The blog

As I walked the floor of National Stationery Show, I was amazed and inspired with all of the creative designs displayed in each booth throughout the show. I fell in love with so many gorgeously designed products — each unique in its own way — that I find it extremely difficult to simply choose “5 Delectable Designs.” Although I would love to write about all of the lovely products that I saw at the show, here are a few that especially caught my eye and inspired me in my own personal design.

Writeables | Booth #2233

It truly amazes me how the feminine form and simple, classic design are always on trend, but it’s easy to see why. I love the clean outline of the figures and black and white color scheme in these vintage cards from Writeables’ line. Reminiscent of a simpler era, the design aesthetic matches the imagery with elegance and grace.

Waste Not Paper | Booth #2340

Since my first love as a designer has always been drawing, I have always felt especially attracted to anything hand-illustrated. The illustrations of the mushrooms and greenery on this calendar set from Waste Not Paper are eye-catching to say the least. I love how the tones of the whimsical drawings truly pop against the dark background.

Blackbird Letterpress | Booth #2059

It’s obvious that transportation-themed stationery is huge right now, and I love that Blackbird Letterpress takes it a step further with these retro 3D novelty cards. The simple lines paired with perfect color-combinations give the designs an authentic vintage feel. The image on the left shows the cards flat with envelope behind, while the image to the right demonstrates the cute novelties after they are folded and glued.

Quilling Card | Booth #3136

As a designer, I’ve always been drawn to things that were handcrafted. This card from Quilling Card is absolutely breath taking with “My 1 True Love” made from paper and hand-rolled with a quilling tool. These beautiful cards are molded in about an hour per design, and the result is just gorgeous.

Easy, Tiger | Booth #1552

When I sit down to design something, I always take color theory and trends into careful consideration. Black on black is not a color trend that I see often, but I find it so boldly intriguing as well as absolutely stunning. This set of perfect-bound journals from Easy, Tiger stopped me in my tracks while exploring their booth on Monday. The dark, reflective hand-lettering is striking against the black background.

These five products are only a few of the beautifully designed paper goods on display, but be sure to take the time to visit each booth while you’re at the show to take in all of the inspiring designs. If you see anything that you find especially eye-catching, please feel free to share it with us on Facebook and Twitter!