Letters & Journals Magazine Update

The launch of the print version of Letters & Journals is scheduled for 2011. It's been a long time in research and planning and the challenge in 2010 has been to build a following of potential subscribers.

To date we have a list of 2,300 names of possible subscribers/buyers. Our goal is to get 5,000 names. Once we have a list of 5,000 names then we will begin approaching advertisers and following up with the ones who have already expressed interest (thank you!).

If you know some people or groups who would be interested, please encourage them to sign up for the website, the e-newsletter or just let me know to add them to my Magazine Updates Only list. None of the lists are being sold or shared and there is no obligation.

Thanks to the many loyal followers who offer their encouragement and share in the excitement of all the things that Letters & Journals represents; pens, paper, ink, pencils, notebooks, diaries, journals, note cards, stationery, mail art, pen pals, postcards, mail, stamps, letters, ephemera, etc.

Preparing for the National Stationery Show

The National Stationery Show (NSS) starts this Sunday! I'm so excited to be going again this year. My main objectives are to find story ideas and new products to share, find potential advertisers as well as stationery stores who would like to carry the magazine, and meet others in the industry and share their enthusiasm for our collective passion- pen, ink, paper, cards, mail, notebooks, journals and more. I have a checklist of items that I am bringing which includes:

• Business Cards
• Magazine Prototype
• Postcards featuring the prototype cover
• Stamps for mailing postcards
• Extra suitcase for all of the goodies (information packets, samples, catalogs)
• Camera
• Good walking shoes
• List of fun tourist things to do
• Notebook for ideas and business cards 
• Appointment calendar to make sure I keep the appointments I have set up

Wish me luck! Hopefully, I will see some of you there!
(Photo: Paper Patisserie in St. Paul, MN)

Stationery

Part of the desire to start this magazine called Letters & Journals is my love of paper, stationery, cards, notebooks, blank books, ink, journals and so on. I know there are others out there too who love the same things - spending hours in a stationery store, reading blogs of people who design and sell stationery, connecting with others who share this same fascination.

A few weeks ago I visited Paper Source in Minneapolis. A week later I went to Stillwater, MN and visited the newly discovered Pulp Fashion. Oh, what a lovely day that was. This is a picture of some of the treasures I bought at Pulp Fashion.

One of the regular departments I see in the magazine is to highlight stationery store shopping excursions to various cities. Just like the famous travel guides offer their recommendations for things to do in NYC or Paris in 1-day, 2-days or 3-days, the stationery store excursion article would do the same for 1-day or 2-day highlights for the paper enthusiast.

Here is my short list of the Minneapolis/St. Paul stationery store tour in alphabetical order. The complete article would feature highlights for each of the stores, photos and a sense of their personalities and ambiance.

Anchor Paper
Bibelot
Paper Source
Papyrus
Pulp Fashion