Valentine Day – Is it really love or just plain marketing?

Labels – Valentine Theme

When I was little, I knew Valentine day as a day for the grown ups. It was the day when my mom and dad would go out alone for diner and came back with a smile on their faces. And if I was a good girl, perhaps the next day, mom would give me one of those divine chocolate from that even more divine box which I would hope to add as furniture to my doll house. When I became a teen, Valentine day could be a day of utter annoyance. That is when I could not claim a boy friend to celebrate it with. However never in my little girl or teenage girl memories, was Valentine day that mega commercialized celebration it has become today, officially a Hall Mark holiday in the US (Hallmark being a leader in cards and greeting items). Now Valentine Day is not solely the day for lovers (as I knew it as a child) but the day for friendship, in short a day for every body. Which is cool really except that it certainly gives distributors of Valentine themed items ammunition to bombard a larger target market.

Being in the stationery business, I of course hope that Valentine Day can help me generate more profit. After all, I sell personalized stationery items (more memorable I think) which separates them from the generic crop offered in stores . But albeit the potential for profit, I cannot help deploring that mega commercialization of the occasion. Valentine day is now a cash cow, an annoying expense for some (as parents like me well know), and perhaps even a source of stress for others not inclined to celebrate it but who must still endure all the Valentine Day related hooplah. I wonder if in the face of all this advertisement, Valentine Day will not eventually totally loose its original meaning. End of year Holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah are
heavily commercialized but still remain their deeper religious significance. Valentine doesn’t have such a strong fundamental significance.

So for Valentine this year, I want to rediscover its origin. And I invite you to do so by checking those historical facts:

• Valentine Day – by Wikipedia
• The Origin of Valentine’s Day

Of course, whatever your opinion on the occasion, keep in mind that a nice word, deed, or gift to your better half, sweetheart, parent, colleague, or friend will always be appreciated if it comes straight from the heart. And this doesn’t have to be done only on Valentine day by the way.;-)

WISHES FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR – Best time to say them?

Hello blog. Well it’s been a while. The end of year holiday frenzy started for us in October with a rush of activities both on the home and the stationery business front (hence the crickets in the blog). As a business owner, I loved the rush. After all it means revenue. But as an individual, I am happy to see it ebbing down with the New Year then stop within the 1st week. Excitement is good but every good thing must come to an end.

And any ending of course implies a beginning. So 2006 came and went. Good for some, bad for others, just ordinary for a third group. If you were not part of the former group, I wish you were at least in the latter and I rather hope the middle group remained empty. And of I wish that 2006 will be better, no matter what group you were part of.

I know what you must be thinking now. We are already in mid January! Isn’t it too late already to talk about best wishes for the New Year? Well I am sure there is an etiquette guide somewhere about that. My own guide (learned from my family while growing up) was that it was OK to wish happy New Year during the entire month of January because during that 1st month the year is still new. Thinking back over the years, the instances when I had to wish ‘happy new year’ to someone pass the 2nd week of January were rather scarce though it did happen.

Pondering more about it now, I think the happy New Year wishes should have a sub-category called ‘Happy Rest of Year’ or “Happy Remaining Year”. It would make quite an original stationery card don’t you think? That way you can spread your good wishes for the year (or for what’s left of it) all year long.

Enclosure cards, calling cards Vs business cards

Before the term “calling card” became so much associated with telephones, it was widely associated with another type of cards, the visiting cards. The practice of sharing calling card (or visiting cards) is several centuries old. Nowadays the “calling card” refers to several things (as Wikipedia tells us) aside from the ever so popular telephone cards.

Before they retired from work, my parents always carried 2 types of cards on their persons: their business cards with their job title and business contacts, and their personal calling card with their private contacts. Each type of card was of course to be shared in different circumstances, the first one being obviously exclusively for business matters. This practice of separating business from every thing else (at least card wise) has unfortunately become less common with newer generations. Nowadays, when I meet friends or relatives and want to share contacts, they would usually give me their business cards then write their home/private contacts on it (since of course one cannot always call one’s workplace to chat freely about non-work things). And writing that private information can become quite a challenging affair if there is nothing to write with handily around. All my purses (no matter their sizes) are virtually black holes that swallow every thing up, and in which it’s impossible to find anything much less a pen or pencil to write with. And sometimes one cannot find a charitable soul around to lend you the much needed pen or pencil. One has to ask: how truly useful is a card if you still have to scribble stuff on it?

Thank God! Now with computers, specialized paper, and loads of do-it-yourself software, one can create any type of cards s/he wants from business cards, to visiting cards, to gift enclosure cards, children calling cards, or more. And if you don’t want to print your cards yourself, there are plenty of card design and printing services that will do that for you for quite a reasonable price.

And finally, once you have the appropriate cards to hand out at the appropriate occasions, make sure to organize them. Preventing your purse or bag to become a “black hole” could be a start. Plus of course there are plenty of personal organizer products to be found on the market for that purpose. But that’s another blog article all together.

