Thursday, May 20, 2010

I've Reached The Stationary Tipping Point

Before I start putting up a bunch of pretty pictures from the National Stationery Show, I have to get this off my chest. I'm not perfect. I misspell words every so often. I garble a participle on occasion.


But if you are in the stationery business, please learn how to spell stationery. It's with an:


e

I, along with many others, spend a good deal of the waking hours (some when we should be sleeping) promoting the use of stationery and an accompanying lifestyle that reflects courtesy, respect and civility in our interpersonal relationships. But every time someone in the business spells stationery with an 

a

we have to take another step backward before we can take the next step forward.

Here was the tipping point:


9 comments:

Marilyn *Pink Martinis and Pearls* said...

My mother taught me that "the station-er sells stationery" just as the "princi-pal is your pal." These little rules have stayed with me over 40 years. :)

Elizabeth Howard said...

Could not possibly agree more!

gdigesu said...

Very sad.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Stationery.

Stationary can mean:

* Not moving (fixed in position, immobile, motionless, static, or at rest).
* Unchanging (for instance in measure, mode, condition, character).
* In statistics and probability: a stationary process.
* In mathematics: a stationary point.
* In mathematics: a stationary set.
* In physics: a time-invariant quantity, such as a constant position or temperature.
* In physics: a steady state physical process, such as a vibration at constant amplitude and frequency or a steady fluid flow.

The word or its spelling is sometimes confused with stationery, meaning paper or office supplies.

No further comments.

Rachel said...

this is one my biggest, baddest pet peeves. PS - Crane had THE BEST "window" displays at the National Stationery Show this week. All about how/when/why to use Crane paper.

Eliza Ward said...

Gee whiz, it's so common I always thought the A was the British or Canadian spelling or something--but I just looked it up and nooo it's simply incorrect! Wow! I can imagine how frustrated you must have been at the show--with all of the stationers attending, there were probably quite a few spelling errors!

Little Lamb Design said...

Stunning that even the Emily Post institute can't get it right.

Liene Stevens said...

thank you! I always tell wedding vendors that stationery has an e for engagement ring.

Kirsty said...

I agree and it bugs me too!

The way I check:
Stationery is ER as in Paper
Stationary is AR as in Car!!

brooklynchuck said...

I felt like replying to that one woman who twittered she's a "stationary junkie." Um... lady, maybe you should consider a treatment program.

If you feel like keeping your blood on simmer, google "stationary" and see all the stationery stores and sites that come up.