Let me just start out buy saying, I LOVE NEW YORK CITY!!!!!! The energy is electrifying, the architecture is fabulous, the food is delicious and despite all the rumors the people are actually really nice. We had a super busy schedule trying to fit in over 2,000 vendors at the National Stationery Show and get some sight seeing done all in one week. It was exhausting and amazing!
We started the week off on Sunday with the opening day of the show. We have been once before so we weren’t going at it blindly but it was still overwhelming.
Their was so much to look at and so much to do. Sensory overload! I took well over a 1,000 pictures of ideas and inspirations. Check out these dresses that are made entirely out of paper goods from the vendors of the show. Aren’t they beautiful!
Our goal this time was to find new and different vendors to bring back home to you and boy did we find them. We have some fabulous new paper and ribbon lines that we can’t wait to get the shipments in and start experimenting with. We also have some new design programs and equipment that will let us do things that we have only dreamed about. On top of all of that we have some stunning new products on order that will turn your wedding reception from beautiful to truly amazing. I am getting excited all over again just talking about it!
We spent the first 3 days intensely dissecting all of the vendors and picking and choosing the best for you. On day 4 we decided it was time for a little sight seeing. Lets just say we only thought the show was inspiring. The city was breathtaking despite the grey skies and heavy rain the entire week. I kept finding myself stopping dead in my tracks to just stare at everything going on around me. Have I mentioned sensory overload?! If you can’t find inspiration in NYC then you can’t find it anywhere.
The colors were amazing, everywhere I turned I would find something new. We would be hustling down the street and then all of a sudden we would find a little park tucked between the buildings with some of the most beautiful flowers. They were a little reminder to just slow down and enjoy yourself.
The architecture was something I have never seen before. Building after building took my breath away. It was a true testament to the saying, “They don’t make things the was they used to.”
We would look at the beautiful carvings on a building and say to each other, how can we get that pattern on paper? A lot of our new stuff will allow us to do just that.
Here is a little inspiration of the yummy variety as well. Candy and shoes, what more could a girl ask for. We have some great new ideas for candy and dessert bars and some new vendor contacts.
Did I mention shoes?! New York knows how to do shoes, look at these lovely creations. Everything was one of a kind and that is what we strive for with our clients, unique and personal.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. We get it from fabrics and glassware to nature and architecture. Most of our designs start with one of us snapping a picture with our phones and sending it to each other with the message, our inspiration, start designing. It has come from New York and Houston as well as the dollar isle at Target (true, I promise). Next time you see something you love, take a picture! It can be a color that you like or a pattern that is different and unique. Anything to get the creative juices flowing.
And a trip to New York is not complete without a visit to the Fashion District. As we walked down the street we would come across these plaques in the sidewalk as a tribute to all of the famous designers who made fashion what it is today. Inspired yet?
I will end the post with a few pictures of us enjoying ourselves. We really had a blast finding new things for all of our brides. And the yellow ponchos are proof of the nasty rain we endured just for you! 🙂
