We lucked out at this year’s NY NOW Home, Lifestyle and Gift Market and in more ways than one. First, we barely managed to avoid January’s record-breaking “Snowpocalypse”, and although there was still a magical blanket of white snow, NYC greeted us with its usual frenetic pace. Second, the 2016 show did not disappoint and we filled our own cup of creativity and inspiration with a boatload of new innovation and design from makers around the world.

This year, we took a little time to visit a couple of long-admired stationers ahead of the show. In a tiny nook in Nolita, we visited the charming McNally Jackson where we lingered over fabulous desk accessories from Bindewerk and Arpa and took note of the sophisticatedly simple merchandising of their curated pen lines. Later on Madison Avenue, we stopped in at the elegant new Bella Figura showroom and had a lovely meeting with Linda, with whom we talked all things letterpress while perusing the extensive library of print samples and past projects.

Although it has fewer stationery exhibitors than the National Stationery Show in May, NY NOW offers a large variety of international artisans with a wide array of textiles, interior design accessories, and gifts. It is fascinating to observe a new trend as it catches on across the variety of goods from pillows and linens to paper and jewelry. This year, we saw a continuation of the marble, brushstroke and watercolor trends along with a resurgence of indigo in both color saturation and pattern. Look for stationery and accessory riffs on all of these trends in the shops in the coming months from favorites Moglea and Rifle Paper Company along with fun new desk accessories, and wall-size coloring posters and pencils.

We’re upgrading our pen/pencil offering this year to include new colors and also a new line of fountain pens. We’ve picked up a lovely new maker for the sweetest handmade baby albums, after her endearing imagery and attention to detail caught our eye at last Spring’s National Stationery Show.

A favorite part of market trips for Shindig Paperie is seeing friends – old and new – with whom we share a common love of paper. Some of our favorites include Elizabeth Upchurch of Fresh Ink in Jackson, MS; the always elegant ladies from Banquet Atelier of Vancouver, BC; the one-woman phenom of Thimblepress, Kristin Ley; the witty proprietor of Brooklyn’s very own Mr. Boddington’s Studio, Rebecca Reubensaal; and the always-fun gaggle of tattooed folk over at Tattly. There are many more such amazing makers and vendors we admire and the whole event lets us come away grateful for the pleasure of doing what we love.

Thank you for your continued support. We hope you will enjoy all the good things we’ll be sharing in the coming year as much as we will.