Hello from our new brick + mortar! 

In case you missed it, we moved last month and are wrapping up our third full week in our new home. And yet it feels like it's been longer than that, as well as feels like we just moved yesterday. 

It was definitely a little bitter sweet saying goodbye to our first storefront. We had so many great memories in there from our very first customers who have now become some of our friends, to the hundreds of workshops (and thousands of workshop students) we've had the honor of getting creative with. 

We turned an old, forgotten warehouse into a little slice of paradise with our incredible wall mural, selection of cards on our card wall, and by hosting weekly events for our community.  And we'll forever be grateful for our time on East 6th, especially for all of you who walked through our mint green door there! 

Some of you may have figured out through Instagram that we packed, moved, and unpacked just in time for our normally scheduled workshops in less than 48 full hours. Seriously, we spent a few hours packing on Monday, spent Tuesday morning moving + building out new fixtures in the new space, spent half of Wednesday setting up and hosted our first workshop that afternoon.

Many hands make light work, everything came together! But it wasn’t easy, it took a TON of preparation, planning, and effort on everyone’s part. Curious about what we learned from this move? Here are a few things to consider whether you are moving into your first brick + mortar, or relocating plus some sneak peeks of our new space!

1. Have a plan

I planned out our moving week schedule by designating a packing day, a moving day, and a day to solely set up, and a day to patch/paint the old shop before I turned in my keys. The packing day went a lot faster, it took 5 of us about 3 hours to completely pack up our old shop + all our inventory. 

We started our moving day at 6am...honestly purely to beat the heat and traffic. So we were completely done by 11am. 

Here's the kicker, by the time we went to patch and paint the old shop, our electricity had already been transferred to the new shop so it was perhaps the sweatiest and hardest part of this entire move since it was extremely toasty!

In addition to planning a schedule, having a floor plan mapped out for the new space beforehand enabled us to efficiently move things in and set up the space easily- be flexible, sometimes things don't fit or look the way you want but having a general floor plan takes the guess work out of it. 

2. Create a budget (cost of a uhaul or movers, things breaking, things need replacing, extra furnishings for the new layout, updated marketing materials (decals signage) 

Moving is always going to be an expense. Having a budget can help since you'll have some time leading up to your move to save up some money to help buffer the costs. Consider a uhaul (are you going to be using movers?), account for the fact you will likely need to replace some things when you move because things may get damaged from moving or you may figure out some things just need to be replaced. 

I left a little buffer for additional furnishings since I knew our space would be much larger and I also accounted for the fact I would need to beef up our inventory so the shop felt fresh + full when we reopened. 

One thing to also consider is that you may need to revamp or update your marketing/branding, for us it was for our window, decals as well as indoor + outdoor signage. Having a budget to present to our designer was crucial in prioritizing what needed to be done before we opened, and what could wait until we were settled in!

3. Make a list of places you'll need to update your address on (bills, banks, google, website, mail chimp, social media etc.) 

The biggest stress (and fear) about the move was worrying if guests or workshop students would be confused with where we were. So we made a pretty intensive list of every. single. place. our address would need to be updated to alleviate any confusion. 

First, obviously, your bank. Update the addresses on all your bills/utilities. 

Next we worked through our website, mail chimp, email, website, google, and all our social media platforms (note that it may take some time for all of it to update: it's taken a couple of weeks for everything to finally read as our new address!

4. Call ahead (to set up your electricity + internet) 

At least with Austin Energy, it takes 2-3 days for them to shut off your electricity and transfer the service. So it's a fine balance of making sure you're out of your old space and into the new one, with as little time between them with no electricity because it's HOT in the summer. Yay Texas! 

For our internet set up, we couldn't transfer our account over since the company we were using at our old location did not service this area. So it did take a few days for them to set up the new service. But as you all know we need the internet for our POS, speakers etc. A quick fix and little bandaid to this was to just use my personal phone as a hot spot to connect to the wifi to check people out/stream music. 

