This Month at FP — February
Hello & happy fourth and final Monday of February!
Today, I am 26.5. Yes, it is my half birthday. And I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, Francesca why are you working on such a monumental and personally significant day?!?!?” and well, my friends, because there is talking about myself to be done!
Let’s get into it.
From my desk, to yours.
xo,
FP
This Month at FP —
Since it’s the last Monday of the month, it’s “This Month at FP” Monday. As you all know because I won’t stop talking about it, Festa Paper turned 1 year old on February 5th. I was spoiled rotten with endless streams of floral arrangement deliveries, cards, calls, and really kind messages. I’ve said before and I will say it again, we can all learn something from the way in which people show up for us. If you’re anything like me, it encourages you to do the same for others.
Here’s the letter I wrote myself on 2/5/20 (FP launch day). I wrote myself another letter on 2/5/21, and I plan to write one every year. I do the same thing on my actual birthday - write my age equivalent of goals, personal and professional, and then read them on my birthday the following year. Sometimes goals make me feel bad about myself because I either set wildly unrealistic ones or I set wildly unrealistic ones for the work I am willing to put in. El oh el. Babygirl doesn’t do New Year’s resolutions. But writing down goals on your birthday? Highly recommend.
Valentine’s Day Findings —
This month was also Valentine’s Day, which, in the card world, is a big day. The two major bestsellers of FP Valentine’s Day cards were “Despite all this time we’ve been spending together, I still really like you.” and “Hate the way you chew. Love the way you make me feel.” Honorable mentions, “You’re literally so annoying. I love you” and my personal favorite, “Madly, truly, deeply, baby!”. But folks, the clearest winner for “Hottest Festa Paper Valentine’s Day Product”, which is a real & well-known category, was the postcards. I sold-out of them three times. The thrill! As a very small company (FP, party of 1), a lot of product R&D is me, google, and a gut feeling. The beauty of being small and answering only to myself and American Express? I can make products, put them out there, and if they tank, the loss beyond anything but my ego is minimal.
Other than FP’s first birthday and Valentine’s Day, February was fairly routine here at FPHQ. I’ve been working on quite a few custom projects which, as Heather McMahan would say, “we are blessed, booked, and busy, honey!”. I look forward to sharing all of these once they’re off the press and in the hands of the client!
Upcoming at FP —
Upcoming at FP...over a year in the making...NOTEBOOKS. I started prototyping notebooks and notepads in the early spring of last year. I had plans to take them to market mid-summer, and then as Murphy’s Law would have it, one thing after another went wrong. Most notably (pun intended), the paper that I’d selected after doing 3853435864373 writing tests with 682475346532564 different types of pens, was discontinued. Various lines (not lines on paper) of paper are regularly discontinued - something I am learning. So I had the option to buy out tens of thousands of sheets of paper and then deal with a restock supply chain issue later down the line, or scrap the whole thing and start over again. I obviously chose the latter. I was quite sad and disappointed. I played 21 Summer by Brothers Osborne and Best Thing I Never Had by Beyonce on repeat for about a week (I’ve never claimed to not be dramatic). And then I remembered that people are dying, Kim. Nobody cares, Sean. I was making notebooks! Not vaccines. Stay humble, Franky Paper.
Again, the beauty of being small and solo is that you answer to only yourself (and occasionally, American Express), so the delay really didn’t have much of a negative impact in the grand scheme things. Keep an eye out this spring for Festa Paper Office. Festa Paper Desk? Festa Paper WFH? Festa Paper Writing? Clearly, we (I) are still in the development phase for naming. However, the products are all prototyped, and are spicy! LFG.
As always, thank you for your loyal readership, shopping FP, and having a great sense of humor. I’ll tell you what - I love it here. Have a wonderful week xo.