I am honestly feeling a little down and blue now that that National Stationery Show is over and I'm returning to work. I took off the entire week of NSS and I am SO glad that I did. Last year I only took one day off, and I regretted it BIG TIME. So this year, I took off an entire week, and I still don't feel like it was enough time.
I spent three days with some of the most amazing people - from familiar Minted friends, to my virtual stationery buddies - I can say that, without a doubt, the stationery industry houses the most talented, genuine, kindest people that exist. It's so humbling to be a part of the community.
While I could gush for hours about how much I love everybody, I thought instead you would prefer to read a few highlights.
NSS started off with a casual designer meet-up that I organized at The Jane Hotel. The room we were planning on hanging out in was mysteriously closed, so we took over the entire bad instead. It was kind of a "just hang out and catch up" type of get together, and that's exactly what we did. We chatted, laughed, snacked, laughed, and even ended the night playing subway roulette (you know that game, the one where you try to take a NYC subway on the weekend, and it turns out it's going along a different line, and then you end up in who-knows-where and you try to guess which subway might take you back to where you want to go? Yea, that game).
Here's a group shot of almost all the designers that came out Sunday night. We're missing a handful, but we're all here in spirit:
Back row, from left: Hailey, Anita, Kristen, Kimberly, Carol, Melanie, Lori, Chelsey Middle Row, from left: Carrie, Aspacia, Jill, Lauren, Amy, Nam, Kristie, Dawn Bottom Row, from left: Jen, Hannah, me
I got home that night well after midnight, which, for me, is crazy late (remember, I'm usually conked out on the sofa by 9pm). The Mexican we ate at 9pm gave me heartburn, so I crashed on the sofa for a few hours before driving into the Javits Center for my first day of walking NSS.
My favorite part of walking the show is seeing all of my paper pals kicked butt in their own booths. While I don't think that exhibiting is the right thing for me or my business, I really admire all of the ladies (and gents) that do it. The effort they put in is absolutely insane, and I love seeing the creative booths and amazing art they display. I have to admit, I am pretty crumby at taking pictures while I walk the show, so I'll send you over to Oh So Beautiful Paper to see all of Nole's recaps. She rocks, and thank goodness she captures all of the amazing stationery!
Anyway, after walking the show all day on Monday, Minted hosted a part for all of the Minted designers that were in town. It was at KTCHN Restaurant and was the perfect way to end a day full of walking (read, good food, comfy chairs, and great company). I'll also add that, thanks to Natasha from Minted, I had my very first (and oh-so-amazing) macaron.
After another late night (although, this time sans the heartburn), I was back and ready to go bright and early for day two of walking the show. One of the best parts of NSS is all the awesome swag and goodies that vendors give out - it's like the stationery version of trick or treating.
Hands down, my most favorite goodie came from the fabulous ladies at Ladyfingers Letterpress. Arley-Rose is one of the most talented hand letterers, and her live demos at their booth were mesmerizing. I caught them during a lull and she whipped up this awesome piece for me for my upcoming anniversary. She literally created it in under 2 minutes. I die.
The only way to end yet another awesome day, is with yet another awesome party. Thanks to Nole (and Minted + all the other sponsors) for throwing the kick-ass Paper Party '13. An entire room filled with everybody in the stationery industry + a photobooth = great times.
Here, again, is why I so love this community:
I'm so sad that it's all over, but am incredibly grateful for the time I got to spend with friends new and old. The outpouring of love and support for Sincerely, Jackie was heartwarming, and was exactly the encouragement I needed. I left feeling empowered and determined to keep working harder for my little business. So much has changed since last year's NSS, and I cannot wait for next year to see where I land and to catch up with everybody again.
Sincerely,
No comments:
Post a Comment