TO DRY FOR

Hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend. I want you to know that I am now back to posting with earnest regularity; this week will be chock full of some wonderful things!

On that note, I wanted to share a website that I have had my eye for a long time. 'To Dry For' is an online store that sells a huge array of artist-designed tea towels--with patterns featuring everything from the typography to illustration. It is truly the perfect place to go for gifts, particularly since everything is reasonably priced!

Check it out here.

CHRISTOPH NEIMANN: ABSTRACT CITY

I know, I know. I have been a terrible blogger this week. I still have a bunch of NSS updates to share with you but I thought I would interrupt the regularly (or irregularly scheduled, I suppose, for this week) programming to recall the amazing illustrations of Christopher Neimann. I have posted about Christopher's awesome lego illustrations I posted here, but these illustrations were too good to pass up. Christopher maintains the 'Abstract City' blog on the NYTimes; every couple of months he delivers a giggle-inducing set of clever illustrations. These range from cheeky Google maps to unusual leaf classifications but all maintain an unparalleled creative spirit. This week Christopher posted these illustrations, showing his house is "haunted" with everyday objects . . . wonderful! Now I am tempted to add googly-eyes to everything I own!

See all of his great blog stuff here, his website here, and his new book (I want it!) here.

NSS: RECAP, PART THREE

The Knock Knock booth, not surprisingly, was incredible. It was filled with all sorts of hilarious goodies: a 'suck it up' coffee mug, an 'oh my f*ing god' notebook, a paper tweet notepad and, my personal favorite, self-inking stamps with funny phrases (I love the "Blah Blah Blah" stamp!). Everyone I spoke to there was equally wonderful; I was super happy to hear that all the writing for the products was, until recently, done by the president of the company! Amazing products and amazing people . . . a fabulous combination. Check their stuff out here.

I also popped into the booth for Smudge Ink, a Boston-area stationer that has an awesome selection of bright patterned cards. I love their holiday selection and their gorgeous party/birthday invitations. Even better? They have a partnership with the Harvard student-run charity 'Circle of Women'--a great organization that helps build and run sustainable schools for girls all over the world. Smudge Ink provides Circle of Women with cards that they can sell to raise money for the cause. A great product and a great organization! Check out Smudge Ink here and Circle of Women here.

I also fell in love with the fabulous offerings at the Jack & Lulu booth and had the great pleasure of meeting co-owner Karen! Karen told me that 'Jack' and 'Lulu' were fictional characters in love stories written for her business partner by her partner's husband while they were dating long distance. How cute is that?

Anyhow, the ladies behind 'Jack & Lulu' had a distinct nautical and national theme going on . . . I loved the little Bag of Flags and the 'Whistle' tote bag (a big preppy tote with a shiny whistle attached to it . . . must have it!). I also loved the stripey recycled paper straws--they would make a glass of lemonade look very festive! In all, I am constantly impressed by the fabulous products on offer by Jack & Lulu and I can't wait to see these tasty treats in stores! Until then, check it all out here.

NSS: RECAP, PART TWO

This weekend I will be finishing my recap of the National Stationery Show . . . a bit late I realize, but better late than never! Hope you like it!

At the Russell + Hazel booth I met Alexandra who kindly pointed out all the new goodies they have put out. I am particularly enamored with the leather portfolios--big zip pouches that shimmer in gold, silver, black and mint green--that came out earlier this year. They have also just introduced an awesome set of notepads; sold in a three pack, each pad marks out the time in each day in hours, minutes and seconds. Lovely! But, truly, everything made by Russell + Hazel is beautifully clean, bright and useful. Do yourself a favor and check out their website here.

I also stumbled upon an unexpected treat: the Sweet Bella USA booth. Sweet Bella sells all sorts of wonderful things--desk lamps, vintage telephones, leather wallets, etc--but I absolutely fell in love with their overwhelming selection of Japanese masking tape. As you know I am obsessed with patterned masking tape (see here) and so I almost died when I saw their display. I love the idea of displaying all the options on hang tags that have been struck together. I want to buy all of them! Check out their website here and all the masking tape here.

Moments later, I also discovered a new favorite stationer: Mr. Boddington's Press. There I had a long talk with the owner, designer and all-around genius, Rebecca. Besides being incredibly talented, Rebecca is also extremely nice. I had the great pleasure of talking with her for a while as I gazed longingly at her work. Her booth was quite creative: she used lined envelopes to create a shingled overhang above a display, had an adorable mailbox to hold business cards, and entire shelf covered with her wax-sealed business cards. Her cards themselves are a delicious combination of dark whimsy and hand-drawn sweetness: a combination that is so winning and unique that I guarantee you can't find it anywhere else. Check it out here.

NSS: RECAP, PART ONE

After a super long day yesterday and a bit of recuperation today (fighting a cold!), I am ready to share some of my favorite booths from the National Stationery Show. I won't bore you with all the details of my notes from each vendor, however I will regale you with tons of pictures! I will also highlight some of the most drool-worthy products I noticed . . . many of which I might need to head out and buy ASAP!

Cavallini & Co was the first booth I stopped at and boy did it deliver! Looking around I realized that I recognized nearly every type of product on display as something I own or been tempted to buy before. I have two of their tins of alphabet stamps (perfect for gift tags, notes, etc.) and several of their single sheets of printed paper. Everything they make is bright, graphic and beautifully designed . . . all with a vintage, encyclopedia-like style. Check out their products here and their sellers here.

Bob's Your Uncle did not have a booth of their own. Instead they had an amazing display through their super cool rep and distributor Aesthetic Movement (the A/M booth looked wonderful with its chalkboard walls). The display featured the entire gamut of the Bob's Your Uncle line including the melamine plates, paper goods, luggage tags, coasters, calendars etc. There were a couple of stand outs (some brand new and some new-ish, pictured above) that are now high on my wish list: brightly colored dotted and gridded notebooks (I want them so badly!), a 'to do' list with spaces for hour-by-hour appointments and a checklist, a note pad of board game score cards, and big bold animal flash cards. All absolutely lovely! See this and much much more at the Bob's Your Uncle website here.

A big, unexpected plus was encountering the Scojo eyewear booth. Being a graduate student who has up to 500 pages of reading to do per week, I have recently realized I need to get some reading glasses to save my eyesight from quickly going down the tubes. The MoMA Store just recently started carrying Scojo's "gel" readers (not sold online)--reading glasses with flexible sides that prevent the dreaded "glasses headache". I tried on the gels and several other styles but finally ended up buying a set of tortoise shell rectangular frames. They are the perfect combination of stylish and practical. Plus the vendor, who was an absolute sweetheart, confided that there are a lot of 'A-listers' who wear Scojo! Reasonable pricing, practical and cool: a win-win-win! Check out Scojo here.

National Stationery Show recap will continue tomorrow . . .