Vendor Spotlight: Bells & Whistles

I was delighted to have the opportunity to chat with Danielle from Bells & Whistles in Belmont, MA! Danielle and Kristyn have  an adorable store that carries a large selection of home goods and gifts!! With the great products to the fun atmosphere that the ladies provide it would be hard not to pop in for some goodies or just to say hello. I asked Danielle some questions and read below what she had to say!

How many years have you been in business? We have been in business for just 1 year!!

Do you have a website, if so, what's the address? www.bellsandwhistlesshop.com

If you were to sell something other than stationery, what would it be? This is so hard because my love is stationery. I think I would have to say Wallpaper. The designs are fabulous and it makes a statement in any room.

Besides the obvious (stationery), what is your favorite thing to give as a hostess gift? Anything personalized, I always try to put thought into my gifts. I love Toss Designs totes, coolers and wine bags with initial sticker monograms. You can grab them, stick a monogram on and you have a customized, thoughtful gift that's totally affordable!!

Here at Haute Papier, we love to eat!  When in NYC for the National Stationery Show, where is your favorite place to grab dinner? Le Colonial, an amazing French Vietnamese Restaurant. It has a calm atmosphere and great cocktails - just what you need after a long day of shopping!

Any other tidbits about your store you'd like to share? Our shop is a merge of two designers - I come from a graphic design background and handle all the stationery at the shop. My colleague comes from a background in Interior Design and handles all the home and gift buying. Together we have lots of creative fun and hope to inspire our customers. We try to offer a little something for everyone.

Thanks Danielle!

They Are Finally Here!!

Yippee!!! The 2012 London Olympics are here! Us ladies here at Haute Papier, have been watching the trails and putting in our favorite votes. As the world watches, we'll be watching for our favorite events. After an afternoon of chatting while letter-pressing, I asked some questions to the team. Here are our answers!

Sarah responded with the following.

Which is your favorite sport to watch and why?   Gymnastics   

What one are you most excited for? I love love love watching the Open Ceremonies to see all of the performances and I love watching the finals of any sport.  From rowing to the marathon to the beach volleyball, I've got them all DVR'd!

If you could participate in one sport what would it be and why?  I'd say the marathon.  Having been a distance runner, it would be the ultimate for me in terms of competing in an Olympic event!

Erin was up next!

Which is your favorite sport to watch and why?  Overall I like swimming.  The athletic ability of Olympic swimmers is amazing!  And the male swimmers have the nicest bodies in all of athletics so that's not too shabby of a reason to tune in :)

What one are you most excited for?  I love the opening ceremonies!  I love seeing the world come together every four years to celebrate national pride in a positive way.  I also can't miss the women's gymnastics finals.

If you could participate in one sport what would it be and why?  Probably women's soccer or field hockey.  I played both growing up and so the learning curve might not be too terrible!

Purnima your turn.

Which is your favorite sport to watch and why?  I would have to agree with Erin and say the swimming!!!

What one are you most excited for? I find all the sports to be wonderful! I am going to stick with swimming.

If you could participate in one sport what would it be and why? I would have to say participating in the floor routines for the gymnastics events!!

Kate, last but not least!

Which is your favorite sport to watch and why?  I have a few favorites! If I had to pick one it would be volleyball! I played in high school and it was wonderful to see the teamwork play out!

What one are you most excited for? I love the gymnastics events!! It is unbelievable how they focus and balance on such a small beam. I am just amazed in their strength.

If you could participate in one sport what would it be and why? I would love to participate in the equestrian events! I have no horse riding skills, however I would find it enjoyable learning.

Good luck to all the competitors and we will be routing on the good old USA!

Vintage Letters

I love everything about vintage letters – the delicate handwriting, the old stamps, and even the crinkled colored paper. It's so refreshing to remember the art handwritten notes, especially during our internet-obsessed time! Check out more vintage letters and the stories behind them at Hawaiian Stamps! I hope this inspires you to pick up a pen and a piece of your own stationery and write a note to someone you care about!