Happy Cactus Designs — The Happy Cactus Blog

See You at the National Stationery Show - Booth 2240!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Brannon Cullum | 0 Comments

Happy Cactus is off to New York City for the National Stationery Show. We are beyond excited to be back for our second year and to debut a number of new products. If you are attending the show, please come visit us at Booth 2240!

Posted in new product, NSS, stationery show

Happy Cactus Designs Included in UPPERCASE Magazine's Stationery Guide. Check It Out!

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Brannon Cullum | 0 Comments

I recently mentioned that I was thrilled to be included in UPPERCASE Magazine's special stationery issue. Now you can view the entire guide online for free! The guide profiles 50 independent stationery designers from around the world and I'm so honored to be included amongst so many talented artists. Check out the entire guide here, and order your issue from UPPERCASE so you can read the entire issue in print!

Posted in press

The Happy Cactus Pre-Show Mailer for the National Stationery Show

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Brannon Cullum | 0 Comments

I'm leaving for the National Stationery Show in a few short days, and I can't wait to share my new products with retailers attending the show! Here's a behind-the-scenes look at my pre-show mailer that I recently sent out to stores. It's customary to send invitations to retailers inviting them to visit your booth at the National Stationery Show. This year, I did a 5"x7" flat card using a design based off my new Emerald Flowers patterned card (debuting at the show).

The front of the card had pertinent information about my booth and new product releases, while the back was covered in the hand-drawn floral vines. The white against the emerald green color really pops!

I decided to use a kraft envelope and wanted to use white ink for the address. One of my favorite parts of the mailer is the floral oval stamp on the front of the envelope that I wrote each retailer's address inside. I had a stamp made based on an original drawing that matched the card's floral vines, then I stamped each envelope using white ink. I used a white gel ink pen (my new obsession) to hand-address each card.

Finally, I choose the USPS's brand new vintage seed packet stamps. I absolutely adore these stamps and loved the bold flowers against the brown kraft!

I hope retailers enjoyed receiving these invitations as much as I enjoyed putting them together. See you at Booth 2240 in New York!

Posted in flat cards, flowers, hand drawn, stamps, stationery show

Creative Soundtrack, Volume 6

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Brannon Cullum | 0 Comments

It's been a crazy busy week wrapping up many Stationery Show related tasks. Happy Cactus will be headed to NYC next week for the show, and starting Monday I'll be sharing some sneak peeks of new products. If you can't wait until then, check out this preview on the wonderful blog Paper Crave!

For this week's creative soundtrack, I'm sharing a video of Jim James (from My Morning Jacket) performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It's one of the best performances I can recall seeing on a late night talk show and has been my jam all week!

Posted in creative soundtrack

Two New Cards Featured in the Stationery Show Issue of Stationery Trends

Posted on May 08, 2013 by Brannon Cullum | 0 Comments

I have been eagerly awaiting the latest issue of Stationery Trends, the leading stationery industry trade magazine, and was so excited to see that two new Happy Cactus cards are featured in its pages! This is the special National Stationery Show edition and I am so honored to be included alongside many other talented designers. This is also the first issue featuring the newly revamped design and I love what the editors have done!