Vanity Fair Hot Gifts

If you are flipping through the December 2009 Vanity Fair Hot Gifts guide and a few things catch your eye - I know of a great little shop in Kansas City where you can find them ...

Heather Moore Personal Charms - Create a treastured mememto with a personal message or design - prices range from $100 - $5,000

Graphic Image - luggage tags - starting at $23 - get these personalized!

Did you know...

...we design dessert/candy tables for weddings, showers, bar and bat mitzvahs, etc? If you are interested in booking us for your 2010 event please give us a call...soon. We can't wait to sit down and talk with you about your event.

Trying not to Rush

Being a retailer around the holidays is very challenging for me. I am one of those people who can't stand when people turn their Christmas lights on before Thanksgiving, or when the radio stations start playing holiday music on November 1st. Most of all I hate it when I walk into a store in October and they have Christmas cards out. What I really hate is that I have to participate in this rush because I own a retail store.

So, that being said - we waited as long as we could. We now have our boxed cards out, gift tags, wrapping paper, etc. We will wait to decorate the store until after Thanksgiving - but you would be surprised how many people have been asking us about our holiday items - I guess we finally got tired of digging through boxes to find things. So, here are a few fun things for wrapping, mailing, baking, etc.

One Day At A Time

Okay - if I could really live this way - it would be great. But the next best thing - these amazing gold leaf pads from russell+hazel. Their newest notepad set will inspire you to make the most of each day. With a nod to the hours, minutes and seconds in the day this classic trio of pads will keep your thoughts well-ordered. Makes a great holiday gift for those of you planning ahead. But hurry! They are bound to go quickly.

Photo courtesy of russell + hazel

Holiday Photo Cards

We have some really great designers offering some truly unique designs for holiday digital photos - these are not the same designs you will see online. Stop in the shop on Wednesday, October 28th, mention this posting and receive 25% off your holiday card order!

Boo!

Just a reminder - our Halloween cards and gifts are 25% off until Halloween - invitations too! Buy now for next year.

Line A Day

I don't keep a journal. I have a degree in English/Creative Writing and I still don't keep a journal. I think journals, with their blank pages and open format, give me that Sunday-night-writing-assignment-not-done-pit-in-my-stomach feeling. BUT, this I could do. Five lines, each day and this would also really help my issues with not being able to remember what I did a week ago, let alone three years ago. Plus, it is adorable - keep it by the bed or by the phone and there you go - instant memoir. I know exactly who is getting this for Christmas this year.

Snow & Graham 2010 Calendars

It is hard to believe we already have calendars flying out the door. We have several styles we have already had to reorder! Anyway, here are some photos of the 2010 Snow & Graham calendar - we have the desktop, mini desktop and large wall calendar all in stock.

Bella Bridesmaid

If you are a bride and you have not chosen a bridesmaid dress for your ladies, you have to check out Kansas City's newest location for dresses - Bella Bridesmaid. Located at just north of 63rd on Oak Street - they have a great selection. I know they have all my favorites - Jenny Yoo, Amsale, etc. And to make it even better the two ladies who own it are so nice! Meghan and Danielle the owners also own an event planning business. There shop is adorable and I am certain any bride would truly enjoy this environment. They are open by appointment only! Stop in!

Halloween Invitations

Hey all - we are offering 25% off our Halloween Invitations now until October 31st! Did you know Halloween is on a Saturday this year - what a great excuse for a party. Don't want to host in the evening because it will interfere with Trick or Treating? How about an afternoon event - invite your friends and family over in the afternoon for chili, corn muffins and cookies and milk before heading out for the evening. That is a great way to start the day!

Invitation by Meri Meri

October Anniversary Trade-In Event

This October, Bennett Schneider, will be celebrating 80 years. We have a really great event planned for October 16 and 17, 2009. In addition, we are offering you the opportunity to recycle your old stationery. If you have some old stationery you just don't love anymore - you can bring it in to the shop and we will recycle it for you and give you 20% off the purchase of new stationery. This includes Crane, William Arthur, kate spade, Vera Wang and sugar paper. Now is a great time to stock up on new notes and cards - as there are always lots of thank yous to write around the holidays!

2010 Calendar

Okay - I admit, I love fall - and all the changes it brings. Love that I have not had the air conditioning or heating on for two weeks at home. Love that I can start making chili for dinner. Love high school football on Friday nights. Love Louisburg Ciderfest. Love the Plaza Art Fair. Love that our shop is now filled with lots of fun things for fall holidays - one of my favorites - these 2010 calendars from sugar paper. They are going fast so stop in and grab one today - they make a great holiday gift. I think I can check two people off my Christmas list with these.

