Posts tagged #atlanta
Show Recap: Atlanta Gift Show
We're veterans at this whole "trade show" thing now. But that's not to say we don't love it just like we did the first time (or that it's any less tiring...)
This year though, one of our favorite parts was getting to share the space with some wonderful companies, and exploring some of the other incredible brands on our floor and others. I'm pumped to share with you some of what we found... because you're seriously missing out if you don't hop on board with these makers.
All-natural beauty goods are all the rage right now, and I'm here to tell you that Green + Lovely is absolutely nailing it. Her responsibly-made beauty and skincare products are my new favorite thing. I got the detox facial grains wash and a clay mask. Both are to die for. My top pick, though, is the bee herbal cream. It works unbelievably well and it is not greasy (which is a BIG deal!) I have definitely found my new skincare line!
Other brands in our space:
Jackson Morgan Creamed Whiskey for happy hour (salted caramel flavor) Everyone loved it, and was looking up the closest place to grab their own bottles.
White's Elixirs Moscow Mule mix is always so fun to serve during happy hour, too. Customers love his mixers, and we do too!
Pie Provisions:
Pie Provisions is a new company that one of my maker friends and I saw in the "Gourmet" section of the show. Their branding is fabulous and their product could not be cuter! They put everything you need to cook a gourmet pie into the cutest package. This is my new favorite gift idea!
Bogg Bag:
I had heard about Bogg Bags before, but finally got to checked them out at the market. The company shared a booth with one of our dear friends and collaborators, Beer Greetings! These are totally fantastic and I will for sure be getting one ASAP.
Heirloomed:
Heirloomed's newest "Simple Blessings" line is one I have fallen in love with and I cannot wait to get my kids in a new apron!
Really, the best part about this July Market was the launch of our new sister company, Heartward. My business partner and friend Heather and I worked so hard to get things up and running, and it was so fun to see how much everyone loved it. I cannot wait to start shipping all the orders out.
Thanks to all who stopped by our booth... we seriously appreciate each and every one of you.
Atlanta Gift Show & July Card of the Month
It's that time of year again!
This week, from the 11th to the 15th, Breathless Paper Co. will be at AmericasMart for the July gift show.
This year is extra special, though, because we're bringing along with us our new company, Heartward, for their wholesale debut! They'll be showing off their kids tees, line of cards, small-batch jewelry and patches.
They'll even have this month's Card of the Month:
Seriously -- you don't want to miss it. Every single piece is made with so much heart, and it shows.
We'll also be showing our new card lines and collaborations. We're so proud of them and we can't wait to get you guys all stocked up. Come visit us to chat and check out what's new!
Find us in the West Wing, building 1, High Design booth #614.
See you soon!
February: Card of the Month & Valentine's Day
For us, Valentine's Day isn't just about celebrating significant others, it's about showing love to all! We feel the same way about our cards. We want them to spread all kinds of love and joy, especially when it comes to holidays like this one. We kept that in mind as we chose our card of the month.
This card from our Fresh Breath collection is vibrant, simple and sweet. Honestly, what more can you ask for when it comes to Valentine's Day? "You Are My Person" means so much. It applies to boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, husbands, best friends... the list goes on. It's a powerful sentiment: You've found your person! The one who you can share everything with (even the silly or bad stuff) and the one who you feel completely understood with. We think this card is totally worth giving, for Valentine's and for always.
When it comes to Valentine's Day in our household, we've made it a tradition to take our kids out on a "family date night." We let them pick the place, and they love it. Last year was our first year carrying out the tradition in Nashville, and they chose Taqueria Del Sol (y-u-m!) It's looking like that might be their choice this year too... but they said they'll "let us know" ;) We love family time around here, and Valentine's is no exception.
Our little ones ready for date night last year.
What Valentine's looks like at our house. We love hand-written notes ;)
P.S. Don't forget to take part in our#BeBreathless campaign now through the end of February, 2018! We want you to show us where and to who our cards travel to! Snap pics of one (or more!) of our cards out in the world and post onInstagram. Hashtag #BeBreathless, tag @BreathlessPaper, and be entered to win $500 worth of cards to gift to your loved ones or keep for yourself. Winner announced after close of contest.
We've Got Good Things Comin'!
A new year means new products, and we couldn't be more excited to tell you what we've got coming down the line.
