CURSIVE GRAND OPENING

we are lucky new yorkers, we are.

if you hadn't heard, cursive new york, the ultracool and very lovely independent store within abc carpet & home, has expanded; they opened a second location inside grand central terminal a couple of weeks ago. my friend and cursive's manager, the dear m.k. wong, was kind enough to tell us a little bit about the process and results, along with co-owner michael schultz, who, with partner, doug duncan, also runs the wholesale company, motel deluxe (which happens to be a wholesale outlet for sesame letterpress as well).

cursive is a favorite of just about everyone i know who lives in the city, visits the city, or has any sort of fashionable affinity for paper goods and stellar gifts. their influential style, merchandising expertise, and approach to independent retail has made the store a great success. we congratulate them and wish them all the best with the new location!

(my thanks to the wonderful kate babb shone for knowing cursive first.)
________________________

BKLYN STAT: HOW LONG HAS CURSIVE BEEN OPEN? WAS MOTEL DELUXE ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE LOCATION AT ABC?

MK: Cursive officially opened October 2005 in ABC Carpet & Home. Motel Deluxe, a wholesale distributor, had already been established since 1995.

BKLYN STAT: HOW DID YOU HOOK UP WITH MICHAEL? HAD YOU KNOWN THEM PREVIOUSLY?

MK: It was August 2004 during the NY International Gift Fair at the Jacob Javits Center and I happened to be back in NYC for a brief stint while still living in Paris. I was working with my former employer, Kenneth Wingard, and able to network at the same time. Many of my gift show friends were asking me what my future held and I mentioned my passion for opening my own store/showroom or at least manage someone else's store. It turns out that Michael and Doug of Motel Deluxe were thinking of opening their own store in NYC and I should go talk to them about joining forces.



BKLYN STAT: WAS CURSIVE SUCCESSFUL RIGHT AWAY? WHAT STRUGGLES HAVE YOU FACED WITH THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN?

MK: Cursive was successful immediately. We had filled a niche in ABC and in the surrounding neighborhood. Traffic slowed down a little bit, however, we are in a destination place and the tourists and loyal clientele continues to keep us busy.

BKLYN STAT: WHAT SETS CURSIVE APART?

MK: What sets Cursive apart is our strong point of view; We carry unusual, handcrafted, artisanal products and strive to build relationships with both our vendors and customers.

BKLYN STAT: WHEN DID THE EXPANSION PLANS BEGIN? WAS THERE ALWAYS A PLAN TO OPEN ANOTHER/MORE STORES? AND WHY GCT? I IMAGINE YOU GUYS LOOKED AT A LOT OF SPACES?

MICHAEL: Expansion plans began before ABC. The opportunity to open a store inside GCT arose and we can't beat the foot traffic; it is a perfect demographic and perfect for what we do. Yes, we looked at over 15 spaces from Soho to Madison Ave.

BKLYN STAT: WILL THEY STORES BE THE SAME? ANYTHING SPECIFIC ABOUT THE GCT TRAFFIC/CUSTOMER TO ADJUST TO? (eg. people walking through gct might not have ever been inside abc)

MICHAEL: Surprisingly, the customers and products are the same.



BKLYN STAT: WILL MOTEL DELUXE BE AFFECTED IN ANY SPECIFIC WAY, GOOD OR BAD?

MICHAEL: Having two retail stores has given us a better understanding of the wholesale business and understanding the retail customer.

BKLYN STAT: TALK A BIT ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MATT AND BRECK FROM SESAME LETTERPRESS -- WHEN DID YOU ALL MEET, HOW DID THE COLLABORATION GET STARTED, ETC.?

MICHAEL: We've known Sesame Letterpress for 4 years. I met Breck at an open studio in Dumbo and afterwards asked if she would be interested in doing a wholesale collection using French paper.



BKLYN STAT: THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF PAPER IN REGARDS TO THE STRUGGLING ECONOMY? WE WERE ALL STUNNED WHEN MRS. JOHN L. STRONG CLOSED.

MK: Having managed Cursive at ABC for the past 3.5 years has opened my eyes to what our customers are looking for and it is not just unique product but also good customer service that goes beyond helping them find a gift. Some of my memorable experiences with customers are when we are able to share information and network a bit. I enjoy being able to introduce something new to a customer and give them a bit more personal information about a card or an object, than it just sitting there.

MICHAEL: I think the realization that we are going to see even more stores closing and wholesale companies going out of business have become very apparent. The companies/ shops that push forward and continue bringing new products to market will be the only ones who stand a chance at surviving this downturn. Everyone is very nervous.

I am hoping to find some great gift related items for 4th quarter and this might mean traveling to the European shows again. We have taken a little time off from this strategy but I am feeling it might be the time to reinvest in those special items no one else will have. It can be a huge hassle but at a customer level you get a great payoff.


cursive kindly supplied their own photography.