We’re getting ready for a great NSS this May, and this issue of Paper Clips is very full of information! Therefore, I will keep my letter brief.

This is an industry filled with passionate people who either create or sell beautiful products, or who curate the most wonderful stores. Paper Clips is a celebration of the real people working hard in our industry to deliver a slice of happiness to the world, and we enjoy producing each issue for you. Please read on to be inspired by your industry colleagues and to learn more about what’s going on during the NSS this May!

Arabesque

For more than 17 years, Arabesque in Shelburne, VT, has been carrying a fabulous selection of tabletop, linens, stationery, bath and body items, baby gifts, clothing and accessories, and more. Since merging with a local paperie in 2011, the store also has a complete in-house printing department and offers a full range of custom stationery – from party invitations to place cards. Here, owner Tracy Stolese shares more about her successful shop:

1. When we purchased the gift boutique in 2008, there was a lovely stationery shop right around the corner called Ink Ink Fine Stationery. Three years later, we got a call from their owner, letting us know that she was planning to sell her building and inquiring as to whether we might like to move. We weren’t interested in changing locations, but we WERE interested in knowing what she had planned for her store! A series of conversations ensued and, several months later, Ink Ink merged into Arabesque – hence, our entry into the world of stationery and invitations.

2. Our “fancy” name has led to quite a bit of confusion over the years … people spell (and pronounce) the name in all sorts of unique and creative ways! The meaning has also been subject to lots of interesting interpretations; we’ve had people stop by thinking we’re a ballet store, a Persian rug retailer and various other types of businesses. To add to the intrigue, when we first purchased the business, we soon discovered that the domain name arabesque.com was home to none other than a site for Arabian pornography!

3. The town of Shelburne. Vermont, is a beautiful town located on the shores of Lake Champlain (the sixth largest lake in the U.S; only the five Great Lakes are bigger!). We are home to a number of wonderful, nationally known tourist destinations including the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, the Shelburne Museum and Shelburne Farms.

4. Shelby, our shop dog, came into our lives only a couple of months before I purchased the store. Since she joined us at five months old and already had a name, it was only a happy coincidence that a dog named “Shelby” would make her home at our newly acquired business in Shelburne!

5. Last year, we recycled 88 toner cartridges from our in-house printing system; we take advantage of a lot of Staples rewards!