Mar 6, 2010

Birch Paperie showcases Northwest boutique card, paper and gift linesBy Rebecca GarlandNWSource.com

A manufacturer’s representative for letterpress cards and paper lines, Tamara Gellert had been working out of her home office for seven years when she decided it was time to shake things up. “I wanted to stay engaged and be creative,” she said. “I wanted to share my love of paper and the talent with whom I work.” In mid-December of 2009, Gellert opened Birch Paperie. As an 18-year resident of Wallingford, she located the store close to home, choosing a tiny space in Green Lake’s Tangletown, directly behind Mighty-O Donuts and across the street from Zoka.

Birch Paperie is an extension of Gellert’s other business, Gellert Collection, which represents approximately 20 small manufacturers who provide boutique cards and paper lines as well as a few gift lines. Many of the companies Gellert represents are local to Washington and Oregon, including Herman Yu, Driscoll Design, Pinkerton Design, Natalie Eden, Ilee Papergoods, Le Clair Cards, Studio Olivine, Lucca Paperworks, Egg Press and Old School Stationers.

Representing local companies allows Gellert to develop personal relationships with the manufacturers, which she believes brings a unique perspective when selling their products. She recounts sharing with a customer the story of visiting the owner of Ilee Papergoods, Ja Teuber, at her home in Shoreline. It was winter, and Teuber was working out of her garage, pressing calendars and wearing a fleece hat and gloves to stay warm. Gellert said her customer “loved the image of Ja in her fleece, pressing away.”

Birch Paperie is both a studio where Gellert can work with retailers, showing them potential products for their own stores, and a store where she can sell products and get feedback from customers that she can share with her manufacturers and retailers. Items sold in the store include handmade letterpress cards ($3.50 to $7.50), wrapping paper ($3 per sheet or $7 per roll), boxed notes ($12 to $18) and journals ($11). Birch Paperie also offers a small selection of soy candles ($22), soaps ($11) and totes ($20), among other gift items.

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