NSS - our first experience

Participating at the National Stationery Show was Lili Graffiti's crazy project, between the dream of seeing our cards sold across the Americas, and the reality of an international professional stationery trade show. 

After a first visit at the NSS 2016, the decision was made: this would be the big challenge of  2017. This was followed by months of preparation: reservation and layout of the booth, creation and printing of the catalog and invitations... After hundreds of hours of work, many quotes, a few insomnia, a little apprehension and a lot of excitement - and a last minute change of passport - we arrived in New York.

The first day we arrived in the wee hours of the morning. A taxi ride and 2 hours of bottling later, we entered the Javits Center and discovered our booth in a maze of paths littered with cartons, and other construction materials. Once the walls of our booth installed, we rolled up the sleeves and it took about ten hours to decorate the stand, over two days.

Then, the serious things began: four days of fair, meetings, discussions, discoveries ... Exciting but exhausting days! We quickly took our little habits: every morning, we bought our coffee @Things coffee, then we took the High line to air our mind by going to the Javits. In the evening, a fun activity to change ideas: Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, Times Square, Central Park, Chelsea Market ... and even a friendly meal around stationery store owners from across the United States!

Finally, after four intense days, we had to dismantle the booth - much faster than the installation - and say goodbye to our neighbors and all the creators with whom we had sympathized ... see you next year for a new adventure at the NSS 2018!

In summary, the NSS is months of preparation, a show that takes place in a flash, and months of follow-up!