initial 13-card signature collection, paint stroke by keystroke.

But everything flipped upside down in an instant when Leah, AKA Tiny, was crushed under a telehandler at her day job, building homes for Habitat for Humanity. Leah's right leg was amputated and she is paralyzed from the armpits down.

Out of this life-altering tragedy came a miracle ... Leah was still able to paint! Yet rather than soldering on stoically and trying to work around their new challenges, Tiny and Snail is both informed and inspired by the catastrophe.

"We didn't realize it at the time, but we were building a life raft that could keep us afloat with hope, purpose and an income after Leah's accident," Grace and Leah explain in Tiny and Snail materials. "It's been a brutal, beautiful journey. We remain so grateful for the gifts of life, art and sisterhood."

With a mission of putting artful keepsakes into the world to help foster connection and bring light to a weary world, Grace and Leah have built a thriving, powerful community around them, one devoted follower at a time. It's very hard to not be inspired by this sister act, who are forging their own maker path as they remind us all of the potential of a single card to infuse the mail with magic as it fosters human ties, one magnificent painted envelope at a time!

**Thank You**

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Kate Murray of Quick Brown Fox Letterpress

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 14:00:08 -0000

Letterpress is to stationery what couture is to clothes. In capable hands, this printing process, which literally took us out of the dark ages, transforms cotton paper into bespoke missives that effortlessly elevate whatever message they convey. But the craft requires a savvy blend of experience and instinct; it's said letterpress takes 10 minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master.

Lovers of letterpress recognize its nuances much like wine or cheese aficanadoes approach the subject of their passions. Does the type and imagery leave a deep bite on the paper — or merely kiss its surface? Does each ink color fill its indentation completely and consistently? How many ink colors are used — after all, each necessitates a run through the press. Then when each run is done, color and copy must line up, or register, perfectly.

Just ask Kate Murray of Quick Brown Fox Letterpress. Her entrepreneurial path began by apprenticing at not one, but two shops — but technical and business expertise is only one part of 'pressing your way to success. Many of Kate's deceptively simple designs came to life in what she calls The Bad Idea of the Day text thread. Meanwhile, she maintains a symbiotic relationship with her three persnickety 'presses — particularly Jude, named for the patron saint of lost causes.

Kate shares how many of her deceptively simple designs came to life in what she calls The Bad Idea of the Day text thread, as well as her symbiotic relationship with her persnickety presses — especially Jude, named for the patron saint of lost causes.

Kate is also chair of the 33rd annual Louie Awards. These are like the Academy Awards, but for greeting cards — and this year's gala in May will mark the first in-person event since 2019. The design is hot and the competition is fierce, so makers need to get those entries in now. After all, how else can the rest us be sure we're sending the very best?

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Lana Effron of Lana's Shop

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 13:00:06 -0000

Every maker has a great backstory, but for Lana Effron of Lana's Shop, the juggle is real. For a decade now, this Colorado artist and mom has been creating paintings of "love and kindness" for her upscale stationery range. While capturing the sweeter side of life and the stillness of nature comes organically to her, finding a path to balance raising two very small children and running her home-based business was more involved. For Lana, learning to create in constant chaos, while simultaneously not missing out on the moments that pass all too quickly, has been a matter of establishing a few simple yet peaceful rituals.

Meanwhile, this mamapreneur now has a coveted collab with Anthropologie with her wallpaper and home décor offerings. However, getting to that point required a lot of patience and persistence — about 10 years of it to be exact! For Lana, it was a matter of not taking the temporary rejections personally, and knowing that that one piece that's right would come along, eventually. It's not too surprising that a maker whose intention is to spread love and kindness, one card at a time, would bring the same wise, gentle mindset to her growing brand.

**Thank You Sponsors**

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Chelsea Shukov of Sugar Paper

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:46:00 -0000

You probably didn't know it, but the letter-writing resource for the 21st century just dropped. Meet How to Write a Letter: Find the Right Words for Every Occasion, the newest entry in Penguin Random House's über-polished How To series.

Co-author Chelsea Shukov visits The Paper Fold to show you how not to just add polish to your correspondence, but to truly and authentically connect with those you love with letters that truly reflect you. Since Chelsea and her Sugar Paper co-founder Jamie Grobecker have helped their clientele do exactly this in their branded LA boutiques for some time, they are uniquely equipped to pen this sturdy little magnum opus. As such, expect this blush pink, gold-foiled guide to be marked up and dog-eared as it is referenced again and again, as life circumstances demand.

Since 2003, Sugar Paper's upscale stationery offerings have wowed clients around the globe — and their ongoing office collaborations with Target are the stationery stuff of legend. As Chelsea sagely points out, the traditional rules of etiquette and card-sending were developed to help us connect during life's milestones and challenges, but if they don't feel authentic, they need to be revisited and revised.

Jamie and Chelsea have reviewed every last one with the proverbial red pen, keeping what works and tweaking what doesn't. You may be surprised to see their 21st century take, starting with their first golden rule: Embrace your handwriting. Plus we talk salutations and send offs, why gushing over our favorite people is best done in letter form —and how the meaning of every last missive changes over time.

**Thank You Sponsors**

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Kate Smith of Kate Smith Co.

