It’s hard to believe that the 2013 National Stationery Show has already come and gone! We had a great time at the show catching up with our Smock dealers and introducing new products, and we were beyond excited to be honored by the Greeting Card Association with our second Louie award for our “Like Campfires” letterpress love card! Smock also sponsored Oh So Beautiful Paper’s 2013 Paper Party, so it was a busy week for the team in New York! Here’s a peek at our booth display and some of the new products we introduced at the show. We’ll be posting a follow-up later this month complete with a DIY tutorial on how to make our festive cone garland!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of our new holiday gift wrap, and a close-up of our decorative gift wrap display featuring hundreds of colorful cones.

We also added new boxes and letterpress coasters to our line-up, too — keep an eye out for these great new products in a Smock store near you!

Our new kraft collection was a huge hit as well!

Photography courtesy of Nole Garey at Oh So Beautiful Paper

Attention Brooklyn Brides: we’re having a trunk show at Lion in the Sun! Join us on June 12 to view our brand new collection and work with design experts from Smock to create the letterpress wedding invitations of your dreams. Our new wedding album contains 24 gorgeous designs, an exclusive new calligraphy font by Molly Jacques, and some really exciting new offerings (digital printing! blind embossing! new foil colors! new sleeves!), so don’t miss it — contact Lion in the Sun to RSVP today!

If you’re a bride in the New York City area, come be among the first to see our brand new collection out in the world at an exclusive trunk show event on Wednesday, May 22nd at Judy Paulen Designs. Our new wedding album contains 24 gorgeous designs and some really exciting new offerings (digital printing! blind embossing! new foil colors! new sleeves!). We’ll have design experts from Smock available to help you create the invitations of your dreams, so be sure to RSVP today!

It’s hard to believe there are less than two weeks until the 2013 National Stationery Show! We’ve been hard at work pulling together the last minute details for the show, and we’re excited to be introducing lots of exciting new products (like an amazing new custom wedding album, and fun stuff like coasters, new keepsake boxes and colorful gift wrap from our Everyday line!). The invitations we printed for the show feature a sampling of the new offerings our latest album will contain: colorful digital liners, a new ticket style sleeve, elegant new foil colors, and Ruby: a brand new, Smock-exclusive calligraphy font by Molly Jacques! We can’t wait to show you everything that’s new, but for right now, we’ll share photos of our National Stationery Show invitations to give you a hint at the beautiful new things to come. Be sure to stop by booth #2341 to see it all in person!

We’ve got another special how-to post to share with you today from Carol at Jolie Colis! Last month we shared a beautiful set of gifts featuring our pastel Seersucker gift wrap, and today we’ve got another how-to featuring our Garden Path gift wrap for an extra pretty present! This approach would be perfect for a birthday gift or Mother’s day (which is Sunday, May 12!).

Love the look of colorful edge painting on a beautifully printed letterpress wedding invitation? So do we! Order your custom wedding invitations with Smock from now through May 31, and we’ll edge paint your invitations for free when you spend $2,000 or more! Choose from one of our 60 ink colors and add a beautiful colored edge to your invitations for a perfect finishing touch. Visit your favorite Smock dealer today to get started on your order!

The fine print: Free edge painting promotion can be applied to any one card with minimum order of $2,000. Promotion can be combined with our other ongoing promotions: free envelope printing on tier 3 envelopes and 10% off 6 printed pieces or more, though order total must reach $2,000 after these promotions have been applied in order to be eligible. Offer ends May 31, 2013. 

We love hearing a touching love story – the way that a couple meets, falls in love, and seeing these details woven into their wedding day. We were thrilled to find out the story behind the couple that ordered these three color letterpress wedding invitations. Peak Xperience was kind enough to share with us their engagement session, love story, and photos from their gorgeous wedding.

The Garden of Eden inspired the wedding ceremony: lush florals in purples and greens combined with a mix of modern and vintage details set the scene for this jaw-dropping celebration.

Peak Xperience explains, “The reception was kept modern and sophisticated in shades of dark purple, blue and silver. All of the details of their wedding are inspired by their love story, so for the dinner, it was almost like a ‘twilight’ theme (not Twilight the vampire movie!) but twilight as in between sunset & dusk, when the first glimmer of stars begin to appear, the ambiance is romantic and nostalgic.”

We were blown away by the size and beauty of their impressive wedding cake, which towered over the couple! Each tier is incredibly stunning.

Vendors: Caterer: Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio | Wedding Cake: PassioNate Cakes by Man Kwan | Cake Pops, Mini Cake & Tarts: TrulyScrumptious! | Wedding Gown: Divine Couture | Flowers: Flower Series | Wedding Ceremony: Cheras Baptist Church | Invitations: Smock via Peak Xperience

We’re heading South! Join us at Salutations for our next trunk show event — we’ll be in Durham on Thursday, March 21st for their grand opening celebration, and we’ll also be in Charlotte the night before for a trunk show! Take advantage of show specials and meet with a few of our design experts to create the invitations of your dreams. Visit Salutations for more information and to RSVP!

Calling all Chicago brides: join a few of our design experts next week at Magnificent Milestones for a trunk show event! RSVP today to secure your spot by emailing rsvp@magnificentmilestones.com. We hope to see you there!

The newest letterpress card in our Change the World card series has arrived! Fin is a new letterpress card whose proceeds will help the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch®, a program that engages and empowers consumers and businesses to purchase seafood that is fished or farmed in ways that minimize their impact on the environment.

Why should you care about where your seafood comes from?

• 90% of table fish (including cod, shark, swordfish, salmon, and more) have been fished out of the oceans. Many fish and other animals caught in fishing gear are thrown away as unwanted bycatch – amounting to many millions of metric tons of marine life wasted each year. Scientists predict that if we continue on this path, we’ll see the end of most seafood by 2048.
• Fish are important. They contribute to healthy oceans and act as an essential source of protein for many cultures. The global consumption of fish has hit a record high, reaching an average of 17kg per person. Fisheries and aquaculture supplied the world with about 145m tonnes of seafood in 2009, providing about 16% of the population’s animal protein intake. As such, the loss of seafood as a viable food option could lead to mass starvation.
• Healthy, wild ocean ecosystems provide a variety of other services to the planet, including the air we breathe. Scientists believe that phytoplankton, tiny ocean plants, contribute between 50 to 85 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere.

What can you do about it?

• The most important thing you can do is to vote with your fork. Carry your Seafood Watch® pocket guide (or get the app on your smartphone!) and use it to purchase sustainable seafood wherever you go. Use the guide to find your “Best Choices” or when those aren’t available, “Good Alternatives”. (Our Fin cards come with a Seafood Watch® pocket guide!)
• Help raise awareness by sharing information with friends and family. You  can also ask questions about where they purchase seafood. Businesses respond to the needs of their paying customers – so the importance of this action cannot be overestimated.
• Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® online to learn more about what you can do to make a difference.