Paper Source

Paper Source is a great place for gifts, craft supplies, cards, calendars, banners, anything you can think of cute and crafty! It’s like shopping at Pinterest.
Besides the wonderful merchandise and sweet employees, Paper Source offers classes on a variety of crafts. I took the DIY Invitations class with Jenn and loved it! $ 20 to get the supplies needed to learn embossing, letterpress and more! Check the website for more classes, they’re really fun. I’ll definitely be back for the classes and all my stationery needs :)

Still a favorite for my crafty needs. The new layout has gone through a second round, and they’ve knocked down all the walls, making for a wide, open space, clean, easily maneuverable walkways and a reinforced floor that doesn’t creak and break at every step.
I’ve been a loyal Paper Source customer since 2007 and look forward to more paper goodness.
Find the Barr-​Co Long Burning Fir & Grapefruit vegetable wax candle. It smells like Christmas had a party with summer!

Did I just die and go to stationery heaven?! It felt that way when I walked into this store. They have so much adorable, quirky, and beautiful stationery products. I just wanted to buy everything. In addition to their paper supplies, they had tons of fun little stocking stuffers — perfect since I came here right before the holidays. I’m getting married soon, so I think I’ll be paying this place another visit to gain some wedding invitation inspiration, and maybe just to buy some random fun stuff :)

Don’t bother ordering personalized stationary from this company. It will not arrive in time and they will not answer any of your emails or phone calls.
I ordered personalized stationary for a christmas gift on Dec 4^th. I sent several emails to customer service asking when my order would ship and never received a response. I also called and left several voice messages and never heard back. I finally received a shipment notification yesterday saying my order would delivered Dec 26^th!!! Zero customer service. I will never order from this joke of a company ever again.

If you’re wondering whether paper products can turn someone on, well you haven’t run into me while browsing Paper Source.
Boxed card sets and individual cards that run the gamut of colors, themes, occasions, and creativity. Pretty boxes and wrapping paper. Party decorations. Scrapbooks. Stickers. Stamps. Stationery. Lily Pulitzer agendas. Kate Spade office supplies. Star Wars bed time storybooks. Moleskins. Journals with prompts for your parents, grandparents, kids, dogs, yourself. Stupid, silly, cute books. Colored pens (this would be in all caps if I didn’t have my favorite pens in every color already). Shot glasses. Knitted Santa hats. Printed oven mitts. Board games.
Ok, those last few aren’t technically paper products, but that’s what makes Paper Source even more awesome – they have tons to browse for your paper obsessed self and lots of potential gifts to give!
Customer service has always been pleasant and eager to please whenever I stroll through here. Reasonable prices. What more could you ask for? (I vote people serving light bites and wine.)

It’s nice to have a store that has the supplies I would normally look for at Wallgreens, and *way* bigger a selection. They have a huge wall of stamps, unique wrapping paper, and cute gifts.

This store! I don’t even know where to begin. As a girlie, slightly snarky, artsy person, I naturally gravitate toward shops with funny cards, cute home goods, books, gifts and creative papers (including wrapping paper, a custom stationary center, do-​it-​yourself art kits etc). Did I mention the wall of stamps? Or the variety of Kate Spade office/​desk supplies? There is an ENTIRE table of donut-​themed items… from streamers to phone cases to magnets to erasers. I even took a photo of a card with a cat wearing a yamaka (inside reading «Meowzle Tov!») and sent it to my Jewish best friend. It was a hit. Like I said, I didn’t even know where to begin.
I’m the kind of person who wants one of everything and doesn’t need any of it. While my friend bought her mother a few things for her birthday, I just gazed through the store and got some creative ideas. Oh! I also spotted a «birthday colors» book, and learned all about December 22. My color is «Evergreen,» like my eyes. ;)

If you know me at all, you know I’m a fool for details and Paper Source is just the place where details are top priority.
The Marina location provides a large of stock of stationary items to personal invites to scented candles to kitschy items. The prices are within reasonable range (i.e. birthday cards $ 3.99). The customer service is beyond expectations– super friendly staff!
But what really sets the Paper Source: Marina apart is the DIY (do it yourself) classes they offer. From a range of classes geared towards tweens to teens and even adults, this location suffices for all your creative fiends. And the prices for the classes aren’t too bad at all– from $ 20-​$ 30/​session.

The staff isn’t attentive especially in the wedding invitation department.

I went in a few weeks ago with my husband to pick out and order birth announcements of our son. When I asked about them the clerk told me they have «print your own» announcements. Which is a pre-​made card and you just print it at home… THATS RUDE, because we wanted to sit down and go through the different options they have in their huge book collection of cards… None of the other clerks even cared when i re-​asked to be helped with ordering birth announcements and kept telling me i should buy the do it yourself ones…
Definitely not coming back here!

I have always loved this store, and when I come across one, while visiting other cities, I am so excited. I always leave with way too much, but enjoy my experience, and am always inspired as well.

Same person took me here because she was trying to find paper for her office. Apparently, it was not just a paper source, it was more than that. I was thinking of a gift and a wrap for it, and I found my gift wrap here! Completely beautiful paper for a girl’s birthday! Never felt so special after finding this gift wrap.
The people here are also very friendly! I was talking about the present with my friend and a man came up and gave us plenty of ideas! This is definitely a place to meet people who are artistic and creative with paper!