5. Ask for help

I feel extremely blessed and lucky to have truly amazing and supportive friends and family. Who volunteered to help with the move (again, in the summer, in Texas). There's no way I would have been able to have a pretty seamless transition over here without all hands on deck!

Also, the kind words of encouragement, customers who popped by to say hi and bring flowers, to even volunteers via Instagram (just even the fact there were folks offering to help meant SO much!)

THINKING ABOUT OPENING UP A BRICK + MORTAR OR LOOKING TO RELOCATE/EXPAND YOUR CURRENT SHOP? HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW! 

I'm SO excited to finally be able to share the BIG news, we're officially moving!

I know a lot of you will have lots of questions as to why I'm taking this next step with the business, so I figured a blog post would be the best way to share with y'all the whys behind all of this as well as some juicy information on what to expect with the new Paper + Craft Pantry. 

This is a milestone kind of next step in my small business and I'm so excited to have you all along on this journey. The side of owning a small business that most people don't see are the behind the scenes and operational things, like this move. This has been in the works, through negotiations for almost 2 full years now- and I wanted to be 100% sure everything was aligned before sharing with all of you. 

It's been a long, tiring process, and to say stressful is putting it lightly, but I know it'll be the best thing for The Paper + Craft Pantry. This move will enable us to thrive and continue to grow within our community here in Austin. And I truly feel like we're on the right path to becoming your number one destination for all things stationery and paper, as well as for all your crafting and workshop needs! 

Please read through the questions below and feel free to leave a comment with any other questions or email me at hello@thepapercraftpantry.com :)

xo,

Pei

WHY IS THE PAPER + CRAFT PANTRY MOVING?

Since opening our doors in 2015, we've grown a ton- literally we are outgrowing our retail + workshop space. From stocking our selves with 16 designers and hosting 1 workshop a week, we now work with over 70+ designers and host anywhere from 3-4 workshops a week! Simply put, we need more room for more paper, and more crafty workshops! 

In addition to outgrowing the space, we totally understand that parking has become a bit of a struggle for so many of our guests, customers and workshop students. So it was on our priority list to find a spot that would make it easier for y'all to come visit us :) 

We also wanted to find a community within our new space, and we really think we hit the jackpot when we found a home with Springdale General. We're going to have some really cool and fun neighbors! 

WHERE IS THE PAPER + CRAFT PANTRY MOVING?

Don't fret! We're not going far :) We're headed about a mile (literally down the street) from our current space and will still call East Austin our home. We'll be joining the Springdale General community at 1023 Springdale. 

WHEN IS THE PAPER + CRAFT PANTRY MOVING?

We have plans to be in the new shop + studio by July 1st, 2018, our 2511 E. 6th shop + studio will remain open for the month of June. So come pay us a last visit this month (Bonus, you'll get first pick of a TON of new stationery we ordered while in New York for the National Stationery Show!)

But you're going to want to be sure you're following along as well as signed up for our newsletter in case we end up opening our new doors sooner! 

We will update you all with a firmer date as things unfurl for us! 

OTHER THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

WHAT IF I'M SIGNED UP FOR AN UPCOMING WORKSHOP?

Don't worry, the show (workshops) will go on! 

You will personally be notified of any changes in workshop locations but for the month of June, all workshops will continue to be held in our current studio (2511 E. 6th Street) unless otherwise noted.

THE NEW PAPER + CRAFT PANTRY, WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NEW SPACE? 

A card wall that is 4x the size of our current wall. I know, take a moment to let that sink in... thats over 500+ individual card designs!

A workshop studio space that will allow us to not only seat more students but to host workshops that we weren't previously able to.

So basically, a ton of stationery and a whole lot more workshop fun! 

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE PAPER + CRAFT PANTRY MURAL? 

We have plans to host one last hurrah in our current shop + studio where we will bid farewell to our beloved first home, and our iconic mural. We'll toast the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. 

You'll also have the opportunity to take some last pictures before our East 6th shop + studio front closes.

p.s. We're also working on something fun to let the mural live on in our new space so stay tuned. 

