perhaps you remember my post back in October about the National Stationery Show? at the end of the post, I mentioned that I was lucky enough to attend Tradeshow Bootcamp’s Paper Camp in Washington, DC; normally held on the West Coast, it was a particularly awesome (and much less expensive) opportunity. Bryan from Yardsale Press and I drove down together to soak up the paper goods tradeshow and wholesale knowledge along with 15 other designers and makers from around the country.
Katie Hunt from Kelp Designs is the ring leader for the weekend-long camp, selecting a rotating cast of speakers from a variety of positions in the paper goods industry. Over the course of the weekend, we heard from:
– Carina Murray and Kim Yurkiewicz of Crow + Canary, a stationery rep group.
– Claudia Smith and Megan Soh of Fig. 2 Design Studio
– Erika Firm of Delphine Press and Chromatic + Co.
– Rachael Hetzel of Pistachio Press
– Nole Garey of Oh So Beautiful Paper, a popular paper goods trend blog.
– Heather Haynie and Dani Antol of Rock Paper Scissors, a brick-and-mortar in Virginia.
the weekend was sponsored by StationeryHQ, Lettuce, and Legion Paper, all who provided awesome samples and swag.
I’ll tell you what- going to a conference about paper goods certainly has its perks in really nicely printed take-home materials. we arrived to beautiful programs printed on Legion Paper and a variety of personalized gear printed through StationeryHQ. I mean seriously- a personalized notepad with my name imprinted on every page? Badass.
after a brief breakfast and round-table introductions, we got right into the nitty-gritty. there was A LOT of information to cram into just two days time. we covered topics like developing wedding albums for stores, the basics of catalogues and other sales tools, what exactly having a sales rep means, building a booth for NSS, marketing tips, budgeting tips, and so much more. it’d be easier to write what we didn’t cover (not much)- at the end of both days, my brain was ready to explode.
photo of the whole group enthralled by the presentation by Mary Kate McKenna Photography
during the weekend, we were encouraged to use social media to post about our Paper Camp experience. I chose to doodle some key points and post them to Instagram- in the end, I won a pack of notecards for my efforts!
it would be impossible to even begin to list all that I learned from my weekend in DC. speaking of lists, I came home with a laundry list of goals and items on my to-do list thanks to the discussions we had.
in addition to coming home with the longest to-do list ever, Katie sent us packing with a TON of awesome stationery-related swag from sponsors and Bootcamp Alumni alike. I somehow crammed all of it into this sweet tote by Sapling Press.
so much paper-y goodness! pictured above is work by: 55 Hi’s, Ladyfingers Letterpress, Farewell Paperie, Pistachio Press, 9th Letter Press, Fig. 2 Design Studio, Flywheel Press, Tattly, Delphine, Meant to be Sent, Pink Orchid Press, Thimblepress, and Brainstorm. i can’t wait to send some cards and decorate my studio with all these fun takeaways.
Paper Camp DC, Class of 2013- photo by Mary Kate McKenna Photography
Paper Camp DC Part Two, Class of 2013- photo by Mary Kate McKenna Photography
a big thank you to Katie and her awesome industry cohorts for a wonderful weekend packed with inspiration and information! my class was also chock-full of talented individuals- be sure to check my classmates’ work and keep an eye for them at a future NSS! the camp roster included the owners of the following paper purveying companies:
* Idieh Design * Inspired Goodness * Ten Four Paper * Betsywhite *
* Think & Ink Studio * Grey Moggie Press * Ruby the Fox: A Paperie *
* Near Modern Disaster * Paper Presence * Constellation & Co. *
* C Designs & Illustrations * Florence & Florence * Funnyserious *
* Yardsale Press * Mountain Paper *
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