After graduation and before I moved to DC my college roommate and I spent a summer in Burlington, Vermont. It was a half-step transition into the real world during which I got my first job in retail. There was an independent (they only had to stock 25% Pier One items and the owners had incredible taste) Pier One store on pedestrian, cobblestone Church Street. I worked in the front of the store, manning the checkout counter and restocking cards and photo albums all day. I loved it, especially in the mornings when I would sweep the entrance and wash the windows to make sure the store looked shiny and clean before our first customers arrived.
About a month into it, my manager was gone for a few days. When she returned, she pulled me aside for a chat. "Look at all these great things I found at the National Stationery Show!"
She told me that she had ordered certain items because she knew I would love them. I get these kinds of comments all the time now: a friend posts something about letterpress on my facebook wall with "saw this, thought of you;" someone else emails me about a shop they found, "it was so 'you,' especially the stationery;" or a friend calls and asks for a paper recommendation for a project. But this was the first time I remember someone picking up on my interests and tastes so quickly. She was a tough boss and sort of gruff with everyone, so it was especially surprising and touching and made me recognize her respect for me. We had a great working relationship and she even gave me good-luck-in-DC flowers on my last day at the store. I think we both had a tear in our eyes. During the more rat race-ish days I've had in DC, I've dreamily thought about why I ever left that cute store on that lovely street in that charming town. It's my favorite what-if game.
And wait a minute, did she say there was such a thing as a National Stationery Show? I knew nothing of trade shows at the time, but she described this magical place where stationers and purchasers and paper lovers came together for a few days. For the last ten years, every spring I've heard talk of the show and have wondered if I'll ever actually go. I've even been in New York, for other reasons, at the time of the show for at least three of those ten years.
Finally, this year (this month! this week!) on Sunday and Monday I'll be visiting the National Stationery Show for the first time. I can't wait!