23
May

Wrapup: NYC & NSS 2013

posted by , May 23, 2013

NSS IN NYC - HUDSON HOTEL

I’m back from a whirlwind trip up to New York for NSS (that’s the National Stationery Show for you non-paper peeps). Basically it’s market for paper goods – buyers from all over the US (and the world) come to NSS to shop from the top paper designers. Everybody you can think of was there in the industry – everything from Crane & Co. to Sugar Paper to Rifle Paper Co. – and a ton of new-to-me finds as well.

In addition to NSS, Surtex and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair are also happening in the same building – at the same time.

So in a nutshell, it’s complete and utter design madness. (Additionally, I’m going to do a post later on why you should attend NSS if you’re a paper peep, and also how to survive it.)

I flew into NYC on Saturday evening and headed over to the W Hotel to drop off my stuff and dash around town a bit before meeting up with a bunch of Stationery Academy peeps at Bottega (YUM) on the UES. Then it was back to the hotel because I was completely zonked. Somewhere around midnight, my roomie Caroline got in from the ballet and we mumbled a hello/goodnight to each other.

Sunday morning began the show and it was up and at ‘em. I hopped the free shuttle over to the Javits Center, presented my credentials to be admitted, and boom. I was in.

Two seconds later, cue the feelings of overwhelmingness (is that a word?). It was probably about 10 rows in that I started to feel really brain fried about everything I was seeing. Can I be frank? Continue Reading →

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21
May

Oklahoma Tornadoes

posted by , May 21, 2013

OKLAHOMEA

Hey guys, I’m still in New York for NSS (and flying back today) but I wanted to check in with you all. Anks for the tweets and messags asking if my family is okay. Yes, we all are, thank The Lord, but many of our friends and relatives have lost much. I fly back to OKC today, my heart is heavy for my fellow Oklahomans.

I can’t wait to share all the fun things I saw and learned at NSS. More later this week when I can wrap my head around it all.

Xoxo,
Rachel
 

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16
May

Gearing up for NYC

posted by , May 16, 2013

NYC National Stationery Show 2013 - #NSS

Remember a few months ago when I made my list of things to accomplish this year? Number 7 was attending the National Stationery Show and now it’s finally here. Saturday I’m hopping a plane to go stay with my Stationery Academy roomie Caroline Hull (who is KILLIN’ it this year!) and check out all the fabulous paper action happening at NSS and Surtex. It’s almost an Alt Summit/Stationery Academy reunion; I can’t wait to catch up with Amber Housley, Whitney English, the Ampersand Design Studio girls, Jessica Bishop, Libbylane Press , Jenn Sprinkle… the list goes on and on!

I haven’t been to Manhattan a few years (remember this trip?) and while I won’t have a ton of time for buzzing around town, I will for sure be hitting up the following new-to-me picks –

And of course I might sneak in a visit to ABC Carpet & Home and Jonathan Adler. But we’ll see.  And hopefully some of my paper peeps will want to go out to Eataly. And Shake Shack. And … well, the list could potentially be endless.

Got any suggestions for new must-sees? And of course some must-eats?

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14
May

How to Choose Wallpaper

posted by , May 14, 2013

HOW-TO-CHOOSE-WALLPAPER

Ok, so the title of this post may be a bit deceiving, as I haven’t quite mastered the picking of the wallpapers. BUT! IT’s fun to look, right?  Oh, by the way, I love all the feedback coming in about the Saarinen tulip table and matching chair roundup I did yesterday! Hearing everyone’s input is always so fun.

We were having lunch w/ my brother and his wife (remember this fab kitchen before & after?) when Simon asked them if they went through the “We Might As Wells” during their reno. You know what I mean — the whole “Well, we’ve gone ahead and painted everything, we might as well redo the backsplash…”  Or, “We might as well rewallpaper the dining room while we’re on a roll…. (no pun intended – ha! wallpaper! rolls!).

And so that’s where we’re at. There’s a definitive laundry list of All The Things We Want to Do To The House that’s now on a shared Google doc between Simon and I. We’ve been in our home now for five years this summer, and we’re starting to get to the things that have been bugging us, like the frou-frou wallpaper in the dining room, or the overly rococo-style wallpaper in the bathroom. Getting the kitchen done was a HUGE item crossed off the list, and now we’re snowballing into other projects along the way.

Here’s the checklist of things we’re working on, and then we’ll chat about wallpaper a bit. Continue Reading →

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