As wedding season gets under way and summer fun starts filling up your agenda, I thought I would share one of my favorite online shops for buying fabulous and cheeky cards. Mercier Beaucoup was founded by the lovely and talented Rachel Mercier and features a great selection of unique cards that will have you giggling and searching for a tiny frame to display them on your wall. With all that's available out there, hitting up the card aisle of your local CVS is no longer an acceptable way to say thank you for a job well done. Do it in style!
Rachel has been a stationery connoisseur for a long time and a year ago decided to launch Mercier Beaucoup in an effort to bring her love of paper and keen eye for good design to the masses. Her stationery subscriptions became a runaway hit and have been featured in Daily Candy, Simply Stated and Goodsie. Every month you get a grab bag assortment of pretty cards. Don't you want to be the kind of person that has the perfect card up your sleeve at moments notice? In this week’s interview, we get her perspective on the all-important Thank You card and a report on the National Stationery show that took place in New York this May.
The banquet booth at National Stationery Show
Printerette Press berries and gingham card
Mr. Boddington’s studio
Subscriptions come in 3, 6 and 12-month options
Brita: When is it appropriate to send a thank you card?
Rachel: I believe there are a few formal rules to thank you notes, but they should be used liberally. It’s always important to send a thank you note for a gift received, or spending weekend at a friend's summer home. However, I also believe in random acts of gratitude like a thank you note to your parents just because and thank you to a friend for helping you through a tough time. A little thank you goes a long way!
Brita: What would you say your stationery style is?
Rachel: I love all kinds of stationery, but I generally lean toward pretty, feminine and colorful styles. Botanical illustrations, gold foil, calligraphy and anything letterpressed makes me drool! I also love playful and unique designs whether it’s a clever saying or a creative new pattern! I hoard stationery, so I have an endless collection for all occasions and styles!
Brita: What are some of your favorite stationery brands?
Rachel: I just attended the National Stationery Show, so my list of favorites has grown! Currently, I'm swooning over Snow & Graham, Sugar Paper, Anemone Letterpress, and Banquet Workshop. I could go on forever!
Brita: You and I share the belief that the written word is a dying custom worth upholding, do you think it's coming back?
Rachel: Absolutely. I think that email and social media has been fabulous for efficiency and reach, but has created a desire for more personal and sentimental communication. Receiving a letter as opposed to an email has a much more significant impact, and can really change someone's mood. That coupled with the breadth of amazing stationery goods out there has made the written word very trendy!
Brita: What are some new trends you saw at the stationery show?
Rachel: Letterpress still continues to be very popular, and a lot of brands are now using gold foil! The DIY, crafty trend in stationery is quieting down and making room for a more luxe, proper, pretty look. Neon was also popular this year. Love that!
Brita: What is a favorite card that you have received?
Rachel: I would say every thank you card! But most recently I received a special card from my mom. She was visiting me in NYC and I gifted her a set of letterpress Snow & Graham thank you cards with a sweet pea design on the front (her favorite flower). She sent me one of the cards the following week to thank me for the weekend. I was having a terrible day and the card really turned it around for me. I cherish receiving such thoughtful notes and keep them all—including letters my husband and I sent each other from camp in 7th grade!
Hear more from Rachel on her blog.