With the launch of their new online store in February of this year, Paper With Style, a stationery and gift boutique in Old Towne Petersburg, received a cease and desist letter from a similar named online store in Georgia.

 
“We learned a very valuable lesson about the importance of getting a trademark on our business name”, stated Elizabeth Howard, Paper With Style’s owner. After disabling their website, Howard began deciding on a new store name for her business that had been operating at the current location since May 1, 2007. The name would be used for both her online and physical store and, according to Howard, “will definitely be researched and trademarked this time.”
 
Howard heard from her attorney last week that the new store name she had selected is, indeed, available. Starting immediately Paper With Style’s online store will be renamed and do business as “The Cordial Cricket.” Howard hopes that the new name will standout in customers’ minds as uniquely as the products she offers in the store do. Howard is using the renaming as part of a larger business plan to solve the ongoing space problem she has been experiencing since shortly after her business opened.
 
“Our growing customer base and sales have exceeded all of our expectations for our first year in business,” stated Howard. Despite an expansion to the store earlier this year, its current 700 square feet are not ample enough to accommodate all of Howard’s inventory and space for brides to peruse the numerous wedding invitation albums.
 
“We are increasingly servicing a lot of brides with their wedding invitation and accessory needs,” explained Howard. “We carry all of the latest paper styles and trends, as well as most of the traditional lines, and they want to see it all before selecting what will work best for them. Unfortunately, though, wedding invitation albums are huge, and we need a lot of elbow room to spread them all out.”
 
Despite her love of Old Towne Petersburg and her desire to remain part of the city’s recent Renaissance, Howard has located a storefront in Chester that will provide her with more than twice the space she has now and which is conveniently located next door to both a bridal gown store and a tuxedo shop, which she plans to work closely with for referral business.
 
“On a personal level, this was such a difficult decision to make, because I absolutely love being in Old Towne and have made such wonderful friends down here,” Howard stated. “But on a business level, I really didn’t have to think twice. This is definitely a move the business has to make if we are to continue to grow and service our clients in a professional way.”
 
Paper With Style will move later this summer from its current location at 8 Bollingbrook Street, across from Andrade’s International Restaurant, and open in its new location in Chester Village Green’s Festival Park as The Cordial Cricket.
 
“Though some of my Tri-Cities and Southside customers will have to travel a little further north to visit the store, my goal is to provide a larger inventory and improved shopping experience to make it worth their while,” Howard explained. Additionally, she hopes the move to the fast-growing Chester community will increase her customer base to include the northern half of Chesterfield County, which represents a small part of the store’s current shoppers.
 
“We already have a very loyal, wide-spread customer base that is growing all the time. My hope is that our customers will be excited about our move into a bigger store and that they will look forward to shopping our expanded inventory,” said Howard.
 
The Cordial Cricket will maintain the distinctive paper and gift lines it currently carries such as Crane & Co., Vera Bradley papers, Kate Spade Paper, Tea Forte, Page Stationery, The Paper Menu and Bunnies by the Bay, just to name a few. With the larger space the store will be able to add many new complimentary lines to its offerings, while still providing the exceptional customer service and quick turn-around times on orders that they have built their reputation and following on at Paper With Style.
 
“I do believe our level of service and the relationships that we develop with our customers really have set us apart, and we certainly plan to maintain that,” she stated.
 
Howard also maintains an extensive catalog of products for sale on the store’s website www.thecordialcricket.com and offers an electronic newsletter to keep her clients abreast of new merchandise, special offers and sales.
 
Store’s Current Location:
8 Bollingbrook Street
(Around the corner from Sycamore Street)
Petersburg, VA 23803
 
Telephone:
804-733-0383
 
E-mail:
info@thecordialcricket.com
 
Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5
Appointments are welcome but not necessary. We are also happy to schedule appointments for after-store hours.