Every once in a while, a card maker comes along who strikes a cultural chord at exactly the moment it needs to be struck. If I'm lucky enough to spot the range early on, sitting back and watching the world fall in love with it is truly a wonder to behold. I saw this when Emily McDowell and her magnificent empathy cards came on the scene several years back. And now, although 2020 has completely sucked, it's not a complete wash for me as I've stumbled across Janine Kwoh of Kwohtations.

Janine's Welcome to the Grief Club is to the sympathy category what Emily McDowell & Friends is to the thinking of you category. The Brooklyn letterpresser "makes cards as she needs them," and her range has strong themes of inclusion, representation and honesty running through it. Janine's creations help get difficult but necessary conversations started, and in the age of COVID-19, they are more relevant and prescient than ever. Who would have guessed that a card, a sticker, an art print or a care package could help us authentically connect, comfort and validate each other when we are needing it most — but that's the emotion behind every last Kwohtations sale.

Janine made her trade show debut this past February in the Emerging Designer section at National Stationery Show/NY NOW, and I could barely introduce myself to her through the ever-present crowd. Now Janine is compiling the world's first illustrated book on grief for adults, with a working title of Welcome to the Grief Club, to be released by Workman Publishing in Fall 2021. Janine sits down with me to share more about her background, her work and how stationery can help us feel a bit more seen, a bit more connected, and a bit less alone.

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Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Closing a store is incredibly painful, but my guest today, Liz Scott, is here to share that that difficult decision may just be a badge of honor in disguise. Liz was the proud proprietress of the paper & gift shop Lovely Somethings in Bath, Ohio, for several years before closing its doors at the end of 2019. But, her industry story doesn't end there. Freed from a costly lease, she reimagined and reconfigured her business into the Troop Lovely Somethings brand.

If there was a course in how to create a lively store brand without an actual store, Liz could teach it. Through her online hub, she still sells many of the same exquisite wares she carried in her store, and she also assembles her divinely curated gift boxes. These are one-offs, not subscriptions — grab yours before they're gone. And, three drop today!

Liz calls them two of them Closet Boxes, as in, you are going to need these in your goodie closet — and she also has a bundle of cards culled from some of my favorite makers, paired with posh writing utensils plus stamps for one-stop letter-writing. For me, seeing all these exclusive brands is like taking a stroll through a juried section of one of my favorite gift shows, maybe Atlanta or New York? If you can't actually go to a store, one of these delivered to your doorstep, full of surprises, is the next best thing. Snag yours here.

Closing her store's physical doors has also empowered Liz to do something she never would have felt comfortable doing otherwise: opening up about her personal life. In a series of blog posts entitled My Husband Is Black and I Am Not Special, Liz provides a front-row seat, no holds barred, into her interracial marriage.

She covers everything from how their families initially responded to the relationship, to getting pulled over by a white police officer late at night in an affluent suburb, to what happened when they put up a Biden sign on their front lawn. It is raw, it is honest, it is powerful, and I hope you take the time to read it. Liz shares its impact on her business, on her community, on her Instagram feed. I think you’ll be surprised, so tune in!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's a first for TPF, namely, I’m dropping this episode in conjunction with a product drop — but this is no ordinary product. In fact, it’s more of a special project. It’s a collaboration, but it’s not like the ones where you see one brand with a little x between them and whoever they’ve partnered with.

Like those, it’s limited edition, but unlike those, it brings nine different makers from all over the place together to submit stellar card designs that are unified by colorway and format, as well as fun themes like snail mail and friendship. The result is cohesive, distinct and irresistable. Best of all, each greeting card is accompanied by a wee trading card with the design and IG handle of the maker on front, and a line drawing of them and their stats on back! They’re baseball cards reimagined for our little world. It’s brilliant, it's beguiling and it’s spearheaded by Pei of The Paper and Craft Pantry in Austin, Texas, my guest today.

As amazing as all that is, what I love most about this collaboration is that Pei didn’t create “to make a little money” for everyone, she approached every aspect to promote joy — and not just for those who buy it at retail, for those who create it too. There were no pressing deadlines to add stress to already harried souls, instead transparency was stressed throughout. And it was designed so that for the card sender, the act of assembling a set becomes the online stationery scavenger hunt that we didn’t know we needed, but we do. This is a celebration of design, of community, of discovery, of connection, and most of all of snail mail, so you know I’m all over it! And while one drops today, it is actually the second edition; that means there is already another out there hiding in the vast internet to hunt down and discover for yourself.

