Today I'm happy to be bringing you Sycamore Q+A no. 59 with Carrie Siegel and Laurie Mee of Two Trick Pony. When I started working at On Paper (a Columbus, Ohio stationery boutique) in the fall of 2007, I really had no clue about all the cool stationery companies that were out there. Two Trick Pony's eco-friendly screen printed cards were among the first that really grabbed my attention. Imagine how excited I was when I discovered that their booth would be kitty-corner from ours at the NSS last year! As it turns out, Laurie and Carrie aren't only fantastic designers, they are also incredibly friendly and nice, and were so generous to us newbies with helpful advice.
1) How did you two become stationery designers?
Laurie had been working for Paper Source for several years when she hired me to work in their new Boston store. We first met when she spied me writing down the "now hiring" info in a notebook identical to one she owned. It was meant to be from the start; we bonded over that notebook and our love of all things paper. After a few years (and closets full of paper, rubber stamps, bookbinding tools, old wallpaper, greeting cards and yes, more notebooks!), we disclosed to each other our long held dreams of launching our own paper goods companies. Inspired by each others' talent and drive, we decided to pool our resources and form Two Trick Pony.
We started small, literally, designing cards to print one-by-one using the Print Gocco, a home screenprinting kit popular in Japan. Eventually, we decided to invest in large screens and take on the task of relearning screenprinting which we had both dabbled in years earlier. After much trial and error, we developed a system that works great for us and we now offer close to 100 greeting card designs!
2) What's been inspiring you lately?
Carrie: Vintage catalogs, street fairs, album covers designed by Josef Albers, matchbook covers, the pattern design class at Craftland in Providence, my new neighborhood.
Laurie: Cut paper art, retro packaging, vintage sewing notions, fresh colorful produce, red/purple color combo, nature walks with my pooch Wally and finding signs of spring.
3) Tell us about a recent project.
We're very excited to have just finished our 2011 calendar! It's our first 12 month calendar and features a series of 12 playful, graphic patterns in one and two colors. We're also putting the finishing touches on our invitation book…our line of invites is finally going to be available for retailers. Look for the calendar and the invite book at the National Stationery Show, booth #1641!
4) Is there anything else we'd like to know about you?
Carrie: I may play it cool like I'm not a prissy-princess kind of girl, but I am absurdly obsessive about my hair. If you want to get in my good graces, compliment my hair and I will love you forever.
Laurie: Red shoes, I love them.
Thanks Carrie and Laurie!
Website ///// Blog ///// Facebook ///// Carrie's Twitter ///// Laurie's Twitter
National Stationery Show Booth #1641
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p.s. For those of you in Utah, we'd love for you to come see our booth at Oh Sweet Sadie this weekend! It's at SoDaRow in Daybreak on Friday (from 9:30AM - 9PM) and Saturday (from 9:30AM - 6PM ).
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