Also in stock - 2010 Linnea, Snow and Graham, Linda and Harriett and momAgenda calendars

Photos courtesy of sugar paper

Linda & Harriett 2010

Linda & Harriett posted photos of their 2010 calendar this week, so I thought it would be a good time also - we have these great calendars in stock and the best part ... the back of each month is printed so that you can cut the design off and send them as postcards. Assuming you can part with these calendars. I have had 2009 hanging in my kitchen and love it! Makes my day - as they are so happy! Visit www.lindaandharriett.blogspot.com to view more photos.

Sweater Love

It is no secret that we have always had a certain amount of love for MJK Knits personalized hand-knit sweaters - but now - even more. Look at these adorable hand-knit stocking caps, stockings and holiday sweaters. We have some great samples on their way to the shop. The hats are $44 and the stockings are $52 - they take about three weeks from when you order to when they arrive and we are also happy to package, wrap and ship them for you. Call us! Don't forget - if you order between September 1st and September 30th you will also get 10% off!

Refreshingly Honest

Yesterday I received the new Saks Fifth Avenue catalog in the mail. What a breath of fresh air to open the front cover and find a two-page spread listing the seven things they believe in - right there. What I really loved about this was how honest it felt - no apologies. In fact, Number 1 said "We're a fashion company. There will be no apologies for loving fashion. Now more than ever." And this is exactly how we feel.

We are a paper company. We love high-quality stationery and invitations and we will not apologize for that either. We look for designers who love what they do and who are very good at what they do. We don't sell products that aren't special and just like Saks "we would feel guilty selling them to you." Finally, reason Number 6 for Saks states "Boring is Bad. Our customers have a right to smile when getting dressed in the morning." And so it is our belief - that writing notes, sending invitations and hosting a cocktail party should make you smile.

Honestly!

Ben's Garden - New to KC and Bennett Schneider

We are so excited to have this great new line of decoupage plates, coasters and paperweights in the shop. We received them about two weeks ago and have been selling through them quickly. These make great housewarming gifts, birthday gifts or just somewhere special to drop your keys or glasses! We are getting ready to place another order so stop in soon and let us know if there is something you want.

Don't forget - though Christmas is still months away - it is never to early to start thinking ahead!

Kdog Photos of My Kids

Hey all - if you read this and need a super great set of photographers - see these guys - Rachel, Phillip and Doug! I asked for some fun, summer, overexposed photos and I get exactly what I wanted - what to buy first? Anyway, see some more of the photos here

My kids are already asking me when they can have Phillip out to the lake with them again! Like it is a playdate - hey Phillip - I am up for it anytime you are!

Custom Ice Cream Sandwich Bar

Want something different at your wedding than the traditional candy bar - how about a custom ice cream sandwich station! Several flavors of cookies and even more ice cream flavors - how about a double chocolate chip cookie with peanut butter and chocolate ice cream! Yum! And the perfect way to wrap up a summer wedding.

Contact us for more information and pricing!

Bridesmaid Flowers

Wouldn't these look adorable on your bridesmaids? I think putting them on the waist of a dress would be amazing. Image ban.do

KC Weddings Article

I love press, especially free press - but only when it is correct. I was quoted in the most recent edition of KC Weddings magazine in an article about wedding invitations being environmentally friendly. The quote I gave was correct. I do believe that just because an invitation is environmentally friendly doesn't mean it can't also be stylish. However, the article goes on mention a few other things about inks, etc. and I just want to clear the air.

Bennett Schneider does not do any in-house letterpress printing. We work with some great designers who use 100% cotton paper or bamboo paper and those vendors should be given all the credit for their designs and efforts. The invitations pictured in the article that we sent in were from Smock Letterpress and Mr. Boddington's Studio. The article also mentioned that we only sell paper that is environmentally friendly - and though we try very hard to do this - there are a few lines we carry that may use wood pulp for paper but do so in a way that minimizes the impact on the environment as best they can. We make it a point to do our part by recycling and informing our customers the best we can.

I hope this clears things up - I just felt the article was misleading and wanted to be certain there was not information floating around that was not completely true.

Our sincere apologies.

Invitation shown by twig & fig

You stopped me in my tracks...

Yesterdays New York Times had a great article about personal stationery and it really spoke to me! Here is the link The Lettered Set.

My mom and I were very saddened when we learned Mrs. John L. Strong was going to go out of business. But, we have also seen an increase in our personalized stationery. If you have not been in lately to see some of the amazing new options in personalized stationery you will be so surprised. Any color or typestyle you can imagine is available and the sizes and paper colors are endless.

So please - check out the article, I think you will find it very interesting.

Photos from The Printery

Something Borrowed

So we have a great idea - make your wedding invitations your something borrowed. Ordering Smock Letterpress wedding invitations is a great thing. All of their invitations, notes, cards, etc. are made of bamboo paper - the rate bamboo grows makes is a great source for paper. So...basically you are just borrowing from earth to send your invites - and oh, did we mention that environmentally friendly doesn't have to mean boring or plain!

Stop in and let us help you!

WOW!

This is really all I can say about this amazing new line of custom invitations and stationery that is on its way to Kansas City. I can't say the name for fear that I am not supposed to announce this quite yet. The New York Times writes this about this amazing L.A. based company:

"In our email-ridden world, a little bit of thick, creamy card stock goes a long way. Who doesn’t appreciate a proper handwritten thank-you note on luscious letterpress-printed paper, or a crisply engraved custom invitation or announcement? [Name removed] and [Name removed] opened their first [Name removed] store in 2003, and have since added a second location in Brentwood. Over the past few years, the pair’s sweetly nostalgic but seriously high-quality stationery has garnered a following of polite young Hollywood types, including Katie Holmes, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Garner."

Ever since I have been in stationery business I have wanted this line. We will get more details tomorrow and hopefully be able to tell you all who it is and provide you with some more photos of some of their amazing work. In the meantime, I am going to be dreaming of some amazing new personal stationery and my daughter's wedding invitations (I know they are only four, but you haven't seen these invitations!)

It's the little things

We find that it is usually the little details that can really make your event special! Simple cocktail napkins - if you find yourself asking, "why didn't I think of that?" make your way down to see us and let us help you with some fun napkins! They are not expensive and can be really fun. You don't even need a special event - have some fun napkins made for yourself this summer and everytime you have friends over pull them out! Can easily make a casual evening with friends into a summer event.

Fun Ideas:

1) Pick a few different quotes you love and put the quotes on the cocktail napkins.
2) Put fortunes on napkins - then mix them up and stack them at the bar - what a fun surprise and great way to generate conversation between guests.

Photos courtesy of Snippet & Ink

Fancy Evites?

The New York Times recently published an article about a company that swears it is okay to send a fancied up evite for your wedding. They are trying to sell people on the idea that if the e-mail looks nice, it is as nice as an invitation that is professionally printed, mailed and opened! What do you think?

Obviously, we are not fans. Do you really get as excited about an evite as you do an invitation you get in the mail? I hope not. This article has a great quote from Pamela Fiori who is the editor of Town & Country magazine - "In a world increasingly uncivilized," she said, "it’s important that we have some ties to tradition. And I honestly think that what we’re losing with e-mail are our memories."

We could not agree more!

Summer Party Idea #1

Obviously our favorite idea is for you to come in here and ask us for more ideas! Did you know we can also plan your event for you? Yep - from idea to invite to getting the show on the road! Ask us. But, thought I would pass this along - we have all heard of candy bars, pastry bars, etc. - how about this a retro soda bar? Love the rainbow hues. You could do this with beers for the older crowd! Enjoy.

Photo credit - Project Wedding

Summer Party Idea #2

The dreaded RSVP. So you invited 25 couples over for disco night and noone has replied? Want a sure fire way to increase your replys? Send along a reply card - self-addressed and stamped - and ask them to select their favorite disco song! Then create a music mix with all the songs. Not having a music themed party? Let us help you think of creative ways to get them to respond! We can make it easy for you, super fun for them - then everyone will be so much more excited about the event!

P.S. Postcards work great! Especially vintage ones!

Summer Party Idea #3

No summer party would be complete without firing up the grill. There are so many great grilling books out there to choose from - my new favorite is Bobby Flay's Burger, Fries & Shakes. Plan a summer party around this - my favorite so far - Garlic Butter Burger, Sweet Potato Fries and the Toasted Almond Milkshake complete with Amaretto (which you can leave out for a kid friendly version). Is your mouth watering? For the recipes pick up the book - I got mine at Williams-Sonoma. So...what's left to do? Just send out these invites, head to the store and fire up the grill.

Summer Party Idea #4

We saw this idea in Martha Stewart Weddings and thought it would apply equally well to a summer party. Let your guests have some photo booth fun without the photo booth expense. Hang a sheet of fabric between two trees, set up a table with a camera on it and let them snap away. Not only will they have fun, but you will have some fun and fashionable party pics. Whent he party is over get the photos developed then send all your guests a summer thank you with a few photos inside!

For a fourth of July themed party encourage everyone to dress in red, white and blue and hang a large flag - Uncle Sam would love it.

Summer Party Ideas #5

Put away all the boring plates you use everyday and switch to some fun personalized plates just for the outdoors. To view all the patterns and colors stop in today - all plate sets (set of 4 for $80 or set of 8 for $160) ordered this week are 15% off!