“Stationery is on trend and in fashion. Research has shown that growth will come from the trend of purchasing stationery as a gift, partly driven by increased personalisation, increased product ranges and design-led products and innovation,” is the upbeat message from Hazel Fieldwick, event manager of organisers Ocean Media Group as she prepares for the imminent debut of the first ever Manchester Stationery Show.
Taking place for the first time on Tuesday 31 October and Wednesday 1 November, this sister show to the London Stationery Show, will take place in the heart of Manchester at the Cotton Sheds, part of the Victoria Warehouse venue in Old Trafford.
The exhibition will include a New Product Display Showcase, a hands-on Creative Hub area, a LaunchPad area for new stationery suppliers and designers and a full speaker programme.
The show’s speakers will include Phil Pond of trend forecasters, Scarlet Opus, high street commentator Michael Weedon of exp2 and industry expert Henri Davis.
Among the exhibitors are Go Stationery, Manuscript Pen, Leuchtturm1917, Silk Hat Greetings, Dear Prudence, Tallon International, Pomegranate Europe, Castelli, Stabilo, Allsorted, Charfleet Book Bindery, Portico Designs, Postsafe, Premier Stationery, Durable UK, ExaClair and Toscana Carte.
Among those participating are the winners of the Launchpad competition, launched to find fledgling stationery suppliers looking to break into stationery market.
The six LaunchPad winners, who have each been given a free stand to take part in show, are:
- Stationery Geek – useful stationery with a quirky twist
Paper Mirchi is one of the winners of the LaunchPad competition. - Peace & Blessings – offering British design to celebrate non-mainstream festivals
- Emma Lawrence Designs – its Little Nature Explorers range even includes bug stickers
- Mayblossoming – fun and cute notebooks and notecards from Kirstie Gilleade
- Paper Mirchi – handmade luxury giftwrap made from recycled paper
- Green Pebble – a range of ‘write, paint & print’ journals targeting artists and hobbyists
The entries were judged by stationery, art and craft store, Mark Aldous and Paul Walker, the joint MDs of Manchester stationery store Fred Aldous; Helen Riley-Ditchfield, designer at Widdop Gifts, Sarah Laker, owner and buyer at Marple Stationery Supplies and Nigel Anderson, owner of Silk Hat Greetings.
Judging took place in a classroom in the Fred Aldous store which is used to hold regular workshops for the city’s long-established art and craft community.
Recognising that the key to the stationery industry’s future is attracting the next generation of young professional, announced at the end of the first day of the show will be the ‘stand outs’ of the ’Thirty under 30’ nominees, individuals under the age of 30 years of age who are shaking things up in the stationery world.
Among the nominees are, Emma Pearce (designer of Hotchpotch), Taymoor Atighetchi (founder and ceo of Papier) and Lianne Devonish (product developer of NPW Gifts).
*Testament to Ocean Media Group’s commitment to the stationery sector is that it is also a sponsor of the new UK Calendar Awards, The Calies, the finalists of which were announced on PG Buzz on Tuesday (October 10). The winners will be announced at an event at Stationers’ Hall in London on Wednesday 29 November.
