2008 national stationery show recap part 2

i really think that the show shot itself in the foot by placing the new product display booth in the back of the javits center this year. this large "preview" of the show used to be front and center at the entrance to the show, and buyers could quickly check out what companies had to offer at a glance, and quickly write down which booths they wanted to check out. i think it also gives each company a chance to display what they think is best in their new collection -- a sort of test that can only be validated by a visit from the buyers/parties interested. it's an invaluable lesson in how well a company knows its audience. and even if you miss the mark, you still learn something!

we personally saw lots of traffic from this display the past two years, and were very disappointed to see its position taken this year by a big name company. so what was once a great showcase turned into something "second fiddle," and very hard to find. i guess that's business...

on another note, we got to walk around a lot and were impressed with all the beautiful work out there. i'm still a sucker for the humorous lines, but i'm still wowed by the letterpressed designs that people come up with. i did some letterpress work in school, and that stuff is pretty tedious. the old school way is, at least. i suppose it's not that bad if you just make a plate every time you print, but if you have to use the hand leading/kerning/typesetting techniques the original art requires, then i just gotta say wow...just wow.

anywho, at least we got to do our annual comparison on new york hot dogs. i swear, i think we (ok, maybe just me) gorge ourselves on these every year -- gray's papaya is still one of my favorites, although the street vendor dogs (aka "sewer dogs") are always pretty good. papaya dog is alright, but just not up to snuff. i think we had 4 hot dogs in the first 36 hours we spent there. yummmmy.

part 3 of the recap will be coming soon. i really don't know how many parts there will be in the end, but there will be a third. oh yes.