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Before opening their stationery store almost exactly a year ago, lifelong paper fans Sasha Harbrecht and Laura Smith spent about two years studying the concept.
But all of that research couldn't entirely prepare the owners of Paper Twist, in the Specialty Shops on the Park, on Morrison Boulevard across from SouthPark, for the tumultuous economy that awaited. So they've spent their first year in retail learning on the job – and adapting to the challenge.
“Our mantra for this first year was, if we can … survive this, we can survive anything,” Harbrecht said.
A good holiday season and a decent spring and Mother's Day this year helped carry the shop through plenty of slow patches, she said.
But Paper Twist has also attracted shoppers with classes on subjects like gift wrapping, which require a small materials charge, but included a 10 percent discount during the visit.
The shop has reached out to corporate clients, offering to do the legwork to find just the right party favors, and landing about a dozen clients in the process. They've hosted shopping events to support nonprofit organizations. And they've stayed open late and offered discounts to customers who wanted to bring friends down for a girls' night of shopping.
Reasonably priced gift items have been selling strongly, Harbrecht said, as have desk accessories and supplies for people outfitting new offices because of a job change.
With its white shelves and rainbow of specialty papers, pens, journals, cards and gifts, the shop looks like it could be part of a national chain. It isn't, but Smith and Harbrecht – who also own another business, a project management firm that works with many nonprofits – designed it with expansion in mind.
Though they aren't in a position to open another brick-and-mortar store right now, Harbrecht said, they didn't want to use the recession as an excuse to stagnate. Instead, they're launching an online store after Labor Day, at shoppapertwist.com. Local customers will have the option of picking up items in the store.
As Smith and Harbrecht gear up to celebrate the store's anniversary – with cupcakes and specials, a week from today – they're appreciative of word of mouth and working to have fun and keep spirits high. Though the year forced them to reassess their financial plans, it's has also left them grateful for relatively good sales.
“The interesting thing about a startup business is how nimble you have to be,” Harbrecht said. “And this was a perfect year for Laura and I to show how flexible we are.”
