Last week we took a trip to Washington DC with the kids to meet with our US distributors and discuss all our new releases for 2011 & I will be posting a few photos of the exciting new designs we have in store for you in the next few weeks.

Thank you to Vanessa, Alan, and John for accommodating all of us, it was great to meet everyone!

We stayed in Alexandria, Virginia on the other side of the Potomac River from DC. Its a beautiful historic port founded in 1749 with grand examples of America’s colonial heritage on every corner, and just a short metro ride to the capital. The cobbled streets are filled with colourful restored 18th/19th century homes, churches, restaurants and an abundance of boutiques and antique dealers.

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love the art deco period and I couldn’t resist taking a shot of the “Flying Fish” (below left) or the inside of the ice cream store we visited. It was as if we had walked back in time. All the polished chrome and sleek lines – so beautiful!!

I took this photo while waiting for the kids to choose their favourite ice cream flavour! The brightly painted windows and doors really brighten up the street and the mood of passersby

Whilst walking along King Street we discovered Paper Source, a real treat for paper lovers like me. The store was filled with exquisite papers, stationery, cards and calendars and I love their window display ready for Halloween.

We even spotted some of our cards in the store. Check out one of our apostrophe designs in the Sympathy section below. It still gives me a buzz to see my cards out there on the shelves.