Extract

Excitingly in my post this week is the latest collection from GFSmith, Extract. It's a paper project that I find particularly appealing, not only because it is great quality paper and excellent colours but because it has come about in an effort to reduce our paper + plastic waste.

Plastic has been something on my agenda for a little while (I'm big a fan of retailers like Buy Me Once who look to reduce disposable culture) but the issue has come to the fore this week with the poor baby whale on blue planet and an increasing number of recent worrying reports on plastic pollution.

I didn't realise that the disposable paper coffee cups that we all use daily are actually non recyclable - this is due to a plastic lining on the inside. A scary thought when we use 5000 of these cups a minute!

So it is great news to hear of a designer paper tackling this. After much development at the paper mill into finding a way to recycle these cups, we have extract. Something so positive and aesthetic too.

EXTRACT FROM G F SMITH - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: extract, available colours: flint, shell, ember, pitch, aqua, khaki, mustard, cactus, moon + coral. weights 130 + 380gsm 

#gfsmith #extract #paperlove 

Manchester's First Stationery Show

Manchester's first Stationery Show kicked off in style last week. It was one of the most (if not the most) stylish trade shows I've been to - largely owing to the fantastic backdrop of the Victoria Warehouse. The new trade venue showcased the latest stationery products perfectly. A small but neatly formed show provided a wonderful selection of publishers, seminars, workshops and a relaxing networking area by the cafe/bar under some fantastic paper lanterns. A great opportunity to catch up with friends, trends and the latest in stationery.
Highlights included a handwriting/calligraphy workshop, a seminar on high street trends by Michael Weedon and the latest releases from Go Stationery - I especially loved the Monochrome collection.

MANCHESTER'S FIRST STATIONERY SHOW - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

round clockwise from top left: fantastic original features of the victoria warehouse, catching up with friends - katie of katie phythian design & me, colour block collection from go stationery, manchester stationery show promo area, monochrome notebooks from go stationery, michael weedon's seminar on high street trends, pics of the fantastic exhibition space, on trend pastel highlighters from stabilo, larger shot of the monochrome range, pic of the paper lanterns by the cafe/bar.

First Birthday Greetings

I'm feeling inspired by the lovely cards my daughter has received this past week for her first birthday.

With their lower price points, children's cards might be overlooked by publishers/retailers making first birthday cards sometimes difficult to find. Design wise, first birthdays can be tricky to work with as they could look too babied or too much like an older child's card. There is also some debate at the moment about the gendering of products for children, John Lewis recently wading into this when removing gender labelling of children's clothes.

Despite all this, there is some great design out there. I'm loving the current fresh colour palettes and innovative character illustration. Some top picks for you here.

FIRST BIRTHDAY CARDS - EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top left: elephant first birthday card from paperchase, top right: gold bear birthday greeting card from ohh deer, second tier left: lion holding number one card from clintons, second tier right: circus first birthday card from clintons, third tier left: personalised girls and boys birthday card by rocks design, third tier right: party animals greeting card from ohh deer, bottom left: giraffe in hat first birthday card from paperchase, bottom right: first birthday card personalised by norma & dorothy.