A greeting card and stationery store will close its brick-and-mortar storefront this month after 44 years in the Lehigh Valley.
Owner Liz Richmond said her store, the paperbag, will close Jan. 31 at The Shops at 3900 Hamilton in South Whitehall Township.
The store offers greeting cards, custom invitations, custom stationery and printing services. It will offer 75% discounts for non-custom merchandise until closing day.
Richmond purchased the paperbag in 1997 from founder Roberta Epstein, who opened the store in 1982.
Richmond said that with foot traffic at the store dropping off and her getting closer to retirement, it was time to reinvent the business.
“People aren’t sending as many cards as they used to,” she said.
Richmond will continue to operate a remote business offering custom invitations, custom stationery and gift wrapping services to clients in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. She’ll also offer pop-up events.
“Right now I’m numb, so I can’t really say for sure,” Richmond said of how it feels to close the storefront. “But it feels good because it’s really kind of reinventing myself and … changing with the times and just really reinventing how I do business. You know, to be honest … I will miss the day-to-day customers, but I’m not leaving the area. I’m not disappearing, so I know I’ll run into people. But … ask me that in two weeks or in four weeks after I’ve done it. But at this point right now, I’m happy to be making some changes.”
The store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Richmond said the store’s website will continue to operate after the closure, and that clients can get in touch with her by calling 610-820-9959 or emailing paperbagonline@gmail.com.