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Business & Tech

Upscale Boutique Store Paper Source Coming to Birmingham

In another sign of an economic turnaround, the national retailer has chosen Birmingham as the site of its first Michigan store.

Birmingham is bringing in new business. A storefront that had been vacant for almost two years will become the new home this fall of the first Michigan location for the Paper Source, a national retailer that  offers a broad selection of fine and artisanal papers, stationery, custom envelopes and cards and quirky gifts.

“We knew we had many customers from Michigan purchasing items from our website," said Paper Source spokesperson Emily Senk. "As such, we visited Birmingham to see if the city might be an attractive location to open a store."

“The vibrant streets there have a great deal of charm and character,” she said. “The city has a nice mix of local and national retailers, which was also appealing.”

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The store will occupy nearly 3,200 square feet on Maple Road at Pierce. The site was the longtime location of Sherman Shoes and more recently two other retailers, including the T-shirt vendor Detroit Rocks.

“Paper Source is a fun store to shop in,” said leasing consultant Julie Fielder, who helped bring the retailer to Birmingham. “It has everything from wedding invitations to unique gifts and specially designed papers, including fine Japanese papers. 

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“They also do workshops and have personal service,” she said. “Their motto is do something creative every day.”   

Paper Source currently has 44 retail outlets in more than a dozen states with 11 new stores opening this year, according to Senk.

“Paper Source’s first store was in a historic downtown Chicago building,” said John Heiney, director of the Birmingham Principal Shopping District (PSD). “They’re making a choice to be in downtown locations like Birmingham."

Heiney said the PSD’s goal is to bring that type of retailer to Birmingham.

“It will bring more people to town, and that will help restaurants and other stores,” said Heiney. “It benefits all businesses.

“We (Birmingham’s downtown) weren’t immune to the economic downturn,” he said. “Two-and-a-half years ago, the board decided to be more aggressive about finding national boutique retailers.

“So we hired Julie Fielder, Heiney said. "She has gotten to know the properties and landlords. She targets retailers to come for a visit, gets their representatives to scout locations and assists with creation of the letter of intent.”

“Paper Source will attract more customers looking for a unique shopping experience,” said Fielder. “They are specialty merchants that enjoy providing a specialized product and service and interacting with customers in the communities they serve.”

Heiney said that as the city pursues national retailers, it is also sensitive to locally based retailers. With that in mind, Heiney said he had a conversation with Sue Sivak, the owner of Barbara’s Paper Bag on Pierce Street.

“We believes the two retailers serve different needs in the market,” said Heiney.

Sivak is confident that Barbara’s Paper Bag will retain its loyal clients.

 “I’ve owned the store for 26 years,” Sivak said. “We’re a traditional stationery store with a huge client base, two generations of customers.”

Paper Source’s Senk agreed.

“We co-exist with other retailers in many markets," Senk said. "While we may sell similar products as other retailers, we are not just a stationery store. We offer designs, kits, crafting tools and workshops unique to Paper Source.”

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