happy holidays!

From the staff of Broadway Paper:
Thank you to all of our wonderful customers for another amazing holiday!

snow & graham love

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail the other day and I thought I'd share it with you. Our very good friend, Ebony from Snow & Graham, sent us a little care package in the mail. Enclosed was a limited edition notepad with an adorable Snow & Graham pen. I'll be writing in style for the next month!

Thanks Ebony... you're too sweet!

paperwink stamps : 10% off

We've got the perfect personalized gift idea for you! Order a personalized Paperwink stamp and this week only, take 10% off your order.



You can browse our Paperwink selection online or stop in the shop to place your order.

holiday open house : 20% off

Join us this Saturday, November 12th from 10am until 5pm for our annual Holiday Open House. This is my favorite event of the year! We will have paper demonstrations, giveaways, festive food, and a photo booth courtesy of Shutterbox Photo Booth Milwaukee.
Oh and last but not least... during our Holiday Open House we are offering 20% off all holiday product!

gallery night : sylke vonk

Tonight is the Historic Third Ward's Gallery Night and we're so excited to welcome back photographer Sylke Vonk! Sylke was a Gallery Night guest last Spring in 2010, you can see a little bit more about her past exhibition here. Please join us this evening... we're open late until 9pm!

A little sneak peek... love how these photographs are hanging with our wrap behind them. So pretty!


Here is a little more information about Sylke's exhibit...

Please join us this evening from 5pm - 9pm and tomorrow 10am - 5pm!

holiday debut

It's official... Broadway Paper has gone holiday! After much preparation and anticipation, the majority of our holiday product is out and ready for you to purchase! Here is a little peek...





We're carrying lots and lots of holiday products including items from our favorite designers a. favorite design, Cavallini,Crane, Driscoll Design, Elum Designs, Flying Wish Paper, Hello! Lucky, Kate Spade, Smudge Ink, Snow & Graham, the FOUND, Wiley Valentine.

cream city ribbon tour

I recently went on a tour of Milwaukee's very own Cream City Ribbon and I am more than anxious to share my experience!

Broadway Paper and Cream City Ribbon have a very intimate connection. The owner of Cream City Ribbon, Lorette Russenberger, bought her business in 1988 and was located at 181 N. Broadway, just a few doors down the street from Broadway Paper's current location.

Lorette decided to open Broadway Paper as an outlet to sell her ribbon in a retail environment. Her original intention was to open as a seasonal store during Christmas of 1988, but the response was so great, she kept it open year-round. It was only the second retail store located in the Third Ward and they developed a loyal following of customers.

In 1996, Linda sold the store and moved her production facility to a larger historic cream brick building close to Milwaukee's downtown. The rest is pretty much history... onto my tour!

Spools of cotton yarn are used to make Cream City ribbon. Each ½” wide ribbon is composed of approximately 52 strands of cotton yarn running parallel to one another.

The yarn is then put into the glue tank and the glue is used to bond the yarn together. This gives it it's curling and shredding capability.

The ribbon drying.

Cream City ribbon is produced from renewable, biodegradable cotton fiber, grown and processed responsibly in the USA with water based dyes and without chlorine bleaches. All of the inks that is used are soy based and non-toxic.


Cream City Ribbon is currently the only U.S. manufacturer of this unique product. Trademarked in 1995, Cream City Ribbon is the only environmentally friendly, American made ribbon on the market today.

Broadway Paper and Cream City Ribbon have lost touch a little bit over the recent years, but believe you me... the connection has been rekindled and I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing a lot more of their ribbon around here soon.

new! avie designs

I am so happy to announce that Broadway Paper now carries Avie Designs. Avie Designs is a small stationery company out of Decatur, Georgia and I first spotted them at The National Stationery Show. They have the most beautiful sheet wrap, paper bows, and even a 2012 desk calendar.



Their beautiful products hit our shelves yesterday and soon they will be up on the webstore (we are knee deep in prepping the webstore for holiday). Soon, very soon you will be able to have some of your very own Avie Designs!

moveable type truck re-cap

What a day! We had such an amazing time hosting Kyle and her moveable type truck! The truck pulled up right outside the store on Broadway and a few of our local Milwaukee food trucks joined us. If you haven't tried Tigerbite Food Truck or the Chubby Cheese Food Truck... you're really missing out!

The afternoon went by too quickly... we hosted the truck over the lunch hour and the timing brought out students and professionals alike. So great to see so many people excited about letterpress! We had a great turn out and a great mix of people. Most importantly, everyone loved making their own print to take home for free!


Leader Paper Products graciously donated all of the paper that was used for our event. What a treat! I'm hoping we can lure Kyle to stop again in Milwaukee on her way back West! A girl can dream, right?

