Festooned floor-to-ceiling with nearly every type of printable imaginable, this boutique paperie has been prettifying Atlanta's prose since before the dawn of the digital age.

Text-schmext! Email-schmemail! Let's bring some class back into the conversation, ladies and gents, and say it - beautifully - with paper. Real paper. Pretty paper. European and Crane & Co. paper. In other words: Paces Papers. This boutique paperie has been prettifying Atlanta's prose since before the dawn of the digital age (back when everybody used things like pencils and erasers and cursive). Paper-inspired gifts and wares - albums, journals, photo frames, specialty greeting cards, wrapping paper and ribbons, even customizable cocktail napkins, coasters and koozies for the diehard Marthas among us - punctuate what is arguably the largest and loveliest fine paper selection in the Southeast. The hand-curated collection is the life's work of owner/founder Jackie Garson Howard, who started her paper love affair in her Buckhead home almost 40 years ago. "It's my gift to Atlanta," she says, and it's always gorgeously wrapped.

Cozy but deceptively roomy, sophisticated but not snooty (not only does the staff know each other's grown-up drink of choice, they've published it on their website), the 15-year-old location just off West Paces Ferry is aflutter with warmth and energy. No, it's not just the coffee talking. The sheer amount of paper samples, ready-mades and designer binders strung, hung and stacked on nearly every spare surface would be overwhelming to the uninitiated, were it not for that unstuffy staff. Mention what you're looking for, and they'll lay hands on it in seconds. Describe your ideal design, and an onsite graphic designer will sketch exactly what you want - only better. It's no wonder entire Atlanta families swear by Paces Papers, refusing to get their custom invitations, announcements, stationery, business and calling cards printed, engraved, embossed, letterpressed or thermographed (whew!) anywhere else. And because not everyone can afford to spend a lot of paper on, well, a lot of paper, they stock wallet-friendly options, too. Although, if you are looking to splurge, they have a Swarovski-crystal-bedazzled stapler (really) with your name on it.

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Highlights:
Selection of picture frames, starting at $13.25
Kate Spade boxed notes, 10 count for $20
G. Lalo French notecards, 30 count for $44
Handmade silk wedding guestbook, $43.75
Italian leather heirloom photo album, $281

Hours:
Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Appointments encouraged, but you can just pop in, too.

Events:
Hosting John Kessler, chief dining critic for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, for his booksigning on August 18