press coverage

This Little Piggy Is Going to the Louie Awards
March 3rd, 2013

Wearied celeb-watchers may have decided that the award season was finally over with the Oscars last week — but for those of us in the stationery world, it’s all just begun. Yes, dear reader, the Louie Awards finalists have now been announced.

This year the Greeting Card Association had to sift through more than 1000 entries from 220 companies worldwide, so imagine our delight when our little pink pig found itself near the finish line in the birthday card category. (As for its final place on the podium, we will have to wait until the ceremony on May 19th.)

This card (see above) is one of our favorites, too. There is something about this pig’s cheeky smile that charms us anew every time we see it. And talk of pigs also allows us to trot out one of our favorite quotes — from Winston Churchill:

“I like pigs.
Dogs look up to us.
Cats look down on us.
Pigs treat us as equals.”

So here’s hoping that the Louie judges will be feeling as affectionate about the cloven-footed come May 19th.

Coastal Living in Palm Beach
October 29th, 2012

Since Palm Beach is, after all, an island, the idea of coastal living is second nature to us. This view of the Australian Dock, with its sleek white boats twinkling in the waters of the Intracoastal waterway (above, photographed just this morning), is one we count ourselves lucky to see every day.

So we were delighted when the editors of Coastal Living magazine found us, many months ago, in the crowded, and rather less sun-dappled, waters of the National Stationery Show at the Javits Center in New York.

Now here we are at last, with the new issue on our shores (photographed on sandy Palm Beach, above), and our card featured in their wrap-up of the best nautical-themed stationery (below).

Perhaps you can spot the bright blue and red J.Falkner card in the center of the page (above).

Our Lifesaver Thank You cards are available at fine stores across the country, including our fave local shop, Stationer on Sunrise here in Palm Beach. And naturally you can also find them at our online shop here.

One Hundred Wonderful Stores!
July 24th, 2012

If we weren’t already knee-deep in orders after the gift show in Atlanta (where we were represented by our fine rep group Daniel*Richards), you would have heard corks a-popping here at our offices this week.

Dear friends and supporters, you have helped us reach a milestone: J.Falkner cards are now being carried in 100 stores (well, actually 101 as of today!).

We’re sold across America — in 25 states — and in Canada (Vancouver & Toronto), and of course we’re always available online.

What does reaching 100 stores mean? Well, we’ve run the numbers and it comes to nearly 16,000 cards — which means there are a lot of leaping zebras, soaring airplanes, and anniversary mazes (to call out our three most popular cards) criss-crossing the country.

We have so much gratitude in this success. To the stores who have taken on our line, and to the customers who have chosen our cards, thank you thank you thank you.

Lights, Paper, Action … Stationery Show!
May 28th, 2012

Once a year, in May, the stationery world converges on the Javits Convention Centre in New York to celebrate (and hopefully sell!) all things paper. And so naturally there we were last week, happy as a clam in our own cheery little J. Falkner booth (above).

We decided to let the colors of our cards do the talking and go crisp white with all our fixtures. It made a bright sunny statement, and more than one passerby told us, “It feels like Florida in here”.

The first night of the show brought the Louie Awards ceremony, the pre-eminent prizes for cards in this country. Though we didn’t get our podium moment, we were delighted to have two cards among the finalists — terrific recognition in our company’s first year.

There was a beautifully designed catalogue of the finalists, and there we were with our “Amazed Anniversary” card (above), one of the first cards we ever designed — and still a personal favorite.

The show also brought us some great press. This shout-out (above) appeared in the daily show magazine.

There was much ingenuity among the design of the other booths, but to us, Crane & Co always delivers the most elegant one. Evoking a Madison St boutique, it’s a purring piece of luxury, with a trio of chandeliers, cream carpeting and exquisitely detailed window displays.

As regular readers know, we’re mad for moodboards, so we were smitten by the charming visual vignettes from the Crane windows (a couple are featured above). The richly engraved salamander, with its red spotted coat (see detail, above), is a card we’d chose to send ourselves — if only we weren’t already stationery-committed.

With nearly 800 stationery companies at the show, each aisle brings a spirited range of creative delights. In our little block alone, we were able to put together this great card collection (above).

