it’s sad to say goodbye to this year’s stationery show, but i left happy and inspired to know that so many fantastic new companies entered the market this year. if one of the four trade shows i saw this season really left me excited for the coming year’s designs and designers, it was the national stationery show. it was really, really thrilling to see so many people using eco-friendly materials in interesting ways, experimenting with letterpress techniques and creating stationery and prints that left me wanting much, much more. so here is the final installment of this year’s stationery show coverage. if you missed the previous posts just follow these links to parts 1-4: stationery show part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

yellow owl workshop was definitely a big highlight of my show experience. meeting christine and her wonderfully sweet and supportive husband evan (when i mentioned how incredibly talented christine was he smiled and said “that’s why i married her”.) was a real treat. in addition to being super cool and friendly, christine’s new designs were really fantastic. i loved the little painted wood circles (top image) and dashes of fluorescent color everywhere. i’m totally ready for hot pink/orange/green to come back in a big way.

night owl papergoods made a huge splash at last year’s stationery show and definitely didn’t disappoint this year. i loved their wooden calendar pages and the collection of floral cards made from leftover and cast-off material. such a cute way to reuse materials that would have normally been thrown away.

egg press is a booth i can always visit and know i will walk away smiling- without fail. i’m crazy about their playful designs and the fun way they incorporate rich dashes of color into each card. their greens were a huge inspiration for my wedding color palette and i’m hoping i might be able to use some of their actual work in the wedding next year.

i was excited to stumble upon the 9spotmonk booth. i’d never heard of this new jersey team and was really thrilled to discover their collection of notebooks with colorful patterns on the outside. click here for more info on their work…

the pikku booth was like a delightful little living room set up in the middle of the show. the vermont studio introduced a colorful new line of textiles and homewares (including pillows and a quilt) as well as additions to their calendar line. you really have to see these in person to appreciate the print quality and colors- they’re spectacular.

i was bummed to miss lindsay at the hammerpress booth, but was psyched to catch head designer brady and hear all about the new collections. i loved the purple colorways in their skull card and was particularly drawn to the alphabet series and it’s deep orange color. and that last card? that describes the way i felt when i realized i’d barely covered 2/3 of the show after 3 full days. argh.

i saved one of my favorite booths for the very last- mr. boddington’s studio. this booth (along with a few others) made me seriously reconsider doing my own wedding invitations. their designs were beautiful and filled with witty remarks. i especially enjoyed the handwriting used on each card- such a nice touch.