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 15:04:27 -0000

Many of us talk for our dog, but for Kate Smith, voicing the thoughts of her French Bulldog Frank became the essence of her wildly popular From Frank range of greeting cards and gifts. She introduced it in 2012, and very quickly she had 11 licensing partnerships, including one with Recycled Greetings, who placed some cards in Target's vaunted card aisles, as well as a book deal. But Kate would learn that marrying your corporate brand to a living breathing creature can be difficult. So she reinvented From Frank into Kate Smith Co., yet the tagline "Making Humans Smile" still informs every upbeat release. Dogs are simply one path to joy. As her brand completely transitioned, so too did Kate's lifestyle: She and her husband Ryan dramatically downsized their lives to fit comfortably into an Airstream. If you order a card from her, it will be pulled from a bin she keeps under her couch. Especially compelling is Kate's take on the inherent power of the deceptively simple greeting card — and how she uses it to remind us that happiness is all around us.

**Thank You Sponsors**

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Keli Spanier of Colette Paperie

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 15:02:46 -0000

I often talk about makers who run their businesses with key support or partnerships with relatives, but for Keli Spanier of Colette Paperie, her Mom nurtured her business in a completely different way. While Keli was caring for her Mom as she was battling cancer, Keli saw the cards her Mom was receiving and realized she could do a lot better. Why send a sad card to a sad person? she wondered, and the seeds of Colette Paperie were planted.

Later, Keli's inheritance from her Mom enabled her to leave her "soul-sucking" corporate job to establish her "funny and weird" brand. Colette Paperie's mission is to revive snail mail with cards that you simply cannot not send. Tune in to hear Keli spill the tea on her recipe for an effective card, her approach to creating vibrant hand-lettering, and how Donald Trump became unlikely muse and substantial benefactor throughout that administration. You may not ever see a greeting card quite the same again!

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Alice and Doris Lieu of ilootpaperie

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 15:01:23 -0000

Stationery businesses are uniquely suited to the family operation. Over the years, I've become acquainted with brands comprised of mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, several generations, and, in the case of ilootpaperie, sisters. The lovely & talented design duo that is Alice and Doris Lieu launched their pun-a-rific brand in 2010, and these days you'll find this sister act living together and running their biz from their Pasadena, California, home studio, with key support provided by canine muse Sparky.

Workman Publishing will release Sisters: Better Together on July 20, and I can't think of a better team to conceptualize, research and illustrate this gift book on sisterhood than an actual sister set who finishes each other's sentences (as you'll hear Alice and Doris do repeatedly).

The first-time authors dropped into The Paper Fold to discuss this "dream project we didn't know we wanted" and open up about the process of bringing a book to life during a pandemic — and how they transferred the illusory magic of sisterhood to the printed page. You see, on the surface, this is a fantastic, freewheeling journey celebrating sisters through time and space, but once you really take it all in, you'll never look at sisters, especially your sister, quite the same way again.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please shop and support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Victoria Venturi of Paper Epiphanies

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:59:49 -0000

If you think you know stationery, stand the F back, because my guest today will turn all that on its ear. Victoria Venturi has been raising eyebrows since 2014, when Paper Epiphanies was born in 30 square feet of her LA apartment. At that time, people were shocked to see swear words exquisitely letterpressed onto greeting cards — but over time it became crystal clear that this publicist and aspiring comedienne innately understands the dynamic space where vulnerability, authenticity and humor simultaneously reside. That is the heart of this range's feminist fire.

By January 2020, Paper Epiphanies was in over 2000 stores across the country, an indie success story by any measure. Victoria had been featured on NPR and Forbes, and as you'll hear, I'm still talking and thinking about the Keynote Address she gave at a Greeting Card Association Retreat. Understanding her insights into how Millennials approach cards differently than previous generations is essential for anyone in the trade.

Despite her industry acumen, by April 2020, more than 95% of those 2,000 retailers had closed, and Victoria's accounts receivable was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet, a spike in direct to consumer orders showed that her cards were still in demand. So on April Fool's Day, not too long after delivering her son, Victoria ignored all conventional retail wisdom and opened a flagship store.

The #coolestcardshopintheworld has already won a Noted @ *Noted award for its neon-framed card wall, and features mostly female-owned brands. In this chic destination, empowerment rules the day as customers can find cards to connect with friends, books for mindful insights, and even vibrators — though this hot pink and black neon emporium is most definitely not a porn store. With this dynamic approach, it's no wonder "people are losing their shit" over this cutting-edge house of stationery — not to mention Victoria herself!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please shop and support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Molly Hatch

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:55:27 -0000

Chances are, you are already smitten with Molly Hatch's work, you may just not know it. Over the past decade or so, the charming wares of this prolific potter have graced over 500 home and gift items created exclusively for Anthropologie. As a result, her distinctive brand — defined by the tagline 'modern heirlooms with everyday charm' —has received star billing on an exquisite retail stage most makers only dream of.

But for Molly, the daughter of a organic dairy farmer and a painter, that big break could not have arrived at a better time, as at that point, her family was struggling to stay financially afloat. Over time, Molly's relationship with the major retailer not only helped her own voice evolve, she helped Anthropologie systemize its artist collaborations.

Meanwhile, thanks to carefully considered licensing partnerships, the Molly Hatch range has expanded to include everything from paper party goods to planters, kitchen textiles to tea accessories and even a tea-themed gift book. When coronavirus came on the scene and halted international shipping, Molly charmed her audience with free printables to offset her extensive stationery wares.

