Confessions of a Pencil Lady: the struggle of the hunt
Next month will mark three years in business in a physical shop! Can you believe it?! Crazy, because it feels like I've been doing this forever. This time last year I was preparing for the release of my book and definitely didn't foresee what was to come later in the year with our shop move. Oh, how things have changed!
Late last month I went to Frankfurt for Paperworld, which, if you read this blog, is a place you already know is the craziest stationery trade show ever. It's a lot of time and money to travel for these sorts of things, all in the pursuit of new products, which I'm learning are becoming harder and harder to come by. You see, the things is, it's not very often that new pencils come about. Most pencil brands will release a couple of new things a year and there are only so many brands to choose from. And to be honest, I just don't like a lot of the stuff I see at trade shows. If it's not "on brand" enough, it's not high enough quality. When I first started the online shop I had a short list of things I definitely wanted to get but was very careful to edit everything else--I repeatedly told myself that just because a pencil is currently manufactured doesn't mean that I have to sell it. When I look at photos of the shop in the very very beginning I always laugh a little bit at how minimal the shop displays were. These days there's NEVER enough space, not even in a significantly larger shop. Putting out new or re-stock products often becomes a shop-wide puzzle. I'm not sure if my taste has become less discerning since that first round of buying long ago or if I've just been more open-minded about new products but man, we sell a lot of things from a lot of different places! I wish you could see what my PO system looks like--it's complicated, to say the least.
Things got even more complicated when we first decided to do a proper subscription box. It was very important to me that we include mostly things that we don't already sell. Stupidly, I didn't really think much about how much work it would be to find 6-8 actually good new things to put in the boxes every three months--never mind weight, budget constraints and themes. I've had to really really take my time and ask myself if I'm just choosing something because it's new and it's easy or if it's actually something I can sell and stand by in the shop as a regular item. It's hard, because I'm picky and because there are so many things that I don't want the shop to be. On the other hand, it's a good thing to have this quarterly challenge because it forces me to dive deep to find new things to work into our regular rotation.
In the next couple of months there are a few things that we're going to start selling that are things I never thought we'd sell. These are decisions I've mulled over for a really long time and finally I realized that this shop has evolved in the past three years, entirely naturally. It's okay to grow and it's okay to sell things that might not be my own personal favorites and it's okay to branch out sometimes. I've been really proud of myself for being able to find things that I love for the shop that are also things that I know will sell well but let's face it--I'm running a brick-and-mortar shop in a really expensive city in 2018. Maybe sometimes it's not a terrible idea to think a little bit more about what the customers want to buy, not what my personal preferences are. The vision is still the same and the focus is still the same and as long as that's never diluted I think we'll be okay.
*PHOTO: our front window shelves three days after opening at our original location.
Comments
Cathy
March 01 2018
I look forward to seeing how the business evolves this year. I do have a suggestion for an item I’d like to see you carry- book darts. I use them in conjunction with my highlighter pencils when reading.
fanny
March 01 2018
<3 <3 It’s wonderful to hear that you’re giving the shop itself space to grow through it’s own evolution and that you’re not beating yourself up about it. Your shop and the collection will continued to be loved because the essence is that you are consciously cultivating everything as a whole, as an end in itself. <3 <3 so much love for your vulnerability and thanks as always for sharing your process with us!
Jamene
March 01 2018
Come what may.
Be here to stay.
Jana
February 28 2018
It is customary for a store to carry more of what the customers want than things that the proprietor personally likes. Your store will be a blend of both, of course, but listening to the customers is the best way to stay in business. Feels like a compromise at times, I’m sure, but still, a store has to to do what it has to do to stay open!
Katy
February 28 2018
I love what you do, and I have complete trust in your judgement. I’m a quarterly subscriber and have loved the “wild card” items because they introduce me to things I might never buy but love to use (last box’s Happy Life stickers are a particular favorite— could temporary tattoos be next?!). I appreciate your hard work and your commitment to both the brand and to the brick-and-mortar shop.
Paige
February 28 2018
I am sure with your discerning eye, the new additions will be something many of us will want to buy. Cannot wait to see what you have in store for us in 2018!
Ana
February 28 2018
I’m excited to see what you’ll be adding to your shop. As someone who as been shopping with you pretty much since your first days, I look forward to having new and different ways to shout “take my money1”
Comments
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