Paperly & My Six-Year Old Niece

I recently had the joy of helping my soon-to-be six-year old niece design her birthday invitations. Since the party theme was Pinkalicious (like the book, for those who don’t know) the invitations had to be … pink, of course! Deciding on the borders and ink color were easy, since she already knew she wanted pink. However, choosing the perfect icon wasn’t as simple, since Paperly has so many cute “girly” options that would complement her party theme. Even for a six-year old, she is a very thorough researcher, so she carefully browsed the catalog for any designs that were pink and recorded their item numbers. Then she looked at each one online several times to narrow down the choices to her favorite three. She still couldn’t decide and wanted a little more time to think about it.

Two days later, as we celebrated her last day of Kindergarten, she announced she had chosen #10725 (Garden from the Personally Yours collection) for her invitations. I doubted she had remembered the correct item number and consulted the Paperly Web site via my BlackBerry to search for the item. Sure enough, she had the numbers exactly correct. Well, of course, she had. Aside from her incredible memory (which I should know by now not to question), she had even more reason to remember these numbers for they represented a very special day (for which she had been planning a very long time) for a very special girl.

Below, I’ve included an online proof.  I can’t wait for the invitations to arrive!

LauraS, Paperly Consultant (http://mypaperly.com/LauraShelley)

Memorial Day

Tomorrow kicks-off the Memorial Day weekend.  True, the holiday invokes idyllic images of barbeques, picnics, beaches and swimming pools.  To many, Memorial Day is merely the official start of summer.

However, to many others, Memorial Day is much more.  Dating back to the Civil War, and officially enacted as federal law in 1967, Memorial Day commemorates U.S. men and women who have died while in military service.

No words can say “thank you” enough to our servicemen and servicewomen.  And yet, words are what Paperly is all about.  So I ask you to think about the millions of letters that have gone back-and-forth from the frontline to the home front, from the days of the Civil War to today’s conflicts.  Often, these letters are the only thing that connects those in the military to their families.  Clearly, phones and computers have eroded the sole reliance on letters.  And yet, for those who never make it home – sadly – it is the soldier’s handwritten note that becomes the family’s most cherished treasure.

This Memorial Day weekend, take a few minutes and write a note to a serviceman or servicewoman.  Perhaps it’s a family member, a neighbor, an acquaintance or a complete stranger.  Perhaps write it on Paperly’s Personally Yours collection (including the special American flag icon shown below).  Doesn’t really matter… just write and create an everlasting memory – for the recipient as well as for yourself.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly