055 | Where to skimp and splurge at her first tradeshow with Lisa Sarmento, Tiramisu Paperie
TSBC alum, Lisa Sarmento is the owner of Tiramisu Paperie a sassy brand located in Nashville that sells greeting cards, gift wrap, pencils and other gift items. Lisa has had tremendous growth in her business over the last two years. She attended our Paper Camp conference in February 2016 and describes those two days as the launching point for Tiramisu Paperie. Her products are currently carried in hundreds of retail shops throughout the United States. Lisa works with sales reps nationally and has exhibited at several trade shows including NSS, Las Vegas Market and Dallas Market.
On today’s episode, Lisa shares her personal story of getting laid off from her high level advertising agency and how ‘entrepreneurial gardening’ and motivation from her son prompted her to start this business. She shares how she connected with sales reps, what she skimped and splurged on at her first trade show and reminds us to not let fear hold us back from what we want in life and business.
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051 | Using reps to enhance wholesale sales with Kim Burks, Ramona & Ruth
TSBC alum, Kim Burks is the founder of Ramona & Ruth is a boutique letterpress studio located in Omaha, Nebraska. Kim started Ramona & Ruth in 2009 with her tabletop letterpress in a spare bedroom of her home. Kim makes simple and thoughtful letterpress greeting cards and a variety of other paper goods including gift wrap, notebooks and planners. Ramona & Ruth products can be found in retail shops across the country.
On today’s episode we’re talking about Kim’s decision to change her business name after being in business for five years, how her design aesthetic has evolved and how bringing on sales reps has enhanced her business.
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040 | Strategies for pitching wholesale buyers with Rebekah Tennis, Wild Ink Press
Rebekah Tennis is the founder of Wild Ink Press, a letterpress studio and retail storefront located in northern California. Rebekah started Wild Ink Press in 2009 and was part of our very first Tradeshow Bootcamp class in 2011. The Wild Ink Press brand offers witty and pretty greeting cards, stationery, and other paper goods that can be found in hundreds of retail shops nationwide including the Container Store, Papyrus, and Paper Source.
On today’s episode, Rebekah talks about the power of slow, organic growth and why it’s okay to not have all your ducks in a row when you’re starting out. She also shares her thoughts on responsiveness, reliability, and why she likes sending catalogs and samples to prospective wholesale buyers.
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037 | Why this Canadian company exhibits at U.S. tradeshows with Sarah Edmonds and Tammy Lawrence, Banquet Atelier & Workshop
Sarah Edmonds and Tammy Lawrence are the owners of Banquet Atelier & Workshop, a Vancouver-based design studio. All of Tammy and Sarah’s products are conceived, designed, printed and produced in Canada with a fine attention to affordability and environmental sustainability. They offer screen printed signed and dated prints, stationery, textiles as well as clothing and jewelry. They’ve also licensed work and collaborated with large brands such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Terrain, Anthropologie, Land of Nod and others to create exclusive products and designs.
On today’s episode we’re talking about taking risks with new products and why it took them over 4 years to bring their textiles to market. We also discuss why you need to follow your passions when making business decisions and why this Canadian company chooses to exhibit at US wholesale shows.
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030 | How she raised $80,000 for Planned Parenthood with Kyle Durrie, Power and Light Press
Kyle Durrie is the founder of Power and Light Press, a ship-shape letterpress print shop built to handle all of life’s messy emotions. On today’s episode we covered a lot of ground including the pros & cons of different trade shows, how Kyle has grown her team and why she makes travel and downtime an important part of her life. We also talked about how Kyle has donated over $80,000 to Planned Parenthood through the selling of her Stand with Planned Parenthood Tote bags – how she did it, her motivations for giving back and how she dealt with public backlash.
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025 | Avoiding the comparison trap with Debbie Lee, Penelope's Press
On today’s episode I’m interviewing Debbie Lee of Penelope’s Press, a letterpress print studio founded in Chicago and now based in Southern California. Debbie opened her business in 2009 selling on Etsy and doing custom wedding work, then later launched to the wholesale market. She shares her important story of how getting sick forced her to scale back in her business and gave her a newfound perspective of how she was spending her days. She talks about her struggle to say no to new opportunities, why her family is at the center of her business decisions and why she didn’t let comparison deter her from her path of slow growth.
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008 | Infusing personal interests into creative work with Briana & Jason of Brainstorm
Owned and operated by Briana Feola and Jason Snyder, Brainstorm is a print shop and collaborative design studio rooted in the production of original art prints inspired by science, nature, and the outdoors. Briana & Jason have done some creative collaborative projects with big brands such as Lollapalooza, Patgonia, Airstream trailers and an upcoming project with L.L. Bean. On today’s episode Briana and Jason talk about how their love of learning inspires their work, using a strong brand to attract the right clients and why your business should always be in some state of transition.
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Special Edition | 2017 National Stationery Show, Part 2
I’m back with Part 2 of our National Stationery Show recap. We’re talking with six of our TSBC alumni hearing what went well at the show, how the show has evolved and a couple will weigh in on how the show differs from NY Now and Atlanta’s Mart. Today’s episode features interviews with Sarah from Parrott Design Studio, Joel from Iron Curtain Press, Lana from Lana’s Shop, Julie from Julie Ann Art, Kristen & Pam from Reyn Paper Co., and Tammy from Banquet Workshop.
This episode is part one of a three part special edition series and it features interviews with Kathryn from Blackbird Letterpress, Kim from Ramona & Ruth, Pippi from E. Frances Paper and Stefanie from Halifax Paper Hearts.
Before we get started, I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course. This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows. This isn’t your ordinary online course where you’re left to do everything yourself. The class runs for four weeks and every week we’ll have a live coaching call with me and special guest experts. Classes start on June 4th! Learn more and register here.
Enjoy Part 1 of our National Stationery Show special series!
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Special Edition | 2017 National Stationery Show, Part 1
I recently was in New York for the National Stationery Show where myself and approximately 70 of our Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni were exhibiting. And, I thought it would be fun to chat with a handful of exhibitors, everyone from first time exhibitors to seasoned pros. This episode is part one of a two part special edition series and it features interviews with Stephanie from Dahila Press, Katie from The Good Twin, Shino and Ken from Fugu Fugu Press, Michelle from Meeschmosh, Denise from Friendly Fire Paper and Chelsea from Sugar Paper. Enjoy!
This episode is part one of a three part special edition series and it features interviews with Kathryn from Blackbird Letterpress, Kim from Ramona & Ruth, Pippi from E. Frances Paper and Stefanie from Halifax Paper Hearts.
Before we get started, I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course. This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows. This isn’t your ordinary online course where you’re left to do everything yourself. The class runs for four weeks and every week we’ll have a live coaching call with me and special guest experts. Classes start on June 4th! Learn more and register here.
Enjoy Part 1 of our National Stationery Show special series!
Read More