But the brand enters an entirely new realm with the release of Molly Hatch for Joanie clothing. Much of this collection is made from sustainable and organic cotton fabrics, and each piece is as irresistible as the home goods that first put Molly on the map. In this episode, Molly shares each inspiring step of her design journey with candor to help pioneer other makers in her mighty wake.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please shop and support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erika Firm

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:54:12 -0000

So, you've created an amazing product, but if you've ever wrestled with how to style it, you should have a quick word with my guest today. Erika Firm describes herself as an "artist, surface designer, graphic designer, brand builder, magazine hoarder, kitty squisher, wife, and mother," but that doesn't begin to scratch the broad scope of her experience and expertise.

Erika's stationery range, Delphine, differentiated itself from the many other letterpressers at the time by approaching paper as not just a surface, but a distinctive design element in its own right. Since closing Delphine's doors, Erika's talent for delving deeply into the analog world of paint, pen, ink, and paper — as well as the wondrous results she reaps — have been much in demand. Her client list reads like a who's who of the gift and stationery industries, and includes American Greetings, Anthropologie, Cardstore, HP Smiles, Ink, Keka, Knithouse, Maison Belle, Minted, Postable, Revel & Co., Revel Paper, Simply to Impress, Snapfish, Society6, Tiny Prints, Wedding Paper Divas, and Zazzle, among many others.

Erika's artful eye for presentation is legendary; when she sends me images, the question is never, "Will there be something I can use?" but rather, "How will I ever pick a favorite?" The design wonders that are generated from her four-generation home in Charleston, South Carolina — Erika resides with not just her husband and son, but mother and grandmother as well — are not just a testament to her talent, but the true potential of paper.

**Thank You Sponsors**

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsay Henry of Inklings Paperie

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:52:54 -0000

Succeeding as a small stationery maker is not easy, but over the last eleven years or so, Lindsay Henry has definitely made it appear that way! She founded Inklings Paperie with the understanding that the bests moments in life happen offscreen, and her tactile, tangible keepsakes surprise and delight as they celebrate life with those we cherish. As such, you never know what unexpected element will appear on her cards: scratch-offs, secret decoders, confetti and even flowers that make opening every last envelope truly a memorable experience.

Thanks to this very vibrant approach to every aspect of her business, she has collaborated with heavy corporate hitters Starbucks and Anthropologie and been featured on Buzzfeed — yet she still reads her reviews on every Etsy sale to ensure every last customer is satisfied. With kindness and wisdom, Lindsay shares how she navigates both difficult shoppers and design copycats with ease.

It's not hard to see why this Michigan maker, with her seemingly unfailingly sunny disposition, is one of my favorite paper peeps. As a boss, as a founder, as a Mom, Lindsay built Inklings Paperie around her own value set and as such, ensures that every last customer, fellow maker and industry partner she comes in contact with knows that they truly matter.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Sarah Sloboda of Heirloom General Store

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:51:26 -0000

Creatives have traditionally been told to avoid working with animals and children, but apparently family photographer Sarah Sloboda never heard that! For over 25 years, she has been capturing moments and relationships and distilling them into photographs for posterity. Mary Ellen Mark described her work as "very joyous," but what goes into preserving these moments in film, and then distilling them into stationery?

Sarah discusses everything from what makes one photograph more compelling or memorable than another (hint: there's no emotion filter), how to go deeper to make the everyday epic, plus the services Heirloom General Store provides. Who wouldn't want an expert eye to review every photograph you took during your baby's first year or on vacation, pick the top 25 images, and finesse them to look their best?

Plus we delve into the mixed blessings of the pandemic, finding creative solutions to COVID-related challenges, the special meaning of photographs and photocards created during these times — and regarding photocards as printed (and permanent) Instagram posts.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lucia Saisse of Lucy Loves Paper

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:49:24 -0000

Lucia Saisse of Lucy Loves Paper is living the stationery version of the American dream. The Rio do Janeiro native opened her Etsy shop in 2013 after her corporate graphic design job went South. Lucia's first personalized offering was wedding invitations bearing the couple's faces, but it was her charming custom portraits that distinguished her talent for capturing likenesses on the sprawling site. This past holiday season, Etsy featured Lucy Loves Paper in its own commercials and emails, and it was a "gamechanger" for the character-driven brand. Now the lady who never forgets a face swings by The Paper Fold to open up about the sometimes tricky process of putting personalities to paper as well as her plans for her wholesale range.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Antiquaria’s Emma James & Bailey Rivera

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:48:44 -0000

A brand doesn't always evolve in a straight line. Just ask Emma James and Bailey Rivera, co-founders of Antiquaria. Over the last decade or so, these two stationery It Girls have maneuvered their brand down a path that from the outside may have appeared somewhat circuitous — but each step was as carefully considered as the charming calligraphy curlicues that are a signature of this exquisite range.

Thus the Antiquaria story includes chapters during which the duo generated a fantastic vintage housewares registry as well as luxurious wedding invitations — and this may be the first maker I've encountered whose warehouse and shipping spaces once consisted solely of storage units!

These days, Emma and Bailey reside in different states, but maintain a light-filled Mercantile retail space in Littleton, Colorado. Lately it’s been doubling as a studio for their YouTube channel, which for the time being have replaced their in-person workshops. Listen in as this uber-talented design duo talk collaboration, creative process, differentiation, minimalist shop design, and building their craft community online. They provide a wealth of knowledge and inspiration that you don’t want to miss!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catherine Hildner of Kitty Meow Boutique

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:25:36 -0000

Stationery is filled with makers who have taken a risk and started their own brands. Catherine Hildner launched Kitty Meow Boutique with the idea that every glam offering she puts out into the world, be it card, coaster or pencil, should make others feel special. Divided into witty and sweet offerings, the look is posh and the vibe is smart in every sense of the word.

