On the Stationery Front
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (JUNE 2004)
The
old timers at the 59th Annual National
Stationery
Show, which took place May 15-18 at the Javits Center,
grouse that the show ain’t what it used to be, and that
traffic wasn’t great even on the “busy” days. Stationery’s
role in our high-speed, email-driven world has undoubtedly
dwindled, and on top of that, the numerous gift shows
around the country have stolen Stationery’s thunder.
As it was, the array of “stationery” on exhibit included
lots of gift wrap, refrigerator magnets, candles, and
tchotchkes – not to mention edible pet greeting cards.
On the other hand, Abrams/STC’s Bill
Wolfsthal claims the company wrote three times the
orders on the first day as they did in all of 2003’s
show. And Andrews McMeel’s Lynn McAdoo
says her reps report an overall increase in calendar
orders across the board. The show attracted 13,550 attendees,
including 491 new companies and 1,474 total exhibitors,
representing 24 countries.
Books were on display here and there, but if you were
willing to be a book publisher with a selection of titles
that are hardly books at all, success was assured. Workman
was madly taking orders for Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks
At Them, billed as a “South Park for girls,”
which started life on a T-shirt and launched a multimillion
dollar business, David & Goliath. Over at
Klutz, a how-to knitting kit (yes, knitting is
now “cool”) was wowing them, along with more irresistible
teen stuff to decorate your locker and your T-shirts.
Meanwhile, licensed properties were found in unexpected
places, such as Snapple on a Peter Pauper
mini book (Charming PetitesTM). The Unemployed
Philosophers Guild, which is repped by Parson
Weems, showed amusing products, such as Nietzsche’s
Will to Power Bar and a little tin box adorned with
the president’s picture and the product description,
National Embarrassmints. Kits were everywhere: The “author”
of Andrews McMeel’s Tooth Fairy Kit was gamely autographing
the tiny box, while unsuspecting passersby were set
upon by reps urging them to get their own signed edition.
Although it is said that the baby boomers out-populate
the other demographics, it would be hard to tell by
the plethora of miniature titles — with their miniature
typefaces. Running Press (the granddaddy of the
format), Peter Pauper Press (complete with gold- or
silver-plated charms at the end of ribbon bookmarks
— readers are encouraged to “wear it on a bracelet”),
and Chronicle each had their share. The latter’s
stand, which was handsomely designed and larger than
the other publishers’, was also perennially packed.
All in all, the show had its share of fun new products.
University Games was launching three puzzles
based on locations cited in Workman’s phenomenal bestseller
1,000 Places To See Before You Die with photo montages
making the 1000-piece puzzles hugely difficult to do.
Our personal favorite last fall was Bloomsbury’s
Bitter With Baggage Seeks Same, and it will appear as
a luscious wall calendar next year, distributed by Andrews
McMeel.
©2004
Publishing Trends
