Lunalux has exhibited at the National Stationery Show in New York City since 1997 or so. Sadly, weirdly, we skipped it this year. Participating in The Show gave us the opportunity to meet many fantastic people and develop important relationships with both our customers and our competitors. The NSS was always an expensive venture, and a source of much stress, but very much worth it for many years. Lunalux would not be where it is today if it weren’t for work we’ve done at the Stationery Show! Over the past few years, our sales at the show have declined, so we couldn’t justify the expense this year.

My favorite part of the show for the past two years has been a collaborative promotional calendar we created with other fantastic card manufacturers, including elum, Snow & Graham, Egg Press, Jack and Lulu, Two Piglets, and You Send Me. Even though Lunalux won’t have a booth at the NSS, our good friends have still invited us to participate in this year’s calendar; please visit elum to pick up the Lunalux pages for the calendar. The pages we created this year are pictured at the left – click on the image to see a larger version.

Sunday May 20 was opening day, and the show runs through Wednesday. I look forward to hearing from exhibitors, shoppers and sales reps who attended the show this year. Was it the same size as last year, or smaller? Were there other notable absences? How was traffic? What was the mood like in the Javitz? Any hot gossip, notable trends, exciting New Things? Was it a huge mistake for us to bow out this year? These first-hand reports will help us decide if we should try again next year, or say goodbye to The National Stationery Show forever.

Select items in the Lunalux store will be on sale 25-75% off regular prices May 19 through June 8. We’re kicking off the spring clearance with a sidewalk sale this Saturday, May 19. All sorts of low-priced goodies will be spread over tables on the sidewalk, so you can shop in the sun (weather permitting, or course) – cards, holiday goods, notebooks, various gift items. Scrap bundles will also be on super-sale, 3 for $1.

If you’re on our paper mailing list, you probably already received the announcement; last Saturday the postcards hit the mail (just moments before the new postage rates went into effect). It’s a fun design featuring hand-drawn rosebuds and a seasonal quote from Robert Frost. We printed it with transparent ink on green and orange railroad board, that’s how we achieved the cool tone-on-tone effect.

Also at the sidewalk sale, you get free stuff! For every $10 you spend on regular or on-sale merchandise, we’ll give you a complimentary letterpress-printed Lunalux scratch pad (a $3.50 value). We’ll be open regular hours (11a.m.-6p.m), so we hope to see you!

Mother’s Day is Sunday May 13. Don’t you think your mom deserves a fancy card, letting her know that you appreciate all she’s done for you? Where better to find a fancy cards than at Lunalux? We have some loverly greetings to choose from, including designs by Snow & Graham, Driscoll Design, Two Piglets, Bella Muse, Saturn Press, and of course Lunalux.

Need a present for Mom? We have those too! Consider a box of tri-fold note-cards printed with a pink and gold cherry blossom pattern (pictured), a fountain pen, fancy file folders for her home office, a leather business card holder, or a gift certificate so she can come in to treat herself to whatever goodies she desires!

Like most graphic designers, I’m a type geek, often getting very wrapped up in details like serifs and descenders. So I’m planning to see the film Helvetica at the Walker Art Center on May 31. This documentary explores the history of the used-everywhere typeface, from its creation by Swiss designer Max Miedinger in 1957 to the present. The release of this film commemorates the 50th anniversary of Helvetica’s birth, as does a soon-to-open exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Helvetica was one of many new gothics released in the 1950s, Univers and Folio being among its contemporaries. In this crop of typefaces that are all-but-indistinguishable from one another, except to the eye of a total typophile, why has Helvetica emerged as the top dog? I’m looking forward to seeing what the experts (including typographer William Carter) have to say about it.