Unlike most makers, Catherine also sees her brand as a catalyst to help others take similar risks. Catherine offers various mentorship programs, but she didn't stop there. She also started a podcast, Dreams to Plans, with her co-host Renee, to empower other entrepreneurs to bring their own visions to life. It's designed to help small, creative business owners find new perspective and insight, and between the two of them, they have packed so much practical, down-to-earth knowledge into this project. Game plans, core values, customer avatars, picking your platforms — these complicated processes are broken down to be intimidating no more!

Catherine is an energetic dynamo of wisdom, making her the perfect guest for the last TPF episode of the season as well as 2020. We cover everything from avoiding the comparison trap to incorporating your personality into whatever you are putting out there. You'll leave feeling inspired and empowered to conquer every last challenge awaiting us in 2021!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jill DiNicolantonio of Parse & Parcel

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:23:42 -0000

If you create any conceivable item using paper, and are not yet taking advantage of Parse & Parcel, you're not accessing the "super power of print design." For years now, Jill DiNicolantonio has worked with clients to elevate creations from acceptable to awesome at Millcraft, a paper merchant not unlike Dunder Mifflin — except instead of being in Scranton, it's in Cleveland. Drawing on those experiences, she's distilled her expertise into several exquisite tools to serve as design wing men on one's desk throughout the ultra-important paper selection process.

Jill defines The Parcel as a physical manifestation of a paper rep. Each limited-run collection holds exclusive mill pieces, print samples and real-life projects, produced on real-life budgets, to inspire you with the cutting-edge possibilities of paper. Meanwhile, The Swatchbox is a beautifully presented, complete collection of paper mill swatch books. These neatly organized little black boxes of knowledge serve as visually rich springboards and references for any project. Jill supplements these with services from mock-ups to one-on-one consulting, all envisioned with the idea that regardless of what you print, if you are going to print, you should make it matter. She also offer tutorials and resources to hone your own super print powers.

Jill is also the first person I am personally acquainted with to contract COVID-19, and actually contracted the virus very early on, last Spring. She candidly shares her experiences, including why she has chosen to regard this global pandemic as a blessing. You do not want to miss this catch-up with one of my favorite (local) Paper Peeps!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Loewenberg of NY NOW

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:23:03 -0000

If you're anything like me, most of your visual stimulation these days is limited to your house, your neighborhood and whatever it is you're looking at on various screens. Hopefully Instagram figures in there somewhere, but if you are not following @amy.atnynow, the riveting feed of my guest today, Amy Loewenberg, Relations & Partnership Development Manager for NY NOW, you are not doing that platform correctly!

You never know what fantastic shop in and around New York City and its environs that Amy will be featuring. It is dynamic, and it's filled with wonder and surprises, just like shopping in The Before Times! This visually rich, exciting travelogue is the next best thing to experiencing the city yourself.

Amy, who also generates webinars and podcasts for NY NOW, visits The Paper Fold to talk not just NYC retail, but NY NOW Digital Market, plus plans for the physical NY NOW Market slated to return to Javits Center in August 2021. This highly anticipated event marks the physical debut of the market's reimagined Gift + Stationery section — and I know I am not the only one who can't wait to experience this highly curated, target destination for myself!

This episode finds me switching up the format a bit. I have a few questions for Amy, then she interviews me (!), and then we have some exciting news to share. Tune in to be one of the first in the know!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joanna Alberti of PhiloSophie's

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:21:58 -0000

For every Mary Engelbreit or Anna Bond, there are hundreds of smaller makers who are not only sustaining themselves by staying small, but wearing it as a badge of honor — no household name required. Joanna Alberti of PhiloSophie's got a huge boost early in her career, in 2005, when she was named one of Business Week's Top Five Entrepreneurs Under 25. That same year, she and her cards literally put themselves on the industry map with their catwalk debut at the LOUIE Awards gala, held at Manhattan's Chelsea Piers during what was, as far as I know, the only GCA-sponsored card fashion show to date.

Buoyed by that promising start, Joanna has built her brand into a thriving business that "creates joy for others as well as myself." Over the years PhiloSophie's has released an impressive slew of custom creations, corporate collabs, and licensed gift offerings, all administered from Joanna's cozy studio/shop in Spencerport, New York.

PhiloSophie's is populated by Joanna's very versatile spirit cartoon animal Sophie, who is much more than an icon ready to be personalized. Sophie owes her success to the fact that Joanna shaped her from the start into a vehicle for the upbeat, uplifting story Joanna wants to tell the world.

Joanna shares how Sophie has consistently dispensed "aspirational positivity" — like the wisdom of not taking yourself too seriously, or the perils of bowing to your ego. Joanna describes how she has pivoted due to COVID-19 — and how spreading joy can be not just an act of resilience, but resistance as well.

Find PhiloSophie's:

W: www.celebratewithsophies.com

IG: @shopsophies

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suzanna Loesch of Mockingbird Paperie

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:20:33 -0000

Most retailers have had a difficult 2020, but for Suzanne Loesch, owner of Mockingbird Paperie in Ithaca, New York, her summer of 2019 featured a terrifying, headline-grabbing troll attack that plunged her life and business into a waking nightmare. It all began when a customer took a photograph of a few of Suzanne's greeting card offerings, a series of Sapling Press letterpress cards designed to play on political humor. The customer posted the image along with her store's information on a Pro-Trump Facebook page with 30,000 followers alongside with the admonition to "have at it."