Makers featured in 1st edition: @thepapercraftpantry @xouislove @belleandunionco @sketchynotions @allie.biddle @ilootpaperie @lettersbyshells @calliopepaperie @kristara

Makers featured in 2nd edition: @euniandco @littlegoatpaperco @thepapercraftpantry @ajarofpickles_ @watercoloratx @electriceunice @odddaughterco @thepaperwilderness @bloomwolfstudio

Happy Hunting!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

International travel may be off the table for now, but for the first episode of our new season, Jason Arbuckle of J. Falkner swings by America to chat from London! J. Falkner may be the only range I've come across that so closely associates itself with a city: in this case, colorful, sunny Palm Beach.

Receiving one of these cards is the card equivalent of catching up with a dear friend over cocktails in some glamorous locale. The brand is really a reflection of Jason himself: he's amazingly dapper, he's witty and well-read, he's entertaining and he's oh-so-much fun to catch up with, as you'll hear.

We touch on his brand's Palm Beach origins, finding inspiration in and around London, Jason's fabulous IG feed, the joy of spying on card shoppers, creating new card designs to help people connect during a pandemic, running an international operation during COVID-19, the current mood in London — as well as the silver linings he's found in these crazy times.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National Stationery Show (NSS) first opened its doors in 1945, and although we didn’t know at the time, its February 2020 edition was its final run. On July 27, Emerald announced that the National Stationery Show brand was being retired, and my social media feeds were almost instantaneously filled with fond reminiscences and, let’s be honest, no small amount of angst.

 Undoubtedly, we are all dealing with cancellations and disappointments on several levels, but this one really hurt. I myself attended almost every year since 1998, and have so many great memories of dazzling discoveries, talented individuals who became dear friends — not to mention all those magnificent parties! 

It’s impossible to not be at least a little sad. But while I’m bummed, I’m far more excited about NY NOW’s plans to create one single stationery destination in its market — because, let’s be honest, a lot has changed since 1945! And having this reimagining occur in 2020 is actually quite beneficial. 

Stationery is being rediscovered in a big way during this pandemic, and it plays an increasingly important role within more traditional gift lines than in the past. This is all being spurred by the consumer, who is feeling isolated and sending letters, journaling, working at home, appreciating the post office with new eyes — all of which benefits stationery. In our transformed world, the category demands a fresh approach. 

But rather than me waxing eloquent on the category and how to best serve all of us who love it, today I have Tim Hart, senior vice president, retail group, in The Paper Fold to share more about the challenges Emerald has been facing, how they are reimagining the stationery and gift categories —and what a visit to NY NOW in 2021 will look like. 

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you play any sort of role in stationery, no visit to AmericasMart or Dallas Market Center is complete without a visit to the Daniel Richards showroom there. There you'll find top brands like Rifle Paper Co. alongside quirkier indie ranges like Sapling Press, all irresistibly merchandised to perfection. For small makers, it's a dream come true to be selected for one of Dan Collier's showrooms or to be carried in one of his retail venues, Archer Paper Goods and The Merchant Atlanta.

Dan drops by The Paper Fold to share how he's preparing for the Atlanta and Dallas markets scheduled later this month, how his stores are doing, what's trending up at wholesale and retail ... and how some advice he received during the 2008-2009 economic downturn has him working a new hustle!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, NY NOW announced plans to create a single stationery destination within its famed market. This reimagined stationery collection will be part of a re-branded Gift + Stationery section and, as a result, the National Stationery Show brand will be retired. So as that news sinks in, and as we all prepare for an August with no NY NOW, I have the distinct pleasure of hosting a longtime exhibitor, Joni Lewis, the super-creative mind behind Visual Treats Design Studio.

Joni not only produces an impressive (and hysterical) array of handmade goods, she is also a fantastic storyteller, having won the Washington DC StorySLAM and then competing against nine other winners in a Moth GrandSLAM on the stage of the Lincoln Theatre. I am so grateful she dropped by share how the show elevated her business from craft show circuit to wholesale operation, how getting acquainted with her booth neighbor led to Joni creating product for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — and how the show is not over until the last rug is rolled up!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've all had a few stomach-dropping moments these past months — something was cancelled, someone was cancelled, or maybe you got some bad news that left you gasping for breath. For me personally, this happened one morning in late April when I logged onto Facebook to see myself tagged in a friend’s post about Crane Stationery closing permanently. Had I been wearing pearls, I would have been clutching them, for Crane is not just an American stationery brand, it is America.

Its founder Stephen Crane participated in the Boston Tea Party, so this house of paper had major revolutionary street cred from the start. One early client, Paul Revere, used Crane paper for his engraved banknotes — and those banknotes helped finance the American Revolution. I'm guessing it wasn't long after Crane started printing currency, government proclamations, stocks and bonds, and important documents of every imaginable type from its Dalton, Massachusetts, plant in 1799 that the  Crane name became pretty much become synonymous with the best papers and printing.