NO, WE'RE NOT OPENING A SECOND LOCATION.

Once we move into our new shop + studio, we will be closing our doors at 2511 E. 6th Street.

WHAT WILL YOUR HOURS BE?

Our hours will remain the same (for the month of June and after we move)!

Monday: Closed | Tuesday: 12pm-6pm | Wednesday: 12pm-6pm | Thursday: 12pm-6pm

Friday: 12pm-5pm| Saturday: 12pm-6pm | Sunday: 1pm-5pm

HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE PAPER + CRAFT PANTRY WITH THIS MOVE? 

Keep doing what y'all have already been doing :) Each and every one of you who come by our little shop to pick up your stationery goodies and gifts or our workshop students make a much larger impact than you may know. 

Your support means the world so keep visiting us for your paper needs, and sign up for that upcoming workshop you've been eyeing. 

Also, any words of encouragements or high fives will be accepted! 

We love ourselves a good pen. It makes all the difference when you're trying to get stuff done and for all your to-do lists :) We pride ourselves in having the best collection of pens for all your writing, doodling and list making needs. So here's a quick round up of six of our favorite pens we currently have in store + online! 

BEST PEN #1: ARTLINE

These pens come in an array of colors and dry almost instantly! If you like organizing your tasks by color or like bullet journaling, you're going to love these!

BEST PEN #2: MINIMAL PEN

We've had these pens for a while and our only complaint was that the ones we had in the past didn't have a clip on the cap. Et Voila! We found ones that have the clips so no more lost pen caps! These pens are sleek, minimal and are as smooth as they get. Perfect for those serious meetings and also for prop styling :) 

BEST PEN #3: PASTEL SQUARE PEN

These muted pastel colored barrels are just so cute! They write in a fine point, in black ink and adds that little feminine touch to your office space. 

BEST PEN #4: FRUIT PEN

These are by far one of our shop's favorite! They scream fun! And probably a good reminder for you to eat more fruit :) Also in a fine black inked point, these have become some of our customers favorite pens!

BEST PEN #5: CACTI PEN

This pen speaks for itself. Especially if you're a crazy plant lady.

BEST PEN #6: POCKY PEN

If you've never had a pocky, you haven't lived! And now you can have them at your desk, guilt free! Available in different "flavors" these pen all write in a lovely, smooth black ink!

It's finally Spring here in Austin and we've been enjoying some truly incredible weather! It has been nice enough that we've been leaving our front door open throughout the day and really cherishing the weather because we all know it only gets hotter from here on out. But until then, we're going to soak up every bit of Spring especially since a brand new coffee shop opened around the block, our new favorite spot for a quick lunch since our friends Bento Picnic opened up their store front and not one, but two food trucks set up shop just down the street! 

We don't know about you, but Springtime gets us in the mood for spring cleaning both at home and at the shop, we're loving this Spring Cleaning List to go through clutter. If you're needing some support with organizing, we love our friends over at Moxie Space. And if you just want to completely flip a room and elevate it in design, look no further than this Spruce Kit! 

Last but not least, to top off your cleaning, decorating and organizing spree, we've whipped up the simplest (yet cutest) way to add some D.I.Y. home decor to any space. With a few simple materials and in five easy steps, even you'll be amazed at how easy this project is! You can hang multiple on a wall or even use them as cute door hangers! 

MODERN FIBER HOME DECOR

D.I.Y. PROJECT TIME: 30 MIN

MATERIALS

Love this D.I.Y. project? Stay tuned as we're dreaming up a way to turn this into a community craft for our annual Summer Craft Party! 

You all know by now that we host a monthly book club series as a part of our community initiative here in Austin. Since our first meeting in 2015, we have read dozens of personal and business development books to novels. We're partial to business related books since we are equally passionate about supporting fellow small business owners! 

This post has been one we've had on our editorial calendar for quite some time because if we're being honest, having to choose just our favorite small business related books was HARD. There truly are so many great authors, books and subjects out there! So we asked our owner and founder, Pei, what her top picks were. She is the one who usually leads our book clubs, and has a book on her at all times! 

