Stationery Scoop

Hot summer

Yesterday was a hot one and today promises to be the same so yay for wearing flirty sundresses and flip flips and drinking lots of water to stay cool and hydrated. I'm getting thirsty just looking at this frosty pitcher from last evening. I'm going to need a few of these today to survive in my un-air conditioned office. [Landlord Bob, if you're reading this, could you please, PLEASE send the AC repair guy over TODAY? Thank you.]

I have a new day-timer and it's pink and I love it! As a lover of stationery, I get a lot of joy from writing in a journal. So forget the Blackberry, it's Quo Vadis all the way. Most years, I go with a weekly format, as I did this year. The thinking behind that is that it allows me to look at all of my projects and to do's a week at a time rather than the microscopic one day at a time. Stephen Covey has some good writing on this.

See the line drawn from Aug 21 to 24? That's my notation for the trip to Quebec City that I'm taking tomorrow. My husband and I are celebrating a very special anniversary [15 years!] and wanted a little vacation that would feel like Europe but keep us in Canada, hence Quebec City.

Have a great day and stay cool, especially if you're where I live, in Winnpeg!

We love it when you....

write to us with feedback on your order, both the good and the constructive feedback. This helps us do things better. Here's a nice note from customer Karen Howe:

Hello Janelle,
I just want to thank you for the beautiful favors that I ordered! �They came earlier than expected, and I very much appreciate your putting my order through so quickly! �It's been a pleasure working with you!
Best Regards,
Karen Howe

This is how you brand

Hi there! It's Tuesday and a great day awaits us. I'm so thrilled with the branding afternoon yesterday - me, Petra (Marketing Manager), Stephanie (Operations Manager) and Toni (Customer Care Manager) spent the afternoon doing a branding exercise. The goal? To define our values and goals in order to give our customers a consistent [and amazing] experience with Botanical PaperWorks.

Stephanie's gazebo was the perfect place to get the creative juices flowing. I felt as if I were summering in Nantucket, with the fresh white walls, colorful toss cushions and artful touches.

 
Petra lead the afternoon and took copious notes which will be transformed into something she calls the Brand Pyramid. We'll use this pyramid to communicate our philosophy and values to others.

The laptop was great for Petra's presentation on branding and she programmed it with questions to get us thinking and brainstorming.

 

We snacked on WAY too much chocolate (65% and 86% cocoa!) but balanced it out with a veggie tray.

Today, I'm having lunch with my grandma, something that you'll find me doing most Tuesdays. My girls come with me and we visit until home care comes to give her a bath. We're also going to get back-to-school haircuts and veg out with books. I'm still tackling that Michael Porter book that I mentioned yesterday. Maybe make a smoothie with the strawberries we picked. Maybe organize something around the house. Maybe not. We'll let the day lead...!

It was go, go, go

Phew, what a weekend! This mom, business owner and cottage-goer went full-tilt from one end of the weekend to the other, starting Friday night when I ordered in a little sushi for me and made ham sandwiches for my girls, age four and six. Surprise, surprise...the six-year old asked to try the sushi and before I knew it, she had devoured half of my order of Dynamite Rolls and a bunch of the avocado and cucumber rolls. Next time, I'll have to order more knowing that she now eats sushi (at age 6, I never would have thought...).

Proceed straight into Saturday, which was spent busy being leisurely (yes, I realize that's a contradiction). Here's me in my various poses:

And in this picture, I feel compelled to explain that I had switched to Oprah magazine after taking a break from the very serious Michael Porter book Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (lest you think me all fun and games):

I'm totally mesmerized by the rocks at my parents' cottage on Lake Winnipeg. I couldn't resist sharing this photo. Notice the range of color and texture. Simply beautiful, aren't they?

Saturday night, I spent some time getting my lists organized. Have you read David Allen's book Getting Things Done? I read it in July and I've been working on getting all of my to-do's out of my head and onto lists, thereby freeing my brain for more interesting and creative thoughts than "Don't forget to return the library books" etc.

Sunday was filled with more relaxing and we capped it off with an engagement party for my cousin Matt and his financé Lauren. I forgot to take pictures of the people, but I did get this one of the cake. It tasted as good as it looks!

So now it's Monday and work promises to be fun and interesting today. The morning: emails and my regular Monday morning operations meetings. Afternoon: five straight hours of branding lead by the dynamic Petra (our marketing manager) and hosted by Stephanie (our operations manager) at her house. I'm in charge of the snacks, so I'd better not forget that. Nothing worse than a bunch of managers grumpy because "someone" forgot the nibblies. I take my job very seriously!

This is what happens when you switch it up

Yesterday, we switched it up a bit for a Friday afternoon. Selam and Mila from our papermaking department welcomed Priscilla and Kelly from the printing department. We like everyone in the company to understand the basic method of papermaking, and for the last 18 months, we've been trying to get Priscilla and Kelly in for an afternoon. Today, it finally worked out, and here are pics from them working the press.

