The Ink Pad, NYC is closing :(

[wavejumper]

I am very sad to say that Anna at The Ink Pad, my LSS for over 20 years, just announced she will be closing mid-Feb due to financial losses due to Covid. This seems to have only gone out to her mailing list-it is not on the blog yet.

Anna opened and was the only LSS for NYC for a long time. There may be some others now in the other boroughs (?), and we did get a Michaels a few years back, but in Manhattan she was always THE place to go. Crammed a lot of stuff in a little space and could order stuff for you. Had a lot of fun classes both in the stores or bigger space at Westbeth -esp for big mixed media teachers. Tons of tourists from around the world came by. You could stand there with them for a hour just talking about techniques or products. They are all makers.

Small business in NYC is VERY hard. She faced a lot of challenges and unfortunately had only just moved due to a rent increase right before covid and the lockdown-bad blow-she was taking orders online and going in alone to the store to fill them. The continuation has just been too long.

I know some people here go there or have been there...it would be great to send her messages.

This is the link for the store:
https://www.shoptheinkpad.com/

Here is the statement:

Dear friends and crafty customers,
It is with great emotion that I write this email. After a 23 plus year run, The Ink Pad NYC retail shop will be closing its doors in mid-late February.I held on as long as I could, and with just having re-located here right before Covid began, it has been a ride. Those of you who know me well, know that this is my baby and the connection I feel through people coming into the shop is what has helped keep me hopeful for the last 2 years. With Covid and so many restrictions because of it, it has become apparent that this is not the way to make my way in the world anymore.
One of the joys in having the shop, is the satisfaction of helping a customer pick the perfect color ink pad from our hand-stamped charts, or a rubber stamp which can turn you into an "instant artist." I joke that when I need a rubber stamp- even though I have had the luxury of choosing whichever one I like from thousands of different types- it is always so tough to choose just one!
I truly appreciate knowing you for so many years, hearing stories about your lives, jobs, spouses, your children, and now your grandchildren. Offering my open hands and heart when you have laughed and when you have suffered, and having that class at Westbeth the sad day my mother passed. I do believe we are all connected and that we will meet in person again. I love the city and through the next chapter of my life, plan on coming back here often, as I do think it is the greatest city in the world. As a born and bred New Yorker for life, no one can take that from me!
I love that people love the shop, and I am so lucky I have run this special and totally unique place for all these years. A very special thank you to Jane, Patrice, Amelia, Lauren, Justin, and all the friends, customers, teachers, vendors, sales reps, and tourists who have touched our lives for this many years. Grateful becomes an even bigger word when it is filled with so much heart.
Here's our plan for the next few weeks:
Starting Saturday January 22, we will begin a 30% off sale of all our regularly priced merchandise* including:
Wood mount rubber stamps, ink pads, Unmounted clear and cling sets, craft dies, stencils, watercolors, books, glitter, stickers, washi tape and ephemera, pens, markers, paper- incl cardstock, and decorative paper, wax seals and wax, journals, calendars and all tools incl Die Cut machines and Gel Press.
*Excluded from this sale are all custom stamps.
Use code: TIPF30
We will continue with our clearance sale which began after Xmas.
If you try to get in touch, but do not get through, keep in mind we are down to just two employees plus myself. We will do our best to respond as soon as we can. I will continue to update you as I know and plan the rest of this closing.

We will be open Monday- Saturday 11-6, and also from 12-5 Sunday January 23rd, and Sunday January 30th. Stay tuned as we move ahead-if you don't already, follow us on IG and FB.
Sending love and a big hug to you all!

[lylacfey]

That is so sad. I have heard of her store & now I feel bad I didn't pay attention more. She seems like a sweetheart & I am so hurt for her that Covid killed her business.

[hoptownracer1]

I am so sorry you are losing your local LSS! And I am so sorry about her business! I hope she (and her employees) can find another career or occupation that will make them happy.

[Paula in GA]

We've lost so many small businesses over the last two years, and even some large ones. I hope things change soon.

[Ragtop]

I read about it on her FB page. So sad! I visited for the first time in 2007, which was two moves ago. It was a teeny tiny space, stacked from floor to ceiling with stamps/supplies. I thought the store was so neat because you entered/exited on one street, but the back of the store faced a different street. There was hardly room for me and the cashier, let alone someone else that came in while I was there. I discovered A Muse Art Stamps that trip. The next time I visited was in 2011, which was the place before this last move. I was hoping to get back to NYC sometime in the next year-ish and visit the new place.

[wavejumper]

Regina,
Your first visit was the first store...and where I discovered her just by chance walking down the street. I went in and I saw them do heat embossing in the back and I was hooked! Like so many tiny stores in the city, it was a funky space.

Hard to believe she actually had classes in that tiny space right? One folding table and 6 of us.
I took my first class ever there in beginner stamping. She used to have a sidewalk sale once a year that I loved!

[lylacfey]

Her store sounds like a fairy tale magical place (High Compliment) I love stores like that. They are just perfection, full of love, you know when you walk in the owner is full of passion & love for what she/he is selling. It's not a profit for her but it is her whole world that she/he wants to immerse herself in. Those are the stores I want to shop in all the time.

It is heartbreaking Covid is taking that from her. My heart goes out to her. I know how heartbroken & lost she must be feeling right now.

[lutheran]

Very sad. I was lucky to have a great LSS only a few miles from me at our previous house. Shortly after I moved they closed. :( The only brick and mortar store near our current house is one hour away (it's worth the drive but can't get there very often.)
Mary Beth

[cnsteele]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lutheran

Very sad. I was lucky to have a great LSS only a few miles from me at our previous house. Shortly after I moved they closed. :( The only brick and mortar store near our current house is one hour away (it's worth the drive but can't get there very often.)
Mary Beth

Are you talking about Scrapbook Super Station in Butler or Stamp Fanci in West View?

[wavejumper]

I know we have been losing one LSS after the other around the country & some companies...I hate to see people's dreams end that way.

For the past 20 years I have watched old little independent stores of all kinds close at a very depressing rate...some after 75 years or more because the rents went totally insane here. Awful...multigenerational businesses just gone...the ones that were able to buy the little building they are in are the ones holding on. It is the little guys that give a place character and make it feel like a neighborhood.

I am betting everyone is seeing that. Between rents and the internet...it is so tough for the brick and mortars.

[lutheran]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnsteele

Are you talking about Scrapbook Super Station in Butler or Stamp Fanci in West View?

Scrapbook Super Station! Great store with more stuff than anyone can imagine. I hope to get to a crop there soon.
Mary Beth

[lylacfey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wavejumper

I am betting everyone is seeing that. Between rents and the internet...it is so tough for the brick and mortars.

A lot of it is Covid too & the Great Resignation. The week my DH's job closed six other businesses closed too. These were not a one, two or even ten year businesses. The one with the shortest history was thirty. One was over 100. Yes, 100 years old. My DH's job was 70 plus.

It is so heartbreaking. All you can do is just cry, scream & just sit in shock. It's so unfair. I am so sorry for your friend Anna. I can't even convey in words how bad I feel for her. I know what she is going through.

I hope in time that she is able to find something new that is rewarding & beautiful for her.

[leibetty]

aww sad your LSS is closing

I placed a smaller order

[Scrapjanny]

You also have to treat your customers and employees well. I've worked for several small craft stores, including The Ink Pad. I can't say that I was treated well by the owners of any of those stores. I've also seen the way that some customers are treated in smaller stores, and I've been on the receiving end of that too. It's sad when small businesses go under, though. The pandemic has caused many good businesses to close.