06/03/2026
Last lesson! Two years in, here is what small town retail actually taught me.
I SO wanted to be a shiny, beautiful, specialty stationery shop when i first started thinking about opening a brick and mortar store in Montpelier, Vermont. All the cards from artists and small makers, stationery goods from Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Desk tools and beautifully designed accessories from Germany, England, Italy and France. Shelves of local Vermont products.
But i very quickly learned that although stationery doesnât need a lot of space, it does need to sell at high volumes to support local rents. Looking around, I began to think that maybe i could fill a few gaps in our local shopping landscape.
So I started with products that felt adjacent to living your best analog life - candles, wool socks, throws, local pottery, and a handful of vintage pieces. It went over well.
Since then, as I have expanded my stationery offerings, I have also created multiple categories in the shop that support a thoughtful and intentional lifestyle where function is prized, good design is expected, and beauty is the main course, (not a side dish).
And the lesson is really that my business has to meet the needs of my customers. Do I still think a âstationery onlyâ shop is a lovely idea? Absolutely. But my customers want and need me to be a little less niche living in the smallest capital city in the USA. And I am@here for it.
OK. Thatâs it. Are you an indie retailer? What did I miss?
