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Friends in the Press February 28, 2012

When the January/Feruary 2012 issue of Gifts and Tablewares arrived in the Botanical PaperWorks mailbox, we were excited to see friend and customer Suzanne Davis on the cover. Suzanne owns Notables Stationers Inc. in Edmonton, AB and recently celebrated 25 years of success in independent stationery retailing.

Gifts and Tablewares interviewed Suzanne for their "Retail Intelligence" section on page 24. In the interview, she describes her store in one word ("Classic"), her leadship style ("Hands-on") and talks about how she uses social media for retail success.

To read the complete article, please click on the image above.

Congratulations Suzanne and your team on this achievement and on 25 years of retail excellence! From all of us at Botanical PaperWorks.

Seed Paper Packaging For SolarMill February 10, 2012

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I love how creative our clients are when they use plantable paper. Today I wanted to show you what our good friends at SolarMill have done.

This environmentally conscious company hand crafts bamboo cutting boards in a 100% solar-powered facility. Not only are their products sustainable, but their eco-friendly packaging is seed paper embedded with herb seeds! Great idea, huh? Not only are you getting a beautiful limited-edition cutting board, but you're getting an herb garden at the same time. Take a look, these would make a great addition to any kitchen.

Want one? I know I do. Lucky for us, SolarMill sells them on Amazon! Check out the great reviews they're getting already. Way to go guys!

Plantable Seed Paper in Children's Book September 26, 2011

We've seen a lot of cool and unique things done with our plantable paper in the past, but never before have we seen it in a children's book! Who doesn't love kids' books? Colorful illustrations, cute story lines, and nothing beats the ones that educate children at the same time.

Let's Plant a Flower is a book by Canadian authors and illustrators Angela and Terry Lund. Their inspiration for creating this book was to teach children fundamental life skills, and encourage them to take care of their environment.

Let's Plant a Flower features a butterfly-shaped piece of our seed paper. Kids will be inspired to think green when given the knowledge and opportunity to plant their own seeds, and watch them bloom into wildflowers. Take a peek!

To find out more about the author and illustrator, or order your own copy, visit the Learn and Do Books website.

lululemon Plantable Seed Cards September 8, 2011

lululemon has become so well known in the ever-growing and popular world of yoga. Anyone who's ever worn a pair of their never-fading, always flattering yoga pants would understand why. I've had a pair for about five years now, and they look no different than they did they day I bought them. They are nothing short of amazing.

So we were more than a little excited when lululemon contacted us to produce custom plantable seed cards for them! You might have even seen them already, as they've been handing them out to guests in their stores and communities in both Canada and the US. The reason they're doing this is to promote their event, Salutation Nation 2011. Take a look!

Salutation Nation is a fantastic event promoting yoga as a healthy activity anyone can take part in. And you can participate in it as well! Just visit their Salutation Nation site, select your location, and find out where you can participate nearest to you. It's coming up this Saturday, September 10, and it's totally free, just like the plantable seed cards they're handing out!

ModCloth's Eco-Friendly Plantable Promotion August 23, 2011

I have a confession to make - I'm a bit of an online shop-a-holic. So when we were contacted by ModCloth.com a little while ago to work on some custom plantable business cards, I was more than a little excited. ModCloth is easily one of the most visited sites for independent and vintage-inspired clothing, accessories and even things for your home.

What ModCloth also believes in is eco-friendly, sustainable living. Which is why their Charitable Giving Committee is volunteering time this month to work at urban farms.

To promote this charitable work, ModCloth wanted to work with us to create a custom plantable promotional piece that would be included with the first 1500 orders placed this month. To do this, we used double-sided plantable business cards and dill seed paper, with their custom design encouraging those lucky customers to start their own herb gardens at home by planting the card!

Enough talking about it though - take a look at the photos they took (or order from ModCloth today and hopefully receive one of your own!).

The people at ModCloth were so fun to work with, and really showed us how much they believe in this environmental initiative.

And hey, they liked working with us too! We're still blushing, but just have to share these incredibly nice words!

"The business card-size flyers we ordered to raise awareness of our company's urban farming volunteer program are completely adorable! Working with Toni and the folks at Botanical Paperworks was a complete ease, and I truly appreciate how much attention and care was given to us throughout the process. We were pleasantly surprised to see that you can actually make out the shapes of the seeds in the paper! So cute! We can't wait for our customers to enjoy this very special gift when they open up their next orders from us. Thanks, Botanical! You guys are great. :) "

Plywood People's Plantable Pocket Notebooks August 9, 2011

Try saying that blog post title five times fast!

We recently had the pleasure of working with Plywood People, an organization that's working so hard to use innovation and collaboration to address the many issues our world is faced with today, including environmental sustainability and globalization.

Plywood People was looking for something both practical and eco-conscious to include in the participant packages for their upcoming Social Innovation conference. With that in mind, they used customized plantable pocket notebooks with their logo on the front. Perfect for events such as these, they were a great way to enforce their brand, and at the same time provide a handy book for attendees to write little notes during the day's events. And if there were any left over once the event was done, their simple branding on the plantable pocket notebooks ensures that they'll be able to use these as gifts at any time.

Take a look! We think they look really great.
 

A Plantable Promotional Giveaway from Porterfolio Inc. May 11, 2011

It's always great to see our seed paper put to creative use. We are so lucky that we're able to work with such creative people every day, planning and printing their various plantable promotional items. They never cease to inspire us with their ingenuity and envelope-pushing ideas.

Today we wanted to show you a great promotional giveaway from Porterfolio Inc., a marketing and design agency from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. We fell in love with their wonderfully bright colors, beautiful graphics, and of course - their concept of growing businesses and ideas. The piece was complete with an envelope of plantable paper pieces, each one listing one of the many areas her company can help your organization grow.

To learn more about Porterfolio, visit their website at www.porterfolioinc.com.

© 2011 Carolyn Porter

Botanical PaperWorks' client and plantable paper visit the Dragons' Den March 25, 2011

We are so very happy to congratulate our long-time client and friend Margot, of Green Gifts by Evergreen Memories. Margot and her team appeared on last night's episode of The Dragons' Den, pitching her eco-friendly ideas to a tough panel of successful Canadian businesspeople.

Margot received glowing reviews when she presented her promotional giveaway seedlings to "The Dragons". This is her solution to disposable, unused giveaway items seen every day as promotions.

Margot grows the seedlings herself, and carefully wraps each one in biodegradable plastic. That plastic actually serves as a mini greenhouse that keeps the seedling living for several weeks after it's been wrapped. To finish off the eco-friendly packaging, the custom-designed paper label attached is our very own plantable seed paper.

The Dragons' Den is notoriously tough on entrepreneurs coming in to sell their ideas, yet they had nothing but respect for Margot and her business. She used her lifelong knowledge from her family's nursery business to approach the tough critics. In doing so, she made a deal with successful Canadian businessman, Jim Treliving.

Congratulations Margot! We couldn't be more proud of you! You can watch Margot make her pitch on Dragons' Den here.