It’s been a long time since I cried over paper. And before you go thinking I’m a big ninny, I can assure you that it doesn’t happen very often, but when it DOES, there’s a pretty good reason for it. In fact, the last time was in New York City at the National Stationery Show when I first discovered what’s become one of our best-selling greeting card lines Curly Girl Design. I was slightly embarrassed to be on the verge of tears standing in the middle of a total stranger’s booth, but I was so in love with the creativity and beauty of her designs, coupled with the unique sentiments expressed on Leigh’s cards that I couldn’t help myself and I got a little misty. That was in 2008.

So today when I opened the mail and saw a thick hand-addressed envelope and several bundles of invitations tied up with string, it was so different than anything I had received in so long…and again, I couldn’t help myself. I thought, “THIS is why I keep doing this. Because sometimes people take the time to actually pick up a pen.”* I know, I know, you want to know what it was, right? It was a beautiful sampling of invitations from a company called Borrowed & Blue (there was even an invitation that looked almost identical to the telegram invitation I did a few months ago)…see, we’re even on the same wavelength! This wonderful bundle of goodies was all the things I like: natural kraft paper, unique designs (i.e. envelope liners that were maps or pages out of books), and gorgeous packaging. It was exquisitely marketed. I mean, the wedding “album” she was promoting is actually an unfinished oak wooden box with chip-board pages boasting 22 different wedding invitation designs. The paper swatches come in a muslin bag, for goodness sake. My heart was racing. I couldn’t wait to order it.

I’ve been asking myself lately if paper is dead, or potentially dying…and it’s a valid question. Look around. With the prevalence of Facebook and Evites, most people find it difficult to muster up the energy to even think about going to the store to pick out a printed invitation, then address and mail them. In fact, I’d bet most of you don’t even know your friends’ mailing addresses, hmmmm? That’s what I thought. But I also think people are somewhat blind to the fabulous paper creations that are available. Take a look at these samples and then tell me you would rather get (yet another) Facebook invite. They’re breathtaking.

So as long as paper still makes my heart go pitter patter, I’m going to keep doing this. Because as evidenced by the fact that I’m still here doing what I love seven years after I opened this place, it seems I’m not the only one who feels that way. #paperlove 🙂

For more information on how to get your hands on these and other fun printed creations, here’s where to find us.

*My skeptical friend Nick stopped by right after I received said package and was so UN-convinced that this was indeed a handwritten note that he went and got a magnifying glass to look more closely for discrepancies in the text, claiming that this was a printed font, not someone’s handwriting. He finally admitted he was wrong when we found there to be slight differences in the “o’s” and “e’s”, not to mention she ran a little close to the edge in a couple of spots. (And then I made him apologize for trying to rain on my parade.)