Paper Tales was a dream that became a reality for Michelle and a group of her friends. They all shared a similar frustration due to the lack of paper craft stores and crafty places to “hang out” in the central San Diego area. Michelle had been teaching scrapbooking and card making classes at two local stores until they closed down. Determined to open a store of her own, she bought their fixtures and stored them in her garage until she could find the right location to open a shop. It took about a year to find the right store front and put a business plan together, but finally she and her friends opened “their dream paper craft boutique” on May 1, 2008. 
Now, almost a year later, they can’t imagine their lives before Paper Tales! They pack quite a bit into a 900 square foot space. Paper craft supplies, rubber stamps and inks, encaustic wax, needle felting supplies and more. Vintage finds are another specialty of theirs. Old flash cards, ribbon, seam binding, buttons, milk caps and much more! They are also lucky to have local artists offer their hand-embroidered clothing, jewelry, felt and canvas art to sell. Classes are an important element of the store. Customers love the relaxed, welcoming feel of the boutique. Paper Tales even has a “Shabby Chic” sofa and a small table and coloring books for the kids.
Elle’s Studio has cards and tags that are perfect for Paper Tales, displayed in vintage jello molds and antique hangers. Customers are thrilled that they can buy the items in the store that they’ve only seen available on ETSY.
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Every month we will be highlighting one of our retailers who has a store special just for you! If you are a retailer of Elle’s Studio products and would like to be featured, please email us (we have one spot open for 2009).
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