happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us.... ah forget it, the song doesn't translate very well on a blog, but you get the idea!
1 year ago on March 8th, rock paper scissors experienced a changing of the guard and reopened on the downtown mall under new owners, Dani Antol and Heather McNulty. and what a year it has been! we're celebrating with 15% off the entire store (including e-commerce and custom printing orders placed March 8th)! we'll have goodies to satisfy your sweet tooth, and we've just unvelied the first limited edition rock paper scissors tee shirt in a *vintagesoft* steel grey, available in M, L or XL fitted tee for women and L or XL anvil tee for men.
and we're (sniff sniff) taking a stroll down memory lane:
from our first custom-printed party invite (the surprise costume "john party" invite)...
to our first (and might we add, fun?!) bachelor party invite!
other parties we wish we had attended:
chicken & beer, printed by pica press (upon seeing the final product, the hostess' reaction was, "I am uncharacteristically speechless. Actually, I may weep openly in the presence of this much awesomeness.")
the barn party...
weddings are always fun, it's hard to pick and choose, but here are a few of our faves. (clockwise from top left: Mr. Boddington's studio photographed by Jason Keefer Photography; Page Stationery "Virginia" invitation photographed by Patricia Lyons Photography, calligraphy by if so inklined, event coordination by Easton Events; an original design by rock paper scissors for the charlottesville free wedding project, photographed by Susan Kalergis Photography; and a Press NY design photographed by Jason Keefer Photography.
but we're not all party all the time! in 2010 we were fortunate enough to get involved with several non-profits. we designed the bike charlottesville logo and website; the first night virginia logo and website. we created a themed logo for the Albemarle Garden Club's board of governors meeting as well as were royal flush sponsors of the junior league of charlottesville's main fundraising event, Vintage Vegas, Diamonds are forever, providing design and printed materials.
additional logos: read the evolution of the bella eats logo; guest who guide books. for more of a teaser, visit this summary blog post.
we introduced several new brands on the retail side, such as whitelines (a designer fave!), may day studio, a. favorite design, old tom foolery, bold face type, forgetful gentleman, pi'lo, kate & birdie, and others, while stocking up on old favorites like moleskine, rhodia, a.g. spalding & brothers, lamy, snow & graham, russell + hazel, fabriano, midori, waste not paper, rossi, and graphic image. and don't forget about all of the local designers we support!
september 17th and 18th we held our official grand re-opening party, with discounts, free giveaways, sweet treats from our friends cappelino's crazy cakes, book binding workshops, and a rock paper scissors tournament. the winner? definitey paper.
we received some good press in 2010 as well:
the cville weekly did a great spread right when we opened in their downtown for springtime edition. the hook gave us some nice coverage as well:
The Charlottesville Woman, a special section of the Daily PRogress, recapped our grand re-opening event in their December issue.
DP also discussed storefront occupancy rates on the downtown mall.
and we were voted BEST PLACE TO BUY A GREETING CARD by C'ville Weekly readers!
SOME KIND WORDS WE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE YEAR:
"Just a quick note to say thank you to ... for a great set of invitations & cards. Dani actually showed me the lame-o one I originally brought in and wow, what a difference! You have such a cute shop in a great location and I wish you tons of luck there." - Heather Picinich, Heather Picinich Interiors
written on the whitelines test paper: "i really love how friendly the staff here are."
"it's great to finally have someone with good design/taste who understands our budgetary limitations..." - a local non-profit organization/customer with whom we enjoy working!
from an out-of-town client who received her stationery at home: "Just got [my stationery]. I love it--the card stock is really thick...! It's always worth swinging thru your store when I am in Charlottesville!"
loved hearing this feedback from a client who ordered moving announcements: "we LOVE them. It was perfect - our real estate agent had them waiting in our home when we did the walk thru... our first housewarming present!"
"your new store window is ah-mazing! absolutely beautiful." and "did you do window merchandising professionally before [working at rock paper scissors]?"
BLOG LOVE (we heart you back!):
betsy and charlie in charlottesville
andrea hubbell photography (grand re-opening re-cap)
charlottesville weddings (mr. boddington's studio)
charlottesville weddings (more mr. boddington's studio)
charlottesville weddings (valentine's day)
charlottesville weddings (belly band invite trend)
in closing, it's been a wonderful first year, we look forward to many more! we owe much gratitude to our friends and family who have supported us emotionally (and sometimes physically and monetarily!). and we would be nowhere without the help and advice of the RPS brainchild, Amy Gardner. so without further ado, in the words of one of our best selling cards:
I just got a little weepy. Thanks for the nod and the pride you give me every time I walk by and smile or walk in and open up my wallet. Keep up the amazing and awesome work!
Posted by: amy | March 09, 2011 at 06:49 AM
Happy, happy birthday to RPS!! We're absolutely thrilled for you success, Heather & Dani. Thank you for keeping one of our favorite local shops alive and kickin'! xoxo...anne&bill
Posted by: HollandPhotoArts | March 09, 2011 at 02:24 PM