AUTUMN//WINTER 2018 51 50 AUTUMN//WINTER 2018 Tell us about any personal stationery obsessions. We coined the phrase “The pen is mightier than the email” and have a large number of followers who subscribe to that sentiment. Perfection in what we create has become something of an obsession for the whole team. How is Mount Street Printers addressing the challenges facing the UK high street? As well as offering value for money we are always looking for innovative new products and services to offer our clients. Staying ahead of the game where the printed word is concerned – online or in-house – is key. How do you think Brexit will make an impact on your business? We are impartial, however it’s an unknown quantity that’s currently very hard to assess. Hopefully someone with a magic wand will solve all the problems ahead of us and make the transition as painless as possible! What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started? After 36 years in the business we have realised that the adventure has just begun… STATIONERY BIZ What’s your philosophy for store layout? Any do’s or don’ts? Tidiness and colour coordination make the shop ‘user-friendly’ and this is helpful for the buyer. Clever displays whet the appetite of the consumer. What makes Mount Street Printers unique? There are very few people offering a truly bespoke printing service with knowledgable staff on hand to talk clients through their printing orders. Also the availability of such a big variety of printing processes and papers under one roof makes us fairly unique. WE LIKETO HAVE FUN WITH OUR WINDOW DISPLAYS,ADDING COLOUR AND BRINGING PRINTTO LIFETHROUGHTOPICALTHEMES. Do you have any advice for stationery connoisseurs thinking about starting up either a physical store or online? It’s not easy, but great fun! What’s the most rewarding thing about running an independent stationery store? Our reward is receiving emails from happy clients complimenting us on the printing and our service. It gives us great satisfaction when we are shown pictures of the event we have taken a small part in creating. What marketing do you do – traditional, or are you fans of social media? We rely a lot on recommendation. We do use social media to a certain extent but concentrate on our service and the final outcome of the product we supply. What are your bestselling stationery ranges or products? Our correspondence cards and leather notebooks are the bestselling products in the shop. They are fun and make great presents.