News

The National Stationery Show (NSS) will celebrate 70 years serving the industry May 15-18, 2016 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Nearly 10,000 buyers and industry professionals are expected to attend the NSS, representing all 50 U.S, states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, and more than 70 countries around the globe.

Since its inception, the NSS has been a peerless environment for greeting cards, stationery products, paper crafting and specialty gift. It offers a rare platform where exhibitors build life-changing relationships with buyers, reps, distributors — and with each other. In addition to providing an opportunity to source and shop across a variety of product categories, a host of manufacturing resources for social stationery and giftware companies can be found in The Supply Side, a B2B section of the Show. The NSS also features a juried section, #fresh, a community of emerging designers in business 1-5 years with an original point of view and product direction.

“The National Stationery Show is a show where most of the product on display is new. It is a place to discover trending, quality products in a highly creative atmosphere,” said Patti Stracher, vice president and NSS show director. “We are committed to delivering a collaborative environment that allows attendees to maximize their time at the Show.”

2016 Show Overview

This year, the NSS unveils a variety of new activities and special exhibits for its exhibitors and attendees, including a new partnership with the Fashion Institute of Technology School of Art & Design, the NSS Theatre, Stationery Stories, the NSS® Coloring Lounge, and the Mohawk Strathmore Archives.

Featured new products from 800 exhibiting companies include: greeting cards, custom invitations, giftwrap/ribbon, stationery, specialty party supplies, paper tableware, bridal accessories, customized/personalized products, in-store printing equipment, writing instruments, paper-crafting supplies, frames, journals/calendars, lifestyle giftware, candles, soaps, toys, home office products, luxury leather goods, and back-to-school items.

A combination of industry leading brands and innovative newcomers attend the Show each year. Key social stationery exhibitors include Hallmark – Gold Crown, Signature Collection and Studio, Sugar Paper Los Angeles, Papyrus/Recycled Greetings, Rifle Paper Company, Notes & Queries, Smock Letterpress, Snow & Graham, Ginger Ray, R. Nichols, Envelopments, Hester & Cook Design Group and Natalizia. Notable first-time exhibitors include Kaisercraft, The Grommet, Spartina, and Alessaro Designs.

Two specialty sections are highlighted on the Show floor. #fresh is the place to be for new businesses, between 1-5 years old. Here, emerging lifestyle and stationery businesses can show off their original, authentic products. This juried section is a destination for buyers to discover tomorrow’s trend-setters. The Supply Side section features specialty manufacturers that provide expertise in everything from die-cutting to foil stamping, embossing, holography, lamination, packaging, converting, paper, and printing.

Two important award programs take place at the NSS annually. Exhibitors will vie for Best New Product honors in eight categories: Paper Love, DIY-Do It Yourself, Celebrations, Lifestyle, The Desktop, All Things Wedding, Eco Chic, and Seasonal Greats. Winners will be announced on opening day, Sunday May 15. The NSS is pleased to announce its partnership with the Fashion Institute of Technology School of Art & Design whose Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design students will create the platform and product environment to display the finalists and winners of the Best New Product Competition.

The 28^th anniversary LOUIE Awards gala, sponsored by the Greeting Card Association (GCA), recognizes, rewards, and celebrates the moment art, editorial and design perfectly coalesce to bring emotions to life and memorialize the numerous milestones in our lives through greeting cards. The program culminates in a gala awards event on Sunday, May 15. A beautiful exhibit of finalists and winners, designed by Universal Presentation Concepts, will be presented in the Crystal Palace Lobby during the NSS, and a cocktail party will be held with the winners on Monday, May 16.

The NSS will sponsor The Paper Party, along with Oh So Beautiful Paper and several other businesses on Monday May 16; details to follow.

The NSS Theatre, located on the Show floor, will be an open format of workshops and demonstrations to include coloring events, giftwrapping, other product demos and flash educational sessions.

Mohawk Superfine, celebrating its 70^th anniversary, is the official paper of the NSS 2016. Mohawk Fine Papers, which acquired the Strathmore brand in 2005 and has served as steward of the legendary brand since, has recently uncovered a treasure trove of over 100 years of rare, historic and beautiful Strathmore paper promotions called The Strathmore Archives. A selection of items from The Strathmore Archives will be displayed at this year’s show.
New this year is “Stationery Stories,” which can be found on the Show’s website and/or by following #StationeryStories on social media. These inspirational narratives as told by stationery store owners, buyers, designers, and exhibitors highlight how the stationery business has influenced and inspired them. “Stationery Stories” gives the reader a history and context of their journey and experiences.

A three-day series of educational seminars will discuss trends in areas including product design, color, wedding, and visual merchandising trends, as well as developing a successful social media strategy to increase sales, and other important topics that impact today’s business owners. Attendees can register for one or more seminars either online or onsite.

Once again, the NSS will partner with Gift For Life, the gift, stationery and home industries’ sole charitable organization, to participate in the annual AIDS Walk New York to be held Sunday, May 15, the opening day of the Show. As part of the fifth consecutive year of this collaboration, the Gift for Life/NSS team will recruit walkers to raise funds to support HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and education. Participants can either walk the actual 10K course that starts and ends at Central Park, or take a “virtual” walk through the aisles of the Show.