Great Gifts for Grads

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Rossi1931

We’re in the midst of graduation season, and that means gifts and parties for college, high school, and nowadays, even middle school and elementary students.

When you think of graduation gifts, what comes to mind? Watches and jewelry, cash, and of course, the ever popular pen sets are the traditional gifts.

But why not snazz up your gift by adding Italian-made stationery into the mix? Rossi has plenty to choose from with options ranging from monograms to letterpress boxed sets. And besides, having a beautiful box of Italian stationery close at hand is positively inspirational when you’re drafting dozens of thank-you notes.

Personalization is a hot trend and Rossi has several unique variations of monogrammed stationery. Here are three options with great looking monograms:

Classy touch: a thank you on monogramed stationery. This product comes in a reusable tin box.

A classy touch: monogramed stationery, packaged in a reusable tin box.

Tip: Add Monogrammed stationery to the pen set and you'll have a happy graduate!

Rossi monogrammed stationery + traditional pen set = happy graduate!

Silver foil monograms make the perfect gift for all the male grads on your list.

Classic silver foil monograms add a more masculine look.

Having a party for the graduate? You’ll need plenty of invitations and announcements. Imprintable cards in the Medioevalis line make it simple to personalize and print your own.

Dare to be different and print your own invites and announcements!

Details count, so don’t forget the finishing touch when wrapping those gifts. There’s plenty of decorative papers from Rossi that fit the graduation theme. And if you’re hosting the party, these papers can even be used to creatively decorate the table. Here’s a peek at some that look congratulatory!

Look for many more creative gift ideas on the Rossi1931 website or previous posts. And check in with your Rossi retailer; where you’ll find a great selection of decorative papers and gift ideas.

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Featured Retailer: EyeItalia

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Rossi1931

First, it was annual vacations in France. Then, for a change of pace, a summer trip to the Tuscany region of Italy. From that moment Susan Naythons was hooked.

Susan is the founder of EyeItalia, an online retailer of Italian handcrafted goods. So impressed with Italy during that summer vacation, she decided to stay for a year in 2005 and help friends renovate a villa and outfit it with everything that was needed— furniture, housewares, linens, stationery—in preparation for paying guests.

But when the year was up, Susan wasn’t quite ready to give up Italy completely. Instead, she returned to California and with the knowledge gained from her time in Italy, launched her website, EyeItalia. “That year-long experience really helped prepare me for my next venture,” says Susan. From excursions around the Tuscan countryside and beyond, she discovered many of her product lines, including Rossi fine Italian stationery.

“Rossi is one of my anchor companies,” says Susan. “It’s a wonderful product line to carry in terms of quality and design, and their customer service is second to none,” she adds. She stocks a full line of Rossi products and finds her best sellers are still the traditional Florentine patterns.

Equally important are Rossi’s customer policies. “They offer a real advantage for American retailers who import from Europe; you absolutely can’t beat the fact that they do business in dollars, not euros. They also include the freight costs so there are no surprises on the bill,” Susan states.

Encouraged by her online success, in 2010 Susan opened a brick and mortar version of EyeItalia, in Sausalito, California, just north of San Francisco. She stocks plenty of Italian fragrances and beauty items, luxury Italian linens, artisan jewelry, and a wide selection of Rossi stationery items. Now all her customers can touch and feel the Italian goodness she features on her website!

Susan’s Italian saga is still unfolding. In 2006 she purchased an abandoned farmhouse in the beautiful “comune” of Volterra (Tuscany). Badly in need of renovation, Susan has been working diligently on the house during her twice yearly treks to Italy.

Susan Naythans and Mattia Rossi at the Rossi pressroom

Susan Naythons and Mattia Rossi amidst the presses at the Rossi factory

Featured Retailer: The Paper Merchant

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Rossi1931

If the bright yellow bike parked out front at The Paper Merchant doesn’t make you smile, then what’s inside definitely will.

Along with room after room of paper, greeting cards, gifts, wrapping paper, journals, books, and calendars, you might also find a rubber chicken or two. That’s because it has become the owners Stephen and Patricia Burnham’s signature gag gift, and they sell a lot of them, along with of course, paper.

bike

Residing in a historic Gothic Revival house on bustling Third Street in Geneva, Illinois, this big little stationery retailer has been printing and selling fine stationery for over 30 years. The house itself has an interesting style which seems to suit the creative atmosphere of the Paper Merchant perfectly. Built in 1869, it was originally a summer home for a Chicago attorney and later converted into retail space.

Custom printing makes up a good portion of the Paper Merchant’s business. Equipment is housed in the store’s basement, and depending on the time of year, custom invitations can be turned around quickly, sometimes within a day.

Many a customer has come to the Paper Merchant following a disappointing experience with an online retailer. “Buying online has its place, but this is a tactile kind of business and customers want to touch the paper, feel the weight and texture, and compare colors… in person, not on a computer screen,” said owner Steve Burnham.

cards

The Paper Merchant sells a steady stream of Italian designed Rossi products including wrapping papers, gift tags, albums, file folders, and notepads. Customers seem to quickly sense the difference in the quality of Rossi stationery, even its product packaging.

decorative

Steve says: “The Rossi products are always a mark above the rest. When we tell customers they’re manufactured in Italy, they seem surprised and take a step back.”

Their best-selling Rossi design is the iconic Fashion decorative paper with its distinct mid-century vibe. “To me she represents Italian style and fashion, where it all started. Our customers love that paper,” he adds.

The Paper Merchant seems to have figured out what customers want. In today’s market, that’s unusual. But then so is the Paper Merchant, a Geneva treasure.

Sarah, owner Steve Burnham, and Dawn at The Paper Merchant, Geneva, Illinois

For more info about The Paper Merchant, visit http://www.papermerchantgeneva.com/

To view a video of the Rossi1931 collection, click here.

For more information, visit http://rossi1931.com

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