Moveable Type Truck

We are so excited to announce that the Moveable Type Truck is coming to Broadway Paper! On Tuesday, September 6th the truck will be pulling up right outside of the store. We'll be hosting the Truck in the afternoon and I'm pretty sure there will be some of Milwaukee's finest food trucks on hand too (trying to keep with the truck theme)!
You might be wondering what exactly is the Moveable Type Truck? The truck is a converted a 1982 Chevy van turned into a fully functional letterpress print shop. Inside of this 1982 converted van is built-in cabinets and workspace, a sign press from the mid 20th century, and an 1873 Golding Official No. 3 tabletop platen press. It's pretty serious!



The Moveable Type Truck is on a nine month tour around North America and we are lucky enough to have made the cut! Check out what the Truck has been up to right here. Please come celebrate the timeless art of letterpress with us!

The Truck will be here on Tuesday, September 6th from around noon until 3 or so. The event is free and open to the public! Check out our Facebook invitation here! See you there!

gallery night : jeff trendel

Tonight is Gallery Night and I am so proud to announce that we are featuring the fabulous work of Jeff Trendel. Jeff is a local ecoartist (and also a long-time family friend of mine). Jeff makes the most beautiful wood bowls and vessels that you'll ever see.


All of the wood used in Jeff's wood turnings is cut in urban areas under permit from the local municipalities of the Florida Keys. Do not fear, this is done with no damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Florida Keys. Jeff's eco-friendly bowls and vessels are made with beautiful rare tropical woods such as Cuban Mahogany, Red Mahoe, Jamaica Dogwood, Bustic, Mastic, Buttonwood and many others from South Florida.

Jeff's work is simply magnificent and truly amazing. If you are in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by. And if you weren't planning on being in the neighborhood, I'd adjust your plans! Jeff and I hope to see you tonight and tomorrow for the Historic Third Ward's Gallery Night.

printerette press

We have the most adorable new cards ever! Please welcome Printerette Press to Broadway Paper. I first spotted the line in May at the National Stationery Show and it was love at first sight! Check out these pictures of Printerette Press' adorable booth at the National Stationery Show. How could I not place an order with a booth like that?

Printerette Press is a Midwest company (which I love), right out of Saint Paul, Minnesota and has the sweetest, most delicate letterpress cards in all of the land! When we got our shipment in last week, we could hardly contain ourselves... and there was even a sweet personal note inside of the box too!


From confetti, chevron stripes, flowers, balloons, to preserve recipes, astrology sign cards... Printertte Press pretty much has the world of adorable/sweet/unique letterpress cards covered! See for yourself...


You can see and shop all of Printerette Press' adorable cards right here on our webstore.

happy fourth!

Wishing everyone a safe and fun Fourth of July!

nss meetup

While I was in New York for the National Stationery Show, I received an invitation to attend the 7th annual NSS Meetup. The party was held at the Brooklyn Winery and co-hosted by Delphine, Brooklyn Bride, Cat Seto, Oh So Beautiful Paper, Paper + Cup and The Sweetest Occasion (yes, quite the lineup... I know). The party was super fabulous and so much fun.


One of the best things of the whole night was the amazing swag bag that I got. So many goodies from so many great companies! For a better glimpse of the actual party, check out Cyd's blogpost from The Sweetest Occasion.

s w a g

I'm back from New York and am super excited about everything I have to report! One of the most fun aspects of The National Stationery Show is all of the swag. I love swag. It doesn't make for a pleasant trip home... trying to cram everything into a carry-on bag. But once home, it feels so rewarding + special to have all of these goodies!


Between the books, pencils, totes, coasters... I am in great shape! I love having all of these treats, it's a great reminder of such an amazing show.

national stationery show

My favorite time of year has come... it's time for The National Stationery Show! It's been such a treat receiving tons of wonderful + beautiful mailings for The Show. I've been collecting them and showing them off to everyone I know (including my 85 year old grandpa).



I'm currently in route to New York (absolutely love in-flight wifi) and believe you me, once I'm there I will be visiting each and everyone of these booths! How could you not? Oh, I'm so excited! Check out our Facebook page for updates while I am in New York for The National Stationery Show.

thanks, mom

Mother's Day is right around the corner and we are super thrilled to have been featured in this month's Milwaukee Magazine! Our newest Tabletopics is featured.. it's a special one for mothers & daughters.

Inside this great game are questions such as:

When you brag about me what do you say?
What about me reminds you of yourself?
What are the special gifts we've given each other?

Stop in or visit our webstore to purchase your own mother's & daughter's Tabletopics. We're pretty sure your mom would love it!

third ward easter egg hunt

Please join us this Saturday for the Historic Third Ward Easter Egg Hunt. The Hunt will begin at the Milwaukee Public Market around noon. Hop around the neighborhood with "Ernie" - the Neighborhood Easter Bunny and end up at Catalano Square around 2:30 for photos with Front Room Photography of the Easter Bunny.


