I started collecting stationery as a kid in the 70’s. Back then the selection of available stationery was not nearly what it is today. I had a shoe box full of paper ephemera, most of it featuring the likes of Betsey Clark and Suzie Angel. I had no idea what went into producing these gems, I just knew I liked the cute characters and colors they featured. Fast forward forty years to the 2016 National Stationery Show and I found myself lucky enough to be a part of the NSS Class of 70 trading card promotion by Legion Paper – and I loved every single minute of it!
Back in November, Sarah Schwartz editor of Stationery Trends and founder of The Paper Chronicles and Legion Paper, distributor of the finest art and printing papers from around the world, asked Parse & Parcel to participate in their annual promotion in conjunction with the National Stationery Show. Since NSS was celebrating it’s 70th year, the promotion aimed at celebrating its legacy and invited all exhibitors to be a part of the project.
The concept for the promotion took its design cue from the trading and baseball cards of the 70’s. The idea being, just like kids collected the entire team set of trading cards, attendees would visit each booth and collect their own set and then visit Legion’s booth to pick up the keepsake box to house them in.
With the requirements being format size, and details including the exhibtor name and Legion paper featured, entrants were free to interpret the theme in any way they chose. P&P was a part of the review panel along with the National Stationery Show’s Patti Stracher, Sarah Schwartz and Legion Paper. The selections were then sent into the sample studio here at P&P, and our team had so much fun assembling the packs.
I have to say, these stationery designers and printers sure know the importance of packaging design & branding – they left no detail to chance. We were blown away the amazing design and creativity of the submissions. The NSS Class of 70 Trading Card promotion is a fun retrospective of the decade’s influence on design and pop-culture, including references to its notable fashion, media and trends. Below is a look at the collection including the spot-on Halston inspired, matchbox packaging design.
A ton of thanks to Legion Paper, Sarah Schwartz , Patti Stracher and NSS for including P&P in the fun! And of course a big thank you to all the participants.
I have to say, The NSS Class of 70 Trading Card set is among the prized possessions in this paperphile’s stationery collection.
For more details on the promotion, be sure to check out Sarah’s feature over on The Paper Chronicles.
And because we’re all about the deets, here’s a list of the participants and their paper specifications:
Albertine Press Colorplan Citrine & Fushia 270gsm
Paper Bandit Press Sirio Ultra Black 370gsm & Colorplan Pristine White 270gsm
Steam Whistle Letterpress Legion Art Coated Cover 300gsm
AZillionDollars Revere Silk Standard White 300gsm
Hester & Cook Colorplan Citrine 350gsm
Smudge Ink Savoy Brilliant White 638gsm
Smock + Bella Figura Somerset Velvet Radiant White 330gsm
Giddy Paperie Strathmore Pure Cotton Wove Digital with i-Tone Ultimate White 104C
Porchlight Press Ltd. Stonehenge Pearl Grey & Pale Blue 250gsm
Golden Fox Goods Ultra Digital® by GPA Cotton Uncoated Cover
Inklings Paperie Lettra Digital Pearl White 245gsm
ilootpaperie Mirri Pak Silver 16pt.
Paula & Waffle Ultra Digital® by GPA Cotton Uncoated Cover
Noat Rising Museum Board Neutral Grey 4 ply
Paperfreckles Ultra Digital® by GPA Cotton Uncoated Cover
Good Juju Ink Arturo Buttercream 260gsm
Mudsplash Studios Moab Entrada Rag Bright 300gsm
Smarty Pants Paper Co. Arches Watercolor White 140# HP
Haute Papier Lettra Fluorescent White 600gsm
Envelopments Inc. Cocktail, Curious & Colorplan
417 Press Arturo Soft White 600gsm
Color Box Design Strathmore Pure Cotton Chino 300gsm
Scotch & Cream Stonehenge Warm White 260gsm
Page Stationery Sirio Ultra Black 680gsm
Noteworthy Paper & Press Saunders Waterford High White 638gsm
Dapper Ink Colorplan Mid Green 270gsm & Coventry Rag Smooth 290gsm
Up With Paper/UWP LUXE Sirio Ultra Black 280gsm & Lanaquarelle HP White 300gsm
Big Wheel Press Colorplan Candy Pink & White Frost 270gsm
Colleen Attara Studio Ultra Digital® by GPA Bamboo Uncoated Cover
Off Switch Lanaquarelle CP White 640gsm
Reyn Paper Co. Cocktail Black Russian 290 gsm
Tons of foil, from the gold foil on the matchbox case, to the foil finish of the mirripak paper itself, to the halographic foil on R2D2. It was really interesting to see the results of this technique produced on so many different papers.
Big hair was definitely big trend in the 70’s and we saw that reflected in a few of the designs. Here hair was emphasized using letterpress, digital printing and even risograph (a printing method we see trending up).
So many fun cultural references – everything from roller derby, 70’s lingo, School House Rock, Charlie’s Angels, Saturday Night Fever and iconic design icons like Vignelli! Below are some snaps from the #nssclassof70 instagram feed. So much fun – we can’t wait to see what next year’s promo will be!
