Props

Sometimes, in the months leading up to the National Stationery Show, I felt a little sorry for myself. "It's so hard doing this by myself!", I would whine. What a baby. What an ungrateful little twerp! Because really -- I had a LOT of help. I am, at the moment, the only one who gets to do this full time, but Sycamore Street Press is definitely a group effort. So, at the risk of sounding like I'm giving an acceptance speech at an awards ceremony, I want to thank everyone who has helped along the way.

First of all, there's Kirk. He answers emails and convos in Etsy, makes up the wholesale invoices, helps with shipping and packaging, and is an equal partner in all craft fairs and at the NSS. He does all this even though he is also a full time grad student in Slavic Linguistics who happened to take his MA exams the week before the NSS and defend his thesis the week after! Oh - and he also has a job as a language instructor. Don't ask me how he gets it all done. The good news is that he graduates in a couple of weeks and will be joining Sycamore Street Press full time after that.

Then there's Amy and Kristin. They write/design everything in Sycamore's lark line. Kristin also designed our logo, and is the main designer for most custom design work Sycamore is called on to do. These two ladies also have full time jobs AND launched their brand new company -- Junky Heirloom -- at the NSS this year. It was great bouncing ideas off of them in the planning stages for the show, and then hanging out with them when we finally got to the show.

Stephanie designs everything in Sycamore's pop line. She also does some custom design work for us, and does the title layout each month for the Sycamore Club editions. She's constantly full of great design and business ideas. Steph does freelance design work and has her hands full with a very active two year old boy.

Natasha designed and built the website. She also designed the catalog, line sheet, and other press kit materials, as well as labels, the Sycamore Club membership certificate, and more. She happened to get a competitive internship just a few weeks before the NSS, but still made the extra effort to help us get all the materials that we needed designed in time for the show.

Kari has been coming over every Tuesday and Friday morning since January to package and ship all of our online orders. In addition, she's put in a lot of volunteer hours (for real!) in the evenings leading up to the show, and often gives me valuable feedback when I have a new idea or design I'm unsure about.

Then there are the talented artists who contribute artwork every month for the Sycamore Club editions. And Zu - who gives me great photos of her adorable dogs to use as inspiration for my drawings. And my dad - a fellow small business owner - who is always willing to give advice when I ask, but knows not to say too much when I don't. And my mom - who helps me brainstorm booth decor, and patiently lets me vent - among other things...This list could go on and on.

Thank you everyone who has helped me get Sycamore Street Press off the ground. I can't say it enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And thanks again to our hosts, and to all the buyers, shop owners, press people, and fellow exhibitors at the NSS who made it such a great experience for me and Kirk!