When I opened this shop two years ago, I was afraid to even think two years ahead. Every day was a new adventure and a new challenge and as a newly minted, kind of naïve shop owner in New York City I knew better than to make any big plans right away. The entire idea of this shop was only a farfetched dream for a long time. I'd romanticized the idea so much in my head and described what I'd imagined this shop to be so many times that having it actually become a real thing hardly felt any different--almost as if I was just living in my own head. It wasn't until recently, when I first received a copy of a book with my name on it that it really dawned on me that this is something greater than a crazy idea in my head.

These days I arrive every morning to our office to meet any of the three amazing women with whom I spend my days here. We take turns spending time in the shop where we are thrilled to meet so many different people everyday--people who come to experience the shop but also to hear our stories and suggestions. In our office down the street we pore over ideas for Instagrams, new products and projects for the future. Knowing that there actually, really, really is a future is a big deal for me. This thing is a real, working business, even if it is an unconventional one. With the kindness of the media, the customers who continue to so loyally support us and the stationery community who have welcomed us with open arms we've been able to succeed without most of the things the internet says are necessary for running a successful retail business. For this, I am more grateful than I can express with words.

As for the future, I've learned that maybe I was right not to plan too far in advance because if anything that's happened in this two years has taught me anything, it's that things happen in their own time. I'm a person who makes lots of lists and seeks the security of plans but just about everything I'd dreamed about years before this shop existed have already happened. For now I think I'll just hang out here for a little bit, do my job and just let things happen.

Photo: Recent antics in in the shop--a leopard printed Caitlin photographing a flat lay with my awkward arm.