First, a bird's eye view from the catwalk on the mezzanine as Selam demonstrates the basic method:

Look at Priscilla's lightening fast arms as she pumps the press up and down!

The matching t-shirts - a total coincidence. We don't require newbie papermakers to wear orange!

We're having fun...

with our business called Botanical PaperWorks! Monday, I was visited by Kara Friesen, a family friend and former Botanical PaperWorker. When Kara was at BPW, we were a small company. In fact, we reminisced that Kara did every job in the company, from making paper, to assembly, printing, shipping and customer care. Those were the days!

Here we are in my office:

Here's a cool product that is going in the employee store at Manitoba Hydro - the 2009 Plantable Eco Calendar branded just for them on the belly band. Petra dropped off the calendars Wednesday afternoon, so they should be on the shelves soon. Let us know what you think.

Go and shop here

Tiber River Naturals, my go-to store for personal care products, is stocking Botanical PaperWorks' plantable greeting cards and according to co-owner Michelle Lalonde, the cards are very popular with their clients. I love shopping Tiber River for Bottoms Up lotion which treats my eczema like nothing else, and my every-six-week pedicure with Darcie. Here I am with Michelle when she came by to pick up an order:

 

Do you know what these are?

What are these tasty treats being made by Customer Care Manager Toni Reimer?

Why they are the delicious sage cookies made with fresh sage grown from the Yummy Cards and made with the recipe on the back of the card!

They baked up golden, flaky and buttery. Yum!

What a weekend for...

swimming at the beach, sipping gin & tonics and reading magazines. We had our fill during a lovely cottage weekend. I ended it with a fast and furious bike ride with my parents last night, with not one but two near-collisions (I need to work on my biking safety), a cold shower and a cup of tea.

Now it's the start of a new week and at Botanical PaperWorks, we're working on some new products for 2009/2010. I love the creative process when we all get together for brainstorming. "No ideas are bad ideas during  brainstorming" I say, meaning we get to say the crazy stuff that crosses our minds.

I don't want to forget to thank Your Surrey Wedding Magazine for mentioning Botanical PaperWorks' plantable wedding invitations on their wedding website. Here's a clip to click and read:

Changes are underfoot

at Botanical PaperWorks where our new display shelving has arrived and been installed, and a new sandwich board helps identify our place of business. You can now shop our studio store for bulk plantable paper, cards and journals. As you browse the invitation and personalized favor portfolios, check out the pots of growing plantable paper. The pots are resplendent with green and the wildflowers are blooming.

As you approach by foot or car, here's what you'll see:

We love the interlocking brick on the sidewalk. It gives the street some old world class.

Here's a peek at the studio shop:

In front of the area shown below is a table with four chairs. We use this area to meet with wholesale clients who drop by to place orders or pick up product. We also meet with vendors and clients ordering personalized invitations and wedding favors.

Back in the saddle

Hey there! It's the end of my official summer holidays and the start of being back in the office and I'm excited to be here. I've missed the great people at Botanical PaperWorks and I've missed the daily excitement of being part of a growing and interesting (actually, FASCINATING) company!

You may be wondering, "What was Heidi doing during the last three weeks?". Well, I......

also, I....

Throw in some time at the cottage, with one trip to the hospital after my youngest daughter had a close encounter with a rusty pole, and the holiday was memorable, interesting and fun (not the hospital part!).

If you have a minute, please send me a note about what you've been up to. Email me a photo and I'll post a collage later in the summer. Holidays are good!

Happy Civic Holiday!

It's the first Monday in August and in Canada, that means the August long weekend, otherwise known as the August Civic Holiday. The Botanical PaperWorks and Absorb Creative offices are closed today but will reopen tomorrow at 8:30 am Central Time. Have a wonderful day!

Eco Stiletto launch party

We were excited to be part of the recent Eco Stiletto launch party by providing plantable give-aways for the event giftbags. The party was very well attended by celebs and you can view some behind-the-scenes video by clicking here. Watch the video for appearances by Adrien Grenier, Kelly Rutherford, Josie Maran and more.

Click on the embedded video link at bottom right. Congratulations to founder and visionary Rachel Sarnoff on a very successful event!

Crunchy Domestic Goddess

Thanks to Crunchy Domestic Goddess for recommending Botanical PaperWorks' plantable invitations in a recent post entitled How to Throw and Eco-Friendly Party. I'm getting ready to throw a 6th birthday party this month for my daughter and I liked her suggestion for party favors (always a challenge!). Here's a clip and click to read the entire article:

Wildflower info

Yesterday, I posted images of wildflowers from the Rockies, and today I wanted to provide some information about the flowers. Here are signs from the Johnston Canyon trail that give some information about the flowers. Click on the picture for a larger, readable image.