Founder

The Proof is in the Paper

April 7, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

It’s not every day that you see this kind of collateral for a tea company. Then again, after reading Dilmah’s story, this is not just any ole bag of tea. The Teamaker’s Private Reserve collection consists of a selection of rare, fine teas personally selected by the company’s founder – talk about hands on involvement. Each one is carefully chosen and meant to present the indulgent pleasure of tea. So it stands to reason the same care and thought would go into the design and production of its catalog targeting exclusive, high-end restaurants and hotels. The team at Manic Design crafted a truly luxury experience for these buyers demonstrating the importance of what lies within before even reading a word – the proof is in the paper.

No Joke – New Wallpapers Are Here

April 1, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

To me there’s nothing better than a blank page. I love the idea of fresh starts, and while that may be a bit difficult to achieve with carry over of daily business happenings, I get great satisfaction in starting a new month on the calendar. I think of all the possibilities, look back at the … Read more

Paper Samples: Astrobrights Promotion

September 29, 2018March 30, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

It’s official, spring’s here. I know the calendar says the vernal equinox began on March 20th – but I have my own system. Living near the Great Lakes most of my life, I know a date on calendar means nothing in terms of reality. So I rely on something much more scientific, my senses. While I saw a few snowflakes flying this weekend, I also saw the first harbinger of spring in my book – the crocus. I base the next three months on this sighting alone. I know in 10-14 days the hellebores will be in bloom, followed shortly by the forsythia and cherry trees. That’s my signal to breakout the putrid liquid fence. This step is a necessary evil because it prevents the deer from devouring my spring landscape. As a gardener, I live for my display of spring bulbs. Tulips are by far my favorite – probably because much like paper, they come in an abundance of gorgeous colors.

Paper Samples: New Astrobrights Swatch Book

September 29, 2018March 7, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

What’s your favorite color? Most people know instantly what their color of choice is, for me this is a tough one. I find it’s a lot like choosing your favorite ice cream flavor, it kind of depends on my mood. Lucky for me I’m in The Sample Studio all day and can easily find a hue to suit my needs, from white to black and every shade in between. While some may think being surrounded by all this color can make one jaded to it, I am gitty when a mill revamps a grade and colors are re-imagined. Just last week I attended a meeting with some industry paper peeps where we were shown the recent grade refresh of Neenah’s Astrobrights offering. While the rep from Neenah spoke about the big changes to the grade (major additions of basis weights), I could focus on nothing else but the new lemon-lime duplex colors in the new Astrobrights swatch book.

March Wallpaper

March 2, 2015March 2, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

There’s no doubt about it, it’s been a long winter. We’ve been dealing with arctic temps since late November and the snowdrifts are so high the dogs don’t even want to trudge through them. I think we’re all ready to say goodbye February, hello March. This is the month we start to feel hopeful again – … Read more

The Power of Paper: On Neenah

September 29, 2018February 6, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

One of the perks of my job is that I get to see some pretty amazing paper promotions. Over the years I’ve amassed quite a collection of fab samples showcasing every print technique imaginable. I refer to my sample library often, especially when a designer asks to see something special. The one area of my stash that is in hot demand these days is luxury packaging. It seems everyone with a new business or product is embracing the tactile medium of paper as a means of differentiating their brand. There’s tons of great info online about haptics (the science of touch), but to me there is nothing quite like experiencing the real thing. I always thought it would make so much sense to just have one really well executed packaging piece that highlights paper as an essential part of packaging design. So when I opened the new Neenah packaging promotion – The Power of Paper: On Neenah, I almost passed out.

February Wallpaper

February 4, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

With temps hovering around twenty degrees this week, we didn’t need Punxsutawney Phil to tell us winter will be sticking around for at least six more weeks. All this frosty weather means we’ll continue to be spending a lot of time indoors and plugged-in, but there’s no reason we can’t make things a little brighter while doing … Read more

The Disconnect Between Availability of Premium Papers & Designers

September 29, 2018January 26, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

I was scrolling through my facebook feed when a post from a design friend stopped me in my tracks. “Dear paper companies – cease and desist showing designers premium / unique papers that when we actually go to use them – you inform us right before press you cannot fulfill an order. I am so over print production.” I cringed, this is the exact opposite reaction every paper company wants a designer to have about their products. As someone who has lived and breathed paper for the better part of my career, I have to wonder why the disconnect between availability of premium papers and designers still happens?

Warm-Up with Wallpapers

January 14, 2015January 12, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

I don’t know about you, but right about this time of year I reach the end of my rope with winter. Growing up in Buffalo you’d think I’d be used to lake effect snow and sub-zero wind-chills by now, but somehow the winters of my childhood seemed so much more fun. I’m not so sure we can do anything about the weather, but we can do something about making things here a bit more fun. We’re introducing a new feature on the blog and maybe just help warm-up with wallpapers this winter. Each month we’ll share a new wallpaper from illustrator and P&P staffer, Chris Corsi, which you can use for your desktop or phone.

A Sucker for Great Packaging

January 7, 2015 by Jill DiNicolantonio

bing-bang-parse-parcel It’s no secret I’m a sucker for great packaging. If you follow Parse & Parcel on social media at all, you know how deep my affection for well crafted packaging design runs. While this obsession might seem natural for those who live and breathe design all day, there’s actually some science behind it. Numerous studies on haptic design (see no. 4) show that simply touching an object increases our perception of ownership over that object. That explains my collection of luxury packaging boxes. After seeing the recent rebranding project for Bing Bang NYC Jewelry, I see my box collection growing.