Author: paperbee.n

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Your Christmas Card may pay you well.

December is the time we can see collections of Christmas Cards posted all over the offices. I never asked what is happening to this display after Christmas time is over. Mostly this is a missed opportunity to keep your name up the front of your client’s eyes.
Nobody keeps them and there is no reason to do that. The usual generics with simple messages and very simple designs are not exactly eye and heart catchers.

Smart Marketers know well that 3-dimensional mail has an unusually high 25 to 50% response rate. and that’s why smart companies like graphics3inc  are selling pop-ups almost exclusively to business customers.

Every few years they refresh their existing contraptions with new graphics and with a limited number of designs they serve their customers for more than 20 years. You can grab some of their designs right away from their website.

If you like something original there is the option. Contact us with your requirements and we will provide an original design with original art and higher impact than any generics.

Pop-up cards

1. Grabs authentic attention2.
3. Create an instant positive impact

4. Have very high response rates.
5. They leave a lasting impression.

 

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Smart paper cuts. Florida

A Christmas Tale
A Christmas Tale pop-up book by Vojtech Kubasta

When my wife and kid enjoyed the warm beaches during our annual Florida vacation, an active person like me scouting for unusual and beautiful, found in the local museum collection of pop-up books by Vojtěch Kubašta. Paper “Umelec”(Artist In the Czech language) put the old-world’s overwhelming charm into the pop-up world. In Florida, unexpectedly, I was back in Prague still remembering the charm of the Old City, The antiquariat where I was buying the 19 century, old human anatomy books with wonderfully illustrated pop-up cut out of organs you can move to see the next layer of the human body. The “Wlasky salad” and “housky” buns I was buying in the neighborhood store every morning.

Vojtech Kubasta was able to transfer the charm of the old-world into the pages of his books. For me, it was a sudden transfer into the charming and long-forgotten world.

The language I was able to master enough to start reading books in Czech quickly. Places where everybody wishes you a Good day regardless if you know anybody there. The strange way the coffee is served and people keep utensils when they are eating. During the fall, the dark sweet cherries I was eating sitting among the branches of huge cheery tries in an old palace park—the dark memory of the day I had to leave this newly discovered and charming world behind. After so many years, it still hurts.

Hej, Wake up. I have heard the voice of my wife. The curator of the Fort Lauderdale museum asked about the Vojtech Kucasta books’ collection agreed to show to us, my family, the treasures in his possession. I wish you the same experience.

But please do not go to Prague for the Beer drinking trip. Lucky I was able to enjoy the old city before the era of tourist invasion. There still were old antique cars on the streets, dark cities after sunset, and beer number 10 showing without question automatically up the front of every new guest in the local “Wycep” (Pub)

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The end of the Reign of the Ring Binder.

 Friedrich Soennecken inventor of the Ring Binder should certainly wake up from his well-deserved final rest knowing that finally there is something/ somebody good enough to challenge his invention “Ring-binder” 133 years long reign in every office on the earth.

To my surprise, the new solution comes not in form of a complicated mechanism but as a single, flexible sheet of material cut a certain way. All rings and metal parts are eliminated. And it works. There is no sticking-out spine always taking the same space on the shelf even if empty. The New Ring-Less Binder is flexible and quite pleasant to handle, the same as the rest of this new family serving the same binding functions.

The Challenger has no worldwide ambitions currently trying to find a licensee for his invention in the U.S. and then eventually in the E.U.

This is not the first time the Reign of the Ring is challenged. There are numerous challenges to its rule sponsored by many companies. None of them were successful, lingering on the fringe of the Office market mostly due to the fact that they introduce their own sets of problems.

In the U.S. there is an additional problem with the office market dominated by very few big players with immense financial resources not taking any risks when it comes to the introduction of a product competing with their well-established best sellers.

To make things more palatable for inventors the 2011 Leahy–Smith America Invents Act effectively makes U.S. patents worthless and unenforceable by a small player not having financial resources to finance legal challenges. Leahy-Smith’s act sponsored by Big Tech effectively enables “Efficient Infringement” practiced by already established companies barring entry to the market for eventual startups/competition. Introduced by this legislation PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board ) enjoys well-deserved fame as a ” Patent killing squad” invalidating by own admission 84% of all challenged patents. The effect: Invention exodus to more promising lands already caught politicians’ attention in Congress. The problem is that the incoming Biden administration is already (11/29/20) hiring people from Big Tech with a cozy relationship with the Obama White House.

5 Ring-Less binders by Alfac.us
Ring vs Ring-less
compare Ring-Less with empty Ring binder

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Smart-ass Art

Searching crowdfunding pages, I stumbled upon a Political figure. Mrs. Nancy Pelosi in a pink dress. She looks quite well, even with the pink mask covering her mouth and nose. And there are a few more figures, all of them from the democratic side of the political spectrum. On another site, I spotted Mr. Trump’s image supposedly in the form of quite an ugly doll with a face I would never recognize as the image of the “Stable Genius” Anyway, somehow, it passed the test for others because I see quite many buyers. Intrigued, I checked google for images of more of Mr. Trump’s dolls. And there is plenty of them, quite frankly with faces bearing No or minimal resemblance of our hero. But people still are attracted. I myself was thinking about making a small sculpture resembling our Lysol salesman aka stable Genius as Sumo Fighter with the name:” The Rage,” but the long time effort needed to bring in buyers would not be aligned in time with the spectacle of political theatre bringing in the fans, what apparently are using entrepreneurs advertising political “Action heroes.”