The nightmare unfolded as Suzanne dealt with a dizzying, constant series of demeaning insults and even death threats via text, phone and social media. That was followed by national news coverage that left her feeling that the narrative — her narrative — had been taken from her with zero accountability. Suzanne feared for her own and her staff's safety, not to mention the future of the business she'd built for eight years. At one point both her Facebook and Instagram pages were taken down, but someone created a fake one just so people could attack her and her shop.

Fortunately, Suzanne also discovered the best in her community, as many — even those from across the aisle — supported Mockingbird Paperie in every sense of the word. She and her husband also made the conscious decision to respond to every last text and letter, no matter its tone, and learned a few things about both themselves and those they formerly considered adversaries. An unlikely friendship even emerged out of it, along with the realization of how much power lies in simply listening, and how much healing can arise from genuine connection.

I first wrote about this incident in the Fall 2019 issue of Stationery Trends, but with the passage of the craziest year I can remember, I wanted to check in on Suzanne to see if and how the dust settled, and how Mockingbird Paperie fared through the retail crisis of 2020. Have her feelings on CardGate changed with the passage of time? Suzanne also shares the incident's unexpected benefits — and valuable advice for any business that finds itself in her shoes.

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Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Leslie Moak Murray of Murray's Law

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:18:32 -0000

While you may not immediately recognize the name of my guest today — Leslie Moak Murray — you've likely laughed at her cartoons. Leslie is the creator of Murray's Law, and over the past several decades, her award-winning and prolific body of work has appeared on cards, napkins, note pads, paper plates, newspapers, books — really, anywhere cartoons and jokes can be placed.

Leslie's zany humor has repeatedly struck our cultural funny bone in precisely the right spot, as evidenced by the rather impressive 23 LOUIE awards she's won since first getting into the business in to late 1980s. In the course of her career, Leslie went from running her own company, to licensing and even syndicating her work, to finding a new audience on Instagram. Meanwhile her work can be purchased on various products at Leanin' Tree, Cardmore, Current and even Fabrics.com.

Chances are, if the item in question is printed or can be printed on, Leslie has seen and done it. In this episode, she recounts everything from shrink-wrapping early card orders in Saran wrap, to the love letters and hate mail she's received over the years, to her realization that protecting her work in our digital age is nearly impossible. Her insights into how she has consistently churned out humor for decades and whether she writes the copy or draws the image first are not to be missed!

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Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Janine Kwoh of Kwohtations

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:17:17 -0000

Every once in a while, a card maker comes along who strikes a cultural chord at exactly the moment it needs to be struck. If I'm lucky enough to spot the range early on, sitting back and watching the world fall in love with it is truly a wonder to behold. I saw this when Emily McDowell and her magnificent empathy cards came on the scene several years back. And now, although 2020 has completely sucked, it's not a complete wash for me as I've stumbled across Janine Kwoh of Kwohtations.

Janine's Welcome to the Grief Club is to the sympathy category what Emily McDowell & Friends is to the thinking of you category. The Brooklyn letterpresser "makes cards as she needs them," and her range has strong themes of inclusion, representation and honesty running through it. Janine's creations help get difficult but necessary conversations started, and in the age of COVID-19, they are more relevant and prescient than ever. Who would have guessed that a card, a sticker, an art print or a care package could help us authentically connect, comfort and validate each other when we are needing it most — but that's the emotion behind every last Kwohtations sale.

Janine made her trade show debut this past February in the Emerging Designer section at National Stationery Show/NY NOW, and I could barely introduce myself to her through the ever-present crowd. Now Janine is compiling the world's first illustrated book on grief for adults, with a working title of Welcome to the Grief Club, to be released by Workman Publishing in Fall 2021. Janine sits down with me to share more about her background, her work and how stationery can help us feel a bit more seen, a bit more connected, and a bit less alone.

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Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Liz Scott of Troop Lovely Somethings

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:16:10 -0000

Closing a store is incredibly painful, but my guest today, Liz Scott, is here to share that that difficult decision may just be a badge of honor in disguise. Liz was the proud proprietress of the paper & gift shop Lovely Somethings in Bath, Ohio, for several years before closing its doors at the end of 2019. But, her industry story doesn't end there. Freed from a costly lease, she reimagined and reconfigured her business into the Troop Lovely Somethings brand.

If there was a course in how to create a lively store brand without an actual store, Liz could teach it. Through her online hub, she still sells many of the same exquisite wares she carried in her store, and she also assembles her divinely curated gift boxes. These are one-offs, not subscriptions — grab yours before they're gone. And, three drop today!

Liz calls them two of them Closet Boxes, as in, you are going to need these in your goodie closet — and she also has a bundle of cards culled from some of my favorite makers, paired with posh writing utensils plus stamps for one-stop letter-writing. For me, seeing all these exclusive brands is like taking a stroll through a juried section of one of my favorite gift shows, maybe Atlanta or New York? If you can't actually go to a store, one of these delivered to your doorstep, full of surprises, is the next best thing. Snag yours here.

Closing her store's physical doors has also empowered Liz to do something she never would have felt comfortable doing otherwise: opening up about her personal life. In a series of blog posts entitled My Husband Is Black and I Am Not Special, Liz provides a front-row seat, no holds barred, into her interracial marriage.