While we can't tell you everything quite yet, we're excited to give you some teasers ;)
We've added:
NEW Old Try collaboration cards to the mix! A few of them really speak to the heart, which we love...
A Light Pink shade of our Deep Breath collection...
NEW Deep Breath Two cards like "Live Your Best Life" -- a saying I adopted in high school and haven't abandoned since...
A few NEW Breath of Inspiration cards. We love growing this line, because it gives back.
We'll have lots of fun images + sales coming soon for you guys to take advantage of our new offerings.
This year, we really want to emphasize our mission and our humble beginnings.
In 2017 we celebrated 10 years of doing this, and that reminded us of how lucky we are and how much of a Labor of Love this is. We'll never stop doing this with love and laughter. The past few years have really solidified the direction we want to take our little business in. It's all about loving one another and being kind. We want to promote only positivity and open-mindedness. Love is loudest and humility and kindness are essential.
As we leap into 2018, our hope is that more people send handwritten notes, love one another, and live their lives with open hearts.
Keep your eyes peeled for more from us, and don't forget to send a card to someone you love.
XOXO,
Breathless Paper Co.
P.S. Don't forget to take part in our #BeBreathless campaign now through the end of February, 2018! We want you to show us where and to who our cards travel to! Snap pics of one (or more!) of our cards out in the world and post on Instagram. Hashtag #BeBreathless, tag @BreathlessPaper, and be entered to win $500 worth of cards to gift to your loved ones or keep for yourself. Winner announced after close of contest.
Card of the Month: January
A new year means new goals and new starts. As we put 2017 behind us and think about how we've grown and what we've learned in the past year, we've picked a "Card of the Month" that we think expresses simply what it means to move forward and look confidently toward the future.
This card is from our Deep Breath 2 collection -- one of our newest batches of cards. The words, "Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day" are so real and important to us and applicable to everyone as they reflect on their year and try to better the next one.
We love the modern design elements in this one, and we think it's a fitting card to send to so many of the people in your life this New Year and "just because."
Thanks for stopping by and checking out this month's #CardoftheMonth! Don't forget to flaunt your Breathless Paper cards... our #BeBreathless contest is still going:
Take part in our #BeBreathless campaign now through the end of February, 2018! We want you to show us where and to who our cards travel! Snap pics of one (or more!) of our cards out in the world and post on Instagram. Hashtag #BeBreathless, tag @BreathlessPaper, and be entered to win $500 worth of cards to gift to your loved ones or keep for yourself. Winner announced after close of contest.
#BeBreathless
We love cards for a lot of reasons, but one of the best and most important reasons is because of the reminder they serve. No matter where you are, who you're with or what you're doing, you can carry that card with you, gaze at it, and remember the person who gave it to you and why. For a second, no matter what, you can escape to that moment.
That's why we're inspired to begin our #BeBreathless series and contest. When we were in New York for the NY NOW trade show, we snapped a pic of one of our cards while out and about in the city (see below), and we thought, "wow, we'd love to see where our customers end up taking our cards, and what cool places they go to."
That's what #BeBreathless is all about. We want you to show us where and to who our cards travel to! Snap pics like the one you see below (or in whatever style you want!), post on Instagram and hashtag #BeBreathless, tag @BreathlessPaper, and be entered to win $500 worth of cards to gift to your loved ones or keep for yourself.
The contest will run through the end of FEBRUARY 2018 with the winner announced on social media. Check out our Instagram where we'll feature entries and announce the winner.
We want to encourage you to give, share, and #BeBreathless.
Card of the Month: October
Hey Y'all! We're so excited to announce our "Card of the Month" series. From here on out, we'll be choosing a card to highlight and show off each month - because we think every one of our designs deserves a time and place to shine.
Check back here and on our Instagram every month to see what's in the spotlight!
OCTOBER:
"Dream Big, Work Hard, Stay Humble" - Breath of Inspiration
As we approach the holiday season (quickly!) we think this card is an important reminder. Always remember to "dream big" - especially as we approach this season of miracles. "Work hard" so that you can play hard and make for an amazing few months of celebration with your loved ones, and "stay humble" through it all. Good advice for always, but especially now.
Here's to October!
#CardoftheMonth
We're Loving Nash!
Almost a year ago now (where has the time gone?!) we moved our little family and business to Nashville. Despite the typical stresses of moving, the city seemed to welcome us with open arms.