Stationery IS stationary!

…That is if there is no external influence moving the stationery around (laughs). Ok the subject of this post is of course a pun. A lame one maybe , but bear with me . This pun is inspired by real facts. You would not believe how many in the English language use both of these terms indiscriminately or sometimes choose the plain wrong one. It is even more amazing when the error is made by folks in the stationery industry.

Webster will clarify things quickly for you (here are excerpts and links below)

FROM WEBSTER:

stationery
http://www.webster.com/dictionary/stationery
One entry found for
stationery.
Main Entry: sta·tio·nery
Pronunciation: ’stA-sh&-”ner-E
Function: noun
Etymology: stationer
1 : materials (as paper, pens, and ink) for writing or typing
2 : letter paper usually accompanied with matching envelopesstationary
http://www.webster.com/dictionary/stationary
4 entries found for
stationary. Main Entry: sta·tion·ary
Pronunciation: ’stA-sh&-”ner-E
Function: adjective
1 : fixed in a
station , course, or mode :
IMMOBILE
2 : unchanging in condition <a stationary population>

Of course, not every one can readily access Webster online or have a hard copy handy to check on words spelling and meaning. So what is one to do when you read such a common yet basic mistake? Rectify gently? Educate? Say nothing? Well that depends. Most people would probably let it pass (if they realized the mistake at all). After all they probably understood what the person meant and don’t care in any way about the mispelling. But… if you have an online stationery store, like I do, you do feel compelled to rectify or educate. Because if people are confused about the name of the industry your business is in, well activities for your business risk to become quite ..uhm.. quite stationery.

The World Cup Business

The world cup is big (very big) business as those of you who are soccer fans well know. Big sponsors fight for exclusive representation. See here the Germans’ ire over Budweiser taking over the world cup as official beer, and the hilarious episode of Netherlands fans having to drop their pants (literally) because of it). But while the big guns fight over their share of the humongous world cup cash cow, a flurry of smaller industries are also vying for profit.

I give you below some world cup “stationery” found on the net.
World Cup 06 Stationery

Cute! But are these really a “World Cup” exclusive? I mean these are just soccer ball shaped stationery items (from mini note pads, key chains, to pen holders) that could apply to any soccer events (yep even those played by the small soccer league my 6 years old son plays on Sunday). Now if these items the above had the actual FIFA 2006 world cup logo on them (see below).

NOW we’d be talking collector item. I’ bet some can be found but perhaps one needs to fly to Germany for that and.. oh well. Another world cup perhaps. I’ll stick to patriotic address labels featuring the country flag of my favorite team and perhaps a soccer ball.

Printed Stationery Vs Electronic Stationery

Is the printed stationery market endangered by the internet?

When I decided to launch my custom printed stationery business I had some reservations. Yes! People loved the personalized sticker labels and custom greeting cards I made for myself hence me deciding to offer them for sale. But as a new entrepreneur, of course, I had to try anticipate trends in the market. Especially that now in the US and else where in the world, more and more people are going online for business and personal purposes. What percentage of them STILL use and buy paper stationery of any kind?

After a quick search in Google revealed thousands upon thousands of hits for stationery businesses, I quickly realized that what I really needed to worry about was competition. Not only the printed stationery field is thriving but the competition is something fierce with all sorts of dealers big and small from wholesalers, suppliers, retailers, to specialized services. It is indeed a huge and extremely crowded pond.

So how does a tiny baby fish (like Paper Follies) find its niche in this huge pond? Originality is the keyword, folks! There are many customized stationery dealers out there, but only 1 Paper Follies. And we speak French too (Parlez-vous Français?)

Mixing Business with Pleasure

Ô the joy of using personal creativity for business needs

Drawing cartoons has been a favorite past time since childhood. However, as an adult I never made the time to enjoy it as often as I would like to. The only time I would indulge my artistic creativity was when I was making personalized sticker labels and custom greeting cards (usually for birthdays, holidays, or other special events) for my myself and my family using my old scanner and computer.

When I started looking for a unique home based business, I wanted to do something that would combine my skills and experience, and the tools I already own (to minimize investment requirement) with an enjoyable activity. I had all of them right under my nose and was even using them already. Yet the idea for that ideal combination did not come right away. It took several people complimenting me over my home made stationery, asking me where I brought them, and someone actually showing me customized stationery items they brought elsewhere, for the bulb to finally light up. Suddenly it dawn on me: “Hey! I can design and create something that people would actually like to buy!” I immediately picked up a marker and started sketching. Then I launched my old scanner to digitalize my drawings. Then started the long meticulous hours (yet I enjoyed every minutes of them) of designing my trademarked cartoon characters, and stationery products lines. Finally voilà! Paper Follies’ product line was born. And the biggest reward is that I will never tire to work on it.

To be able to mix business with pleasure is priceless. But first one has to get the right idea or inspiration first.