She covers everything from how their families initially responded to the relationship, to getting pulled over by a white police officer late at night in an affluent suburb, to what happened when they put up a Biden sign on their front lawn. It is raw, it is honest, it is powerful, and I hope you take the time to read it. Liz shares its impact on her business, on her community, on her Instagram feed. I think you’ll be surprised, so tune in!

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Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Pei of The Paper and Craft Pantry

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:15:03 -0000

Today's a first for TPF, namely, I’m dropping this episode in conjunction with a product drop — but this is no ordinary product. In fact, it’s more of a special project. It’s a collaboration, but it’s not like the ones where you see one brand with a little x between them and whoever they’ve partnered with.

Like those, it’s limited edition, but unlike those, it brings nine different makers from all over the place together to submit stellar card designs that are unified by colorway and format, as well as fun themes like snail mail and friendship. The result is cohesive, distinct and irresistable. Best of all, each greeting card is accompanied by a wee trading card with the design and IG handle of the maker on front, and a line drawing of them and their stats on back! They’re baseball cards reimagined for our little world. It’s brilliant, it's beguiling and it’s spearheaded by Pei of The Paper and Craft Pantry in Austin, Texas, my guest today.

As amazing as all that is, what I love most about this collaboration is that Pei didn’t create “to make a little money” for everyone, she approached every aspect to promote joy — and not just for those who buy it at retail, for those who create it too. There were no pressing deadlines to add stress to already harried souls, instead transparency was stressed throughout. And it was designed so that for the card sender, the act of assembling a set becomes the online stationery scavenger hunt that we didn’t know we needed, but we do. This is a celebration of design, of community, of discovery, of connection, and most of all of snail mail, so you know I’m all over it! And while one drops today, it is actually the second edition; that means there is already another out there hiding in the vast internet to hunt down and discover for yourself.

Makers featured in 1st edition: @thepapercraftpantry @xouislove @belleandunionco @sketchynotions @allie.biddle @ilootpaperie @lettersbyshells @calliopepaperie @kristara

Makers featured in 2nd edition: @euniandco @littlegoatpaperco @thepapercraftpantry @ajarofpickles_ @watercoloratx @electriceunice @odddaughterco @thepaperwilderness @bloomwolfstudio

Happy Hunting!

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Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Jason Arbuckle of J. Falkner

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:13:28 -0000

International travel may be off the table for now, but for the first episode of our new season, Jason Arbuckle of J. Falkner swings by America to chat from London! J. Falkner may be the only range I've come across that so closely associates itself with a city: in this case, colorful, sunny Palm Beach.

Receiving one of these cards is the card equivalent of catching up with a dear friend over cocktails in some glamorous locale. The brand is really a reflection of Jason himself: he's amazingly dapper, he's witty and well-read, he's entertaining and he's oh-so-much fun to catch up with, as you'll hear.

We touch on his brand's Palm Beach origins, finding inspiration in and around London, Jason's fabulous IG feed, the joy of spying on card shoppers, creating new card designs to help people connect during a pandemic, running an international operation during COVID-19, the current mood in London — as well as the silver linings he's found in these crazy times.

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Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Tim Hart of NY NOW

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:12:11 -0000

National Stationery Show (NSS) first opened its doors in 1945, and although we didn’t know at the time, its February 2020 edition was its final run. On July 27, Emerald announced that the National Stationery Show brand was being retired, and my social media feeds were almost instantaneously filled with fond reminiscences and, let’s be honest, no small amount of angst.

Undoubtedly, we are all dealing with cancellations and disappointments on several levels, but this one really hurt. I myself attended almost every year since 1998, and have so many great memories of dazzling discoveries, talented individuals who became dear friends — not to mention all those magnificent parties!

It’s impossible to not be at least a little sad. But while I’m bummed, I’m far more excited about NY NOW’s plans to create one single stationery destination in its market — because, let’s be honest, a lot has changed since 1945! And having this reimagining occur in 2020 is actually quite beneficial.

Stationery is being rediscovered in a big way during this pandemic, and it plays an increasingly important role within more traditional gift lines than in the past. This is all being spurred by the consumer, who is feeling isolated and sending letters, journaling, working at home, appreciating the post office with new eyes — all of which benefits stationery. In our transformed world, the category demands a fresh approach.

But rather than me waxing eloquent on the category and how to best serve all of us who love it, today I have Tim Hart, senior vice president, retail group, in The Paper Fold to share more about the challenges Emerald has been facing, how they are reimagining the stationery and gift categories —and what a visit to NY NOW in 2021 will look like.

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Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Dan Collier of Daniel Richards

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:10:50 -0000

If you play any sort of role in stationery, no visit to AmericasMart or Dallas Market Center is complete without a visit to the Daniel Richards showroom there. There you'll find top brands like Rifle Paper Co. alongside quirkier indie ranges like Sapling Press, all irresistibly merchandised to perfection. For small makers, it's a dream come true to be selected for one of Dan Collier's showrooms or to be carried in one of his retail venues, Archer Paper Good s and The Merchant Atlanta.

Dan drops by The Paper Fold to share how he's preparing for the Atlanta and Dallas markets scheduled later this month, how his stores are doing, what's trending up at wholesale and retail ... and how some advice he received during the 2008-2009 economic downturn has him working a new hustle!

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Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Joni Lewis of Visual Treats Design Studio

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:09:21 -0000

Earlier this week, NY NOW announced plans to create a single stationery destination within its famed market. This reimagined stationery collection will be part of a re-branded Gift + Stationery section and, as a result, the National Stationery Show brand will be retired. So as that news sinks in, and as we all prepare for an August with no NY NOW, I have the distinct pleasure of hosting a longtime exhibitor, Joni Lewis, the super-creative mind behind Visual Treats Design Studio.

