The Paper Fold

In 2009, freelance illustrator Anna Bond and her musician husband Nathan debuted Rifle Paper Co. to the trade in a double booth buried deep in the back aisles of the National Stationery Show. They were but one of dozens upon dozens of small (often forgotten) stationery brands showing there, but in Rifle's case, a stationery, gift and lifestyle star was born those five days in May. Rifle's dizzying trajectory into the collective American design unconscious was singularly dramatic, with Anna's signature hand-painted artwork and vibrant color palette having headlining collaborations over the years with Keds, Target and Pottery Barn Kids, among seemingly countless other high-profile brands. Meanwhile, every stationery maker setting up shop dreams of a similar ascent. Still, at the core of every Rifle offering remains the brand's tagline: 'We create moments of unexpected beauty in the real world.' So when I was given the real-world opportunity to interview Anna — now Rifle CEO — of course I had questions! In this, part one of two, we discuss Rifle's humble origins, how Anna differentiated it from the very start, dealt with imitators over the years, and grew the brand alongside Nathan as they simultaneously grew their own family. With five young children and an ever-growing brand and body of work, Anna's strategy of success may surprise you as much as it did me! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Type A über-creative wears a lot of hats, every last one of them impressive and fabulous. Sally Diguette is a specialty retail buyer for Anthropologie, tasked with buying in the stationery and related gift and home categories, as well as spearheading collaborations such as Papier x Anthropologie. But Anthropologie is also where many a small maker gets her first big break — even if it's just one greeting card on its enormous website. Not only does Sally undertake the enormous task of selecting each maker to tell certain trend stories across every inch of Anthropologie retail space (both actual + virtual), she also offers consulting services to help brands get shelf-ready. Sally and I delve into defining the Anthropologie magic — and the nuts and bolts of generating it. How does she navigate the overstimulation of trade shows to ascertain the trend stories to fill store shelves? What catches Sally's eye — and what are the design must-haves on a given product? With that kind of perspective and drive, I was thrilled to have audience with her here, and accordingly, this is the first of two episodes of our interview! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How better to kick off January 2025 — and the eighth season of this podcast — than with a visit from this bona fide industry legend? While Susan January has been at the helm of Leanin' Tree, a mid-sized Colorado house of stationery, for over a quarter century, she has also served as president of the Greeting Card Association, from 2011 to 2013. More recently, she spearheaded a team of women from across generations to debut Willow & Ivy, a boutique brand devised solely for our times — and the women navigating them. With such an illustrious career under her stylish belt, Susan's perspective on the greeting card category is unparalleled. Our discussion delves into how diverse, rich voices — from Emily McDowell to The Noble Paperie to Colleen Harrington to many, many others — have united to create a dynamic marketplace awash with offerings that authentically speak to today's discerning greeting card audience. In this forum, ideally no one should feel isolated — all that's required is the right card in the right card sender's hands. Meanwhile, the distinctive path upon which Willow & Ivy was brought to exquisite life enabled it to truly reflect the 21st-century woman's shared experiences, dreams, and needs, regardless of generation, as it seeks to connect us. Whatever you already know about greeting cards and stationery, prepare to have your perspective tweaked, courtesy of this month's five-star guest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since its premiere seven seasons ago, the Netflix reality show Love is Blind has only tightened its grasp on pop culture. According to Nielsen, Americans watcher over 1.1 billion million minutes of the most recent season of this will-they or won't-they get married show, set in Washington, D.C. — and that doesn't include infinite video discussions and gossip on social media. While those can get somewhat seamy, the season's fan favorite couple, Taylor and Garrett, put an enormous national spotlight on how stationery, correspondence and calligraphy can connect, capture and elevate a relationship, now and forever — with a little help from their local paper nerd friends, that is! In episode 10, the engaged couple had a televised calligraphy lesson at Old Alexandria's Penny Post, owned by Amy Rutherford and taught by Michele Hatty Fritz of Meant