Category Archives: Leather Goods

New GFBs

Posted on June 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

I love my girlfriends.  They come in all shapes and sizes.  Sometimes it’s not easy to detect what we have in common, but be assured there is a strand that connects us.  And just like a loose thread on the hem of your dress, relationships need to be carefully trimmed and not pulled.

I’m quick to say I can’t handle any new friends.  It’s a lot of work building and cultivating new relationships.  But just when I say that, I meet someone and discover a new “thread” I never knew was in my dress.  And that’s what happened during my trip to NYC a couple of weeks ago. I met some new girlfriends.  Actually they are business owners, Carol of Graphic Image, Mary of The Printery, and Jacqueline of Mrs. John L Strong.  What a dynamic group of women!  I didn’t have a chance to see Lauren of Dempsey & Carroll this trip, but Jenine stepped in to make me feel right at home on Lexington Avenue.

I don’t think I have to tell you the common thread that connects us…but in case you can’t figure it out…it’s fine paper and leather goods.  Meet my new GFBs, Girl Friends in Business.

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Posted in Invitations, Leather Goods, My Thoughts, Papers, Stationery

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A $50,000 Christmas Card?

Posted on December 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

Did you know the movie It’s a Wonderful Life was made from a Christmas card?  In 1943, Philip Van Doren Stern was frustrated with rejection letters from publishers for his book The Greatest Gift.  So, he made 200 pamphlets of the book and sent them out as Christmas cards.  One made it to the producer of RKO studios Charles Koerner who bought the pamphlet for $50,000 and the rights to make it into a movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.


Tom Glazer of the Graphic Image leather company in New York, found an original copy of The Greatest Gift among his father’s possessions.  In just a season as this, he has created a new edition based on the original version in three styles; the original blue, a holiday red and an edition with a lovely red leather cover.

It’s a small book of only 31 pages, but packed with a message of “The Greatest Gift”.  What will your Christmas card say this year?  Will it be sold for $50,000, made into a major motion picture and ranked number twenty in the top 100 movies of all time?  You never know who will see your message, so make it personal and let it be a reflection of you.  Regardless of what you see through your lenses or in the mirror at the moment…you’re still living a wonderful life; the greatest gift; worth much more than $50,000. Continue reading →

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Posted in Journals, Leather Goods, My Thoughts

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How do you Flex?

Posted on October 10, 2011 | 1 Comment

If you ever see me opening the shop or leaving at night, I always have a tote bag.  I’m obsessed with them.  But maybe it’s because I’m also obsessed with notebooks. I carry at least 3 at all times; my personal journal, my calendar, and a “doodle” book.  Sometimes I have a separate journal just for client notes.  You heard about the new leather holder for my composition notebooks?  It’s embossed with TTP.  Pretty slick.

A couple of weeks ago I bought the new Flex by Filofax.  I test products so I know what to tell my clients about the quality and utility.  Wink.  Flex is so cool and fun to explain.  On many days I laugh at myself.

To spare you my poor acting skills…I found a “Flex enthusiast”, Philofaxy, to explain all the details of this new “notebook”, made in the UK, now at TT Patton.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Journals, Leather Goods, My Thoughts

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