cupcakes and cards: the stationery show

every year the stationery show is secretly my favorite part of spring design season in ny. after rows upon rows of very serious design folk at icff it's such a welcome change to head over to see the card gang and eat cupcakes. this year's show had a few standouts and a few booths that are consistent favs. my standout new booth of the year: hammerpress of kansas city, mo. i spent most of my time hanging out with artists brady vest and lindsay laricks (see above) of hammerpress- their stunning concert posters, cards and cardboard prints were my favorite part of the show. i even bought a few pieces for our house. so, without further adieu, highlights of day one (day two to come tomorrow):

[lindsay and brady of hammerpress blew me away with their gorgeous blockprint cards and posters. full of color and rock and roll attitude, their selection was fresh and vibrant. hammepress' work combined clever imagery with excellent typeface choices and spot on color use. i kept coming back to their booth to see their work again- it really was the highlight of the show for me. you can click here to find more info on hammerpress and shop online. you can also click here for a slideshow of their rock posters]

[angelica kitchen played host to a litte card girl and blogger get together last night. from left to right: jill bliss, joy of oh joy!, rena tom, me, lisa of good on paper and kelly of k autumn. great to meet you guys!]

[the lovely ms. herman yu was also in attendance this year. her new cards were colorful and sophisticated with just the right amount of pattern. herman's work is always a favorite of mine because of its ability to bridge the gap between sophisticated stationery and colorful, fun cards]

[the hay/hey card by mr. letter's press. hay on the outside, hey on the inside. too cute]

[brooklyn's foxy & winston was another favorite of mine. each card was sophisticated, colorful and had the perfect amount of illustration and pattern. how cute is that squirrel in the first pic?]

[jean at eieio studio is always one of my favorites. jean (and ellen, pictured above) consistently churn out beautiful moden wrapping papers that deserve to be framed they're so lovely. and to top it off they're both sweet and awfully friendly. win win]

[the gang at the relish booth could not have been more fun. there were 6 or 7 girls crammed in the booth and each one was talented and sweet. jill bliss was there, lisa from good on paper, kelly from relish and k autumn, just my type, olive route, boon, pie bird press and dog & pony show. boon blew me away with their gorgeous stitched accessories like folders and notebooks. a must-have in my book]

[i love pamela barsky. her booth was full of great pins (i bought a ton to make magnets out of), new dog toys and these adorable piggy banks that will be a HIT when they hit the stores. pamela was funny, fun and as always, full of interesting stories and things to talk about. fun booth- very fun booth]

[the gang from chicago's binth studio was full of surprises and great new designs. they launched a line of art prints designed for children, a new series of orange notebooks and cards and a great new collection of cards in a gorgeous yellow color. be sure to check them out, great stuff]