Our next Store Spotlight takes us to the sunny West Coast in Venice, CA! Owned by couple Audrey and Joshua Woollen, Urbanic Paper Boutique specializes in all things stationary and then some. If you’re in need of some gorgeous and unique invitations, this is definitely where you need to go. Also, their story is quite possibly the cutest I’ve ever heard…
Q: When did Urbanic open?
A: August 2006.
Q: What’s your store’s aesthetic?
A: Curated, charming and modern with a classic vintage twist.
Q: Any fun or interesting store facts we should know about?
A: Before we got married we had a long distance letter writing relationship for quite a while. We loved crafting artistic notes to each other and the surprise it brought us to receive them in our mailbox. We’re total believers in fun mail and this was a huge part of the inspiration that led us to open Urbanic.
Q:Tell us about your neighborhood. Why do you love it?
A: The architecture is amazing, and although it’s by the beach it still has a city vibe. Venice is pretty consolidated and within it is a ridiculously creative and eclectic community. We have the best customers. They are seriously some of the most interesting people in existence so there are very few dull moments.
Q: When not in your store, where is the next most likely place you’d be?
A: Immersed in some kind of adventure with our 2 little ones.
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in your hood?
A: Gjelina…without a doubt.
Q: If there is 1 thing someone “must do” when they visit your area, what would you recommend?
A: We would recommend exploring the Venice canals. Our town is called Venice because it was built on the water canals to resemble Venice, Italy in the early 1900’s. It was a resort town and termed “The Coney Island of the Pacific.” Today the canals are full of beautiful homes and modern garden landscaping. There are little boats everywhere, it is charming and a mini-escape from the city.
Q: What blogs/magazines do you follow?
A: Lots of blogs, lots of mags, but not a whole lot of time to really delve into all of that honestly. Our radar is always on though, so if we see a good find for the shop we nab it.
Q: Where do you find all of your products?
A: We search high and low to find the most unique things for our shop, so it’s a combination of many places. A few to name would be the NY trade shows, Etsy, blog scouring, and seeking out local indie designers.
Q: Whats next for you/your store…. any upcoming sales/events?
A: We love hosting store events. Definitely one of our favorite parts of the job. You can see a few of them here. We recently just finished our summer social and a pinterest event, and will be gearing up to host some exciting workshops this fall.
You can find Urbanic at 1644 Abbott Kinney Blvd or online at their website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Photos courtesy of Brandon Kidd, Stephanie Williams, Paul Esposito.