We made the move because of an AWESOME opportunity for my Breathless counterpart, husband and best friend. Matt is killing it at his dream job as an Art Director with Sony Music Nashville. He gets to work with what he loves: music. All week long, he helps musicians get their music 'out there' by designing album covers and logos, and capturing amazing photos of the artists.
The best part? Our kids love music too, so we could not be happier.
Here's a bit of what we're loving in our new city:
Nashville is full of music, creativity, positivity and good energy. You'll find it in every corner and crevice, especially in the neat little boutiques, restaurants and music venues.
Fave shops so far:
Fave spots to eat so far:
Taqueria Del Sol 12 South (with the kids!)
Caviar and Bananas
Local Taco
What We're Listening To:
Tyler Childers
Ryan Bingham
The Sisterhood
Fairground Saints
Holly Williams
Jason isbell
Josh Ritter
Cam
Ivan & Alyosha
The Sisterhood
River's Faves:
Levon
Brothers Osborne
Jason Isabel
Scout's Faves:
Cam
The Sisterhood
Shake it off - Taylor Swift
Thanks, Nashville, for treating us so well! We're so happy to grow our family and business in Music City.
The Art of Letterpress: Blue Canoe
Blue Canoe letterpress is a company comprised of a family of lifelong printers and creatives. Honestly, we love and trust Blue Canoe with our most delicate and loved designs. They've brought some of my most favorite passion projects to life. So we got personal with the duo -- Gale and Becca -- about crafting incredible designs, following the footsteps of the family biz, making cards for Atlanta Falcons and overcoming struggles.
Breathless Paper Co.: Tell us a little bit about what you do and how you got started doing it.
Gale: My dad was in printing, and in 1960 started a color separation trade business serving the printing industry. I always went to work with my dad, and actually began making plates, and line negatives when I was 8. I learned how to "make" color separations and screen positives when I was 13. Printing, and it's processes, have been a part of my life a long time. Several years ago, I told Becca that she needed to find someone with a letterpress to reproduce some of her "doodles." When my life had a major "shift" around the same time, it was a natural step for us to start a letterpress business.
BPC: What sort of clients do you typically work with / what kinds of projects do you usually take on?
Becca: We get to work with a variety of clients, so we are actually quite spoiled in that we never get bored. Our highest traffic would probably be amidst the wedding industry and bespoke stationary. It’s our privilege to not only work with some of the most talented and nationally recognized designers in the southeast, but also to call them friends.
Gale: As Becca says, we are blessed to work with a number of very talented designers. We have also had the good fortune of working with a few brokers which have given us the opportunity to print some creative pieces for corporate clients. We enjoy trying new things, and printing on unique mediums...and several of our clients have trusted us experimenting a bit...making it possible for us to learn a lot about what can be done with letterpress that is "outside the box."
BPC: Is there a recent project you've most enjoyed or a specific project that has been your overall favorite?
Becca: Oh this is hard…we may give you different answers, but personally I would say the truly unique jobs where we get to experiment and bring to life an artist’s “dream." One that stands out for me would have to be when I got to design and print a unique thank you card for an Atlanta Falcon. Printing on wood and being able to create the flame/charred effect with ink was a bit of a thrill.
Gale: As Becca says, this is tough to pick just one! One that sticks out is a project we did for a client that had several steps which were new to us. We duplexed a linen fabric to a cotton stock, letterpress printed, diecut & scored (to make a passport holder), and then sewed pockets into the inside front & back...to hold a "Save the Date". What we made was to be used after the "Save the Date" purpose as passport holders for those attending the destination wedding in Europe.
BPC: How and when did you begin working with Breathless Paper Co.? Tell us a little bit about the projects you've completed for them.
Gale: Jessica contacted us about her idea to letterpress a new project, and using a double thick card stock. These thicker stocks cannot be run through an offset press, nor a digital press. It was important to Jessica to use one of these thicker stocks, and she really wanted the letterpress deboss effect anyway. Their idea was the "Tiny Cards: Big Words" suite of cards. I think the original project was for 40 different cards, printed on 220# Lettra. We have not only enjoyed immensely our opportunity to be a small part of the Breathless Paper "team", but value the way they work and "do business". They are EXCEPTIONAL!
BPC: What is the most rewarding part of the job you do?
