birthday card pick no.3

{card and image via sycamore street press}

Because this is just freaking funny.

paperista pen pal league: paper pastries

{ice cream card}

{i left my heart in portland card}

{happy birthday card}

I've been reading the Paper Pastries blog since discovering it at the start of summer. I absolutely adore Margaret's blog and feel like we have many of the same interests and of course, a passion for paper and stationery shops! Last week, I proposed a paper swap by post and was excited to hear that she was game. I sent her a package of treats from my extensive collection of stationery and she sent me a package from her new line of paper goods. Margaret's package arrived in an adorable pink bakery box with her logo hand stamped on the lid. The delectable cards and labels enclosed, had me feeling like I'd just devoured a red velvet cupcake. So sweet! Oh, and if you love the "I left my heart in Portland" card as much as I do, be sure to check out her etsy shop for other cities.

P.S. I'm looking for more folks to join the newly minted paperista pen pal league, I had so much fun getting Margaret's goodies together that I'm ready to reprise the role. And I mean really, who doesn't love to get a little package now and again?

{all image via paper pastries}

birthday card pick no.2

{card and image by simple song's etsy shop}

Isn't this a beauty? Everything that Simple Song designs has this "oh-my-goodness-i-need-that" feel to it. I'm all for things that give me the urge to play make-believe librarian too.

narcissism be thy name.

{card by wiley valentine}

I usually shy away from talking up my birthday. I've never been much of a party planner and more often than not, let things just play out naturally. Which can sometimes turn out a bit, well... lackluster. My birthday is this upcoming Saturday, August the 22nd and I've decided to not only make a big deal about it in this little blog, but to give someone else the opportunity to score some schwag in the honor of my big (or historically speaking, not so big) day.

The rest of the week I'm going to be featuring birthday cards I'd love to give or receive. And of course details on the big birthday booty giveaway. It's gonna be a doozy...

{image via wiley valentine}

{shop} portland: tilde

{bud vases by mudpuppy, print by jessica gonacha}

{jewelry by cursive design}

{art by michele maule}

{belts by obi design}

{prints by jessica gonacha}

Tilde is a gorgeous shop located in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland. The owner hand-picks small design companies and independent artist's goods for the shop. I must say, her curatorial skills are rather amazing - I find it near to impossible to enter this shop without exiting with a new beloved purchase in hand. Most recently, these swoon-worthy earrings from Cursive Design in grey.

Truly a must stop shop for the perfect gift for a friend, or yourself!

stop-motion paper dream notion

I'm not usually much for video posts, but this was so perfect I simply had to share it. My desire for a closet full of paper apparel is suddenly enormous...

"If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time." Marcel Proust

{via mirabel press' blog}

la mart wrap up

{crow and canary's booth at the la mart temporary showrooms}

{gorgeous flower arrangement by the incomparable megan of ghost academy. seriously, could this lady be any more talented?}

{hammocks & high tea's line of organic cotton and hemp tea towels and pillows}

{goodies from ink & paper, oddball press and jezebel}

{mulberry paper lamps by daylight wasting time and papergoods from cartolina}

Anyone that's exhibited at a trade show or craft show understands the importance of good neighbors. I sincerely couldn't have asked for better people to be surrounded by in Los Angeles!



{image via gogogear}
Having a booth directly across from gogogear was a challenge. I'm a real sucker for luxury leather goods and I spent more time than I should admit debating over which bag I should make my very own. I settled on the above beauty and couldn't be more pleased with my decision. This baby is a looker and has roller wheels. What more can girl ask for?



{image via yesterday's best}
Julie and Shelby of Yesterday's Best were very fun to chat with. Their line of hand-glittered nostalgic imagery cards are breathtaking in person. These ladies have over 500 cards in their collection, and claim that glitter has made its way onto nearly every object they own.

Leah of Pressed Ink, completely embodied the perfect booth neighbor. Pressed Ink is a modern line of paper goods, specializing in lovely monogrammed notecards and notepads. The line was recently featured in People magazine.

Michele and Suzie held down the fort at Xela Aroma. They had the sweetest smelling booth featuring reed diffusers and soy candles. Michele was the unofficial DJ for our aisle and I loved watching her channel Ellen DeGeneres's with her awesome dance moves.

{all image from crow and canary, unless otherwise noted}

par avion: red cap cards

I adore my job for so many reasons, but high up on the list is getting packages of samples in the mail from the talented designers I work with. Although the goodies aren't for me personally, it still feels like Christmas every time I get to delve into a box of new items to show off to buyers.

I'm so pleased to have Red Cap Cards join the line up, we've been hoping to collaborate for awhile and now I'm their official rep in Oregon and Washington. Hooray!

online advertising guest post by bridgett of perideau designs

I must apologize to the very lovely Bridgett of Perideau Designs. She kindly sent me her guest post on time and I've been so overwhelmed by trade shows, travel and summer escapades that I'm only now posting her excellent tips for entrepreneurs. I'd be remiss if I didn't take a moment to encourage you to visit Bridgett's lovely shop filled with stationery, invites and other fine goodies, she also manages to find time to write her wonderful blog. I'm a huge fan of her Modern Monday posts, which always feature a profile and interview of small business owners.

Without further ado, here's Bridgett's post:

Advertising as defined by Wikipedia is the “form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service.”

Let’s discuss branding and then skim the basics of advertising, but first let me preface this post by disclosing I am by no means an expert and will just speak from experience. Some avenues have worked well for me, but might not work for all. It’s a trial and error process and will take time to figure out the right chemistry.