Checking more I see that not every effort trying to capitalize on the political grotesque succeeded because I see 6 other attempts to sell the same subject but all of them appear too ugly in terms of the inability of the creators to do good design. Only Trump Troll Dool succeeded.

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Allen and Patty Eckman Paper Sculptures

Among the unusual and beautiful Allen and Patty Eckman paper art is in one of the top places. I was looking for some small sculptures, examples of western art I stumbled on a striking image showing an Indian boy. A long time ago I was being myself wannabe in this western art field trying to promote glass Christmas ornaments with western subjects. I was able to sell only glass “Prairie schooners” Cowboys and their maidens and Stagecoaches but never any Indian subjects.  Later on, I realized that the reason well embedded in the American psyche. The deep wounds still dividing society, more than 100 years after the carnage. It makes Native inhabitants unable to accept anything from outside as part of the still ongoing invasion and on the other side deep denial of the historical facts, denial of the facts of the real and brutal history, and inability to reconcile. As the naive newcomer, I never realized the deep scars the American psyche trying to promote a naive propagandistic view on US history. The authentic art from both sides is the only acceptable line of communication. That’s why we buy Indians jewelry on the side of a highway in Arizona or pottery in South Dakota and that why I am searching for authentic western art. It brings certain unspoken truths.

If you have a minute I think you should take a look at their website https://eckmanfineart.com

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Smart paper cuts. The pop-up cards among us.

It seems, during the last few years, everybody gets infected with the idea of pop-up greeting cards. Several companies started chinese dragon popupproducing (in China & Vietnam) a bunch of pop-ups. Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to distinguish one “original” design from another offered by the competition. The reason is that labor, especially labor of skilled and able to produce original artwork paper engineer is time-consuming and quite expensive, and there are so few really creative people around. It Is easier to grab already made Chinese designs. In effect, most offered pop-ups are generic, and in my humble opinion simply “Boring.” Looking at the flurry of colors and forms first is hard to catch the obvious, but after a while, it becomes apparent stopping us in our quest to find something unique for our valentines.  The flood of mass-produced pop-ups is especially visible when we search for pop-up cards on the internet. There is the sea of Chinese-style trees, and over-sweetened and drowning in ornaments paper flowers, castles, hearts, motorcycles, paper steam locomotives, and Chinese dragons. Ourselves we received an email (through our Etsy shop) from a Vietnamese company offering its services but having the desire to offer only unique and beautiful of course we declined.  If you follow me, In the next few posts, I will show you the true gems of the paper word invisible in the flood of the run of the mill.

 

 

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Pop up Christmas Tree, For you…. and ME

The Christmas tree

Invisible to the viewer’s eye, this tree is equipped with a string. Arrives flat in an envelope, and when removed and the string is pulled, the tree changes from 2D to 3DPaper Christmas Tree. The ingenious design allows this tree to serve as a standing pop-up or hanging paper Christmas Ornament. Thanks to our designer’s efforts, regardless of space or place, everybody can have a miniature Tree. Let us know if you like to see a subject close to your heart translated into a 3Dimensional paper sculpture. PaperBee.net

 

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Jupiter FL and it’s original pop-ups

Santa by Graphics3ink
Santa Space-Xmas Rocketship’
Santa Space-Xmas Rocketship by Graphics3inc

Years ago during my annual vacation in Florida when my family enjoys the beach usually I was driving around finding interesting things. One of my trips ended in Jupiter FL. As I discovered at the time there was a company Graphics3 producing original (rubber band powered) pop-up greeting cards. When I entered the building there were pallets of huge paper sheets printed with images and ready to cut. The pleasant crew quickly showed me around. Unfortunately, regardless of my fascination, there were not impressed by my idea to allow me to sell their product. They specialize in selling Christmas cards to businesses, as you can see on their website. I was so impressed by the quality of their ART. Looking for a product able to replace lost in the carnage of 2008 my Luna Moth Christmas Ornaments, company; their cards became my inspiration It was my starting point to try to develop my own pop-up card designs. First I was only trying to avoid the deteriorating after a year or two rubber bands powering their pop-ups. After some attempts, I was able to come out with an original card not glued but assembled from interconnecting, free moving parts opening itself under pure gravitation force, under the weight of paper the card is made from. Pressed by other activity first I kept this project on the slow burner promising myself to go back to this project. Since the gravitation cards are quite interesting and their development aligns with my other invention I think now is the time to add some more to this pop-up collection. I urge the reader not to settle on the popular “trellis” construction made in China/Vietnam cards but strive to find something higher quality like the Graphics3inc.com cards I here recommend.

You may enjoy our automatic self-opening popups on the paperbee.net pages.

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My favorite maker of Popup Cards

Are you looking for a neat gift to send to your friends? A company in Great Britain, “SANTORO” developed some quite nice 3-dimensional sculptures made, of course, from Paper. “Swing cards,” “Baubles,” “Piroquettes,” etc. What unusual is the number of new challenging types of construction they attempt to offer to their clients, A gift and card in one? You may be sure that your pop-up gift is not going bo tossed away right after Christmas time. Even better, they may survive the carnage of the coming months and show as decorations on your friend’s Christmas Tree next year.