Becca: Making a client proud to present something you’ve created on their behalf is quite possibly the greatest reward in this industry. Whether it's a businessman who looks for opportunity to give out his card, or a designer who gets to see her creative thoughts enhanced and appreciated in medium…the ability to encourage self-confidence is an honor.
Gale: It has always been a dream of mine to "be creative" in some way...in any way. So, when a creative person gives me the chance to be a part of their creative process...and they love what we do...that is rewarding.
BPC: When you looked forward at your life many years ago, did you see yourself doing letterpress for a living?
Becca: Ha! This just makes me laugh! Absolutely not! As a college athlete, biology majoring, doodle hobby-ing young woman, owning and operating a letterpress business with my parents was not even something that I thought I could dream of, let alone see a projection towards.
Gale: For me...this question makes me smile! I worked for my dad from the time I was 8...through high school when not studying or involved in sports at school...during college on weekends and summers. Then I went to medical school...my dad had a heart attack in my second year of medical school...I left medical school to run the family business (printing)...did that for 17 years...my dad was killed in an accident...we went out of business in 1997...I went to work for Scientific-Atlanta...then Cisco Systems...they “retired me" in 2013...I was diagnosed with lymphoma..we started Blue Canoe Letterpress. I guess you could say...I have not had many opportunities to look too far ahead...and when I did, what "I saw" would be changed or redirected by "life." BUT - Printing...putting ink on paper...has always been a dream of mine. In my dad's business we had a 4-color proof press...and a small harris offset press. I loved watching those precision machines "do their thing" to rhythm all their own... I have always wanted to print! Letterpress is doing that at the most interesting..."tactile level".
BPC: How did "Blue Canoe Letterpress" get its name?
Becca: My parents live around a lake and canoeing has always been a favorite pastime. Growing up we've had a couple canoes, but only one that was blue. This blue canoe went down in family history when our friends' car caught fire with the canoe anchored to its roof. Nobody was hurt, so it was a rather hilarious and awkward phone call that had us all remembering the blue canoe in a glowingly glorious death.
BPC: It seems like the paper goods and letterpress "industry" is growing, especially in the maker and entrepreneur community. What do you think of this growth and how has it been to be a part of it?
Becca: We love it! Growing up in the printing industry and being a third generation printer, I feel as if people are finally appreciating this art form and nod to history the way that it deserves. It’s such a personal work process, with hand mixing the ink, hand feeding the press, hand wrapping and assessing for quality…that said it’s like a proud parent watching their child get their first raise because a higher-up recognized their worth.
Gale: Becca is so right. Letterpress has many facets at which we you personally "touch" the work in progress. There are so many points at which you make decisions and adjustments that effect the final piece...you get the chance to be a real part of the creative process. I think this is one of the reasons for the resurgence of letterpress. It is not a "cookie cutter"/mass produced, rendering of what a designer has in their head. Letterpress allows for so many points of personal touch and the making of each piece a little unique. When you hold in your hands a piece of stationery that has been "letterpressed" it is obvious that it is a piece of custom handiwork...from an old school way of craftsmanship! This is rare today...and people are growing more and more appreciative of these types of things - the marks of personal touch...reaching for ways to communicate on a more personal level, instead of the "coldness" of online personal media and email...actually seeing the evidence of life in how we communicate, and the medium we use to communicate...
BPC: What is your typical process when it comes to gaining inspiration and planning for a new project / client? What inspires you most?
Becca: Every card or design is personal. For boo’s blue cards, each card has been designed for my own use. Selfish, right? I carry a moleskin notebook around with notes of sayings or ideas that come from anything during the day. It may be a conversation or a thought. Can’t forget that I also have the hilariously creative friends who will just send me a note with “you should make a card with this…” As far as bespoke stationary or wedding designs, I tend to spend a lot of time with my client getting to know them and their story as an individual and then the design comes naturally. These items are a representation of the individual and as such should be treated with the attention to detail appropriately befitting.
Gale: For me (the UNcreative person, totally dependent on the creativity of others), I yearn for those times that our clients ask us the question, "how could you do this?", or "could you make something like this?"; "what do you think about this, and how could we do it?"...etc. This really gets the side of me that "yearns to be creative" going... These are the opportunities for us to really be a unique part of the creative process for the REALLY CREATIVE people.
