Bonjour! Merci, Grace, for having me. And Happy Birthday, too! I (Erika Firm) am truly thrilled to be here! One of the best parts about having my own letterpress line (delphine) is getting to meet other designers, manufacturers and shop keepers. This week I’d like to introduce you to some of my fabulous industry friends, as we explore the elusive question: “what does it take to run a successful creative business?”

It is impossible to describe the incredible amount of work that goes into exhibiting at a trade show, which is why I am so in awe of Michael Schultz and Douglas Duncan of Motel Deluxe, who exhibit at seven trade shows per year (and attend another four as buyers for their shop, Cursive). Most of the interviewees this week exhibited at (or shopped) my favorite trade show, the National Stationery Show last month.

photo: Jennifer Tatham and Alan Henderson and their newest eco-friendly postcards at their Night Owl Paper Goods booth at NSS.

Brian Reed, founder and designer of Old School Stationers says one of the best things about exhibiting in New York is the press coverage: “almost all the magazines are in midtown and even in the same building. They come to the show because it’s 10 minutes away.”

photo: Brian Reed at his Old School Stationers booth at NSS.

In order to take advantage of the press’ proximity to the Javits Center, most of us send out promo postcards (we ARE in the snail mail business, after all) to the press, to our current retailers and to prospective clients. Many of our best clients, including Carole Carden, owner of my favorite store of all time, SoLo, use these promo cards to help them map a “plan of attack” before going to a show.

Direct mail works! Postage rates are scary, so we constantly update our mailing list to get rid of bad addresses, and try to keep to standard postage sizes to avoid extra postage fees. At every show dozens of buyers show up with our postcard in hand.

The most successful buyers have a clear understanding of what their client is looking for, plan ahead for a trade show with a list of “must see” booths, trust their gut instincts and place orders on the spot at a booth (rather than circling back later, which eats precious time).

Photo: SoLo is a collective headed up by owner Carole Carden. Carole and the other SoLo [http://www.solocedros.com] merchant buyers have some of the best eyes in the industry. They each do a lot of research, attend trade shows all over the world, shop flea markets and garage sales, and trust their instincts when they buy. The result is a fabulous, unique 4,000 square foot mecca for design lovers.

Carole says “we are only interested in products that excite us. I think that is the key to SoLo’s [http://www.solocedros.com] reputation of offering the new and unusual.”

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