In case you’re not signed up for our newsletters (shame on you!), here’s our latest send-out:

Hello breathtaking newsletter readers!

We are back from vacation, tan and ready to make our move down the street!

Good News #1
We have a class schedule! We’ve been getting requests for classes since we opened our doors two years ago and now we will finally have room to do it!

Here’s November’s schedule (click here for class descriptions and December’s schedule):
* November 10th: Artist Trading Cards with Brandie Butcher-Isley from 6 to 8:30
* November 12th: Book Page Wreaths with Leslie Poyzer from 7 to 9
* November 17th: Knitting with Jen Geigley from 7 to 9
* November 24th: Embroidery with Sarah Duede from 7 to 9

Good News #2
Holiday Promenade is happening Friday, November 20th from 5 to 9 pm. Stop by the east village for ice skating, caroling, santa, sleigh rides, and of couse our (maybe) overindulgent dessert bar!

Good News #3
In conjunction with Race for the cure, we’re hostng a very special cupcake day in honor of our tough-as-nails compadre Steph Phillips.  I have been lucky enough to count Steph as one of my favorite people for over half my life.  To know her is to love her (I’ve found that her gigantic smile and great sense of humor make it hard not to).  I can also say that she makes for a very tidy and polite roommate as our first two years at Iowa were spent together in our super, super tiny dorm room.

Although we would love it if everything in life was sunshine and butterflies, it seems that those pesky clouds and gnats sometimes get in the way.  In August, our 27 year old friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.  While receiving treatment, she continues to be the brave and adventurous sort that she happens to be to the core, and keeps her focus on becoming healthy enough to take advantage of the great snowboard season ahead in her beloved Colorado mountains and being able to keep fixing those who are broken at the Vail Valley Medical Center where she is a nurse.

As always, Cupcake Day! is our way of putting some good into the world free of charge.  This time is no different but, please know, that this time around we will happily and gladly take donations in exchange for our pretty pink cupcakes to put toward Steph’s medical expenses.  We’d love to send a little ephemera love from the place that she calls home and we’d be honest-to-goodness thrilled if you’d like to take part in that.

If you’re interested in learning more about Steph head to her blog

Good News #4
November 3rd is fast approaching! Little Miss ephemera will proudly open her doors at her new location – 505 e. locust street! Don’t forget to check our blog for updates!

Good News #5
10 Inspirations are back by popular demand!
1. Be Grateful: “Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy – because we will always want to have something else or something more.”
- Brother David Steindl-Rast
2. Read: “A Homemade Life” by Molly Wizenberg. I can’t even tell you why you’ll like it, I just know you will.
3. Get Warm: Stop in and buy yourself a super soft, super cozy neck-cowl by Hey! Jen Renee
4. Do A Simple Act Of Kindness: Our friends at Bethany sometimes surprise us with caramels from Van Veen Chocolates. It’s small and it’s simple and it always brightens our day!
5. Surprise Yourself: The leaves are gorgeous this fall! Find a pretty, fallen leaf and smash it between the pages of a book. Next time you read the book, it’ll be a nice surprise!
6. Shop Local: Head down to Market day this Saturday and support local crafters!
7. Be Friendly: Make a friendship bracelet! It’s the tie that binds!
8. Travel: I realize that this might be easier said than done, but a break from your daily routine will give you a whole new perspective on things. Especially if you do nothing but lie on a beach for a week!
9. Pretend You’re French: Nothing makes a person feel fancier than pretending to be French while listening to Pink Martini! Ooh la la!
10. Visit: Ephemera. Stop in to chat and see what’s new!

Lots of love and sunshine and butterflies,
-karen and arin

Share on Facebook

We’re back! And we have been busy! You’ll be happy to know that once in our new space, we’ll be offering lots of classes! Check them out here!

We’re always looking for new teachers, so let us know if you have a class in mind!

Share on Facebook

I am at my very, very best when I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I find my most creative self in empty rooms that beg to be filled. I do my best work in a new beginning. I am drawn to the process of molding and shaping something without meaning into something that is mine. Something worth sharing. Leaving an imprint. Telling a story.

