Kathleen Isaksen has found success by dotting every “i” and crossing every “t.”
In a crowded industry where profit margins are often razor-thin, Isaksen, owner of Brentwood’s Embrey Papers, has turned a former 45-year-old printing press business into an outlet for elegant monogrammed stationery and luxurious handmade paper and accoutrements like pens, designer wrapping and leather photo albums.
“People often ask me whether e-mail has put a dent in my business,” she said. “It’s the opposite. Nothing compares to holding a fat envelope in your hand that has handwritten lettering. It’s the antithesis of the computer.”
Isaksen bought Embrey Papers formerly Embrey Press in 1991, when it operated on Westwood Boulevard. Despite a long tradition of printing and selling paper, Embrey had little retail presence and a relatively small clientele.
“Even though I was living with a printer for 30 years, I just sort of fell into the business,” she said, referring to her husband John (who is not involved in the business).
Isaksen redesigned the store and augmented existing merchandise with gifts and high-end stock from vendors such as Crane’s and William Arthur.
After the first year, she opened a second store at the current location on San Vicente Boulevard. Sales at the Brentwood store soon outgrew the original one in Westwood, which was closed in 1994.
Gifts and invitations
Embrey’s is marked by green awnings and a discreet wooden door that opens to a lavish interior packed with trinkets and gifts, from party supplies to designer candles to a wall of gift cards.
Though the gift items and party supplies account for half the store’s sales, Embrey built its reputation on elegant paper products on display in a separate showroom.
Out the back door and across a courtyard is the stationery studio, where engaged couples pore over samples of wedding invitations and party planners snap up paper hula dancers, faux baby shoes for showers and colorful pop-up cards to lure guests.
The store has built a long list of corporate clients, including the Hotel Bel-Air, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum. Isaksen says she has a sizable celebrity following, but would not disclose any names.
Carolyn Mason, who owns the Hancock Park event planning company Grand Affair Inc., said Embrey is often used by her clients, who frequently spend upwards of $20,000 for a children’s party and even more for weddings and corporate events. She also orders holiday cards and stationery for her business.
“Before I take the bride and groom in, I talk to the sales people and give them an idea of price range and personal style,” said Mason, whose appointment-only business caters to celebrities and well-heeled patrons. “Our clientele is very high end and expect a certain level of quality.”
Weddings are especially important. Clients often order multiple invitations and save-the-date reminders heralding not only the ceremony, but engagement and rehearsal dinners, special events for out-of-town family and thank-you cards. An average order takes about three weeks, and Isaksen said prices for a wedding package run the gamut from a modest $400 order of 100 invitations to $3,500 for a more elaborate design.
One offering by designer Mira Aster includes a $9 hot-pink notecard with contrasting stitching on the border, stuffed inside a gauzy green envelope of silk-like organza.
Stationery can be embossed, engraved, thermographed or flat-printed. Letterpress printing is especially popular. In a throwback to the old-fashioned ways, metal type is used to stamp a distinct impression into the paper, setting it apart from a computer job.
“One thing I’ve learned is to trust my instincts because we are constantly challenged,” she said. “We just have to deal with things and stay calm. It’s tricky in this business because there are so many pitfalls. But the customer doesn’t need to know that.”
Isaksen spends little on advertising apart from a few co-op ads with larger vendors who buy space in magazines like Martha Stewart Living.
The shop relies heavily on word of mouth and all-important product placement. Embrey’s goods frequently pop up in magazines like InStyle, Jane and Simple. (Embrey sends the products to magazines in the hope that they will include them in write-ups. A marketing employee follows up with phone calls.)
Keeping up with trends is important. A recent Time magazine article declared aqua to be the new black, so Isaksen’s products may reflect that shift soon. The staff also haunts trade shows and showrooms at the L.A. Mart in downtown to take the pulse of what vendors are pushing and what’s selling.
“I don’t buy super deep, just to keep things fresh,” Isaksen said. “When I select merchandise, I always keep in mind who the customer is, including the younger market. Buying has gotten easier for me, and I’ve learned to follow my gut. But there’s always a trend you just can’t understand, something that has no rhyme or reason.”
Isaksen plans another expansion by November into a neighboring space that will give the stationery studio a storefront and give the total business 3,300 square feet.
“People will always get married or have babies,” she said. “Depending on the economy, they may just scale back and spend $3,000 for invitations and announcements instead of $8,000. If someone can’t afford to re-upholster their furniture of paint the house, they can always buy a flower arrangement or candle.”
