Getting it All ... On Paper
Tina Benitez -- Gifts and Dec, 10/4/2011 7:49:52 AM
Brooklyn paperie and gift shop finds its niche in the big city.
MELINDA MORRIS OPENED A NEW VERSION of her family business in 2002. In the same state, and a world away, Lion In The Sun opened its doors in the Brooklyn, NY, neighborhood of Park Slope. A far cry from the original Lion In The Sun, which opened 30-plus-years earlier in Huntington, NY, the Brooklyn location was a whole new beast. Morris first moved to Brooklyn in 1995 and wanted to respond to the area's need for a full-functioning stationery and gift store. Now, Morris had the opportunity to cater to new and artistically savvy clientele and tap into the diversity of Brooklyn, making Lion In The Sun one of a kind. "After living in this neighborhood for many years, I saw a real need for a high-quality paperie in the neighborhood where I lived, so it just became the most obvious place to start," says Morris. "It [Brooklyn] is the classic urban, suburban dichotomy, which is actually really fun."
The shop's eye-catching window displays are created by the staff. Interior displays are functional and orderly.
Much different from the more classic, traditionalist setting of the original, Lion In The Sun, which is still in business to this day, the Brooklyn location caters more to "irreverent youngsters."
Inside, the 1,000-sq.-ft. shop the stock is a majority of stationery - everything from leather desk goods, pens, unique giftwraps and packaging goods and ribbon photo albums. There is also a selection of children's books and craft kits; a small selection of toys also helps round out the inventory.
Even if limited by space, the quality of the products has made Lion In The Sun stay in good business for the past nine years. Its sweet spot: paper. A distinct catalog of custom and unique invitations, announcements, correspondences, notebooks and greeting cards are what customers seek most.
"We try to focus on quality, creativity and less mass-marketed products, but our main focus is custom printing," says Morris. "So, while we have a lot of catalogs and samples, we don't have too much product associated with that." Small, concentrated and customized is how Morris wants to keep it. This has kept customers coming back year after year, making the clientele grow tenfold. Lion In The Sun keeps things close and personal with patrons via Facebook, Twitter and the email marketing tool Constant Contact. Lion In The Sun also has regular holiday promotions and others for special events, specifically weddings. Patrons are given "frequent flier miles" that count toward discounts for last-printed wedding items.
Lion In The Sun stocks mostly stationery items — everything from desk accessories and pens to unique gift wraps and ribbon, as well as select greeting cards.
Constant reinvention and new products are crucial when you're in such a creative locale like Brooklyn. Aside from constantly switching out vendors to keep offerings fresh, the store has had many necessary changes in past nine years, including a change of store location and shop expansion. "Trends and product lines come and go, but we have always been most passionate and specialize in helping people with their special events," says Morris.
To stay true to this promise, Lion In The Sun launched its own line of custom and locally designed invites and stationery. The line, Postscript Brooklyn, was created through trial and error out of some custom designs by the Lion In The Sun creative team and also features local artists such as Moontree Letterpress, Serminony and Foxy & Winston.
Morris also prides her shop on offering mostly eco-friendly products, something she says isn't as costly as it was before. "I think the stationery industry has come around to the over-arching necessity of environmental 
consciousness that is the growing movement, and it isn't really challenging at all," she says. "I find so few printers and merchandisers that don't address this issue at all."
In the end, Brooklyn, and it's infusion of creativity, is the main inspiration for Lion In The Sun. The mix of local artists and some well known brands make Lion In The Sun a unique post for patrons, a small fish in a big pond. Morris says that one of the best radars for a good product is when she and her staff find and buy fun and unique items, and the customers share their excitement.
"It is the creativity that my clients bring to us and the challenge to continue to raise the bar and bring them something unique and inspired," says Morris. "Brooklyn is great, because people are very committed to supporting small independent, locally-sourced. We go out of our way to find local products and our clients seem to love that. It's the best part that I get to put what I love out there, and people respond it."
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