Inventive! Stationery Show Part 3

California dreaming anyone? Sunde White and Britt Howard launched Sunde White Industries in 2009. Saturated color and playful compositions give Sunde White's card designs a distinctive look and style. After painting in her pencil drawings, she cuts then glues her images to paper. That's right, glue, no copy/pasting here (not that there's anything wrong with that ;) Click here to see her process take shape.


As someone who loves bright bold color, I was very excited by her line of cards. Of course, the sweet animals and beach themes don't hurt! Plus, 2% of their profits go to two terrific land and animal conservation charities, Wildcare and Coastside Land Trust. Visit their site for more cards and see their cute dog, Dee Dee :)


Loved this guy below! Sara Jane Franklin, his creator, could not have been more welcoming and friendly :)

Paper Loop, based in Los Angeles, was founded in 2007 by Sara and Robert Franklin. She is the talent behind the artwork and he is the jack of all trades and humor behind the messages. I had an interesting conversation with Sara about working as an illustrator and running a small business. She's recently added muralist to her resume as well! I was happy to hear that she's seen Blipadee before and read my post on a mural I painted not long ago for a local toy store :)

Above, Sara and Robert kindly posed for me. I liked the way her cards were hung salon-style on the wall.

Sara's cards are fresh, fun and whimsical! We discussed the highs and lows of juggling art and business. A great deal of work goes into creating, printing and getting products on the market. An artist has to love what they do and be willing to put in the hours, not only to create designs, but to tackle the day to day mundane tasks and promotion it takes to succeed. You need that added dose of faith in yourself and your ideas to keep it all going.


Licensing artwork to existing card companies is an option for illustrators. Talking with Sara, I see the benefits of starting your own company and creating the exact lines you want with complete control of quality. It appears Sara has found a balance, running a business and illustrating on commission. You can see additional work on her illustration site here. Her blog includes a nice list of useful resource books, too :)

Octopus with bubbly and pomegranates below, were two of my faves!

Clouds & Ink was founded in 2009 and made it's debut at this year's Stationery Show. When I stopped by that rainy Tuesday morning, they had successfully avoided a paper product disaster. Water, from a leak in the roof, just narrowly missed their display and product line. In good spirits by the time I arrived, the designer, Amy Ames talked to me about her work.

As a child, Amy grew up surrounded by her father's fine artwork. She began drawing upon his paintings and using fragments from his work in a unique and imaginative way to develop her line of cards and invitations. Here, art collage meets stationery :)

I like the inventive way she's incorporated abstract elements into her designs and by using her father's work, she's added another layer of meaning to it. Plus, her collection looks original, sophisticated and cute all at once :) I also met her mother and she, too seemed delighted to talk about this new family business. I know they experienced a successful 1st year at the show and I'm sure they will continue to do well!


I particularly appreciated the fabulous stack of gift package designs also used as wall display.


Hello Brooklyn!

Here is Gold Teeth Brooklyn, comprised of two Brooklynites producing one of a kind silkscreened prints and greeting cards. When I stopped by their booth I talked briefly to the mother of one of the artists. She gave me this beach ball design :)



The humor and nonchalant quality of these cards, while being well made, give them a distinctive look! They have an etsy shop and are now available in several stores in Brooklyn and beyond :)

Screech Owl Design, another Brooklyn company, was founded in 2008 by Jacqueline and George Schmidt as a way to combine their interest in illustration, graphic design and fine art. They named their company after the Screech Owls living in trees behind their family cottage.

This is Jacqueline, half of the the very talented team behind a wonderful line of cards and prints. She is open and friendly, to boot!

I was attracted by the retro charm and juxtaposition of animals with various pieces of furniture in these :) I also enjoyed looking through the Zodiac line on their site with allegorical depictions of traits typical to each sign and a constellation description on back. Individual cards and box sets are available.


Gotta love this Prairie Kitchen!

Both Jacqueline and George have exhibited their artwork extensively and you can view some of their wonderful prints on the website. The two reside in Brooklyn with their cats, Mister and Pinky, had to share those great names :)

Visit George Schmidt Paintings for more of his work and Jacqueline Schmidt for more of hers.

Jacqueline is also the Creative Director of Moomah, a creative arts cafe in Tribeca, NYC :) If you're in the area, stop in for coffee, both for the caffeine fix and to relax in this lovely looking space. Each month they offer Do-It-Together kits as projects for you and your child to enjoy! Visit their site to learn more.


Amy Holbrook is the founder of AMH Design. She started needlepoint as a way to relieve stress while at Columbia Business School and looking for work. She began creating her own kits after being unable to find designs that suited her urban lifestyle and home decor. AMH as a business was born shortly after her graduation.


Amy's needlepoint kits come with simple instructions, materials & tools (a cute charm bracelet complete with an attached needle threader and foldable scissors :) Click here to read their humorous list of whats & whys. Her line includes kits for journals, notebooks, ipod & iphone covers, key chains, tags and more. For those of you in no mood to stitch, you can even purchase finished pieces.

Amy's collections are influenced by patterns found in her favorite cities, London, Marrakech, Rio and Rome :)



It was only last year that Nadja Haldimann began digitizing, coloring and screen printing her extensive collection of line drawings. With that, a business took shape! Nadja Design has been producing art for fashion and design industries, including textiles, paper products and home decor goods.


Favoring a minimalist approach, Nadja's artwork conveys joy and a sense of whimsy. I was drawn to her vibrant palette and the ambiguity of the shapes in her designs. It came as a surprise at the end of a long row of display booths. I was walking at a faster pace than usual to meet up with a friend. I almost passed her by, but Nadja kindly asked if I'd like to see her work. I'm glad I stepped in to see something a bit different in the world of greeting cards.

Visit her blog for more product photographs and work in progress.

This is Masayuki Muramatsu, the Director at Eastern Accent International. He is a friend of my friend, Keiji Inatome. I ran into them at the end of the day on Tuesday. I was about to take a 2nd look at the Surtex section (licensing), which shares space with the Stationery show. It was the perfect last stop before gearing up to talk to my dream art licensing agency, Lilla Rogers Studio.

Eastern Accent is a lifestyle retail store specializing in Japanese modern design, located in Boston, MA. They began wholesaling their designs in 1985. These animal rubber bands below are all the rage as far as I can tell. At a recent dinner, I noticed my friend's 6 year old daughter wearing about 20 of them as bracelets. I couldn't help but notice, since part of the fun is guessing what animal each shape is :D


All the writing accessories you'll ever need, plus shot glasses and squishy stress relief "faces". I love these rubber door stops below, especially the paint tubes. Visit the site to see much more!


Offensive + Delightful or OPLUSD is one of my favorite card companies. You may have seen some of their cards in my post on Papel NY, where I purchased my first in a long line to come :)

This is Olga Krigman, the designer behind the madness. You can see by her expression that found imagery, fun fonts and a negative attitude is good for business!




In case you can't see the print above, this card reads: Dear God... All I want for my birthday is to be young, gay and beautiful forever... Is that so wrong?

Here, a nice business card/apology. Never know when you may need it!

Thanks for checking out the 3rd part of my Stationery Show coverage. I had a lot of fun looking at these companies, talking to some and reading about others. A great group of designers!!
Come back later this week for my 4th and final post on the show!
xo, Allyn