|
|
The Write Stuff Not long ago I was talking to an old friend via e-mail. We've communicated this way for several years, but before the Internet, we'd write letters. I still have some of the cards she sent to me when she lived in Hong Kong - a few quickly scribbled words - "we've settled in; food's great; I miss New York"; to longer descriptions of her new life. I kept her letters because they serve as a kind of artifact of who we were then. And there's another reason. When I hold the light, crinkly blue pages in my hands I feel close to her. I know that words are words, and their meaning doesn't change if they're handwritten on stationery or printed on computer paper, but I don't feel sentimental about my friend's e-mails they way I do our earlier correspondence. Maybe it's because I practically live on the Internet, sometimes sending the same person several notes a day if I'm working on a story, I imagined that the rest of the world not only communicated as I do, but missed letter writing and receiving as much as I do, too. The 60th Annual National Stationery Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York (May 21-24, 2006) gave me hope that communication via pencil and paper was alive and thriving. Hundreds of vendors exhibited lines of paper products with thank you notes (remember those?), boxed stationery, greeting and birthday cards and party invitations. The most prevalent style among designers at the exhibition was a clean, modern look with more vibrant color than I remember seeing at last year's exhibition. There are several designers working with vintage imagery, animal motifs are important, and designs with a hand-cut, silhouette effect are the newest trend. It appears that scrapbooking is replacing knitting as America's favorite hobby. Organizers for storing all sorts of scrapbook paraphernalia, kits with specific themes and all the related stickers and paper pages are being sold to crafters, and a funny thing happened to photo albums - they're being sold as scrapbooks now, too. Crafty indeed.
SHOWER AND BABY ANNOUNCEMENTS AMY SMYTH MADE IT DESIGNER: Amy Smyth HOME BASE: Arlington, VA Wholesale prices: $5.10-$7.10. Also sold singly. Smyth's understated, mostly neutral palette, her simple line drawings and bold typefaces shout hip, urban parent.
Outstanding Pieces: Her baby shower invitations may not play in Peoria, but city moms - or any parent who prefers sophisticated design over sweet styles - will grab them. Tel: 703-652-2500 E-mail: amysmyth@amysmythmadeit.com
DRISCOLL DESIGN DESIGNER: Angela Driscoll HOME BASE: Seattle, WA Wholesale prices: $3-$7.50 I can understand why a retailer like Anthropologie is enamored with Driscoll's designs. She shares the store's vintage aesthetic and adds her own delicate, quirky touch. Sparingly applied glitter makes surfaces sparkle.
Outstanding Pieces: Anyone who grew up in the Sixties will feel a pang of nostalgia for Driscoll's baby shower invitations that depict a gently moving mobile festooned with butterflies and the words "girl" or "boy." Tel: 206 789-1978 E-mail: info@driscolldesign.com
JEZEBEL DESIGNER: Leigh Batnick HOME BASE: Brooklyn, NY Wholesale prices: $2.50 per card up to $21 per dozen Batnick describes her designs as "The marriage of 19th century silhouettes and 21st century epigraphs that allow a peek into a diorama world peopled with cars called Cleopatra and faded revolutionaries in gleaming furs."
Outstanding Pieces: Batnick's paper cutout silhouette designs work a vintage feeling with a modern tone-on-tone look. With captions like this one that describe a princess about to kiss a donkey: "Titana will kiss thy fair, large ears," the cards capture a world of enchantment. Tel: 202-607-5958 E-mail: jezebel@ilovejezebel.com
OH BABY DESIGNS DESIGNERS: Carrie Jones and Heidi Shelton HOME BASE: Potomac, MD Wholesale prices: $1.50-$300 Jones's and Shelton's cards are for moms who like a clean, classic look with a touch of sweetness.
Outstanding Pieces: The subtle colors and delicate illustration on the boy's card announces the baby's arrival eloquently. Tel: 301.762.5677 E-mail: carrie@oh-baby-designs.com
GENERAL AND SPECIAL OCCASION CARDS EMILY & EDWARD DESIGNER: Becky Boydstun HOME BASE: Dallas, TX Wholesale prices: $3.25 per card, $3.25-$4.75 for gift bags There's no better way to tell someone they're special than by sending a card with a design reminiscent of an era when people sent handwritten notes of affection. Each of Boydstun's pieces feature the kind of pen and ink illustration you'll find in antique children's books of the 1800's and early 1900's. She surrounds the delicate images with softly colored rickrack and a pretty print fabric, and then finishes the item with a silk bow topped with a tiny jewel.
Outstanding Pieces: Whether the cards are blank, or have sayings from Louisa May Alcott, "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship," they'll warm the heart of the recipient. Tel: 817-656-3020 E-mail: info@emilyandedward.com
FOXY & WINSTON DESIGNER: Jane Buck HOME BASE: Brooklyn, NY Wholesale prices: $2.25-$2.50 per piece Rabbits, squirrels, lovebirds and goats are captured in Buck's elegant, silk-screened cards.
Outstanding Pieces: Any of Buck's creatures would please a child. Tel: 718-928-4855 E-mail: jane@foxyandwinston.com
OLD SCHOOL STATIONERS DESIGNER: Brian Reed HOME BASE: Portland, OR Wholesale prices: $4 cards, $19 wall hangings Reed uses an old fashioned printing press to achieve his deeply etched surfaces. His cards have the organic imagery of Art Nouveau with vibrant colorations that reflect a modern sensibility.
Outstanding Piece: Talk about the blue bird of happiness! Tel: 503 238-6743 E-mail: hello@oldschoolstationers.com
SPOTBEAR PRODUCTIONS DESIGNER: Lynne Willis HOME BASE: San Francisco, CA Wholesale prices: 8 cards for $12 Willis hand carves linoleum blocks with simple animal imagery, letters and Art Deco designs, then hand prints the designs on heavy Italian mould-made paper that has a pleasing heft in the hand. Each item is embellished with a single Austrian crystal for a touch of sparkle. Every Spotbear piece is like a little work of art, not a throw away card.
Outstanding Pieces: Any of Willis's cards with an animal motif is charming. Tel: 415-885-4556 E-mail: lynne@spotbear.com
YEE-HAW INDUSTRIES DESIGNER: Yee-Haw design team HOME BASE: Knoxville, TN Wholesale prices: $2.50 per card up to $36 for a pack of six A sense of humor and bold imagery are the common factors among the artisans who create the company's calendars, cards and T-shirts.
Outstanding Pieces: Any of the circus folk are sure to make a child - and their parents - smile. Tel: 865-522-1812 E-mail: mail@yeehawindustries.com
JOURNALS KATA GOLDA DESIGNER: Alison Kaplan HOME BASE: Port Townsend, WA Sizes: 3" X 4" up to 12" square; Wholesale prices: $10-$65 The animals that sit center stage on Kaplan's hand-made felt journals, cards and pillows have a gentle, human expression, as if a child created them to be playmates.
Outstanding Pieces: Any of the journals or albums will become keepsakes. Tel: 360 379-4714 E-mail: information@katagolda.com
ORGANIZERS MOMAGENDA DESIGNER: Nina Restieri HOME BASE: Old Greenwich, CT Sizes: 7" X 9", 5" X 7", 7" X 10" and 5" X 7"; Wholesale prices: $16.50-$19.50
Outstanding Piece: As a mother of four, Restieri knows how difficult it is to keep track of her kids' schedules, so she designed momAgenda. Her planner affords busy mothers week-at-a-view spreads so Tommy's play date on Friday is visible when mom opens the book on Monday. There are month-at-a-view spreads too, that make school year planning a breeze. The leather books (available in 8 colors) look like a chic accessory, not a junky calendar. Tel: 203-637-4463 E-mail: nina@momagenda.com
SCRAPBOOKS MADE BY ONE GIRL DESIGNER: Lisa Norris HOME BASE: Chattanooga, TN Wholesale prices: $3 for a 4" X 4" "love note" to $54.50 for a 12" X 18" album Norris is a collagist who uses vintage fabrics, postcards and notions to fashion gorgeous, one-of-a-kind, hand-bound albums. Each book makes an ideal beginning for a scrapbook or the kind of photo album you'll be proud to display.
Outstanding Pieces: Who can choose? Tel: 423-867-3360 E-mail: lisa@madebyonegirl.com
TREE BY KERRI LEE DESIGNER: Kerri Lee HOME BASE: Long Eddy, NY Sizes: 12.5" square; Wholesale prices: $25 Lee specializes in sweet yet simple Victorian styled room accessories that are as comfortable in a country style nursery as they are in a modern kid's room.
Outstanding Pieces: The new wooden album scrapbooks are hand-painted and include an expandable, post-bound spine, with the word "remember" beneath a picture of a spotted elephant. There is space inside for a photo and child's name. Included are 15 heavyweight pages in alternating colors, and other scrapbooking needs such as resealable envelopes to store keepsakes and self-adhesive photo corners. (Comes in pink, blue or green.) Tel: 845-887-6165 E-mail: info@treebykerrilee.com
SCRAPBOOK KITS AND ORGANIZERS MAX & LUCY DESIGNER: Max & Lucy design team HOME BASE: Dayton, OH Sizes: approximately 12" square; Wholesale prices: $14.99
There are 12 kits with themes such as "baby boy," "baby girl," "romance," "wedding" and even "my dog." Each kit contains pages of colorful stickers, photo corners and borders, alphabets, die-cut shapes and more, so you'll never have to scrounge for materials. MeaddWestvaco Tel: 800-798-6323 E-mail: info@maxandlucy.com
LEGACYCRAFTERS DESIGNER: Legacy Crafters design team HOME BASE: Marietta, GA Wholesale prices: $8-$10 for cascade files This is the company for all your scrapbooking needs. They carry a variety of attractive file folders and organizers with pockets for holding scissors and pens as well as envelopes for materials.
