On our desk this week...

Counting down the days until the National Stationery Show next week!

Retailers, come on over to booth #2547 to see all of our fabulous products in person. We'll be joined there by several other must-see, must-have manufacturers, so be sure to stop by for fresh ideas and awesome products we're sure your customers will love!

We'll be blogging from the show, so come back each day next week for eyewitness reports from the country's premiere market for social stationery and all the fun stuff that comes with it.

Fun Friday

Friday, May 8

It's Mother's Day weekend, so we're sure there'll be lots of gathering going on (and hopefully some great giving, too). Whether it's a fancy restaurant brunch or breakfast in bed that's made by your kids, we hope all you moms out there enjoy a day where you feel special, pampered and loved.

We'll be back next week with a look behind the scenes at our preparation for the National Stationery Show starting May 20.

Cool Gifts for Grads

Thursday, May 7

It seems it's Graduation Week on the Hen and Barley blog, so how about some gift ideas for the soon-to-be graduates in your life?

Here are just a few:

Gorgeous flat and folded note cards customized with your grad's name or initial;

Note pad and magnet sets;

Desk sets, including initial note cards and a sturdy holder;

Colorful magnets featuring your grad's initial.

Hosting a graduation party? We offer imprintable invitations in classic and trend-inspired designs that are sure to draw a crowd. We even have photo announcement cards that help you share your grad's milestone with family and friends far and wide.

All of these fun, personalized products come in a range of designs, including spring's must-have Moroccan-inspired motifs and our classic Quatrefoil designs. Our colors run the gamut, too, so you can customize your gift to match your graduate's school colors.

You'll find all of these products at our awesome retailer partners coast to coast (look for a shop in your area here ), and from shopHBP , our partner site for custom orders (where we also donate a percentage of our profits to worthy causes).

A Great Way to Gather

Wednesday, May 6

Yesterday's mail brought a few more high-school graduation announcements, but one in particular struck me as a great way to celebrate graduation with a twist:

This particular graduate is a very talented painter, and she's headed off to art school in August. For her graduation, her parents are hosting an open house to "let us thank you, family, friends and neighbors, who have been a part of [her] life along the way". This isn't just an ordinary open house, though--it's also an art show featuring the new graduate's paintings and other artwork.

What a great idea--to celebrate not just the occasion, but this young woman's accomplishments as well. It shows the parents' pride for their daughter's graduation, but also their pride and respect for who their daughter is becoming.

Gathering in this way--celebrating who the person is, not just the occasion--gives even more meaning to any occasion, be it birthdays, graduations, even Mother's Day on Sunday.

The New In

Tuesday, May 5

It arrived in the mail on Saturday: the first graduation announcement of the season. It's that time again, and Hen and Barley Press is ready with a host of gifts for grads that will usher 8th graders into high school (think initial note cards and locker magnets), high-schoolers into college (a set of monogrammed stationery, perhaps?) and college grads into the world with elegance and style. There's plenty of time to order the perfect gift, so visit your favorite retailer or shop HBP.

Know what else arrived in Saturday's mail? The new Bloomingdale's home accessories catalogue, which proclaimed on its cover that "The New 'In'" has arrived. Let me quote: "What's hot for summer? Think BBQ's, sunny mornings in spa-fresh beds, iced coffee dates and frothy cold cocktail hours. This season it's all about looking at it in a new light."

We're all about the New In, if it means giving, inviting and gathering in a more relaxed style. Take last night, when my husband and I passed by a friend's house while we were out for a walk. Their fire pit blazed away as they and their neighbors, whom they had just invited over because it was such a lovely evening, made s'mores. Love the impromptu nature of that simple invitation--and love the idea of the New In.

Grad Cap icon above from hen and barley press Completely Custom line. Colors of cap can be customized to match your grad's colors and can be used on labels, notecards, invitations and more.

On our desk this week...

Monday, May 4

What's new!

As we count down the days to the National Stationery Show May 20 to May 23, we'll be posting sneak peeks of our newest products on our website. Check back often, and most importantly, be sure to stop by our booth #2547.

{Sneak Peek #1}

Like so many retailers, you probably have a gazillion albums in your store. Well, what if you could buy JUST ONE album, with thousands of design choices for every occasion or event? And what if you could order more than 20 different products from it? And train your staff just once? And have it take up no more than 8.5" square on your shelves? And nothing ever gets discontinued? Sounds dreamy, no?

Introducing...the Completely Custom+Semi-Custom album! This one album has it all, in the form of one compact acrylic easel--Completely Custom designs & products on one side, and our NEW Semi-Custom designs & products on the other.
That's thousands of design choices plus 20 products for every occasion--and in ONE album? That's DREAMY!

Fun Friday!

Friday, May 1

A wrap-up of what people do on the weekends to give, invite and gather.

It's May Day! Revive an old-fashioned tradition: Give a small spray of flowers to someone you care about. To be true to tradition, leave the flowers anonymously--it's a fun spring surprise that will make anyone's day.

Now it's your turn: What are you doing to give, invite and gather this weekend? Leave us a comment telling us what you're up to, and we'll pick one at random to feature on our blog.

image above: bouquet icon from hen and barley press Completely Custom line, shown in leaf/violet can be used on stationery and gifts