Paper Bear has been a business staple in the San Marcos community since 1978. In the spring of 2020, Paper Bear was set to close due to the retirement of the shop's owner, Carol Powers.
When COVID-19 hit, she still had a lot of merchandise to sell, so Paper Bear stayed open for another year into the pandemic.
"We just opened when we were able to and you know, kept everything nice and clean," Powers said.
Bearly Paper Bear is tucked away inside what used to be an 1893 chapel's men's bathroom turned storage space at San Marcos' Price Center & Garden's Shop 1893, located at 222 W. San Antonio St.
Powers tries to carry the "little stuff" the shop used to sell in her new store space. Bearly Paper Bear has a variety of incense, stones, smudge sticks, collectible pieces, vintage clothes, chimes and friendship bracelets.
"They told me I could have that space if I wanted it and I was just elated," Powers said.
Powers added "Bearly" to the name because she did not want people thinking it was the bigger Paper Bear shop.
"It's just a touch of Paper Bear," she said.
Powers said her favorite part of moving to the Price Center was seeing the customers.
"A lot of people have already come in that used to shop at the store, and so it's really fun to see them and get to talk," she said.
Bearly Paper Bear is open Wednesday-Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 512-392-2900.
