Stationery Trends Magazine

The Giving Tree

"I've always had a knack for finding and giving thoughtful gifts, so I created a place where people feel inspired to ‘love, gift and smile,'" explained Grace Kang, founder and chief buyer of Pink Olive, two New York City lifestyle boutiques specializing in whimsical gifts for happiness and home.

Pink Olive opened its first shop in May 2007. Located in New York City's hip East Village, the cozy 500-square-foot store is nestled in a friendly block that houses an eclectic mix of shops. Inviting and enticing, the space's exposed brick walls cast a vintage, yet warm, home-like feel.

The second Pink Olive came to life in Park Slope, Brooklyn, less than a year later. "We chose Park Slope for its family-friendly, artistic vibe," Kang noted. "While still retaining our roots in baby, stationery, gifts and vintage, our Park Slope store spotlights the arts, indie designers and home décor."

While each has its own focus, both spaces have a similar ambiance that exudes the essence of the Pink Olive brand. Wooden floors and original high ceilings create an enticing backdrop, and then there's that appealing element of fusing old with new. With every product Kang displays, she encourages her customers to "love, gift and smile," a tagline found throughout the shops and website.

Planting the Seeds

Kang certainly has a solid foundation to be a gift proprietress. After graduating from Cornell, Kang worked as an assistant buyer for Bloomingdale's. As she climbed the ladder there, Kang received numerous awards, including "Buyer of the Year." Following her seven-year stint there, she was asked to launch Saks.com. "Although e-commerce was new for me, I was able to incorporate all of my buying skills and I took their handbag and shoe business to the next level," Kang recalled.

Kang considers her biggest accomplishment working as a buyer for Barneys New York. "Working with some of the most talented, creative people in the industry allowed me to think outside of the box and excel in fashion in both the business and creative senses," Kang described.
With this impressive experience, Kang was certainly equipped to launch her own business. The store name was inspired by her niece Katie, who adores pink, while Kang is a fan of olives. "It's quirky, it's fun and that's what the shop is all about - mixing and matching the unexpected," Kang said.

Although Pink Olive is a young brand, Kang recently decided that it was time for a complete re-branding. The original logo was a pink olive wearing a tutu, and many assumed Pink Olive was a children's store. "It was cute and we got tons of compliments, but it didn't completely represent what we were about," Kang said.

The re-branding resulted in a new logo that features a green, organic-style tree dotted with pink olives. Updating the logo affected all of Pink Olive's marketing materials - from labels to business cards, correspondence cards to website.

Store Details

Pink Olive's collection is divided into four departments: baby, stationery, home and accessories. "Although many of the designers come from Brooklyn and New York, I also show some love to California designers," Kang said, a "Golden State" native herself.
Pink Olive targets women, ages 21 to 45 and retail prices range from $3 to $200. Exclusives are key to remaining on the cutting edge. Product only found at Pink Olive includes onesies, T-shirts and bags from Atsuyo et Akiko and "OMG" baby T-shirt and the "Brooklyn boy" and "Brooklyn girl" tees from Amy Tangerine.
This spring, Pink Olive and designer Kim Burke from Paper-Lovely will launch an exclusive letterpress calling card collection. "With so many creative entrepreneurs starting their own businesses, this is a great way for them to put their best foot forward by presenting a beautiful letterpress calling card," Kang emphasized.

Kang also shares her expertise with designers and retailers through retailrecipes.com, providing critiques and workshops to help both grow to the next level. "The experience and knowledge that she brings to table from several different aspects of the fashion and retail industry are invaluable," wrote client Beth Bugdaycay, CEO of Rebecca Taylor. "She operates with the high professional integrity of the big business world, with the kind approach and patience of the small business community."

"Grace's ability to categorize my products in mere seconds gave me a better and smarter way of marketing them," agreed paper designer Tanea Smith of She's Got Paper. "Her ability to focus on picking out the strongest parts of my brand and explaining how I could better showcase them was a huge benefit to me."

Promoting Pink

Since creativity is at the core of the Pink Olive concept, the boutique hosts several special events throughout the year. Previous happenings include a Mother's Day event with designers Atsuyo and Akiko from Atsuyo et Akiko; a sock monkey charity event with Classic Kids Photography; and exhibitions that showcased the artwork and photography of Kristiana Parn and Jennifer Causey, respectively.

Service is also a top priority. The store's recently implemented concierge amenity enables gift givers to send thoughtful gifts without the hassle of shopping for them. Pink Olive will select, wrap and deliver the perfect present. Prior to selecting gift items, gift givers are asked a series of questions on the gift recipient's gender, special interests and style.
Generating buzz via social media is also an effective marketing strategy. "We like to engage our customers through our blog posts, Facebook fan page and Twitter posts. We constantly run contests, raffles and giveaways with our fans and love to reward them for shopping with us," Kang said.

Partnering with review sites such as Yelp.com and community shopping guides such as BrooklynNow.com are also part of the marketing plan. "People love hearing about new shops through other customers, so any way I can generate real reviews and testimonials - the more effective I believe the marketing campaign will be," Kang said.

Pink Olive also collaborates with local merchants to cross-promote and give special discount incentives. This provides a way for Pink Olive to support other small businesses while influencing customers to continue to shop locally.

Pink Olive's answer to the "coffee card" concept used at cafes was to implement a Snail Mail Club card program for in-store purchases. For each card bought at the shop, Pink Olive "heart" punches the Snail Mail card. When the card has 12 punches, the customer receives a complimentary card of their choice. "We are true paper-lovers and appreciate beautiful letterpress cards and handwritten notes. We like to reward like-minded customers," Kang stated.

Kang certainly has found her personal recipe for success. People will always be getting married, having babies and celebrating the special occasions in their lives, even in a challenging economy. Consumers may be cautious, but they're spending on the items that matter to them. "There's definitely room for growth. We are constantly fine-tuning our inventory, and we're looking for strategic partners to take our business to the next level," she finished.

Quick Q & A Grace Kang

Q. There are some things that are timeless - a little black dress or the perfect martini come to mind. What epitomizes "timeless" for you when it comes to stationery?
A. When it comes to stationery, I think a "timeless" card is a card that highlights an initial. Rifle Paper & Co recently launched their monogram series and it is the perfect, timeless gift that you can give to yourself or someone you love.

Q. With new stationery designers cropping up daily, how do you recognize the talented entrepreneurs among the hobbyists?
A. I have been shopping "new" brands for more than 13 years now, so part of the training comes from the eye. However, I look at how seriously they are taking their business - from branding to design, packaging, quality and pricing - to the actual idea. Everything plays a part in that initial first impression.

Q. What are your three top-selling vendors?
A. For baby, Atsuyo et Akiko, Egg Baby and Cat Fish Greetings. For paper goods, it is Nightowl Paper Goods, Hello! Lucky and Chewing the Cud.

Q. What have you learned about running a stationery business in the last year that's surprised you?
A. Since you are dealing with a lower price points, you definitely have to sell more. With that said, paper enthusiasts love to collect beautiful cards. I'm always surprised to see customers who buy 15 to 20 cards at a time. Even though it might be more economical to buy boxed sets, people have no problem shelling out $6 per card if it speaks to them.

Q. If you were a stationery product, what would you be?
A. A beautiful thank-you card, because life is about giving thanks for all your blessings.

—By Regina Molaro, Special to Stationery Trends

Originally posted Tuesday, May. 3, 2011