A greeting card and stationery store will close its brick-and-mortar storefront this month after 44 years in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
Owner Liz Richmond said her store, the paperbag, will close Jan. 31 at The Shops at 3900 Hamilton in South Whitehall Township.<\/p>\n
The store offers greeting cards, custom invitations, custom stationery and printing services. It will offer 75% discounts for non-custom merchandise until closing day.<\/p>\n
Richmond purchased the paperbag in 1997 from founder Roberta Epstein, who opened the store in 1982.<\/p>\n
Richmond said that with foot traffic at the store dropping off and her getting closer to retirement, it was time to reinvent the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople aren\u2019t sending as many cards as they used to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019ll also offer pop-up events.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now I\u2019m numb, so I can\u2019t really say for sure,\u201d Richmond said of how it feels to close the storefront. \u201cBut it feels good because it\u2019s really kind of reinventing myself and \u2026 changing with the times and just really reinventing how I do business. You know, to be honest \u2026 I will miss the day-to-day customers, but I\u2019m not leaving the area. I\u2019m not disappearing, so I know I\u2019ll run into people. But \u2026 ask me that in two weeks or in four weeks after I\u2019ve done it. But at this point right now, I\u2019m happy to be making some changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n