So closing Crane would have been an enormous loss on more levels than I care to examine. The good news is, that post I was tagged in was bona fide fake news, and Crane is not closed or closing. The more difficult news is that in order to keep it presses printing, a lot of necessary changes have had to be implemented, and we all know that change is never easy!

So with that exposition and the understanding that there's a good chance that what you have read recently about Crane was inaccurately reported, I wanted to let Crane take their narrative back, as it is their story after all. So please join me and my very special guest, Bart Robinson, Chief Revenue Officer of Crane Stationery, to learn more about what the present looks like for Crane, as well as its hopes for the future.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As you've hopefully heard, there’s a huge can’t-miss industry event this week, courtesy of the Greeting Card Association. Noted: A Focus on Diversity is Thursday, July 16, and during it, nine Black makers will "pitch" their greeting card line to a pitch panel comprised of top retailers and, hopefully, you. The pitch panel features Vanessa Raptopoulos, Awesome Brooklyn; Chandra Greer, Greer Chicago; Kristina Burkey, Calliope Paperie; and Kyle Williams, Paper Source — as well as any retailer or sales rep wanting to diversify their offerings. During the hour, attendees will virtually get acquainted with these up-and-coming makers and download samples of their work, all for only $10 — half of which is earmarked for a Noted 2021 scholarship for a maker of color.

Over these past several days I was lucky enough to interview three of the makers: Tiffany Grimes of Paper Rehab in Michigan, Lauren-Ashley Barnes at Pineapple Sundays Design Studio in Chicago and Andrea Williams at Paisley Paper Co. in Detroit. Each of these talented young women has a dynamic vision that comes through in her offerings. Tiffany started Paper Rehab as a way to increase diversity in greeting cards but her mission morphed into one focusing on strengthening relationships amongst women, specifically African-American women. Lauren-Ashley designs product for a gift company, but her dream of producing stationery crystallized during a visit to Paper Source — who she will be pitching to later this week! And Andrea transmitted her love of classic Blue Note album covers into graphic stationery selections that are completely of our time.

All three also shared that paper found them in the midst of other careers, which makes their stationery selections that much more compelling and authentic. I'm guessing it will be nearly impossible to leave that hour uninspired by the current state of stationery, so don't miss out!

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I can't take credit for the phrase, "Paper peeps are the best peeps," but this check-in with my dear friend Karla Ebrahimi reminded me of its inherent truth. Karla is the face behind Sky of Blue Cards, a Menlo Park, California, house of stationery offering an exquisite array of letterpress cards as well as the magnificent LetterBox subscription box.

Watching the increasing intensity with which Karla responded first to the California wildfires in 2018, then COVID-19 starting this past Spring, and now Black Lives Matter, has not only been inspiring, her journey mirrors how stationers (and indeed makers of all stripes) have gotten progressively smarter and more strategic about partnering with charities and devoting a portion of sales (if not ALL sales) to them. This can be especially tricky for white makers wanting to support the Black community while also not wanting to upstage Black voices.

Karla's experiences in 2018 with cause-related merchandise led her to carefully consider which three charities she chose for her Reach Out & Write Someone campaign, which extends through the end of the month. 20% of all online sales will benefit World Central Kitchen, Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation and Artist Relief Fund.

Then, as Karla puts it, "revolution broke out." Wanting to honor George Floyd and his words, Karla returned to her much-loved medium of painting and did just that: shared his words for us all to experience for ourselves. I find her piece both hard to look at and hard to look away from.

But when Karla shared her work in her Instagram feed June 1, just four days after announcing the Reach Out & Write initiative, although her number of followers decreased, the response wasn't entirely negative. Soon Karla realized she was connecting with her audience on a new level.

Thus empowered, Karla designed her Black Lives Matter collection of letterpress cards, mugs and stickers (currently in production) — and is donating ALL proceeds to the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. That response has also been very positive so far, she told me.

"I have been getting DMs and texts asking to pre-order items, as well as interest in purchasing stickers or mugs in bulk for sports teams and other groups. This makes me feel so good — spreading the word about this important movement," she observed. "To me (it) dwarfs the people who were offended enough to unfollow me."

Thank you Karla for joining me in The Paper Fold for such a candid chat about such a sensitive subject— and helping set the stage for the conversations that need to occur in every last corner of American life.

**Thank You Sponsors**

Please be sure to support these all-American, women-owned houses of paper.

Girl w/Knife is your incredibly sharp new stationery BFF. Check out this award-winning, ultra-polished range that everyone's talking about — it slays on several brilliant levels!

Kitty Meow Boutique was founded on the idea that your paper goods don't have to be a snooze fest. These stylish, laugh-out-loud selections are by turns sassy and sweet, all the while maintaining a consistent cool.

Music Credits: “Your Treasure is Your Self”; written and performed by Sharon Glassman; Courtesy of Sharon Glassman/Smile Songs. smilesongs.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices