Hi Everyone! I'm Nole from
Oh So Beautiful Paper, and I spent the better part of this week in New York City for the New York International Gift Fair. If you're not familiar with the Gift Fair, it's a huge wholesale trade show where retail shop owners around the country (and the world!) come to purchase items and stock their shops. The show is similar to the National Stationery Show, except that it takes place twice a year and covers way more than paper. There are sections just for global importers, handmade products, home and bath, baby and kid products, and lots, lots more. There's a lot to take in! Jan asked me to share a few favorites from the summer show, and so I've tried to narrow it down to just the best of the best of what I saw at the show. Here goes!
First up, some of my favorite exhibitors this year happen to specialize in beautiful porcelain ceramics. I love the romance of
Gleena's designs, particularly the numbered bowl sets and botanical plates. As someone who loves to travel, I'm also a huge fan of the postcard mugs from
Bailey Doesn't Bark (they make awesome gifts!) along with the rest of her beautiful tableware, textiles, and paper goods. And it really doesn't get better than the delicate designs from Portland-based
Pigeon Toe. Just look at the gorgeous color inside those vases!
I've been a huge fan of
Shanna Murray's illustrated wall decals (see top photo also) for quite a while now (I have several at my home!), so it was a real pleasure to see all of Shanna's decals in one place at the show.
I love paper, so it comes as no surprise that so many of my favorites from the Gift Fair involve paper and stationery. I love going to shows like the Gift Fair and Stationery Show because I always discover someone new and exciting – this year it was the UK-based
Lazy Oaf. Rachael from
Pistachio Press had a booth full of beautiful letterpress cards and one of my new favorite art prints. I also love the collection of heirloom wedding guestbooks and albums from
Velvet Raptor, boxed stationery sets with gold borders from
Russell + Hazel, and colorful greeting cards from
Beau Ideal. The
Smock booth was also full of color – the colorful blooms were DIY projects made from their collection of gift wrap sheets!
I could seriously lose myself in gorgeous textiles and jewelry at the Gift Fair, particularly in the handmade section. So many pretty things! While I try to exercise self-control when it comes to jewelry, I always love the delicate and minimalist designs from
Laurel Denise. This year I had the pleasure of discovering the beautiful hand-printed textiles from Toronto-based
Pehr. Love those chevron stripe napkins and tea towels!
I don't often have the chance to focus on kid-friendly products, but I seriously love the stamp kits, wall decals, and art cards from
Wee Gallery. I think it's so great that they include non-traditional animals in their art cards, from lemurs to anteaters – not just the usual cat, dog, and horse!
Thank you so much to Jan for giving me the opportunity to share a few favorites with all of you! If you're interested in seeing more, feel free to come visit me over at
Oh So Beautiful Paper where you can see the complete coverage from the summer Gift Fair!
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Launched in September 2008,
Oh So Beautiful Paper® is a daily design, wedding, and lifestyle blog. Editor and publisher Nole Garey of
Oh So Beautiful Paper showcases fabulous stationery design and is dedicated to providing a resource for readers seeking inspiration and designers for their personal stationery projects, from wedding invitations to business cards to calendars and seasonal holiday cards.
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