(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
Last weekend I was able to attend a show/expo/convention that was NOT a pen show! Gasp, I know, right?! I went to the SF NOW + Noted expo (in San Francisco) - SF Now is produced by the same company that puts on NY NOW and the Greeting Card Association (GCA) produces the Noted: The Greeting Card Expo. This event hosts both shows under the same roof, which gives buyers like Jeremy, the chance to check out a variety of cards, gifts, home, and lifestyle products on the West Coast. The goal, of course, is to get orders placed with retailers, but also to get noticed by bigger brands like Hallmark or Walmart.
I attended on Wednesday to help a friend set up their booth and again on Thursday to check out the show with retailer (and friend) Jeremy Saumere of Flax Pen and Paper. The GCA also had an awards ceremony for their Louie Awards, which is like the Oscars for greeting cards (I did not get to attend this).
It was a gorgeous sunny day in Fort Mason for the SF NOW + Noted show!
There were 4 main aisles at the show, 2 for SF NOW and 2 for Noted. A majority of the vendors on both sides of the expo were greeting cards makers.
Cards, cards and more cards!
Some of the submissions for the GCA Louie Awards in categories like “Invitations & Announcements”, “Everyday Box Cards”, and “Blank Card $5.50 and below.”
Hallmark won Card of the Year (above $5.50) with this Boo to You card and E. Frances Paper won in the below $5.50 category.
noted @ *noted also showcased greeting card submissions and winners.
She Said It cards by Kathryn Christenson with art by her daughter Anna (who is at Cal - Go Bears!) using inspirational quotes from women in history, science and literature!
Look at this stunning card from the Quilling Card artists series - yes, those are made by quilling strips of paper into little coils!
Not all the greeting cards out there are the standard birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, or thank you cards. There are an increasing number of cards in a category I’d like to call “Support”. At the show, I met some amazing women who experienced tragedy and went on to create cards that would help others going through difficult times. Often, people don’t know what to do or say to someone when a loved one has passed, or has gotten a cancer diagnosis, or is having difficulty conceiving. I really appreciate the variety of cards being made that helps people feel loved and supported while also helping people get past their feelings of awkwardness or helplessness around these situations.
Through these cards, The Noble Paperie aims to “support those struggling through miscarriage, loss, infertility, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stays, and complicated pregnancies”.
There is also a line of LGBTQ+ inclusive cards - I especially love this one!
Cards from Five Dot Post whose creator lost her husband to cancer.
I plan on ordering this card from Five Dot Post and a couple others for a friend who is undergoing treatment for lung cancer.
While most of the products were greeting cards, there were definitely other cool items at the show too! There were products that I would describe as “greeting card adjacent” - like notebooks, stickers, wrapping paper, themed plates/napkins/decorations - as well as home and lifestyle gifts.
Super cool wooden kits by Little and Wood!
I love these metal birds made by Metal Bird - you tap them into posts or trees!
My friend Christine Herrin is the woman behind Everyday Explorers - doesn’t her booth look amazing?
Omg, so many cute things from Emii Creations!!
Cute little tokens by Blessing Rings that you insert into any greeting card (and it doesn’t require additional postage) that the recipient can keep!
Even though I’m not really a pencil person, I loved seeing Blackwing and their products at this show!
I checked the pocket wine-tasting journal from 33 Books to see if it is fountain-pen friendly. Spoiler alert - only one pen tested but so far so good!
As a pen addict, I was a little surprised that there weren’t any vendors (other than Blackwing) trying to wholesale their writing instruments. Seems like this would be a natural match for shops that carry stationery and cards. I wouldn’t expect to see the typical pen show vendor but maybe Pilot could sell their G2s or Tombow could carry markers? Just a thought.
A huge Thank You to Jeremy for helping me get a pass to this show and for letting me tag along. I don’t have pictures of this but it was fun watching Jeremy go through the process of picking out what cards he wanted to carry at Flax. I won’t give any spoilers as to his process or what he ended up picking, so you’ll just have to check out the store in the next month or two to see what he got!
This isn’t a show meant for consumers to do shopping (though a few vendors did have items for sale), so I made sure to get contact information so I can shop from them. I eventually got overwhelmed by the deluge of cards but I was really glad I got a chance to attend this show and see a different side of stationery!
I’ll be at the Chicago show when this comes out, so I’ll be back in my element again. Hope to see you there!
