Yesterday I discussed my visit to Surtex. The National Stationery Show, and The International Contemporary Furniture Fair were also open for business at the same time at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, in New York City. I had plenty of time, so I checked them out too.
The National Stationery Show is HUGE!!!!! It's not only paper products. There are also other items that you'd find in stationary stores and gift shops. I walked the aisles, past hundreds of booths. Most were not of interest, but toward the end of my journey I visited five booths that had various trims and ribbons. Very exciting since I've been having trouble finding nice embellishments for the sweaters I'm repurposing, recycling, reconstructing, upcycling, redesigning, tweaking. (I really need a good terms for what I'm doing!)
At one booth, I ordered 13 spools of ribbon, mostly black, white and/or grey, in various widths, 25-50 yard lengths, for wholesale (yeah!!!). Great prices! Another booth had the best French ribbons and laces! I ordered one spool with grey velvet and black cotton lace, and a spool each of cream and black cotton lace. Very pricey (for a whole spool), but so beautiful! When I break the cost down per yard, the price is very reasonable. It's total cost for the spool that adds up. The scan isn't very good, but they are shown in the picture with this post.
I also walked the entire International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which was wonderful, and also HUGE. I have many friends who would have loved the experience. Great furniture, rugs, fixtures, etc. There were some individual artists exhibiting, but it was mostly small to large companies. I did stop to talk to some of the artists because I was curious about how they chose to be there. Everyone was very nice.
The work of most interest to me was by a group of young British artists who were wonderfully creative. One had huge hanging ceiling lamps made with different fiber materials, one had felt wall pieces, another had wall fiber pieces with many tiny found objects sewn to it. One other amazing artist was a fiber artist from London who had incredible fabrics he embellished with paint and thread. He said he has had great success selling his work to some popular catalogs and stores. Very impressive. He was a bit shy about it, but I was really happy to hear about his success. There were also interesting objects on exhibit by some more commercial designers that involved felt, which is always fun to look at.
If you ever have the opportunity, do visit Surtex, as well as The National Stationery Show, and The International Contemporary Furniture Fair. If you're luckier than I was, maybe you can also visit The Supply Side: An Annual Exposition Featuring Suppliers to the Social Stationery, Giftware and Graphic Arts Industries.
