NY Now - August 2013

This summer the NYIGF rebranded as NY Now. Whatever you want to call it, this show is one of the biggest trade show for buyers and sellers in the gift industry. The show had a new layout, which meant we moved downstairs in Javits Center (read, no natural light) but in the end we had great neighbors and a super turnout of regulars and new stores picking up their favorite Albertine and Carta goodies.

 

We have an existing hard-wall booth set up, and this summer we were assigned a larger booth space than we'd had in the past. That meant reconfiguring not only to accommodate our new products, but also to account for extra blank wall space. We spent several weeks before the show cutting out circles from our cards and note books, and tying decorative ribbon around others for a garland of color and design. It was a huge hit!

Still loving the industrial parts bins as the display for our Letterpress Library collection of note sets.

A definite "shining" success was the introduction of a whole collection of metallic ribbons from Carta, Inc. Three styles of ribbon really wowed visitors who snagged these pretties for holiday store packaging.

More Carta ribbon was featured at our neighbors across the way - Rifle Paper Co. uses Angela's gorgeous cotton ribbons to display their own stunning gift wrap. More than a few folks ping pong-ed back and forth to make sure they ordered the same ribbons to coordinate with their gift wrap selections. Win win!



New for Albertine was our 2014 cityscape postcard calendar. Just a scant week before the show I managed to finish up the designs and our super studio team cranked out a full working sample for display. These pretties will be up on Etsy soon.



Big sister was off with grandparents, but Emily was happy to fill in and help keep the booth organized.

She was a fan of the metallics, too!



Showing off her swag from Old Tom Foolery to our super fabulous NYC rep, Kimberley.



Hanging out with neighbors (at the show and at home) at Smudge, Ink.



Getting her cute on with the ladies of Rifle.

We didn't have much downtime at the show (a good sign!) but in the few moments of quiet, we already brainstormed lots of new goodies for 2014. Can't wait to see what comes of it all!

Pilgrimage to May Day Studio

Yesterday I was excited to finally get up to Montpelier, Vermont to visit with Kelly at May Day Studio, and of course the newest letterpress baby, Bea.

The drive up was hours of green blanketed hills, so pretty. And Montpelier is a charming little town with only local mom and pop shops, so refreshing to see. We got a city tour that included the gold-domed statehouse (a staple for any New England capitol) and "church row." My favorite was this mosaic steeple.

No Vermont trip would be complete without a trip to the Ben and Jerry's factory!

Of course the highlight of the trip was visiting May Day Studio with Kelly and three month old Bea, who made fast friends with Emily (at nine months, excited to be the "big" kid). 

I love exploring other folks' studios, seeing what inspiration they hang on their walls, how they organize their space, looking through piles of misprints and offcuts.

Thank you, Kelly, for inviting me into your space!

www.maydaystudio.com is a letterpress and bookbinding studio. Check out their letterpress workshops, too.

Somewhere over the rainbow - an IGF journey

As the gift fair neared to a close, I expected to bring Sadie along for another of her round-ups, but was disappointed when she told me that morning, "Mommy, I don't want to go to your booth today." Who could blame her when Bubbie was promising adventures at parks and riverside lunches.

In her honor I do a post about rainbows, which I'd already picked out as our mission. There are really so many items across the spectrum (ha!) which come in a rainbow palette. Plus the bright, primary grab of a rainbow display is hard to resist. Without further ado, an IGF journey somewhere over the rainbow:

Letterpress Library by Albertine Press;

Tags by 9spotmonk; donburi bento box by (ack! can't find the business card - sorry!); teapots and dishware by Yedi Housewares;

Totes by Flip and Tumble; signage from the Mexico designers' pavilion; desk accessories by Suck UK;

Washi tape by Mark's Tokyo Edge;

Clock by Karlsson; tote by Fluf; silverware by Guzzini;

Glasses, bracelets and coasters by Tina Frey Designs; woodland animals by Lovi; candles by Skeem;

Booth display by Nervous System; vases by Jill Rosenwald Studio, pencils distributed by Brand Node;

Card by The Great Lakes

What's your favorite rainbow product?

