i wanted to take a quick break from bklyn designs talk to mention what will easily be one of my favorite booths to visit at this year’s national stationery show. a handful of my favorite designers will be sharing a booth as part of the mixed co. team, a new marketing agency for independent designers run by the talented meg mateo ilasco. the incredible line-up of designers include: allymoon, linea carta, good on paper, mateo ilasco design, laurel denise and of course, joy’s line- nantaka joy. everyone’s work looks fantastic this year and i’m especially excited about joy’s work with nantaka joy. she’s debuting new stationery (above and below) that continues with last year’s metallic theme and is sure to be a big, big hit. i use joy’s cards regularly for gifts and “just because” correspondence and i always hear back from the recipient about how much they love her work. i can’t wait to see the rest of joy’s collection and all of the other talented women in the mixed co. booth- it promises to be a fantastic section of the show. if you’re attending the nss you can stop by the mixed co. booth, booth #1448, or stay tuned for my coverage of the show in two weeks. thanks to joy and the mixed. co girls for sharing their beautiful pictures!

[image above: new stationery from nantaka joy]

[image above: new stationery from good on paper]

[image above: new stationery from allymoon]

[image above: new stationery from mateo ilasco]

[image above: new stationery from mateo ilasco]

[image above: new stationery from laurel denise]

[image above: new stationery from linea carta]

d*s reader susan sent over a link to her friend corrie lauridsen’s fantastic new stationery studio urban bark papers. i have a big box of greeting cards at home that i like to save for special occasions and i think i might have to add a few of corrie’s cards to the collection. based in southern california, corrie and urban bark papers produce several collections of cards, ranging from folded notes and flat cards to baby and holiday stationery (corrie also offers custom wedding stationery if you’re in the market). my favorites are within the “flat cards” category- the colors are so vibrant and i love the dashes of pattern here and there. you can find urban bark papers at stores across the country but you can click here to find a retailer near you. for more information on urban park papers, click here- or stop by their booth at the national stationery show: #1467. [thanks susan and corrie!]

just a little tuesday morning eye-candy: new metallic dove notebooks from pushmepull you design. $14 right here.

the national stationery show is always my favorite design show of the season. all of the groups of girls and booths full of cupcakes and candy make it feel more like a giant slumber party than a trade show- and this year’s show is shaping up nicely. one of the booths i’m excited to see belongs to christine at yellow owl workshop. christine will be debuting new cards and journals so i wanted to share a few new designs here before the show. if you’re attending you can visit christine in booth #1557 or tune in in two weeks for my full coverage of the show. until then you can click here to see (and shop) more of christine’s work at yellow owl workshop.

i’m still prepping today’s before and after posts but i wanted to post these incredible sculptures from designer nicholas jones in the meantime. lucy at the design files in australia recently interviewed nicholas on her blog and gave us a glimpse into his incredible world. i was blown away by his attention to detail in each book sculpture- not only does nicholas make incredibly detailed cuts and folds with each page, but he transforms each piece into a work of true work of art. if you’d like to read more on the work of nicholas jones, please click here. [thanks, lucy!]

since ac and i are heading south to savannah scout wedding locations this weekend, i’ve got wedding details on the mind. lately i’ve been obsessing over the combination of white or light lettering on top of darker paper. right now i’d love to have a custom rubber stamp designed that i can ink with a white color and stamp onto dark kraft paper for our invites. i think i’ll continue to embellish them from there, but for now that’s a color combo i’m loving- rather than the traditional light envelope and dark writing. this envelope from yellow owl workshop is a great example of the look- oh to have illustrative skills like this to paint my own envelopes.

this thursday i’m heading over to the city to meet up with joy and check out the launch of a new line of stationery from orla kiely. her exuberant work is just the dose of color and pattern i need on this cold and dreary brooklyn day. it will be tough not to try and hide a few pounds of orla-paper in my purse on the way out but hopefully joy can keep me from a life of paper crime. in the meantime, you can shop orla’s stationery collection online right here. i’ll be back at 12 with a new sneak peek!