Celebration Central: Presley Paige creates celebrations with boldness and whimsy
As seen in Celebrations and Occasions 2025.
At Presley Paige in Fayetteville, Arkansas, celebration is a lifestyle.
From bold design and playful gifts to her much-loved holiday tradition of “Pinkmas,” owner Maggie Owens has established Presley Paige as a destination where everyday moments are worth celebrating.
When Owens opened Presley Paige in January 2020, she envisioned it as a cheerful party store stocked with paper plates, napkins and décor. A mere 73 days later, the world shut down due to the pandemic and Owens had to immediately adapt.
“Opening Presley Paige has been the biggest challenge and the most fun that I’ve ever had in my entire life,” she said.
The pivot came quickly: The store expanded into gifts, home goods and eventually its own event production arm. Today, half of the shop is dedicated to all things party while the rest is gift and home.
“As a retailer, I learned really early on that it was extremely important to diversify my product offerings, and I think bringing in some higher- priced items helps even out the load and diversify those sources of income, even within a product category,” she said.
BOLD & ECLECTIC DESIGN
With 99.7K followers on Instagram (@shoppresleypaige), the shop’s aesthetic is nothing if not iconic. Boldness and whimsy are woven into every detail of the store, from its giftables and partyware to the 17-foot card wall that holds roughly 1,300 cards at any given moment.
“It’s a Betsey-Johnson-meets-Jonathan-Adler-meets-Paris-Hilton vibe,” Owens laughed. “Presley Paige is a very eclectic but also funky and colorful brand. She’s bold with her choices and loves to challenge what’s normal.”
Presley Paige’s offerings include partyware for just about any event — think themed children’s birthdays, bachelorette tablescapes and bridal showers. Beloved for its whimsy, Meri Meri is both a customer favorite and one of Owens’ go-to brands.
She also points to Tart By Taylor, a Dallas-based wholesaler of bold acrylic goods. “Her brand has such a fun and spunky personality, and I think it bodes well with Presley Paige.”
In the greeting card category, Brittany Paige is a personal favorite for Owens. “Her stuff is very cultural and on trend — lots of Taylor Swift. I love to see the customer reactions to that as we mix more traditional pieces next to some of these more fun products,” she said.
On the design front, stripes are undeniably having a moment. “We were laughing in the store yesterday because we realized so many things have stripes on them,” Owens noted.
She’s also paying close attention to a shift in demand, likely driven by economic factors, where shoppers want to get more out of each purchase.
“I’ve been very intentional in curation to say, ‘How can this red platter that someone might use for Fourth of July also be used for a tailgating party or Christmas?’ Customers are more price sensitive and also looking to get the most use out of their pieces.”
‘PINKMAS’
Perhaps the most talked-about tradition at Presley Paige is Pinkmas: the annual holiday reset that transforms the store into something larger than life and, as the name suggests, very pink.
“I always joke it’s this monster that I didn’t know I was creating,” Owens said.
During Pinkmas, the shelves are cleared and 2,500 new SKUs arrive just for the holidays as the shop becomes a glittery wonderland. It’s quite the undertaking for Presley Paige staff — one year featured 75 hand-assembled chandeliers in-store.
“We have people that will travel from all over the country to come, so it’s really exciting to create a fun little community cultural moment, and then also get so many people involved in what we’re doing,” Owens said.
This year’s theme is “a little bit British, UK-inspired and very colorful” with funky new merchandising pieces as well as reimagined favorites from years past.
FROM VISION TO REALITY
When customers come in to plan a party, Owens and her team are all hands on deck to make the fête a success. They start with the basics: asking the customers what they already own, what colors they love and what their budget looks like.
“What we’re seeing now, more than ever, is our customers are so budget-conscious,” she said. “Before, they might have selected an entire collection. Now, they’re just looking for a few statement pieces. So we love to start with, ‘Where do you want to make the biggest punch?’”
During Presley Paige’s first few years of business, customers prioritized party garlands. Now, customers are looking for a full photo backdrop, balloon installments and cohesive partyware.
As exciting as product curation is, Owens’ favorite aspect of being a retailer lies in the impact that good merchandising can make for the in-store experience. Her displays are designed with storytelling in mind — from cookbooks paired with jams, spatulas and barware to playful color stories that resonate with customers.
“For me, the largest part of merchandising starts with my buying to ensure that I understand how that item comes packaged. Can it be loose and put in a bowl? Or is it something that needs to be repackaged once we receive that item?” Owens said. “As a buyer, being really conscious of what that packaging is before it arrives in store helps me to best plan our displays.”
With its statement-making displays, carefully chosen assortment and lavish holiday traditions, Presley Paige has established itself as a place to be inspired, mark milestones and celebrate everyday life — a lifelong dream for Owens.
“I always knew I wanted to be a retailer from a young age. I still have the first bracelet that I ever bought from a store as a child — it’s broken, but I kept all the beads because it reminded me that I want to have something like this someday,” Owens said. “That’s where it all started. I loved the creativity, I loved merchandising and I loved cute little things. Now I get to have my own store full of cute little things.”
