Symphony Handmade Seed Paper

Press

For media inquiries, please contact
Arian Roefs: arian@seedpapers.com

OPRAH.com Nov '08
O List: Oprah.com Exclusives

GOOD TO GROW
After you ditch the Christmas tree, plant another—with a peaceful dove ornament of paper embedded with winter pine seeds. Also great as an environmentally aware stocking stuffer or party favor.
www.spoonsisters.com

Greeting Today (UK) Oct '08
Spot Light

US-based company, OOTS distributes these lovely, eco-friendly seed paper cards. Pictured here is a new baby design that includes Foret Me Not seeds. Each card comes packaged individually, with a 100% recycled envelope and planting instructions.

American Baby Magazine Sept '08
It's only Natural

"Products like these are better for the environment, and great for you and baby. Seedpaper cards can be planted."

GiftBeat, On Our Radar...vendor's thumb-up June '08

Kudos to OOTS!, whose commitment to the environment is seen in its line of Symphony Handmade Seed Papers. Made in the USA from 100% natural, biodegradable and recycled fibers, seeds and plant matertials, the paper products can be planted and will grow into flowers, vegetables, trees or herbs. The dove shown here is part of the company's paper ornament line, which took first place in the Think Green: Party category as a perfect party favor at last month's Stationery Show.

Best New Product Award Winner at the National Stationery Show 2008
May '08

OOTS! won the Best New Product Award in the new category 'Think Green: Party' for its Handmade Seed Paper Ornaments. “These exhibitors are innovators and trend-setters in an ever-evolving social stationery industry,” said Patti Stracher, show manager. “Each product that captured the attention of our judges exemplifies creativity, functionality and fun – and in the case of our 'Think Green' winners – social responsibility. These companies are to be commended for their ingenuity and continued efforts to provide the industry with fresh resources.”

Kelly Bristol (Assistant Show Manager, NSS), Arian Roefs (Owner, OOTS!), Taryn Siegel (OOTS!), Patti Stracher (Show Manager, NSS)

Best New Product Award Winner - in the Press May '08

Gifts and Table Wares
Judges reviewed a record-breaking 375 products to select the 13 winners of the National Stationery Show's new product awards. This year, for the first time, the show's organizer, George Little Management, expanded the competition to include six "Think Green" categories.

CheekyChick
Courtesy of Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine comes a great from-the-floor report on the 2008 National Stationery Show in New York. One of the highlights is a list of the winners of the Best New Products competition, which includes Eccolo’s journals made of recycled leather and paper from managed forests, handmade seed paper ornaments from Oots in Santa Fe, NM, and Fancy That!’s packing tape, which won the Delegate’s Choice Award.

Gifts & Decorative Accessories
Of course, the Best New Products Display always creates 2008 National Stationery Show Best New Products bootha lot of buzz and it is a great place for retailers to source some of the newest products and lines at the show. This year had a record number of products in contention, and because of the continued strong interest in eco-friendly products, each of the six product categories included a “green” division.

Everyday With Rachael Ray
January '08
Every Day Gift Guide; Rach's Picks

For the Eco Conscious
www.spoonsisters.com

Greetings Etc. Oct '07 'High-End Focus' by Julie Ritzer Ross Handsome Handmade Papers Handmade-paper products are gaining even more customers as interest in 'green' items gains ground
(excerpt).... To draw attention to these areas, consider suspending a few large sheets of handmade paper and/or handmade-paper cutouts from the ceiling over displays, suggest Arian Roefs, owner and managing director of OOTS!, the exclusive distributor of Symphony Handmade Seed Papers. The company's line features cards, gift bags, bookmarks and more made from biodegradable fibers, seeds and plant material, which can be planted to grow flowers, vegetables, seeds and herbs. "Signs - even ones that say something as simple as, 'These items are handmade' or 'Eco-friendly' - are important in driving home the message that handmade papers are something out of the ordinary," Roefs comments. To really get the point across, she advises placing props - such as green plants or flowers in pots - on or near displays. Caption: An assortment of stationery items ($1.20 - $16) made from biodegradable fibers, seeds and plant material is available from Symphony Handmade Seed Papers, distributed by OOTS! 505 - 989 7707.

Woman's Day Special Interest Publications, Oct '07
Best Ideas for Christmas

Tree Toppers - Green Living
This ornament from Symphony Handmade Seed Papers has blue spruce seeds embedded in it. Plant it to grow a tree of your own.

Floral Management, Sep '07
Product Spotlight

Fabulous Flowerage
Symphony Handmade Seed Papers, distributed by OOTS, are artistically created and mad from 100% natural, biodegradable and recycled fibers. Seeds and plant material can be planted to grow flowers, vegetables, trees or herbs. The line consists of gift cards, bookmarks, gift bags and boxes, and ornaments.

Greetings Etc. July '07
'Greetings Gone Green' by Kathy Krassner (excerpt)

With recent warnings about global warming, environmentalism is now at the forefront of nearly every industry, including the stationery industry, where the number of “green” cards and stationery products utilizing eco-friendly papers and manufacturing processes is rising.

Indeed, former vice president Al Gore’s movie is often credited for propelling the current “green” movement. “Momentum has been building for several years, and with Al Gore’s movie, ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ the whole world seems to have noticed that it is time for a different attitude towards the environment,” notes Arian Roefs, owner of OOTS!, which distributes the Symphony Handmade Seed Papers line of handmade, seed-paper products. The line consists of cards, bookmarks, gift bags and boxes, journals and more – all made from 100 percent natural, biodegradable and recycled fibers, seeds and plant material that can be planted to grow flowers, vegetables, trees or herbs.

“I think consumers will appreciate stores that indicate their willingness to offer eco-friendly products,” remarks Roefs of OOTS!. “If we make it 'easy' for the consumer to do their part, we will all reap the results of these efforts. It is not a fad; there will be more entrepreneurs coming up with new ways to treat our planet as we should.”

Gift Ware News, June '07
The Power of Flowers, pretty cards that offer a punch

Party & Paper, May '07
On the Paper Trail - "Green Goes Glam, Eco-friendly takes on a stylish visage"
By Sarah Schwartz, Editor at Large (pdf)

"There's so much waste in our economy," said OOTS!' Arian Roefs. "Our products are made from 100% natural, biodegradable and recycled fibers, seeds and plant material, and can be 'recycled' again, to grow plants." The range includes cards, shapes, bookmarks, gift bags, gift boxes and journals.

Brillia nt Results
Covering our mailer for Al Gore's video 'An Inconvenient Truth'. March '07
Complete article (pdf)

National Stationery Show, Newsletter. April '07
Visit us at the National Stationery Show in New York,
booth 2146, May 20 – 23.


	Stationery Trends *Caroline Kennedy, Executive Editor, Gifts & Decorative Accessories* Coming into the National Stationery Show every year, the big questions on everyone’s mind are always, “What’s new? What’s hot! What are the trends?” Nobody knows for sure, including me. We can however make educated guesses. Based on our experience, conversation with vendors, observations of what is happening in the marketplace, as well as out on the streets, and by what comes across out desks and into our inboxes on a regular basis, there are commonalities in certain design directions and threads of relationships in product trends that we note.
	Eco-consciousness Our environmental awareness is on the rise again, spurred by the reports on global warming and the Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. But this is not your ’90s boring brown eco-conscious paper. Eco-chic has style; it’s product that looks as good, as the good it does. But eco-consciousness goes further now with some companies going “green” in other ways, such as using alternative energy sources. Keep your antennae out. Photo: Shape Dove by Oots!