Melissa Wayte has a master’s degree in business and spent 15 years in investment banking. But 12 years ago, she decided to retire and open her own store that was surrounded by paper products, such as stationery, letters and invitations.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamt of owning my own retail store,” Wayte said. “And I always loved stationery and writing letters.”

In May 2007, Wayte opened her first store in Dallas. A year later, she opened her Plano store. She opened the Frisco store in September 2010 at The Shops at Starwood.

Over time, the initial idea for the store changed, and Wayte had to decide what sort of products she would carry. The store first carried only paper products, such as stationery and invitations, with a small gift section.

“I found myself having to reorder a lot of our gift items, and all of a sudden I realized that people need a gift store,” Wayte said. “So very quickly I shifted and moved out the paper displays and moved in the gift displays, shifting our mix.”

Wayte said about 30 percent of sales are paper products, and 70 percent are gifts. Gifts include candles, accessories and dinnerware.

Paper Affair also helps customers with personalized invitations for weddings, baby announcements and other events. The company has graphic designers, who can create custom-made invitations and personalized gifts.

With the fast growth of Frisco, Wayte decided to expand the Frisco store, making it the biggest store of all the three locations.

Wayte said she has no plans to open any more stores and wants to spend time growing the current stores.

“Right now, I’m just having a blast, it’s a ton of fun, and what I love about it is that each day is different,” she said. “I don’t have any interest in doing anything different. … This is my career, running these stores and providing things that people need and want.”

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Paper Affair
6959 Lebanon Road, Frisco
469-362-5400
www.paperaffairdallas.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. closed