Industry Profiles

As I write this, I’ve been back from National Stationery Show (NSS) for a week, but my head is still spinning! For four all-too-brief days, there was so much gorgeousness and cleverness to behold, all of it neatly arranged into booths for one’s shopping convenience. Each one was its own little world to explore.

The show was filled with friends old and new, but whether I’m actually acquainted with you or not, I felt a kinship with everyone based around our mutual commitment to the slow communication movement, as it was brilliantly dubbed by first-time exhibitor Papallama.

It was energizing to be a part of the crowd there, and I’ve said this many times before, but it bears repeating — this is not really a kinship that can be replicated on social media (though it can be glimpsed from time to time). Since our paper posse has now dispersed to points around the globe, I can only hope we spread our common love of stationery around to others like dandelion seeds in the wind.

There was something for everyone at NSS, whether they chose to say it with flowers or curse words (preferably letterpressed in calligraphy). In nearly every conceivable way, NSS exhibitors help people express themselves, from a simple thanks to much harder-to-articulate feelings. In a culture that is increasingly homogenized and politically correct, in paper communications at least, we can all still be ourselves.

That being said, I owe a big debt of gratitude to everyone I encountered during NSS. Thank you for saying hi, for making me laugh or dazzling me with your work, for patiently taking me through your range, for catching me up on what you have been up to since I saw you last.

You all inspire me — which is why I picked this card from Moglea to highlight here. That booth, by the way, was so crowded that I joked that creative director and owner Meg Gleason might be the first NSS exhibitor to get trampled in her own space!

I know I picked up enough inspiration over those four days in May to fill these pages for another year — so I hope you join me to get your quarterly dose of inspiration as well!