Calling all my artsy, crafty crafting amigos! Paper Source is your mother ship.
My BFF, being the ultimate BFF EVER, bought me a Smash Book for Christmas. I thought to myself– okay, a scrap book. Then I opened it and went on-​line to research this Smash Book by K&Company. Come to find out it’s not a typical «scrap book.» Smash Book is it’s own category and an addiction. Yes, I am addicted to Smashing.
They have different themed Smash Books so you can pick a book that’s you.
Paper Source carries a select few books as well as different accessories to go with them. I found a small bag of old, vintage stamps, cards, and pictures from the 1920’s and up for $ 14.00. In the bag I also found a love letter from 1930 that a man wrote to his «sweetheart» saying he apologizes for their fight and he is ready to catch the next bus to see her. This all went into my fabulous Smash Book.
Paper Source also has card and craft making classes which you can do over a glass of wine if you choose. What’s better than bringing out your inner artist over a glass of vino?
You will find tons of things for your skillful, creative activity.
Stamps, different prints of paper, markers, stickers, scrap books, you name it!
Enjoy!

This is a good Paper Source. The people are generally friendly and helpful and they have tons of awesome but overpriced craft supplies.

I love the Paper Source– I was really delighted to see a location here — I haven’t seen too many locations (that I’m aware of) in SF. Perfect for strolling around with a cup of coffee and checking out what it has to offer.

Five stars for Patrice, who stayed totally cool when I busted in at 5:45 (they close at 6:00) in desperate need of an envelope liner for an invitation that had to go out THE NEXT DAY.
Minus two stars because said paper chosen to be the envelope liner, though perfect, only came in packs of 10 sheets. For realz? It’s 8.5×11 paper. I had to buy 20 packs. I got a 10% discount, which ended up making it only SLIGHTLY more expensive than buying a bulk back of 100 sheets, but really… This is just not a very practical/​economical place to purchase paper.
Although it’s pretty paper. If you need, like, ten sheets of pretty paper, go there and ask for Patrice!

Paper Source, I love you. Your selection of cards and books and calendars and pens make me want to swoon. I am a addicted to all things paper and ink, and I love how the right combo feels when brought together beneath my fingers. Your selection fixes my need.
Paper Source, I hate you. Not really, but I spend way too much money on your beautiful and slightly expensive letterpress offerings. Your do-​it-​yourself ideas. Your beautiful gifts. Your clever odds and sods. Money that should be going into my kids college fund or something more substantial. Eh, who needs a retirement fund anyway?
Paper Source, I thank you. When hubby and I were planning our shot-​gun wedding, we leaned heavily on your offerings and created our own invitations on the fly. For a pittance of what we would have spent had we had them printed up professionally.
Yes, Paper Source. I do love you.

Paper Source, I miss you.
I used to live so close by, I could run down to this Chestnut St. location for all my stationary/​gifty/​crafty needs. They have the BEST and prettiest solid color paper and envelopes here for everyday notes; super fun holiday paper craft projects, and unique gifts for things like birthdays or showers. Pens, stamps, ink, craft supplies, gift books and journals abound. Their regular array of greeting cards is also unparalleled; whoever buys for them has impeccable taste and a great eye. I could always find what I was looking for, and I am very picky when it comes to cards and stationary. They also have lovely custom invitation services, if you’re having a party or getting married or announcing your new baby.
Simply the best paper store. I wish they’d open up an Ann Arbor location — I’d keep them in business!

I haven’t been back since my last review until today! I was in the neighborhood running errands when I decided to pop into PS! Glad I did because they now have a corner dedicated to «outlet merchandise.» That is, you can buy stuff that’s more than 50% off. I found a ginormous Marvy Uchida button punch that usually retails for $ 16+ for the bargain basement price of $ 6!!! They also had seasonal rubber stamps, items and some discontinued envelopes in the outlet corner.
Store is bright and cheerful. Staff is nice. Come here to check out their outlet corner and the 50% off section!

This is for the Invitations department. I don’t really have experience with the rest of the store.
Apparently all Paper Sources outsource their invitations departments. Most of the ones in the Bay Area (like in Berkeley) are handled by a small company. This one (the only PS with an invitations dept. in SF) is handled by Rhiannon.
When deciding on invites, we went to a few places and interviewed people and this place seemed good, the reviews were solid, and the price was ok. Or so we thought. Basically it would have been more cost– and time-​effective to buy Quark and learn it than doing this. I don’t understand how she still has a job. She doesn’t know how to copy-​and-​paste images. She doesn’t know basic things about the printing process (like what dpi resolution images need to be in to print well). I mean, it’s great that this is a learning experience for her, but why do I have to pay for it and waste my time? There were spelling errors and typos in every proof.
After a certain time we couldn’t take it anymore. We knew out deposit was lost and we didn’t have more time to waste. We just signed off on a barely tolerable proof and just hoped that the ‘funny’ story would cover for the invitations.
My friend has a coworker who used Rhiannon and basically their strategy was to sit with her on the computer for 3 – 4 hours at a time to get things done.