Joni not only produces an impressive (and hysterical) array of handmade goods, she is also a fantastic storyteller, having won the Washington DC StorySLAM and then competing against nine other winners in a Moth GrandSLAM on the stage of the Lincoln Theatre. I am so grateful she dropped by share how the show elevated her business from craft show circuit to wholesale operation, how getting acquainted with her booth neighbor led to Joni creating product for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — and how the show is not over until the last rug is rolled up!

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Bart Robinson of Crane Stationery

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:06:59 -0000

We've all had a few stomach-dropping moments these past months — something was cancelled, someone was cancelled, or maybe you got some bad news that left you gasping for breath. For me personally, this happened one morning in late April when I logged onto Facebook to see myself tagged in a friend’s post about Crane Stationery closing permanently. Had I been wearing pearls, I would have been clutching them, for Crane is not just an American stationery brand, it is America.

Its founder Stephen Crane participated in the Boston Tea Party, so this house of paper had major revolutionary street cred from the start. One early client, Paul Revere, used Crane paper for his engraved banknotes — and those banknotes helped finance the American Revolution. I'm guessing it wasn't long after Crane started printing currency, government proclamations, stocks and bonds, and important documents of every imaginable type from its Dalton, Massachusetts, plant in 1799 that the Crane name became pretty much become synonymous with the best papers and printing.

So closing Crane would have been an enormous loss on more levels than I care to examine. The good news is, that post I was tagged in was bona fide fake news, and Crane is not closed or closing. The more difficult news is that in order to keep it presses printing, a lot of necessary changes have had to be implemented, and we all know that change is never easy!

So with that exposition and the understanding that there's a good chance that what you have read recently about Crane was inaccurately reported, I wanted to let Crane take their narrative back, as it is their story after all. So please join me and my very special guest, Bart Robinson, Chief Revenue Officer of Crane Stationery, to learn more about what the present looks like for Crane, as well as its hopes for the future.

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Tiffany Grimes, Paper Rehab, Lauren-Ashley Barnes, Pineapple Sundays & Andrea Williams, Paisley Paper

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:04:32 -0000

As you've hopefully heard, there’s a huge can’t-miss industry event this week, courtesy of the Greeting Card Association. Noted: A Focus on Diversity is Thursday, July 16, and during it, nine Black makers will "pitch" their greeting card line to a pitch panel comprised of top retailers and, hopefully, you. The pitch panel features Vanessa Raptopoulos, Awesome Brooklyn; Chandra Greer, Greer Chicago; Kristina Burkey, Calliope Paperie; and Kyle Williams, Paper Source — as well as any retailer or sales rep wanting to diversify their offerings. During the hour, attendees will virtually get acquainted with these up-and-coming makers and download samples of their work, all for only $10 — half of which is earmarked for a Noted 2021 scholarship for a maker of color.

Over these past several days I was lucky enough to interview three of the makers: Tiffany Grimes of Paper Rehab in Michigan, Lauren-Ashley Barnes at Pineapple Sundays Design Studio in Chicago and Andrea Williams at Paisley Paper Co. in Detroit. Each of these talented young women has a dynamic vision that comes through in her offerings. Tiffany started Paper Rehab as a way to increase diversity in greeting cards but her mission morphed into one focusing on strengthening relationships amongst women, specifically African-American women. Lauren-Ashley designs product for a gift company, but her dream of producing stationery crystallized during a visit to Paper Source — who she will be pitching to later this week! And Andrea transmitted her love of classic Blue Note album covers into graphic stationery selections that are completely of our time.

All three also shared that paper found them in the midst of other careers, which makes their stationery selections that much more compelling and authentic. I'm guessing it will be nearly impossible to leave that hour uninspired by the current state of stationery, so don't miss out!

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Karla Ebrahimi of Sky of Blue Cards

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:02:37 -0000

I can't take credit for the phrase, "Paper peeps are the best peeps," but this check-in with my dear friend Karla Ebrahimi reminded me of its inherent truth. Karla is the face behind Sky of Blue Cards, a Menlo Park, California, house of stationery offering an exquisite array of letterpress cards as well as the magnificent LetterBox subscription box.

Watching the increasing intensity with which Karla responded first to the California wildfires in 2018, then COVID-19 starting this past Spring, and now Black Lives Matter, has not only been inspiring, her journey mirrors how stationers (and indeed makers of all stripes) have gotten progressively smarter and more strategic about partnering with charities and devoting a portion of sales (if not ALL sales) to them. This can be especially tricky for white makers wanting to support the Black community while also not wanting to upstage Black voices.

Karla's experiences in 2018 with cause-related merchandise led her to carefully consider which three charities she chose for her Reach Out & Write Someone campaign, which extends through the end of the month. 20% of all online sales will benefit World Central Kitchen, Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation and Artist Relief Fund.

Then, as Karla puts it, "revolution broke out." Wanting to honor George Floyd and his words, Karla returned to her much-loved medium of painting and did just that: shared his words for us all to experience for ourselves. I find her piece both hard to look at and hard to look away from.

But when Karla shared her work in her Instagram feed June 1, just four days after announcing the Reach Out & Write initiative, although her number of followers decreased, the response wasn't entirely negative. Soon Karla realized she was connecting with her audience on a new level.

