The Gift Show is coming to a close today, so we finally have some time to pull together our photos and share a bit of the set-up process with you. Setting up for trade shows takes a lot of time and effort and this show was no exception. We start planning roughly 2 months in advance for our display, but admittedly much of the heavy lifting doesn’t happen until 1-2 weeks before the show begins. Below are some early stage set-up pics followed by close-ups of the sticky stars and the booth overall. Thanks a ton to Bruce at Creative Displays who stores our booth and delivered our walls, and to the Smudge Ink team whose combined efforts helped us to have a successful show.

We were pleased with how the sticky stars turned out especially because they added an interesting (and much needed) 3-D element to the booth. In terms of actual product, customers seemed particularly excited about our wrap display. Note to self: it’s good to mix up how you display your products!

The note writing desk was probably the most exciting feature of this booth. We set-up a desk where visitors could sit down, write a note, decorate/address the envelope, and post it.  Everyone here at Smudge Ink makes the time – amidst the craziness of our lives – to write notes, so this note writing station seemed like a natural extension of what we are about and why we are in business. For all those who took the time to sit down and write, thank you!, your letters have been sent. And for those of you who didn’t, we will continue to offer this service in shows to come.

Pictures of the booth all set-up…

As with any trade show we exhibit at, there are always lessons learned. Inevitably there are things that don’t work so well and things that do. We continually try to improve upon our display each year. So, alas, we make a list and tend to such issues between now and the National Stationery Show this May. Hope to see you there!

After 12 years of tasting subpar baked goods, I was lucky enough to experience a donut from Babycakes this morning. Little did I know this lower east side vegan + gluten-free bakery would rock my world. I seriously had trouble leaving with only 3 baked goods in my hand. So far, I’ve eaten the donut (a 10 minute, out-of-this world, cinnamon, buttery, finger-licking good experience). Later I will enjoy the chocolate mint cupcake, and perhaps tomorrow while at the Gift Show, I’ll nosh on the cranberry-apple toasty. I’m going to have to fit in a few extra runs while I’m here–all for good reason, of course.

Now it’s time to actually put the star together. Tools required for assembly: glue gun, styrafoam ball with rebar insert, dyed wooden skewers. See steps below. Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind: As you insert the skewers into the ball, we recommend inserting them until they won’t go in any further (about 1/2″); each skewer should be about 1/4″ apart (roughly).  As you work, the strings from the glue gun will become entangled between the sticks. It’s easy to pick out once the star is fully assembled. We’ve posted a picture of the result, but we’ll wait until the booth is finished to post more shots of the overall effect.

And, as we gather our collection, they start to look really cool together!

Just when we think we can take a breather after the holiday season is over, the gift show sneaks up on us from out of nowhere! Preparations are in full swing for the New York International Gift Fair at which we’ll be exhibiting at the end of January and mid-August. This time around we are attempting to pull together a new and improved booth. This new look is made possible by one particular hand made decor element: Sticky Stars. We will be sharing how to make a Sticky Star over the next week or so. To be honest, we’re still figuring it out ourselves. Here are a few shots of the first few steps: dying the sticks and preparing the base…