LGNE broadside exhibit and celebration

In what will likely be my last public appearance before going on maternity leave, I hope you'll join me and many others in celebrating the opening of the LGNE broadside exhibition at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown on Saturday, September 8th from 1 to 4 pm.

Albertine press has two pieces in the show alongside prints by many other talented letterpressers from across the country. Editions will be for sale.

See you there!

Sadie at the NSS 2012

This post is so late in coming, but as we gear up for the IGF next week (so soon! too soon!) I found this draft and thought it time to edit and upload.

the crate arrived intact and setup went smoothly enough

So... back in May we exhibited at the National Stationery Show, where we are always happy to catch up with old friends, get facetime with many of our favorite clients, and see what's new in the stationery world. At the time I was also five months pregnant.

Angela putting the finishing touches on the table - also, it's not your imagination, our booth tilted to the right

As always, I brought Sadie along one morning to walk the show with me - see what there was to see through my favorite pair of little eyes.

Sadie and ladybug at the 9SpotMonk booth

These balloons by My Own Pet Balloon were *the* giveaway at the show. There was a veritable parade of grown men and women with dinosaur, dog and cow balloons "walking" along behind them. So of course it was the first stop of the morning for Sadie to pick out her own pet ladybug.

We took Mr. Ladybug (or miss, I honestly don't remember what she named it) to 9SpotMonk where Sadie drew some pictures on some of their newest color in cards.

At Sadie's insistence, the resulting masterpiece was proudly hung on the Albertine wall, alongside the other greeting cards.

We stopped for a faux cupcake at the Divine Twine booth, whose twine was also displayed like a cake tower.

Of course the blue of their walls just called out to me, being nearly the exact shade of blue that our booth was the past two years. Such a refreshingly bright color.

Feeling a little suspicious visiting our friends at Fugu Fugu Press.

Sadie points out some of her favorite new patterns of gift wrap by Kelly at May Day Studio.

We collected a notebook and admired the bunting at Pistachio Press.

Sadie met little Lincoln and we both admired the new digs of Old Tom Foolery, a far cry from the stark simple white booth across the way from us last year. Nicely done, guys!

Sadie found a comfy spot to sit and draw in Wild Ink Press, whose ombre booth walls were well documented on their gorgeous blog pre-show

They also had some of my absolute favorite cards of the show (letterpressed, of course)...

not to mention the super awesome keychain giveaway!



Eventually Sadie and the ladybug came "home" to roost at the Albertine Press / Carta Inc booth.

some of Angela's cards, journals, ribbons and vintage glassine

our giveaway stamps and measuring tape calendars - the matchbook journals we made were gone after two days

the Albertine Press Letterpress Library note sets

Thanks for the visit, peanut!

Top of the A-List!

 

With many heartfelt thanks to all of our supporters, we are delighted to announce that we have won the award for Best Wedding Invitations by the Boston A-List! We couldn't have done it without you.

Calligraphy night

 

Last night the ladies of Albertine (the gentlemen declined) headed out for an evening of calligraphy with Liz Roessler of Lettering by Liz. She welcomed us into her charming North End studio where we were able to poke through her work, ooh-ing and aah-ing, catching glimpses of a few familiar projects, before settling in for our work of the evening.

Liz had prepared us each a calligraphy kit and proceeded to work our new nibs and wrists while we learned to use the correct pressure (way more than I'd ever imagined, or done in my own amateur calligraphy work) for the nice broad strokes. It was a great experience for everyone and we can't wait to do it again!

Some of Liz's work - I just adore the mixed styles and the special touch of the vintage "and" and dots around the zip code.

This is one of the menus we did for clients about a month ago. Liz lettered each guest's name atop the menus.

 

This style is my favorite - I just love the density of the text paired with the whimsical curlicues. 

A note to couples looking to hire Liz - contact her WAY in advance. She is generally booked up as much as six months out. Thanks, Liz!!!