<p>Please stop whatever you are doing to give three cheers to Kristina Burkey. Not only is she the founding proprietress of the fabulous <a href="https://calliopepaperie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Calliope Paperie">Calliope Paperie</a> of Natick, Massachusetts, she is *also* the founder of Stationery Store Day (SSD), which rolls into its second year of existence this Saturday, August 5. </p>



<p>The idea came to Kristina after being frequently asked about where<em> other</em> good stationery shops are. She said that more often than not, if you google &#8216;stationery stores,&#8217; the closest Staples results. &#8220;And that&#8217;s not what we want,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;I saw a real desire from people to seek out independently-owned stationery shops, and for these shops to have a day where their owners can wave a flag and say &#8216;I&#8217;m over here!! Come visit!'&#8221;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/use-this-one-683x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013780" width="770" height="1154"/></figure>



<p>But don&#8217;t just take it from Kristina &#8230; her mighty organizers make a pretty memorable statement.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-SSD-IG-post-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013777"/></figure>



<p>SSD was born in the same indie, funky, eclectic vein as Record Store Day or Independent Bookstore Day. Over at Stationery Trends, our Managing Editor Carly McFadden <a href="https://stationerytrends.com/article/stationery-store-day-8-questions-with-founder-kristina-burkey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="interviewed Kristina to get all the deets">interviewed Kristina to get all the deets</a>, but now that <strong>this</strong> is the week, online excitement is officially underway.</p>



<p>Both Kristina and I agree that our favorite part so far has been watching stores from across the nation making the festivities their own. Witness for example this newsletter buildup from <a href="https://thepapercraftpantry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="The Paper + Craft Pantry">The Paper + Craft Pantry</a> in Austin. Pei&#8217;s festivities include a stationery costume contest — ;her entire staff will also be masquerading as stationery products! Two winners receive a hand-sewn sash, trophy and gift card. There&#8217;s also a scavenger hunt and DIY stations, with goody bags for the first 25 guests. Meanwhile Pei refreshed the entire shop, featuring plenty of branded SSD merchandise, and is also unveiling her Paper Passport, a collectible book to be filled with &#8220;stamps&#8221; at events. And, what is a party without a surprise beverage? </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/paper-craft-pantry-735x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10013781" width="769" height="1071"/></figure>



<p>Meanwhile, in LA, <a href="https://urbanicpaper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Urbanic">Urbanic</a> is starting the festivities early, partnering with several local shops for a good old-fashioned Stationery Crawl. Participating shops include <a href="https://landisstationery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Landis Gifts &; Stationery">Landis Gifts &; Stationery</a> (their newsletter is also excerpted below); <a href="https://shopshorthand.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Shorthand">Shorthand</a>; <a href="https://shopbenicehavefun.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Be Nice Have Fun">Be Nice Have Fun</a>; <a href="https://sugarpaper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Sugar Paper">Sugar Paper</a>; <a href="https://www.baum-kuchen.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Baum-kuchen">Baum-kuchen</a>; <a href="https://parchmentpaperla.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Parchment Paper">Parchment Paper</a>; <a href="https://www.flaxpentopaper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Flax Pen to Paper">Flax Pen to Paper</a>; <a href="https://paperplant.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Paper Plant Co.">Paper Plant Co.</a>; and <a href="https://thesocialtype.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="The Social Type">The Social Type</a>. As I was linking all the websites above, a serious case of FOMO kicked in (understandably)! </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/urbanic-867x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013800"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/landis-740x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013802"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/tour-details-826x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013804"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/map-826x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013805"/></figure>



<p>Kristina retained illustrator Eloise Narrigan (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/eloise.draws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="@eloise.draws">@eloise.draws</a>) to generate a lively range of merchandise. <strong>None </strong>of it hits the floor until Saturday, but you can see a sneak peek below.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/merch.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013807"/></figure>



<p>If you are a retailer and missed the boat on branded merch, Kristina shared many ways you can still participate: </p>



<p>— ;Giveaways like a goody bag at the door. Or, invite customers to post stories and tag you. Pick someone at the end of the day to get a prize!</p>



<p>— ;A small, easy in-store demo like touch-a-fountain pen (like touch a truck!) or a quick washi tape craft.</p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-63347" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-63347 block-wrap-classic columns__m--1 elements-design-3 block-ani block-skin-0 tipi-box block-wrap-thumbnail ppl-m-1 clearfix" data-id="63347" data-base="0"><div class="tipi-row-inner-style clearfix"><div class="tipi-row-inner-box contents sticky--wrap"><div class="block block-23 clearfix"><article class="tipi-xs-12 clearfix with-fi ani-base tipi-xs-typo split-1 split-design-1 loop-0 preview-thumbnail preview-23 elements-design-3 post-10009029 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-favorites tag-anna-griffin tag-art-print tag-art-prints tag-bookmark tag-bookmarks tag-creative-powerhouse-society tag-dear-songbird tag-design tag-etsy tag-gingiber tag-glitter-paper tag-greeting-cards tag-murder-can-be-fun tag-postcards tag-sandara-buckland tag-sarah-schwartz tag-stacie-bloomfield tag-stationery tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-design tag-stationery-designer tag-stickers tag-thank-you-stationery tag-the-paper-fold tag-the-paper-fold-podcast tag-the-paper-nerd tag-ultimate-bundle tag-watercolor tag-zine" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/find-your-songbird/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1 100w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=120%2C120&;ssl=1 120w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=254%2C254&;ssl=1 254w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=351%2C351&;ssl=1 351w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=546%2C546&;ssl=1 546w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=861%2C861&;ssl=1 861w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=96%2C96&;ssl=1 96w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=300%2C300&;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?resize=50%2C50&;ssl=1 50w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Strawberry_Florals_Sticker.jpg?zoom=2&;resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1 200w" sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" /></a></div><div class="meta"><div class="byline byline-2 byline-cats-design-4"><div class="byline-part cats"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/category/favorites/" style="color:#b79b0d" class="cat">Favorites</a></div></div><div class="title-wrap"><h3 class="title"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/find-your-songbird/">Find Your Song(bird)</a></h3></div><div class="byline byline-3"><span class="byline-part date"><i class="tipi-i-calendar" aria-hidden="true"></i> <time class="entry-date published dateCreated flipboard-date" datetime="2021-10-08T19:34:19+00:00">October 8, 2021</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="10009029"><span class="likes-heart"><i class="tipi-i-heart-o" aria-hidden="true"></i><i class="tipi-i-heart" aria-hidden="true"></i></span><span class="tipi-value">0</span></a></span></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div></tipimidc>



<p>— ;Snacks and drinks!</p>



<p>— ;If you have other shops near you, organize a paper crawl. (When Kristina held hers, she called it The Paper Trail). Make a map and distribute to other shops. If a customer hits all the shops they can be entered to win a prize (as Urbanic is doing), or you can just do it for fun.</p>



<p>— ;Debut new products or a loyalty program.</p>



<p>It seems like every time I open my Insta, I see something like the below, from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nextchapter_studio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="@nextchapter_studio">@nextchapter_studio</a>. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/next-chapter.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10013792"/></figure>



<p>So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to the <a href="https://stationerystoreday.org/pages/shops" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stores page</a> on the SSD site to make your plan. Oh, and be sure to follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvXRLP6uGyM/?img_index=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@stationerystoreday</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/calliopepaperie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@calliopepaperie</a> so you don&#8217;t miss any festive paper hijinx!</p>



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