“I had always worked in marketing and [public relations] and had done lots of events,” she said. “When my kids were little I started teaching small-business classes at Austin Community College. [By buying Silver Papery in 2007], it really all just came together.”
Silver Papery, located in the Westbank Shopping Center, carries a large selection of Crane and other designer stationery and creates custom products—from wedding invitations and graduation announcements to business cards.
In-house graphic designer Kelli Williamson can help customers turn “just a spark of an idea” into a finished product, Schwartz said.
Although many people today create their own printed items, Silver Papery can deliver higher-quality printing, she said.
The business uses a printer that is filled with special wax-based ink and provides fuller saturation of ink on the paper, Williamson said. The printer provides a more even coverage than the standard at-home printer, she said. The National Stationery Show—an annual buying event for wholesalers held at the Javits Center in New York City—provides continuing inspiration for the business’ stationery sales, Schwartz said.
“The Javits Center is the largest convention center you can imagine,” she said. “It’s just full of booths of stationers [offering] everything from letter press greeting cards to exquisite wedding invitations. You can’t imagine what a thriving industry it is. It’s a great way to soak everything in.”
Schwartz said stationery trends seem to follow trends in other areas such as fashion and home goods. She said patterns are popular now, especially Moroccan prints and Ikat, as are planners and calendar books.
“Two years ago we were wondering if we were going to carry [planners] anymore because everyone was using their iPhone—and now it’s our biggest product again,” Schwartz said. “Our most popular agenda has sold out 12 times in the past year, and we’ve had orders come in from as far away as London and India.”
Popular gift items include Nest candles, Kate Spade and Lily Pulitzer items, personalized desk pads, monogrammable university gear and customizable Styrofoam cups, she said.
“My goal is to have people be able to come in on the fly—and people do this all the time—grab a gift, have it wrapped, sign a card and be out of the door in 15 minutes,” Schwartz said.
She said she recently commissioned a local artist to develop a line of notecards called City Views.
“The cards are now in 16 stores throughout Texas,” Schwartz said. “We’ve [sold the cards in] large Texas cities, and now we’re branching out to cities in the Southeast. It’s like another business in itself.”
No ‘ordinary’ greeting cards
When owner Kathy Schwartz purchased Silver Papery, she said she considered getting rid of the store’s greeting cards. However, this section is now more popular than any other part of store, she said. “We try to find cards that aren’t ordinary [such as] handmade or letter press or really edgy or really funny,” Schwartz said.
Design fees
A layout package priced at $50 includes the layout and design of three items—such as business cards, announcements or stationery. Logo creation or updating is set at an hourly rate per job.