Branding

This is the most important part of the equation. Establishing an online brand presence will make you stand out from the crowd and look more professional. If you have an Etsy shop, design a shop banner that fits the style of your shop. A great example of this is Sara Duckett, owner of Warm Whispers. Immediately from glancing at her shop banner you are entranced with a warm soothing feeling which is then carried through in her products. The same sentiment is also consistent in her webpage and blog. Consistency is the key.If graphic design isn’t your forte, there are a lot of designers on Etsy who work with clients to create a unique banner and even a webpage or blog. This leads me into my next topic: blogs.

Blogs

To blog or not to blog? That is the question. Does it really help sales? What about advertising on other blogs? As I attempted to answer these questions when I was close to opening up my shop, I began my market research by examining what other companies were doing. What I appreciated was the familiarity you get when you purchased from a shop owner who blogs about various topics, including insight into their personal lives. That can immediately make one feel better about purchasing from a stay-at-home mom versus a huge conglomerate where their sale is number 139 for the day. So that solidified my reasoning for starting my blog. Slowly I have added a couple of blog series, including featuring other artists. I have met so many different people who, without a blog, would have never crossed paths. But blogging might not be for all. If sitting down and writing a post stresses you out perhaps another communicative avenue is better suited for you.

What about advertising on other blogs? This is a trial and error process. First one must follow potential blogs and determine whether or not they are geared toward the same market. If they mesh well with your style, inquire about advertising rates and see if you can swing the investment. Make sure you also receive information from the blog owner about how many page views they get to their blog per day/month and what the demographic of their readers are. This will also help you narrow down your research process.

Twitter

Ah, the phenomenon we know as Twitter. To be honest, I was quite skeptical at yet another on-line network but after giving it a try I am so happy. Not only do I use it as a marketing tool for my shop and blog, but I have met many talented people. I would say about 90% of my time on twitter is simply chatting with other indie designers about our daily life and 10% is promoting. And I believe that is a good balance because too much promoting (i.e. that’s all you do) gets well…annoying and many will see those who do that as spam.

A huge plus for twitter is the ability to chit-chat with someone in your town or way across the seas. Unlike myself who works outside of the home full-time, many other designers have their own studio or work from home full-time and do not have the luxury of having co-workers in close proximity to chat with. But with the development of twitter, they now have “cube-mates” they can chat with throughout the day and well into the evening.

Etsy

Etsy has grown so much over the years. Searching for the perfect necklace may take hours, but properly equipping your shop will attract more customers. A few tactics that have worked well for me was participating in forums and renewing. When I was first getting my foot off the ground I asked tons of questions in the forums and received some great feedback. But heed with caution, not all comments will be sweet as sugar so enter with a thick skin. But it is a great way to learn the in’s and out’s of Etsy.

Renewing is always a hot topic on Etsy. Etsy defines renewing as: “Renewing a listing means you're restarting its life on Etsy. It will be given a new listing date and a new expiration date four months from the date of the renewal. It will also be sent to the top of your shop and appear in Etsy shopping features just as if it was a new listing.”

How often do you renew? How many items do you renew? Should I just list new items? I have used this avenue as a big advertising investment since it is $.20 to renew each item. But my justification/goal is to remain within the top 10 pages of a search at all times. For example, if someone searches “greeting card” I want to be within the first 10 pages. After that many customers will change their search term or abandon the entire quest. So I renew a lot and often. But if your market isn’t as saturated as stationery, then renewing less might work better.

Trial and error. This is the recurrent theme with online advertising. You will never know what your perfect chemistry is unless you try it. First do your research, follow through with the advertisement of your choice, and then evaluate. If it works keep going if not, redesign your plan.

sneak peek: la mart booth no. 807

{ella studio}

{owen says}

{laundry press}

{paper + cup}

{red bat press}

{ghost academy}

{hammocks & high tea}

{oddball press}

{dear monday}

{cartolina}

Crow and Canary is exhibiting at the temporary showrooms in the LA Mart next week. I've been in perpetual motion in an effort to prepare for the show and am very excited for opening day this upcoming Friday - Booth No. 807.

I have many new designs to show off, as well as excellent show specials for all you wholesale buyers!

Also participating, but not shown above:
Daylight Wasting Time
Foxy & Winston
Gilah Press + Design
Ink & Paper
Jezebel
Junky Heirloom
Lark Press
Seraph
The Great Lakes

bring on the funny

Blue Barnhouse is the newest addition to the Crow and Canary collection and I'm super excited to have their handmade wit join the ranks. Currently, my favorite card from BBH is the middle image: and that's when I said: "Martha Stewart, you're just Kmart trash." I laugh every time I read that sucker.

Interested in winning a $50 gift certificate for the Blue Barnhouse shop? Of course you are, it's super easy. Just tweet this for your entry, before July 9th:

RT for a chance to win a $50 certificate from @bluebarnhouse. RT's receive 25% off online purchases. Ends 7/9 http://tinyurl.com/nsby78

{images via blue barnhouse}

{shop} san francisco: the curiousity shoppe

{porcelain keys, designer unknown}

{amazing talking paintings by j. richel}

{apple jackets by jacqueline dufresne}

{porcelain doorstops by armando ramos}

{wallpaper projects by derek fagerstrom & lauren smith}

The Curiousity Shoppe has gotten much love in the blog world and deservedly so, I simply can't help but add some fuel to the fire. They really have the most unique assortment of art and gifts, I challenge you to browse their shop, online or in person, and not buy just a little something. I was especially taken by all the everyday objects reimagined in porcelain. I gained a few additions to my bulging printer's boxes. The owners, and all around craft-tastic couple, Lauren and Derek recently released Wallpaper Projects a must read for design enthusiasts and wallpaper junkies alike.
______________________________________
And the winner of the Gilah Press notebooks set goes to:
Mandy June Stinson

As always, thanks to all that entered! I have several more awesome giveaways lined up for July.

{images by crow & canary}