Photograph by Paul Myers
Pauline Lee, owner and manager of Paperfunalia, arranges cards at the new store location at 14486 Big Basin Way. The business moved down the block from 14462 Big Basin Way this month.
Paperfunalia wraps up deal for move to a new location
By Rebecca Ray
After two decades of existing with tire marks on the carpet and smelling like grease, the space formerly occupied by Saratoga Bike Shop is now filled with wrapping paper, ribbons and a giant stuffed duck.
In February, former Saratoga Bike Shop owner Craig Hartsell closed his store at 14486 Big Basin Way. On March 1, Paperfunalia, another longtime Saratoga Village business, moved in.
Pauline Lee, owner and manager of Paperfunalia, moved from her former 800-square-foot space at 14462 Big Basin Way to a space about six doors down, with 50 percent more square footage and twice as much window space. Lee, her husband, Dick--who works as the store's janitor, bookkeeper and accountant--and four other part-time staff workers painted the walls at the new place peach, ripped out the tire-stained carpet and replaced it with a taupe rug, and somehow eradicated the grease smell that permeated the interior.
Although the walls are still covered with peg boards and slot walls, the store held a grand opening on March 23.
Lee says that before the bike shop closed, she hadn't thought of expanding Paperfunalia. But her old lease expired in February, she says, and her former landlord doubled the rent. So when Lee's beautician told her that Saratoga Bike Shop was closing, Lee told Coldwell Banker that she was interested in renting the space. Lee says the new space costs less per square footage than the old one.
Lee, a 32-year Saratoga resident, opened Paperfunalia--the name is a combination of "paraphernalia" and "fun with paper"--more than 16 years ago. She opened it with a friend, an ex-florist. They chose to open a card and gift shop because Lee's friend was sick of the flower business yet still wanted to sell an artsy product.
Six months after Lee and her friend opened Paperfunalia, the friend decided that running it was more work than he thought. So he dropped out, and since then Lee has run Paperfunalia on her own.
Not that she didn't have business experience--a couple years prior, she and her neighbor had run a tennis shop, Fuzzy Ball, in San Jose for almost eight years. However, Lee says, she never expected Paperfunalia to last as long as it has.
Even when Paperfunalia first opened, it was more than a card and gift shop. It also sold miniatures and objects with a "bear" theme, because when Lee took over the lease of the former store, Nutshell Gifts, she also bought its inventory. Although she wasn't crazy about the country-themed merchandise from Nutshell Gifts, she says, it helped her business get started.
Today, besides the mainstay cards and gift wrap, Paperfunalia sells leather-bound journals and albums, stationary, candles, soaps and ribbons, and offers a custom gift-wrapping service that covers corporate gifts.
Lee, who describes herself as a stuffed- animal person, has stuffed animals all over her house, and all over her store as well. She carries various Russ stuffed animals, including kangaroos and monkeys.
The store also sells Groovy Girls--soft, washable rag dolls made by Manhattan Toys that have been the rage for the last year or two, according to Lee.
Although a family couldn't live off the profits of the business, "I don't know what I'd do without it," Lee said. The customers, she says, make the business interesting.
Lee says she has no plans to open other store locations, because of the amount of work involved in the franchising business. Also, the store would lose money if it hired an accountant, she says.
However, Lee has other plans. The store has a glass case, left over from the bike shop, which Lee plans to fill with new silver costume jewelry from Indonesia.
In fact, Lee says, her favorite part of the business--other than meeting customers--is seeing new merchandise after it arrives.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
