Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Burkey.
Kristina, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have basically loved paper and cards my whole life. I like to tell people my mom used to send me to the store for milk and I’d come home with milk and cards. I did!
I started making cards about 10 years ago and sold them at the South End Open Market beginning in 2008. Over the years, my product line changed and evolved but I realized, I didn’t really have the “heart” to keep making cards. There were so many talented makers out there so, I decided to leave the hard work to them and that I would start curating an online store. In 2014, I opened an online shop of cards and stationery and had a sort of physical presence at the South End Market for a full season; every Sunday from May to October, all while holding down a full-time day-job as an admin at an engineering firm.
In the Fall of 2015, I held a one-week pop-up shop in Inman Square, Cambridge and that’s when the brick and mortar bug bit HARD. Seemingly overnight, I found a vacancy in Natick that was the perfect size for me. January 2016, I asked the landlord if he’d consider an April lease which he declined. I was heartbroken. I knew this was the perfect spot for me but the timing was not quite there yet.
Halfway through February, I got a text from my real estate agent. The storefront was still empty with no interest and she was asking if I still wanted it. I still have a screenshot of that “text heard round the world.” The rest is history. I signed the lease in March of 2016, started tearing out carpet that day and I opened June 11th, 2016!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I read this question and went “HA!” out loud. The learning process was very hard. Getting people in the door, getting the word out. You go from an office job where you see 50+ people every day to spending entire days alone. The feeling of isolation is VERY real. The fear of failure is even realer than that. None of that, however, compares to what you never expect to happen to your brand new, dream business: disaster.
On March 19th, 10 months after opening, a car hit Calliope. An out of control driver barreled through my front window, spraying dirt, glass and melting snow all over my beautiful store and all the product inside. I was devastated. I didn’t know what I was going to do or what would happen but the town really came through for me. The residents and merchants of Natick threw me a fundraiser, donated to my GoFundMe, made room for me in their own stores and studios and offered me the space free of charge.
It felt like forever before I was able to open again. Construction took about 5 months and I reopened July 29th, 2017 in the same spot. I’m sitting here now and it’s like the whole thing never happened.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Calliope is a card and stationery specialty shop. I carry all manner of notebooks, listpads, social stationery and really fun writing instruments. My card wall is my pride and joy and that’s what really draws people in again and again. I love hearing people say they needed a particular card and they knew this was the place to come. My cards are sassy. They had a razor-sharp edge to their humor or depth to their message you didn’t know was possible on paper. I believe connection is the most important thing we have as human beings. Cards are a connection between two people, whether in joy of grief and that’s what I do. I provide the connection. My cards are beautifully made by small companies consisting of maybe only one or two people and many of them local to New England. I think people come to Calliope because they can tell I love what I do and I care. Even if I don’t always get it right or I’m out of the exact thing they wanted, that I care and it matters.
What were you like growing up?
Would you believe me if I told you I loved cards and paper since BIRTH? As far back as I can remember, I was cutting up paper or drawing from Ed Emberly books. I have a very specific memory of making little paper trinkets and trying to sell them from a card table on the side of the road like other kids would try to hawk lemonade. I have always been crafty and artistic. I remember the first paper shop I ever loved, I remember the name of the place I used to shop for stickers or go looking for more school supplies when I already had a notebook and folder for every subject. I have always ALWAYS been obsessed with paper and stationery.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1 N. Main St.
Natick, MA 01760
and coming soon to Bow Market in Union Square, Somerville! - Website: www.calliopepaperie.com
- Email: hello@calliopepaperie.com
- Instagram: @calliopepaperie
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalliopePaperie/
Image Credit:
Kristina Burkey
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