Without further ado, here are her top recommendations for books to keep in your arsenal or add to your collection. We've even asked her to share what she felt like her biggest takeaway was from each of the books she selected. 

Hey y'all! I'm so excited to pop on the blog to share this list with you. It's hard to believe that this year will mark FIVE years of small business ownership. And even with those years in my pocket, I am a true believer of always learning, growing and evolving both personally as well as professionally for my business. These books have found their way to the list of books I frequently revisit, or reread because their pages are riddled with post it notes of reminders of the parts that resonated with me the most. These are also books I recommend, without hesitation, to friends and fellow business owners who need a little inspiration. 

SMALL BUSINESS LIBRARY BOOKS

1. THE LITTLE BOOK OF HYGGE BY MEIK WIKING

You may be wondering why this book made it's way on my list, how on earth does this have anything to do with business? Well, I think by bringing in a little bit of the hygge mindset to both your life in and out of work can have a profound impact on your day-to-day. Creating a cozy space at home where I can truly unplug and feel settled has helped me tremendously since it can be sometimes hard to draw the lines of boundaries of not taking work home with me. And being able to apply those same principles to the physical shop has helped our team feel like it's our second home, and we've even have guests in the shop mentioning how much they love spending time in our space (so we're on to something!).

Biggest takeaway: When you feel good, when the environment you're in feels good, when the people around you feel good, everyone wins. 

2. CHASING SLOW BY ERIN LOECHNER

The title of this book intrigued me from the get go. The idea of slow seems so foreign in a world that spotlights all things fast. Faster service, faster deliveries, faster turn around times.... fast, faster, fastest. It seems like everyone is trying to out run, out do and out business each other. But what if we shifted that perspective and deliberately chose to move at a slower pace, to have time to appreciate what we already have instead of chasing after what we don't? 

Biggest takeaway:

Giving yourself a free pass. Everyone is guilty of being imperfect whether that's in a relationship, partnership, with work etc. We empathize with others who mess up because they're human, but what about being a little more forgiving and less judgmental when we ourselves, fall short from time to time? 

3. PROFIT FIRST BY MIKE MICHAELWICZ

This book was by far the biggest light bulb moment of 2017 for me. Money and finances when it comes to small business gives most business owners an eye twitch. This book was extremely scary to read because I was so afraid I'd learn that I was a terrible business owner and should just quit. I know that seems dramatic but it's true! For a business that doesn't have investors or take on debt/credit, cash flow is one of our biggest rollercoasters. There were times where it felt like we had an abundance in our accounts, times where it felt like there wasn't enough. And that feeling pretty much went back and forth, all the time. Talk about stressful! 

Biggest takeaway: Allocate. Allocate. Allocate. Learning how to properly allocate every single dollar that came in made a huge impact in my relationship with money for the business. I now know where every dollar needs to go. A portion to operation costs, a portion to profit, a portion to taxes etc. It took me some time to sort out those exact percentages (that differed slightly from the recommendation in the book) and there was a learning curve for sure. But now, money feels good (like it should!). 

4. BIG MAGIC BY ELIZABETH GILBERT

This was one of the books we read last year, in 2017 for our book club. Elizabeth shares about things that most creatives struggle with, inspiration and creativity. I loved that she shared personal stories throughout the book, it's a book I re-read when I need a dose of inspiration and a reminder of following through with creativity! 

Biggest takeaway: The Amazon/book story. Spoiler alert if you haven't read this book yet! The story of a book idea that got pushed a side, time and time again. And before she knew it, someone had written that book that was her idea. I love thinking about how no ideas are "ours", they come to us wanting to be developed, and grown. They stay with us for some time, but if we ignore it and push it to the back burner over and over, it'll go find someone else who can develop and grow it. 

5. DARING GREATLY BY BRENE BROWN

When you own your own business, and if I'm being honest, just life in general, scarcity can be a very real thing. There never seems to be enough hours in a day, money in your account, orders coming in...the list could go on! It can often stem from comparison especially when it comes to social media and the portrayal of what a perfect life should look like, or what a successful business owner should be. This book breaks down those myths and gets you to think beyond what we know by digging deeper. 

