Last week I had the great privilege of watching one of my biggest dreams come true. We opened up our first ever permanent retail location! Over the past decade, there have been pop-ups and shows and open studios and meet ups…but never the opportunity to fully let The Letterist live and breathe in a space of her own.
It was without a doubt the most administratively, financially and creatively challenging venture in our history…but in just a few short days since its opening, it has proved to be worth it, and the best possible decision in every possible way.
See, we didn’t exactly open up a store. We opened up the doors to our studio. We created a space where people can drop in, find inspiration, tools or a gift, talk to us about their favorite novel or obsessive journalling habits, and leave feeling just a little more in love with love.
Meet Ophelia: the bust I initially purchased with the aim of reselling in the store…who has now become our high priestess and our muse - the centrepiece I can’t bear to part ways with. She rests above it all, quietly overseeing all the other beautiful stationery, tools, and antiques I’m often a little sad to see go.
I’ve lived in Zambia, New York, London and Paris - I’ve dreamt of having a store in Florence and Milan, Paris, Amsterdam and beyond….and I haven’t let go of any of these destinations, but I felt our first one had to be in my home town of Belgrade, Serbia (and conveniently within walking distance for me and the pups).
This city is nostalgic, romantic, gritty, and old-school cool in a way that no other place is. It can get intensely emotional, it can be stylishly apathetic, it can be rough around the edges and also ooze endless charm.
Our space sits on the first floor of a quintessentially Vračar-Historical villa, on an adorable and unassuming cobblestone street. The address - Topolska 18 - was the set of two popular local TV shows - "Srećni ljudi” - which translates to Happy People, and “Ljubav, Panika, Navika” which translates to “Love, Panic, Habit”…tiny legacies I feel are hardly accidental.
We’ve filled the space with some of our cult-favorite products such as our Dot Grid Notebook and the Desk Calendar, and poured our hearts into creating and/or curating a whole new line of greeting cards, handmade papers, writing tools, antiques and prints from all over the world. The Kaweco writing tools have been an instant hit, with new models and colors coming in and out so quickly I haven’t had the chance to snag one for myself.
We put an incredible amount of thought into sustainability - recycling parts of old invitation samples into framed prints, or old calendar quotes into tiny wallet-sized notes to self or other. We pulled some fond old favorites out of the archives, we turned offcuts and leftovers into packaging, and we whip out an old typewriter or stamp to manually impress our logo on certain pieces - avoiding the whole rigmarole and carbon footprint of more modernized production.
We had, and continue to have tons of fun with the visual merchandising. A paperclip “bar” served in vintage cocktail glasses, an abstract Christmas tree on a wire frame, an entire bathroom covered in ephemera I’ve collected and carted around the world for years. I can’t wait for you to visit. I can’t wait for you to see it. But most of all, I can’t wait for you to feel it.
Our little red mailbox loves a love letter. If you can’t visit…write to us at:
The Letterist
Topolska 18
11000 Belgrade
SERBIA
The team on our Juliet balcony, doing what we do best, talking about feelings.
Stop by every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 12-6pm and experience Love on Paper in three dimensions. Scents and jazz and puppies and all.
Topolska 18, First floor.