Clockwise, rom top left: A lovely silhouette of a bear from Banquet. A cool surfer’s desktop from Dear Hancock. A simple shell, letterpressed by Double Bravo Designs. Two bears make a charming father’s day card, from Fugu Fugu Press. A charming notebook, the cover made of birchwood, from Night Owl Paper Goods. And an imaginative use of the subway map, from Tastement.

We ourselves had a terrific response to the new collections we launched at the show, and we’ll be sharing those with you in our next few posts.

We’re in Real Simple Magazine this Month!
April 16th, 2012

One little circle, but a whole lot of delight. We really had to pinch ourselves this week when we were able to slap the “As Seen in Real Simple” button onto a set of our cards (see above).

For a stationery company, scoring a credit in Real Simple is a bit like an actor getting the call from Scorsese: it’s what we’re all secretly waiting for. We vividly recall when Real Simple magazine first arrived on the scene in 2000. We were in London, so the first few issues appeared sporadically, and were passed around our offices like samizdat.

What was this magazine trying to do, with its clean crisp typography, its luscious, languid, photography, and the audacity to put a few bowls or a single flower on its cover? (A pair of early magazines, above.) Surely, it wouldn’t last on a newsstand teaming with neon colors and ravenously smiling models?

Today, of course, Real Simple is a publishing behemoth, with a monthly circulation just shy of 2 million. Which goes to show it’s never wise to underestimate a market. There is space for sophisticated, measured design — and naturally this encourages us immensely.

How proudly our Leaping Zebra card sits among their other choices on the page (above). Charles Masters, a celebrated still life magazine photographer, has created a beautifully — dare we say it — simple shot.

Order a set of Zebra blank cards directly here.

It’s a Honour Just to be Nominated …
March 16th, 2012

No, we never believed in the sincerity of these kind of comments either. Even a seasoned pro like Kate Winslet couldn’t quite manage it at the Oscars in 2009, when she won and then tried but failed to name all her co-nominees. “Who’s the other one?!” she cried out. (Deliciously, it was Angelina Jolie.)

But now that we find ourselves nominated — just today! — for two Louie Awards (our industry equivalent of the Oscars) we really do feel very privileged simply to be named.

This year’s competition drew nearly 900 entries from over 180 companies worldwide, and for each category there are only 3 finalists. (Even the Oscars get 5!) Over the moon are we!

Our Zebra Happy Birthday card (above) has always been a favorite — it’s the one we most often use personally — and we were delighted it was nominated.

Even more special to us is the nomination for the Amazed Anniversary Card (below). This was one of the first 3 cards we designed. We have designed nearly a hundred since then, but there’s nothing like seeing that first card in a shop window. … And now, maybe on a trophy!

Henry David Thoreau advised, “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes,” but we think we might just defy his wisdom and splash out on a natty new outfit for the awards show. After all, the Louie’s might be as close to a red carpet as we’ll ever get!

Winners will be announced at the National Stationery Show in New York at the end of May — and, don’t worry, whatever happens we’ll have on our best awards-show face.

Getting our Glam On in Palm Beach
March 5th, 2012

Our favorite Fred Astaire song is “Top Hat”, particularly the first verse:

I just got an invitation through the mails/
“Your presence requested this evening/

It’s formal, a top hat, a white tie and tails.”/
Nothing now could take the wind out of my sails …

We are of the same mind: nothing delights us more than a formal invitation. And this one (above) promised to be especially tony: Palm Beach Illustrated, the glossiest of the Florida magazines, was celebrating their 60th anniversary.

So last Thursday we threw on our dinner jacket, tucked in our orchid boutonniere (above), and off we went to the Flagler Museum on deliciously balmy evening. (Too hot for a top hat.)

The Flagler Museum (above), formally Whitehall, is the grand Beaux Arts residence of the man who essentially founded south Florida, Henry Flagler (1830-1913). Now it’s a historical landmark and museum — and also a pretty swell place for a party.

Through the enormous bronze gates (above) we stepped into the Grand Room, at 5,000 square feet the largest room of any of the mansions of the Gilded Age.

Doesn’t everyone look better bathed in rosy light? The West Room (above) was staged to sparkle, its 27-foot vaulted ceilings humming with the high spirits of the crowd.