Thus empowered, Karla designed her Black Lives Matter collection of letterpress cards, mugs and stickers (currently in production) — and is donating ALL proceeds to the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. That response has also been very positive so far, she told me.

"I have been getting DMs and texts asking to pre-order items, as well as interest in purchasing stickers or mugs in bulk for sports teams and other groups. This makes me feel so good — spreading the word about this important movement," she observed. "To me (it) dwarfs the people who were offended enough to unfollow me."

Thank you Karla for joining me in The Paper Fold for such a candid chat about such a sensitive subject— and helping set the stage for the conversations that need to occur in every last corner of American life.

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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George White, President, Greeting Card Association

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:01:12 -0000

You may know George White as president and COO of Up With Paper and UWP Luxe — these are fantastic, award-winning houses of pop-up cards renowned for their complex engineering and beautiful rendered artwork. But I invited George here because he's also president of The Greeting Card Association (GCA), and to say that organization has had a crazy year is a huge understatement.

The GCA was to hold the second edition of Noted: the greeting card expo in San Francisco on May 1; the event was to encompass the LOUIE Awards, which recognizes stellar design in greeting cards, as well as the Noted @ *Noted Product Awards, which I actually sponsored under The Paper Chronicles banner.

As you can imagine, COVID-19 threw a wrench in all those plans … and I had a front-row seat to see how everything was reconfigured. Now, getting anything done by committee can be super-difficult, and I was in awe of how George kept everyone on task and in agreement, and pulled off an amazing virtual event. Which is great, because that’s not going to be the only virtual event on the GCA’s plate in 2020.

First off, The LOUIE Virtual Awards, sponsored by the Atlanta Market, are July 30. It was a big accomplishment to put this together — and I'm sure the 2020 finalists who have been waiting since May can't wait to hear the results! Through Noted: A Focus on Diversity, held Thursday, July 16 at 2 pm EST, Black makers had the chance to "pitch" their greeting card line to a panel of top retailers, sales reps and or international distributors — plus a large group of retailers online. This pitch panel features Vanessa Raptopoulos, Awesome Brooklyn; Chandra Greer, Greer Chicago; Kristina Burkey, Calliope Paperie; and Kyle Williams, Paper Source.

George also shares how we can all, regardless of role, help #savethepostoffice — and how doing so is anything but a partisan act.

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Shayna Norwood of Steel Petal Press

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:00:13 -0000

Watching makers successfully navigate their small brands first through a pandemic, and then civil unrest, has been unexpectedly heartening. While huge names in retail are closing their doors forever, small brands are emerging, if not unscathed, then at least relatively intact. And few have been more inspiring to me to witness in real time than Shayna Norwood of Steel Petal Press.

Those entering its Logan Square doors in Chicago don't realize, but Steel Petal Press was born in 2008 as a side project for Shayna, who started letterpressing greeting cards for friends. That grew into wholesale business, and that became the retail space in 2016. When I last saw Shayna at NY NOW and National Stationery Show in early February, all was well in her world: She had a booth of her wholesale range that seemed busy every time I walked by, and also I saw her walking the show shopping for her shop as well.

When coronavirus hit, Shayna kept her doors open as long as she could, then once she had to close to the public, she was still shipping orders or delivering them curbside. Shayna finally reopened June 4 — just in time for some of the biggest civil unrest this country, including Chicago, has seen in decades.

If that's not enough to grapple with, Shayna recently started sharing her struggles with anxiety with her community, mostly on her Instagram feed, in a very open, brave way. At the winter markets she released a series of mental health tracker notepads — great timing, I've got to say — but I am really curious as to how she is doing personally with all this as well.

**Thank You Sponsors**

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Robert Maricich, CEO, International Market Centers (IMC)

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 13:57:31 -0000

Please welcome Robert Maricich, CEO of International Market Centers (IMC). Bob, as he prefers, is widely recognized as one of the home furnishings industry’s most Innovative leaders — he founded and built IMC into an exhibition space powerhouse with more than 20 million square feet of world-class B2B exhibition space. Its campuses include both AmericasMart Atlanta and World Market Center Las Vegas, markets vital to the stationery and gift industries.

When coronavirus halted everything, IMC surveyed 180,000 retailers to gage their needs. With guidance from health and elected officials as well as a top epidemiologist, IMC opened the AmericasMart campus June 8, and the World Market Center Las Vegas June 15. Everything is governed by IMC’s Together Safely Master Plan, which details procedures for registration, sanitization, temperature monitoring, traffic and occupancy control, seminars, masks, etc. This is a four-phase reopening, however, and the plan is a living document, meaning it may change in our current fluid, unknowable climate.

Understandably, it'll be a new market experience, and while IMC has been incredibly transparent throughout the process, it’s a lot to process, so Bob’s perspective is most helpful.

**Thank You Sponsors**

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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Juju & Ryan Kissick of Good Juju Ink

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 13:53:06 -0000

I am in just in awe of all Ryan and Juliana Kissick of San Francisco's Good Juju Ink have done since going into quarantine in San Francisco with their 1-year-old daughter. First, in mid-March, as the world seemed to be falling apart, Ryan helped countless other small business owners by creating an amazingly concise, invaluable guide for navigating these times, hereafter to only be referred to as The Document. It's been viewed 1000s of times around the world across many industries. All via word-of-mouth and completely free — the best kind of viral!

Then, Juju helped launch 18 Million Thanks. That's how many health care workers there are in the US — and that's how many thank-yous this collective of 13+ women-owned businesses are aiming to send them!

**Thank You Sponsors**

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

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