Happy New Year!

I've always felt that this is a wonderful time of year to reflect on all that has happened and all that you wish for in the coming year.

My overall list is sometimes personal, sometimes professional and always lengthy. A few professional goals Jim and I are hoping to achieve in 2010 include:

• designing a booth that I both love and is functional for the National Stationery Show in May
• to meet several of the designers we print for (or want to print for) while in New York for the National Stationery Show
• advertise in a national wedding publication by year's end
• create awesome packaging for our new social stationery lines
• try printing on a few new and unusual materials
• get our new/old C&P Craftsman up and running as a dedicated die cutting press

What do you have planned for yourself in 2010? I personally extend my best wishes to all of you in accomplishing your goals.

Hooray for 2010!
Valerie

Smitten with...

I am often asked where I find inspiration given that I currently reside in what looks like the arctic tundra. I am, of course, an avid reader of many blogs that keep me connected to what is going on in the world of design, color, interiors, weddings and more. Here are a few of my favorites.

Oh So Beautiful Paper features so many of my favorite things - other designers I admire, letterpress lovelies from studios large and small, and things from outside of the world of paper (I often forget there is more to life than paper). I'm sure all of you read Nole's blog, and if you don't you really should start! She has such an eye for spotting designers, techniques and products I might not have otherwise seen.

The Inspired Bride is a newer blog written by Maddy. Now I don't know Maddy but I feel like I do because the posts she does - especially her color palettes - really speak to me. I promise she has something different to offer than many of the other wedding blogs. Don't get me wrong, I adore the other wedding blogs that so many of our clients visit, but I've enjoyed her fresh approach. Apparently she is working with Kristen at Paper Crave, one of our all-time faves, on a new project as well. I can hardly wait to find out what the new project is all about!

FPO (For Print Only) is something I've become obsessed with I must admit. I really love the details that are included in their blog posts. As a printer we find it interesting to see how much time was spent on comparable projects and the materials that were used. As a designer I love to see what typefaces were used and the behind the scenes details they often give us.

We are technically on a holiday break, but I'll probably do a few posts this week so my brain doesn't turn to mush.

Happy Holidays!
Valerie

Albums are shipped!

Somehow we got the albums out - even with a massive blizzard brewing this afternoon. Everything came together these last few weeks with a lot of careful planning and wonderful execution by our team. We couldn't have wished for anything more this holiday season and are all looking forward to a holiday break.

Everyone at Spark wishes all of our clients a very happy holiday season. We look forward to hearing from you in 2010!

Excitement brewing, exhaustion setting in.

This is the organized sister writing today. Spark is bursting at the seams these days with excitement and utter exhaustion. I am happy to report that the albums are coming together quickly. We are busily gluing samples onto the album pages, checking and double-checking every last detail. Meanwhile, the presses are humming with the last of our client orders that must be completed before the holidays. Whew!

I feel for the people who walk through our doors these days, having never visited us before. They are walking into a seemingly chaotic mess, stacks of album pages, envelopes, invitations and pocketfolds...you name it, there's a pile somewhere. Upstairs is a similar story. We normally keep it clean in our studio upstairs, but even that has transformed into our makeshift staging and photography area.

None of this could be possible without our staff. We are fortunate to have such positive and dedicated people working here. Valerie and I extend our heartfelt thanks to Jim, James, Graig, Katie, Alyssa, Nathan, Shawn, Kari, Holly, Savannah, Joy, and last, but certainly not least, Bebe and Craig. We would also like to thank our families who are putting up with our long hours and stress - we love you and appreciate your support.

Wedding & Stationery Love Albums have arrived!

I think we were all a bit teary-eyed yesterday here at Spark. Yeah, we're an emotional bunch, and I don't mind admitting it! We all took a moment yesterday to watch them unload the 90 boxes of albums. The second the receipts were all signed we tore into the boxes to find one of each of the four albums we ordered. I think half the excited was just in knowing that they turned out how I had hoped.

It was such a fun process to design something we actually didn't have to make for once. The albums are made out of recycled chipboard and have colorful spines. I like to keep certain things simple, so you'll see our Spark squiggles in the background and then just our logo on the front cover. I wanted the eco-friendly materials we chose to stand out a bit. Even the interior pages are made out of chipboard.

Sure, the albums are huge and they always seem bigger in person than when you are planning them out in Illustrator. BUT we know our current and new retailers will just love them when they see how expanded our new sets are because we certainly didn't hold anything back when dreaming about these albums. Each of the 20 wedding and event suites features 20 pieces (oddly enough). We wanted each and every customer that is shown the album to see a lot of the additional pieces that we feel would make your wedding/event stationery feel more complete – beyond the traditional 4-piece set. Each suite features everything from save-the-dates and pocketfolds to day-of items like programs, menus and coasters. Check out the wedding section of our web site to see how each design suite comes together. (I promise to tell you more about the Stationery Love Albums in a future post.)

I have to say there's something to be said about seeing all of your hard work really start to come together. It has been weeks now that we have been watching the new designs come off press and there were days where I'd wonder if we would ever be able to see the finish line. When the albums arrived - without incident - I could definitely see that finish line.

All of us at Spark can't wait for you to see the photos we are working on of all the completed pieces! Of course, we really hope you'll visit one of our retailers to see everything in person. We'll let you know in late December and will continue to update our web site with all of the great people we've found to represent our line.