to Be Calligraphy. Predictably, the segment detailed the gorgeous art of calligraphy, presented through Michele's most capable hands. Surprisingly, the discussion delved into how Taylor and Garrett's practice of leaving notes for one another not only kept them connected to each other, but also honored departed family members who did the same thing. The concept was so meaningful to them, they decided during filming to actually have what is perhaps the world's first letter-writing station at their wedding — and of course only, Michele could run it! Both Amy and Michele take listeners behind the scenes of this larger-than-life experience. From prepping the cozy shop for shooting, to stuffing crew members in its ADA accessible bathroom, from selling the crew stationery after shooting ended for the day, to that nuptial letter-writing station viewers were never shown, they spill it all! It all begs the larger question, could we be seeing a resurgence in stationery? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the past quarter century, the Pantone Color Institute has grabbed headlines each December with its Color of the Year (COTY) announcement. Each selection is carefully formulated to reflect our global culture, expressing the zeitgeist through the dynamic language of color. Peek behind the curtain as I host the incredible Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Lee generates each COTY, and also teaches color forecasting to burgeoning gurus at The Eiseman Center for Color Information & Training in Tucson, Arizona. Recognized by Fortune Magazine and The Wall Street Journal as one of the most influential people in the world of color, Lee actually galvanized the entire COTY concept by first devising the Color of the Millennium back in 1999. Lee examines what goes into each last selection, perhaps providing a hint into the 2025 COTY. While the goal of the entire COTY program is to help better understand the power of color, our discussion will leave you reevaluating what you thought you understood about this most important communication tool, whose message has the potential to cross genders, generations, and geographies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crane came to life alongside America — and like America, it's had quite a challenging 2024. Actually, make that a few challenging years. This is actually the second episode of The Paper Fold covering Crane; my first dealt with its previous owner, Mohawk Fine Papers, having to move the entire Crane operation from its North Adams, Massachusetts, facility, opened in 1799, to Cohoes, New York, during lockdown in 2020. The Crane story reignited last February as Mohawk Fine Papers was being acquired by the International Fedrigoni Group, owned by Bain Capital, a Boston-based private investment firm, and BC Partners, a British international investment firm. Once the acquisition went through, Fedrigoni abruptly shuttered Crane and unceremoniously laid off 76 employees. Retailers who had open orders hadn't a clue what to tell their customers. I followed the story at Stationery Trends and as February slipped into March, I began to fear that Crane had printed its last piece. But, with assistance from the former CEO at Mohawk Paper, an Albany, New York, investment firm, WP Strategic Holdings, was able to acquire Crane, and its Managing Partner Todd Kletter suddenly found himself with a new title: Crane CEO! Now Todd himself drops in The Paper Fold to recount it all — and give a glimpse of what the future holds for this all-American brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this paper nerd, there are few pleasures in life akin to traveling to market and discovering a standout stationery brand fairly fresh out of the gate. Bromstad Printing Co. was just such a find last month at the *Noted Expo in San Francisco. That's the stationery community's annual wholesale meet-up put on by The Greeting Card Association. The fun kicks off the night before with the Louie Awards, AKA the Academy Awards for greeting cards. Bromstad Printing's distinctive risograph designs earned owner and operator Talia Bromstad six Louie Award finalist nods, incredibly rare for a newbie. These included placing in the highly competitive Rising Star and Artist of the Year categories. At the end of the night, Talia won the coveted Superbly Stated Louie. Although Talia is well-acquainted with the letterpress, risograph is her game. While that printing method was invented in the 1980s, it is currently trending in stationery in a big way. But it is more than simply method that distinguishes this Atlanta house of stationery. While cats comprise roughly half of this range's subject matter — modeled by studio cats Nadine, Stuart and Sylvia — Talia's grasp of color, brevity of sentiment, and sprinkling of dark humor elevate her output into a brand to definitely watch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices