Meet the National Stationery Show
Buyer Education Faculty

Buyer education offers an unrivaled opportunity to easily and inexpensively catch up on the latest trends, learn invaluable and profitable retailing skills, and gain practical advise from industry leaders. Maximize your productivity during your visit to the National Stationery Show, and commit to attending the seminars presented during the show!

Please visit http://www.nationalstationeryshow.com/showinfo/programs in early February for program details and to register.

This May, we deliver a premier program of seminars, Watch & Learn demonstrations along with the Daily Demos sponsored by Greetings Etc., and Retail Forums covering such critical topics as visual merchandising, in-store and online promotions, product trends, gift packaging techniques, green retailing, and growing your party profits. Every educational event offered has been created exclusively for NSS, and will be taught by a team of industry pro's.

Meet the 2009 National Stationery Show Buyer Education Faculty:

Sarah Schwartz, Trend Expert
As a trade magazine editor, Sarah Schwartz has covered the stationery and gift industries for more than a decade, first serving as the stationery editor of Gifts & Decorative Accessories, and later taking over the position as editor of Party & Paper Retailer magazine.

Sarah now serves as the editor-in-chief of Stationery Trends magazine (launched with great acclaim at the 2008 National Stationery Show); in its first year, the publication has been chosen as a winner of a gold "Ozzie" award for excellence in magazine design. Noted for her discerning eye for industry trends, Sarah loves to spot the latest product, color, design and lifestyle directions at trade shows – regarding them as museums of popular culture – and showcasing those trends to retailers throughout the year.

Linda Cahan, Visual Merchandising Expert
Linda Cahan, president of Cahan & Company, is an internationally known retail design expert specializing in visual merchandising and store design. Her 37 years in retail design includes extensive experience with large and small retailers and with all types of merchandise. Her clients include Meijer, American Express, United Rentals, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lancôme, The Mills Group, Singer, the BPAA and many others retail operations of all types and sizes.

One of the industry's most popular speakers on the subject of visual merchandising and retail design strategies, Linda is a columnist for four retail magazines, writes custom visual standards manuals, trains retailers across the country in all aspects of VM & SD and is the author of top-selling, practical guide: "Feng Shui for Retailers".

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Promotions Expert
Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a veteran of the retail industry with more than 30 years founding and operating a small chain of stores from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, from fine accessories and gift stores to the souvenir shop at the Santa Anita Race Track.

An award-winning novelist, speaker and best-selling author, Carolyn served as retailing editor for Home Decor Buyer magazine, and has also written numerous articles on retailing skills for a variety of well-known retail trade magazines. 

Carolyn’s latest book, A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How-To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eye of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques will be introduced at the National Stationery Show in May 2009.

Patricia Norins, Retailing Expert
Patricia Norins is the founder and publisher of Pinnacle Publishing Group, Inc., a publishing and tradeshow company focused on the retail industry, reporting on retail trends, visual merchandising techniques, growth strategies and retail entrepreneurial success stories.

A 15-year publishing and retailing veteran, Patricia started her career in family owned seasonal retail stores (300 kiosk locations nationwide) and later managed a well-known chain store, Casual Corner.

After launching Specialty Retail Report in 1997, Patricia started a popular trade magazine for the gift and home furnishings industries, GIFT SHOP magazine and most recently debuted another publication for the retail industry, GREEN Retailer. Also serving as a consultant to small retailers across the country, Patricia is regularly quoted in newspapers across the country including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times as an authority in specialty retail.

Juanita Lewis, Packaging Expert
With over 30 years experience as a retailer and entrepreneur, Juanita Lewis currently serves executive manager and buyer for two UCLA Medical Center Gift shops -- the Ronald Reagan Medical Center (#3 in the nation) and a branch location in Santa Monica, CA. Under her management, Juanita increased business in both locations by 50% over the past two years.

A gift basket and gift wrapping specialist, Juanita has been featured on numerous television shows on HGTV and the Discovery Channel, in addition to dozens of speaking engagements at national trade shows.  Specializing in corporate, celebrity, and personal wrapping projects, Juanita is also recognized in Southern California as "Dr Wrap," offering the popular WRAP IT UP Mobile Giftwrapping Service for customers throughout the Los Angeles area.

Maureen Barten, Party Merchandise and Sales Expert
A recognized authority in the party and  stationery industries, Maureen Barten is the co-founder of Z-Barten Productions, which for over 20 years served as the world's leading confetti design and manufacturing company.  Under her leadership, Z-Barten Productions and its owners were named to the INC 500 List of Domestically Held Fastest Growing Companies in 1994.

Currently serving as president of the product design and retail consulting firm Purple Q Productions, Maureen has worked with such leading retailers as Michael's Stores Inc., Hallmark Greeting Cards, American Girl, and Walt Disney Company, as well offering business mentoring advice and product development services for dozens of manufacturers and retailers throughout the country.

A frequent editorial contributor to various trade publications servicing the party, gift and stationery industries, Maureen has been featured as a guest lecturer in the School of Business Management at both USC and Loyola Marymount University.

Show hours for Wednesday, May 20 have been changed.  NSS will now close at 12:00 Noon on Wednesday, the last day.

NSS Show Hours

Sunday, May 17th – 9AM – 6PM
Monday, May 18th – 9AM – 6PM
Tuesday, May 19th – 9AM – 6PM
Wednesday, May 20th – 9AM - NOON

Marketers often say the customer must hear a message seven times before they're ready to buy. Retailers are much the same way about blogging. So I hope this is the seventh time someone has told you to blog.

I’m sure you have something to say that your customers will want to hear. You have experience and expertise and product. And, please note that I put product last. Without the first two items on a blog, no one will come. Or at least no one will come back again. Readers want valuable information and if you think about what they want and then give it to them, you've got a winning reason to start a blog. So, below you'll find eight very good reasons to have some fun with blogging.

You Can Blog Free
There aren't many things you can do to attract customers and increase your store's image that are FREE. Blogging is one of them.

Blogs Are User Friendly
Blogs are really easy to set up. Especially at Blogger, owned by Google.com. You probably have a Google account (they're free, too!). If you don't, open one, Click on the "Blogger" link (it's orange) and user-friendly windows will take you through the basic blogging process. Don't worry about details about blogging at first. Just get going.

You Can Write Your Own Blog
Even if you aren't a writer, you can write your own blog. Just write like you talk and let the best grammarian in your family look it over errors (but don't let them edit out your colloquialisms!). If you need someone to get you started, contact Joyce Faulkner at katieseyes.com. She can ghost blog your entries until you get the hang of it. Before you start, be clear about your niche--how it relates to your store and how you fit into the picture. Probably the best name for your blog will be your store's name but it might be something more generic. Something like "StationeryEtiquette.blogspot.com." Generally, the narrower the niche you choose, the better.

Your Blog Becomes Part of Your Branding Campaign
Once you’ve created a blog, you can link it to your Web site, to your social networks like Facebook or LinkedIn. Use it on your stationery (it positions your store as the go-to place for expert information!), on you business cards, in your paid advertising.

Your Blog Can Be News That Interests Your Local Media
Write up a media (press) release about your blog. Try to get your local feature editor or business editor interested. You may be the only retailer in town to do this!

Your Blog Can Keep Working When You're Out of Town or Otherwise Too Busy
The more you post to your blog, the more traffic you’ll get because the search engines will pick up your titles and keywords. Post at least once a week. If you can’t or don’t want to blog that often, write several entries at once and postdate them to space out their publication. In Blogger or Blogspot, here’s how to postdate entries:

1. While you're in either the "Compose" or "Edit Html" mode of Blogger, click on "Post Options" at the bottom left of your screen.
2. In the "Post Date" and "Time" blanks, you'll find window to fill in whatever date and time you'd like your post to appear.
3. Now click on the "Publish Post" button.  Your post will not be published until the date and time you've specified.
   

You Can Involve Your Customers and Your Employees
Blogs are all about interacting. Your customers can leave you comments or suggestions on you blog and that is invaluable. You could run "Why I love Cozy Corner Stationery Store" as a contest with the winner's entry posted as a guest blog. You can run contests on you blog. You can propel customers from your blog to your Web site and back again by using links that entice visitors to know more. And yes, let your employees have a go at ideas for blogs or act as guest bloggers. They'll love it.

You Grow With Each New Thing You Try
That's the conventional wisdom. When you grow, you stay motivated. If you're feeling a bit down or bored with your business, blogging may be just the ticket.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a featured member of the NSS Buyer Education Faculty.  Her bio is published above.


A Few of Our Favorite Blogs:

www.designspongeonline.com
www.decor8.blogspot.com
www.specialtyretailexpert.com
www.annagriffin.com/blog
www.craneinsider.blogspot.com
www.finestationery.blogspot.com
www.dancerintheaisles.com