Express Yourself in Basalt, Colorado is not just a fun name. It is a wonderful shop that can supply all your gift giving needs! Erin and Amy have a wonderful shop and such passion to stationery. Read more to see what Express Yourself is all about! These ladies have great answers to our questions!
How many years have you been in business? Express Yourself has been in business for twenty years and we just celebrated our eighth year as owners! We – Amy Forsey and Erin Forsey Jones – are two sisters with a passion for paper and parties, gifts and goods, home and family and we love to share that with our plethora of paper and gift selections in our note-ably unique boutique. You will find Amy designing and creating in the store, while Erin works in the office more than a hundred miles away in Denver.
Do you have a website, if so, what's the address? We have a website, www.expressyourselfbasalt.com as well as a website specifically for our welcome bag business www.theHELLOtote.com. We also blog at www.daughterdaughter.blogspot.com
If you were to sell something other than stationery, what would it be? We already sell pretty much exactly what we want! If we were to do something other than stationery we would probably be documenters of life – in photographs and in written form. We both love to get behind the lens and capture the world around us – horses, our kids (Erin’s has two little girls and they love their Aunt Amy!), travel highlights, product photography, people, and nature. Erin loves to write too when time allows – fiction and non-fiction. There is something magical about celebrating and capturing all of life’s moments. Luckily, we get to be a part of that with our clients when we help plan the paper details of their events.
Besides the obvious (stationery), what is your favorite thing to give as a hostess gift? For hostess gifts we love to give whimsical cocktail napkins, especially the Mariposa napkin holders with weights. Bubble bath or a beautiful soap is always a nice gesture for the hostess and personalized coasters (from Haute Papier!) are such a thoughtful, and well received, gift.
Here at Haute Papier, we love to eat! When in NYC for the National Stationery Show, where is your favorite place to grab dinner? Our latest favorite place to grab dinner, when in NYC for the National Stationery Show is Diablo Royale in the West Village. Definitely, worth the trip for some fantastic and authentic Mexican food. And of course, it is close to our favorite cupcake stop – Magnolia. There are definitely plenty of great cupcake options in the city, but this has been a favorite of ours for more than 12 years. We’re even working on perfecting the Magnolia cupcake at home for our next birthday party and think we just may have come across the secret ingredient!
Any other tidbits about your store you'd like to share? We are definitely a unique boutique in a small, mountain town and we love working with our customers – locals and visitors alike. Aspen is our neighbor and brings an eclectic and vibrant feel to our community, and ultimately to our store. We have watched some of our clients go from graduation to engagement to wedding to baby and beyond. Paper and gifts are our passion and it is exciting to share that – often creating a custom design that is one of a kind for a reception or celebration. We are working on expanding our own custom creations and are starting to reach a much larger clientele with online sales – keeping it personal but accessible. When we are not working, you will often find us with friends and family in Aspen and Denver, enjoying the good life!
Thanks Amy and Erin for sharing! See you at the NSS.