The hunt is for little kids and big kids alike. Each participating business will have candy filled eggs for the little ones and some sort of promotion or special for the big kids. Over twenty local businesses will be participating... we simply cannot wait!

macy's sip and scan

Join us this Sunday at 11am at Macy's at Mayfair Mall


Macy's Wedding & Gift Registry is throwing a grand event with fun beverages, hors d'oeuvres, and registry experts to help you create your dream registry. While sipping and scanning, you'll also be able to visit with a bunch of their preferred vendors, such as Broadway Paper.

new card line: kinaloon

Kinaloon is a new card line that we just started carrying a few weeks ago. And I am in love! Barbara who designs and prints all of her cards herself, came to me with a few samples and I instantly knew I had to carry her line. Another great attribute is these cards are designed and printed right in Chicago. Love it!


Barbara is a painter who fell in love with screen printing. The first designs were inspired by Barbara teasing her niece about going to camp and how she was going to write her lots of letters. She decided she would make letters to send to her niece, rather than buying cards. How sweet! Believe me, Kinaloon cards are just as sweet and beautiful as this story!


You can find a wide variety of Kinaloon cards in the store or on our webstore.

a little love!

I wanted to share some goodies that I received for my favorite holiday, Valentine's Day! The day of love is also my birthday... so these treats were extra special to me!


Cheree Berry sent the most beautiful Valentine's Day card I've ever received and a. favorite design sent a very sweet letterpressed typography love card. I received a copy of Compendium's new 2 book... which is a really great and enjoyable book to share with another person. Great for my favorite holiday! Simplesong sent over some sweet tidings... my fave... macaroons! And Angelica, our graphic designer gave me a king sized candy bar wrapped in a homemade wrapper... with another favorite of mine... a cameo silhouette.

milwaukee's magnificent bride

Join us this Sunday for the wedding show of the year! Milwaukee's Magnificent Bride will be held at the Pfister Hotel this Sunday, February 27th from 11am until 4pm.

Video by Amy Johnson of One Fine Day Productions

The best of the best will be at Milwaukee's Magnificent Bride Show including Beauty, Blooming Quill, Blush, Dynamic Events, Front Room Photography, Shutterbox Entertainment.

In addition to wonderful vendors, there will be various collaborative tables, complimentary food samples as well as champagne, and you'll also get the chance to sit in on a few different wonderful workshops.


This year's theme is vintage travel... and with a few vintage props, our table will fit the theme perfectly! We will have lots of invitation samples on display for your viewing pleasure! Be sure to visit us in the Grand Ballroom this Sunday for Milwaukee's Magnificent Bride Show!

bridal promotions!

Broadway Paper is celebrating wedding season by offering our brides numerous different promotions! If you're in the market for wedding invitations, this is the time to start browsing and planning since these promotions are for a limited time only.

Crane & Co. is offering a wonderful promotion! For every 75 wedding invitations purchased, receive an additional 25 free. This promotion is good until April 4th. We just received a brand new Crane & Co. wedding album and it is gorgeous.


Elum Designs is also offering a really great promotion. Custom letterpress wedding invitation orders placed between now and February 28th are eligible to receive single color invitation envelope printing at no charge.


Until the end of the year, Oblation is offering complimentary return address printing as well as 30% off coordinating thank you notes when ordered with the invitations. This is such an amazing promotion!


We are thrilled to announce that Page Stationery is offering complimentary return address printing on invitation envelopes.


Real Card Studio is also offering up a great promotion. Receive complimentary return address printing or 50% off your stationery order with invitation order. This must include at least 4 pieces.


For every 75 William Arthur wedding invitations purchased, receive an additional 25 free. This promotion is good until March 27th.


Be sure to make it in soon to take advantage of one of these great promotions! And although an appointment is not necessary, we do encourage them. We would like to be as prepared and available for you as you deserve. Feel free to call the store or email us today to make an appointment with one of our bridal consultants!

gallery night: this weekend

Join us tomorrow night for the Historic Third Ward's Gallery Night! We will be hosting an amazing photographer, J Gilbert Cerveli, a local Milwaukee photographer. We are very familiar and very fond of Gil since his wife, MaryElise, has worked at Broadway Paper for over a year. Through extensive travel both in the United States and abroad, along with a passion for photography, Gil has the ability to capture amazing moments in time.




Gil has been in the photography business from young on. In fact, he comes from a family of professional photographers. His grandfather founded his own photography studio in 1912. His father expanded the business in Chicago and today, 99 years later, Gil’s photographic art continues to evolve.

For two days, Friday evening and Saturday, the whole neighborhood will be displaying their own favorite art. This event happens four times a year, and I can assure you this Gallery Night at Broadway Paper is not to be missed!

If you're worried you'll freeze to death, hop on the free Friday Gallery Night Xpress! There are six convenient stops throughout the Third Ward and East Town. The stops are as follows:

- 212 N. Milwaukee St. (in front of parking structure)
- The Pfister Hotel
- Hotel Metro
- InterContinental Milwaukee
- 401 N. Water St. (across from the Market)
- 225 E. Chicago St. (in front of parking structure)

J. Gilbert, Broadway Paper, and the Historic Third Ward hope to see you out and about for Gallery Night! And remember to dress warm!