Outstanding Pieces: Their lightweight Crop Master Cascade Files come in attractive binders colored in rich shades of blue, red, kiwi or orange each edged in brown. The planner can be hung on the wall and opens to reveal seven overlapping clear files with smaller enclosures to hold stickers, photos and other embellishments. Tel: 508-634-8631 E-mail: joe.sturniolo@beautone.com
CLOTHING AND GIFTWEAR LORALIN DESIGN DESIGNER: Lynne Buchman HOME BASE: NY, NY Sizes: 3 months to 6 months (some up to 12 months); Wholesale prices: $18.50 for gift bags; $20-$26 for gift baskets Buchman has added a charming wrapped top and leggings to her collection of modern cards.
Outstanding Pieces: The woven straw gift basket holds a soft wrapped set in pink and rose edged in red for girls and pale blue and navy with tomato trim for boys. Each basket includes a little stuffed animal. The look is cute but not over the top sweet. Tel: 917-664-0148 E-mail: lynne@loralindesign.com
NOVELTIES PRIME SOURCE ACCESSORIES DESIGNER: Prime Source design team HOME BASE: Columbus, OH Sizes: 17.75" X 11" X 3.5"; Wholesale prices: $12.50 Prime Source Accessories offers innovative products for kids' and teens' rooms.
Outstanding Pieces: The lightweight Lap Desk serves as an impromptu table for writing or reading in bed or anywhere where a hard surface is necessary. Beneath the top is a padded, cloth-covered bottom so the "desk" sits comfortably on the lap. It's available in 18 different patterns that wipe clean with a cloth. Perfect for the multitasking teen who watches the "O.C." while instant messaging their friends. Tel: 800-240-3222 E-mail: fred@psaweb.com
WRY BABY DESIGNERS: David and Kelly Sopp HOME BASE: San Francisco, CA Sizes: 8" X 14"; Wholesale prices: contact manufacturer The Sopps make you laugh at the downside of raising a baby with products like their new posterpads.
Outstanding Pieces: There are three styles of hangable notepads like the "Hairdo Maker" that features a baldheaded babe with illustrations of different dos to try on; the "Estrogen" pad that urges pregnant moms to write down important chores such as bathing before their hormones short circuits their memory; and another that tells dad "life as you know it is over"! Tel: 415-550-8880 E-mail: information@wrybaby.com
ART BINTH DESIGNER: Linnea Gits HOME BASE: Chicago, IL Sizes: 16" X 20"; Wholesale prices: $85 Binth designs are clean and modern with a vain of humor that runs through each card, note pad and baby book.
Outstanding Pieces: Gits has designed two beautifully composed art prints with a sense of mystery not found in most art meant for children. The images are screen printed on heavy stock using water-based inks, come matted, signed and numbered in a limited edition of 250. Tel: 312-243-7326 E-mail: suzanna@binth.com
KATIE MUTH ORIGINAL PRINTS DESIGNER: Katie Muth HOME BASE: Toronto, Canada Wholesale prices: $25 for 6 hand printed cards; $15 for six machine printed cards; $75 for six 2007 calendars. Muth designs "Vibrant images for the Indie Crowd." In other words, if Hallmark is your thing, pass her by. But if unique designs with an appealing rustic quality work for you, you'll appreciate Muth's linocut images hand-printed on richly textured paper.
Outstanding Piece: Nothing is sweeter than a baby's chubby little foot. Muth captures the endearing image on a card and gives it spin with a polka dot ground. (Shown with two other charming Muth originals.) Tel: 416-766-9389 E-mail: info@katiemuth.com
SUPERDELUXE DESIGNER: Karin Spraggs HOME BASE: NY, NY Sizes: 20" X 30" ($925); 30" X 40" ($2400) Spraggs, with partner Adrienne Wong, own Superdeluxe, a boutique on the Lower East Side of New York that specializes in the "bespoke" lifestyle (that's made-to-order in case you didn't know). Spraggs's silhouette portraits are in demand thanks to celebrity clients like Julianne Moore, the Forbes family and too many socialites to count.
Outstanding Pieces: Spraggs uses the silhouette form of portraiture to capture a child's likeness. The old fashioned look is made modern with her use of vibrant color - chocolate against a hot pink ground for instance. While her shop is based in New York City, out of town parents can send two photos of their offspring, and she'll create a paper sample for their approval before the work is completed. Superdeluxe 187 Chrystie Street NY, NY 10002 Tel: 212-260-8300 E-mail: superdeluxenyc@yahoo.com
|
|
