May Madness is here.

Posted by SWEET
/
in Branding, Business Cards, National Stationery Show, Printing, Sweet Story
/
2 Comments

Sweet Letter 2010 business card

Every year, the National Stationery Show brings out the crazy. It’s an industry fact.

We’ve been pretty darn busy in the print shop over the last couple months. March and April were chock full with wedding invitations and we are just now scrabbling to generate some new product for the show (which is, ahem, next week). With a fairly elaborate wedding set still left to print before we fly on Thursday, the window is closing fast and Manny can only chug so fast.

So here’s my big crazy for this year – I decided we needed some new and improved business cards for the show (not too crazy) but I also decided that they needed to be 2 over 2 with a die cut and a full flood on the back. And in order to have a good stash for the future, we decided we needed 900 cards per name. Needless to say, this has put quite a damper on product output. But really, who will buy our goods if we don’t have a killer b-card to back it up?

Happy spring everybody, I look forward to sharing more (and sleeping) after the show!

Read More

Recovering from NSS

Posted by SWEET
/
in National Stationery Show
/
Comments Off on Recovering from NSS

Sweet Letter 2009 NSS Booth

Wow, what a push. The round the clock prep throughout April and May had us pretty worn down and I was exhausted before we even got to New York.  Then we spend two loooong days setting up the booth, and when we were just about ready to drop, it was time to start the show!

Well, it’s all over now and we are back in Boulder, half way recovered and refreshed. It was a great show for us, which I guess makes it all worth while.  We were flattered to be mentioned on a couple great blogs:  Oh So Beautiful Paper, Birddog Press and Crow and Canary.

Now it’s like Santa’s workshop at the  studio; packaging is in full swing.  Juggling the NSS orders and a couple custom weddings will make for a busy June.

Stay tuned for a list of all our new stores — coming soon!

Read More

NSS Booth Part 5: The Crate

Posted by SWEET
/
in National Stationery Show
/
Comments Off on NSS Booth Part 5: The Crate

Wow, building a booth is a full time job. But today is the day. The crate is packed and sealed and the truck is on its way.  This gives us less than a week to get back to actually printing and preparing our products for the show!

Read More

NSS Booth Part 4: House Pet

Posted by SWEET
/
in Eco Chic, National Stationery Show
/
2 Comments

nss-carpetdog

We order eco-chic carpet tiles from Flor and cut them into a striped pattern.  I set it up in my living room and Madigan just couldn’t stay away! Maybe it’s because our burgany high pile is called “house pet”. Or maybe he wants to come to New York and sell some cards.  Regardless, this is one freakin’ cute photo.

Read More

NSS Booth Part 3: The nitty gritty

Posted by SWEET
/
in National Stationery Show, Sweet Story
/
Comments Off on NSS Booth Part 3: The nitty gritty

Details, details, details. It seems like every step of the booth design process requires numerous decisions and just as many tedious tasks.  I won’t bore you with the details, you can just look at the photos!

Read More

NSS Booth Part 2: Sexy, sexy table

Posted by SWEET
/
in National Stationery Show
/
1 Comments

sexytableOur NSS booth is the smallest size you can get, a megar 6 feet deep.  So keeping the space clear of too much clutter was our main objective from day one.  We decided that a tall, thin table against the back wall would be our sole piece of furniture.  So M and I went to ReSource (a Boulder source for recycled building materials) and found the perfect supplies — a skinny bi-fold door and some old staircase posts. I told friend/interior designer Summer (shsinteriors.com) about our find and asked her what color she thought we should make the table. (At this point, the door was kelly green, 2 legs were unfinished and 2 more had a redish stain.) She came up with this refinishing idea that rocked my world.  First, we spread Bondo all over the surface of the door in varied, uneven strokes. Then we sanded and sprayed it with black primer. Finally, we added many layers of clear laquer to create the hottest table around. The photo shows it in between coats of laquer, so you don’t yet see the full high gloss effect. You’ll have to visit us at NSS to see the table in it’s full glossy glory!

Read More

NSS Booth Part 1: Light as a feather, stiff as a board

Posted by SWEET
/
in National Stationery Show
/
Comments Off on NSS Booth Part 1: Light as a feather, stiff as a board

alum_frame

It’s been decided that our new booth frame will be aluminum tubing with nifty plastic connectors (yes, that’s the technical term) holding it all together. Luckily M’s bestest friend just happens to be a metal worker. The wall material is yet to be determined – masonite, mdf, or maybe some space-aged polymer.  The key, I’m learning, is to find the right blend of light and strong.  Cheaper to ship, but strong enough to handle the trip.

Read More

NSS plans in motion

Posted by SWEET
/
in National Stationery Show
/
Comments Off on NSS plans in motion

This week, we met with our NSS team of geniuses — Ryan the metal worker, Summer the interior design and Mike the woodworker.  Stay tuned for updates as the booth comes to fruition.

Read More

National Stationery Show Wrap Up

Posted by SWEET
/
in National Stationery Show
/
Comments Off on National Stationery Show Wrap Up

nssbooth_2008We survived our first National Stationery Show! It was not easy, nor pain-free, but it’s over. The last few months were a total blur as we scrambled to design our booth and the products to fill it. In fact, we (almost) considered backing out many times. Thanks to all who helped make it a success, from our new clients to the amazing friends who put us up (when we were no fun to be around). Special thanks to Props for Today in NYC for furniture rental and Mary Williams Fine Arts in Boulder for display. We are ready to rejoin the land of the living and are already scheeming for next year!

Read More