Biggest takeaway: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

Don't take your critics too seriously, there will always be a critic, there will always be someone who doesn't understand your business, heck, there will even be someone out there who just doesn't like you for no reason at all. And that's okay. 

Listen to Brené's talk on the quote above here. 

6. ESSENTIALISM BY GREG MCKEOWN

I used to get so overwhelmed by my to-do list. I have one for my personal life/home and one for the business. There was always so much to do, so many little things. There would even be times where I didn't know where to begin, or feel like I did so much during the course of the day but really didn't accomplish much once I took a step back. The art of busyness is something most of us are really, really good at. But busy isn't always a good thing. Trying to really define what is a priority and what is important can be challenging since most of the time, EVERYTHING seems to be a priority or be the most important. This book forced me (in a good way) to step back and really evaluate what's important and get into the habit of learning how to identify what is a priority/what isn't. I still have days when things can feel a little overwhelming and those are the days I reach for this very book to remind me of the essentialist mindset! 

Biggest takeaway: Direct quote from the book " An essentialist produces more - brings forth more - by removing more instead of doing more." 

House plants are all the rage these days and if you just googled house plants, you'll see a vast amount of information covering more basic and common house plants. If you've been following us for a while now, you'll know that we're crazy about our studio and shop plants. And we recently even decided to show that by hosting Intro to House Plants Workshops to share all we know about plants with you! 

You may be familiar with easy, no-kill plants for even the "blackest" thumb, like the Snake Plant, ZZ plant and Pothos. But if you've graduated from those, or just want to try out some other great indoor plants that are tried and true, (by us!), look no further! Just scroll on down to check out our five favorite indoor plants! 

BEST HOUSE PLANT #1 STRING OF PEARLS

Also known as "Senecio Rowleyanus", this is a creeping, perennial, succulent vine belonging to the family Asteraceae. We love their pea shaped little leaves and how they trail over plant pots. They also come in various sizes so we love this tiny one we've got as a little desk buddy. 

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR STRING OF PEARLS PLANT: 

Bright but indirect light and soil that drains well so it can dry out completely between watering

BEST HOUSE PLANT #2 SILVER POTHOS

Also known as "Pothos Argenteus", this is a relative of the Golden Pothos (what most people are familiar with). We love it for the satin feel of its leaves and beautiful hints of silver color. We love them in a table top planter stand so its vines can trail as it grows! 

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR SILVER POTHOS PLANT: 

Place in a planter in indirect sunlight and water when soil feels dry 2" below the top. 

BEST HOUSE PLANT #3 PHILODENDRON SELLOUM

With almost 500 different varieties, you're sure to find a Philodendron friend you'll love! We're partial to Philodendron Selloum for its fun shaped leaves that add texture to any space. Given the right conditions, this fella can grow up to 5 feet and produce leaves that are 2-3 feet in size! We also love that he adds some of those tropical vibes. 

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR PHILODENDRON SELLOUM PLANT: 

Loves bright, indirect light and likes moist, but not soggy soil, so don't over water! 

BEST HOUSE PLANT #4 PEPEROMIA

Another plant genera with over 1000 species, you're probably going to end up in love like we did as you try to grow your collection of different Peperomias! We personally love the Peperomia Obtusifolia for its shiny circular leaves and the fact that it flowers! And we also adore the Golden Gate Peperomia for its white + green leaves. Bonus, these guys purify the air!

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR PEPEROMIA PLANT: 

Can do well in both medium to bright indirect light and only water when soil is completely dry. 

BEST HOUSE PLANT #5 ELEPHANT EAR

We love the "Alocasia", also called the African Shield Plant for its deep green leaves and striking white veins. This plant adds some dramatic flair to the simplest planter, in our case, this blush pink/peach one. 

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR ELEPHANT EAR PLANT: 

Loves warmth and humidity, let soil dry through the top inch before watering again.