designer's library

Hightide Daily Depot

I love Japanese stationery sets. These are from Hightide Daily Depot. Enjoy!

National Stationery Show 2007

It's crunch time over here which means I have a to-do list longer than my arm and I'm literally bleeding screenprinting ink. I've been totally loopy getting everything ready for the upcoming National Stationery Show in New York. The last time I went to the show I was a buyer (when I owned my wedding business), so it'll be interesting to experience the show from the "other side of the booth" this time around. Not to mention, this will be my first time exhibiting at a trade show EVER. The above image is a little taste of my new line of products--these are limited edition, hand screen-printed journals.

My line will be represented by Relish SF. I'll be sharing the booth with several other businesses run by wonderfully talented girls/friends: Jill Bliss Allymoon, K. Autumn (who is also the owner of Relish), Good on Paper, and Nantaka Joy. I can't wait to meet Joy whom I've only gotten to know through emails and phone calls. I'm sure her debut collection is going to be stunning!

If you're attending the show, do stop by BOOTH 3472 and say hello--we're super nice and we gots matching aprons we'd like to show off! To request more info, visit the official Relish SF website.

Eieio Studio

read: Oh Joy's interview of eieio. Great interview!

First off, I like learning about partnerships between people that live far away from each other--in this case, they're bi-coastal. I think if you can pull that off--that, in itself is amazing. (When I had a wedding invitation business, my partner and I were a mere 300 miles away from each other. I was in LA and she was in SF--and it was difficult! Thank goodness her company unknowingly footed the bill on our phone calls!) Anyway, they've obviously got a collaborative process that works and that's commendable.

On how they work, Jean says, "We decide what trends to ignore (everyone's doing it) and what to attempt (no one will like this but us)." I think this is good to keep in mind when designing your products--listening to voices other than just the ones in your head. Some items should clearly define your aesthetic (thereby putting your unique stamp in the market), however those products may only appeal to a certain small niche. The rest of your products should have more mass appeal (of course, still maintaining your aesthetic). You can totally see this type of range in eieio designs. So I'm learning to do this in my business as well--cater to a larger market but still maintaining my personal style...gotta make money, you know.

I also thought it was interesting that they only do this business part-time and they actually have full-time jobs that take up most of their day. They've been doing this for several years now--I was almost sure it was full-time. Wasn't DWR selling their papers during the holidays? That's major. Hmm...that's interesting...