This is the first official post of the new #paperisbetter blog.
Let’s start with a little introduction. The #paperisbetter blog is the official blog of Story Supply Co. That said, posts will not be focused solely on our own products. We love stationery and analog creativity tools, and we personally use stuff from a variety of brands. This will, instead, be a space where we share stories about how paper, and accessories that tend to go with paper, make the world a more creative and more beautiful place.
What to expect:
• Posts about Story Supply Co. (Okay, so obviously some of the posts will share some of our new products, behind the scenes info, news about upcoming events, and so on.) We plan to make these the least frequent posts, but you know, we've got to pay the bills too.
• Stories highlighting the incredible work our partner organizations are doing with helping young storytellers find their voice and tell their stories. Think interviews, storyteller spotlights and news. Yay!
• Posts showcasing really awesome products that we wish we had made ourselves. Expect a lot of Japanese stationery, products we love, and stories about other stationery fun like place and things we pick up along the way.
• Interviews with creative people who are using paper to make the world a kinder, more creative, more beautiful and tolerable place. We're already lining some of these up and can't wait to share them.
What’s the deal with Story and Story Supply Co.?
For some of you this may be your first introduction to Story Supply Co. Hi there. We recently met lots of folks while holding down the Story magazine table at AWP, and you may be wondering why a stationery company was hanging out at the Association of Writers and Writing Centers Conference. Okay, maybe not that far fetched. I mean 12,000 writers in one location?
Here’s the story with STORY. Story was launched in 2014 by Travis Kurowski and myself as a literary space that embraced stories in their many shapes, sizes, genres, etc. We dreamed of a “big-box” approach to literature where genre and literary fiction, along with stories in the shapes of poems and comics and essay all lived in harmony.
We also wanted to make something that felt like it needed to be in print—something that could not easily be recreated online. For that, we brought in our pal, the uber-talented Gabriel Dunmire. He designed the first issue and killed it. If you haven't seen an issue in person, I'll give you a little run-down. Four-color offset printing, perfect binding and a double cover. So, it's sort of like two issues in one. We use what is sometimes called the tête-bêche or dos-à-dos style of binding.
Story Supply Co. Grew out of that relationship.
I had wanted to start a stationery company for a long time, and I immediately brought Gabe on board, knowing he would take my idea and help make it even better than I had imagined.
Here’s where I’d throw in a cliche and say the rest is history, but you know, we’re just getting warmed up.
Have a cool idea for future posts? Tell us all about them in the comments below.