These days, I’m thinking so much about the concept of space. How I owe such a huge “thank-you” to these cement block walls and this cement floor and this cement ceiling for providing an empty canvas for ephemera to scribble all over. No previous history or old-story remnants to get in her way. Just a big, industrial-style block that asked to be made into something. And, on a blank slate, each mark that is made is pretty simple to decipher. So it is because of this space that we know exactly where we are supposed to go.

ephemera whispers bits of inspiration into our ears and tells us where she’d like to go…

(somewhere with more space to drink tea)

(somwhere to hide out and play pretend)

(somewhere to slow down)

(somewhere to bring imaginary thoughts into real life action)

Share on Facebook

Before we ever turned the closed sign on our door to open, Arin and I sat in the loft of ephemera with hundreds of pages printed off the internet detailing the stationery industry.  We were making a business plan.  After days and days and days of perfecting our plan, when we were tired and bored, Arin looked at me and asked, “Do we have to finish this?”  The first time she asked me that, being the trained business woman that I am, I said, “YES!”.  The second time she asked me, I said, “I think so.”  The third time she asked me, I said, “If we don’t finish it, then what do we do?”.  We stared at each other.  And then we smiled.  And then we turned the closed sign to open.

I can’t remember the first customer who walked through ephemera’s door.  To be honest, I can’t remember our first sale.  But I can say with confidence that Arin and I high fived after he or (probably) she was (hopefully) out of earshot.  I’m sure our mothers were called.  I don’t call my mom after every sale, but I am still filled with the same amount pride and nervousness and excitement and hopefulness and bravery and what-the-hell-are-we-doing bafflement as I was on the day we opened.

After two years, it seems our ideas are becoming too big for the space they were in.  They were becoming squished.  And with that, we knew it was time to pack our bags and move into a space that would let our ideas and dreams grow and develop.  We are moving into ephemera’s dream space.  I simply cannot wait to show you.  When you first lay eyes on it, you just might pee your pants or weep tears of joy or jump up and down squealing or you might do all of the above.   We’re staying in our current location (333 e. grand ave #102) until Saturday, October 31st and then we will open the doors in our new location (505 e. locust) on Tuesday, November 3rd.  Stop in to say good bye to our old space and to welcome us into our new space!

Until November 3rd, here’s a sneak peek at our new space!

The new ephemera!

If you’re feeling nostalgic, take a look at the original ephemera!

The original ephemera

Share on Facebook

Like many things, this blog has been percolating for quite some time.  But, like many things, it remained somewhere nearer the middle of the “to-do” list than the top of it.  But we find ourselves a bit more “settled” these days, I think.  The backbone of our tiny shop is allowing us to stand up straight and tall and proud and many (but certainly not all) of the tiny and important details that seem to be a prerequisite for “happy business start-up” have a neat little check-mark in the box that precedes it.

And so, there is time, finally.  One day you wake up and voila (and just at the right time), that middle-of-the-list thing has crept up to the top and so you finally have the ability to  make a move and take it on.

This is the story of Ephemera Stationery Studio, an itsy-bitty paper store and custom design boutique in Des Moines, Iowa and the two ladies who spend their days there.  Partly, it is the story of how it is that we got lucky enough to create exactly what it is that we set out to do and how it is that we came to be capital “P” Proprietresses of such a sunny space in the world.  But mostly, MOSTLY, it is the story of where we are going (or where we think we might be going as we have found out that you just never quite know for sure!) with this big adventure.  We view this as an opportunity to share some of our personal business-building experiences, as an outlet to keep our local customers up-to-date on the going-ons inside these walls, and as a means to introduce ourselves to other lovely makers-of-things (both to those who are actually doing the making right now and to those whom are currently just dreaming of the making!) who may be beyond driving distance but who share in our love of all things handmade.  And, for good measure, we’ll throw in some tasty treats and favorite things to keep you coming back for more.

A few weeks ago, a young lady with a pixie haircut opened our door and, upon entering the shop, declared in a wide eyed and honest way that “This is what my DREAMS look like!”

I don’t think we could have said it better ourselves.

Share on Facebook

Ephemera is home to a gently worn, surprisingly comfortable, blue library chair.  We think it’s magic.  Ok, so maybe it’s not magic, but it will make you talk.  And talk.  And talk.  And talk.  Maybe you’ll talk about sad things or sweet things or small things or big things or happy things or scary things or silly things.  And when you’re done talking, I promise you’ll feel better.

It’s a good chair.

And we named our blog after it.

Have a seat.

Share on Facebook