Vintage PBI magazine covers decorated the room, and two of our favorites were: Jacqueline de Ribes, that most aquiline of the society aristocrats, in a splendidly modern silk dress (above, top), and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the couple Palm Beachers love to loathe, but somehow can never resist celebrating (above).

Later, the crowd spilled through to the veranda overlooking Lake Worth, shadows dancing against the white stucco façade (above).

Palm trees lit against the wide Florida night sky, a full moon high above — a pitch perfect Palm Beach night (above).

To help celebrate their birthday, the editors of Palm Beach Illustrated asked us to design a special birthday card. We got a little carried away and designed three, all of them decked out in the classic Palm Beach combo of pink and green. (above)

And we’ve had such a terrific response to the number-juggling flamingo (far right) we are planning to put it into production this summer.

Our Best Valentines Ever!
February 2nd, 2012

Happy Valentine’s Day to us! We definitely felt the love yesterday at our trunk show at Stationer on Sunrise, where over 75 people joined us for champagne and cupcakes. Thank you to all the wonderful people who came!

You helped us raise a tidy sum for the Armory Art Center, and warmed our hearts with your support. For those who were unable to attend, we wanted to share a few pictures from the day.

Fortunately we took a picture of these raspberry macaroons … they disappeared quickly! All the delicious — and truly, they were! — treats came from Sugar Monkey in West Palm Beach.

These cookies looked so charmingly home-baked, and we love the bright pink ikat-print on the napkins.

Customers (above) had the chance to check out our whole range of cards, including a sneak preview of our brightly-colored Easter range.

No party is complete without a goody bag … Liz Quinn from Stationer on Sunrise included a charming Palm Beach postcard, and a chic pen from “Le Pen”. And we created a special notecard with that quintessential Palm Beach accessory — a pair of slippers (see below).

If you missed the party, you can still visit Stationer on Sunrise for a Valentine card, and — if you hurry — a few goody bags remain! For out-of-towners, there’s still time to order a Valentines card from our online store, click here.

And We’d Like to Thank …
January 16th, 2012


Imagine our thrill when we received the new issue of Stationery Trends to see we’d made it into ST’s exclusive 10: Designers to Watch in 2012.

Fortunately the Golden Globes were on last night to give us an idea how to behave with dignity when receiving acclaim — or as Ricky Gervais put it, thank God, thank your agent and get off the stage.

With no agent to thank, and not wanting to give God all 100%, we’ll instead give a shout-out to all the people who have bought our cards. Truly, that support has made all the difference to us. When someone actually stamps and mails one of our cards we want to blurt out, like Sally Field from another awards ceremony years ago: “You like us! You really, really like us!”

By now the get-off-the-stage music is playing, so without further ado here’s the article itself. See the rest of the article, and a truly wonderful list of colleagues, at stationerytrendsmag.com.

Our Favorite Christmas Collaboration
November 23rd, 2011

Hands down, one of the best things about running our stationery company is the opportunity to work with creative people, especially when they take our bits and pieces of an idea further than we’d ever imagined ourselves. Check out, for example, these holiday cards that Adrian Valencia created for us.

The “Holiday Shoe-Tree” (above) started off as a whimsical little thought. Wouldn’t a Christmas tree made of super-chic shoes be everyone’s holiday dream? (In our book, visions of Manolos and Jimmys definitely trump a few old dancing sugar-plums …)

How splendidly Adrian brought the concept to life. Another illustrator might have taken a photoshop shortcut to copy and paste the same half a dozen shoes, but look closely: each one of Adrian’s 20 shoes is a different style. And how genius to make a Birkin bag the tree trunk, and a glittering Fendi baguette the star?

(The inside greeting reads: “… and a chic bag in a shoe tree! Happy Holidays!”)

Naturally we had our fashion friends in mind when we dreamed up this card, so you can imagine how delighted we were when People Stylewatch, one of the bestselling fashion magazines, chose this card for their Holiday Gift Guide (above). The issue hits the stands this week, and we’ve already gone back to press so we don’t run out. You can make online orders here.

Adrian also illustrated this Holiday Skater (above). The challenge here was to make blade carve the words of the greeting into a single flowing line on the ice. And voila, Adrian pulled it off like Katarina Witt. How clever is that tiny, little snowflake apostrophe? Order either single cards, or a boxed set here.