My girlfriend stumbled upon Paper Source a few weeks ago, looking for some halloween costume ideas. She was immediately greeted by Thom, who assisted her every step of the way. He was so friendly, and informative. he helped her costume come out way more amazing than she ever could have thought. Although she was only there for a few items, it was almost impossible to resist all of their amazing merchandise from individual wrapping paper, gift boxes, stationary and so much more. When she was checking out Thom and another employee (possibly the manager) were so friendly. She will definitely be back for Holiday gift wrapping. read more

Now that Rudy's Round-Up has done left the Windy City (Nooooooo!), this is my go-to spot when I need to pick up a little whimsical gift for someone. Funny and/or useful books, silly little oddities (plaques with funny sayings, clever coffee mugs, nice notebooks/journals, silly keychains, etc.) and a great selection of cards, ranging from the thoughtful to the hilarious. And being a lover of pen and paper, I also enjoy their wide variety of pens, pencils, markets, pencil cases, and more. I have three pencil cups on my desk at work, and all are jam-packed with different-colored pens I have picked up at Paper Source. It's a great spot as well if you are looking for special gift wrap or ribbon that is of above-average quality. Their stock is always changing, so I know I can see different items there from week to week. The staff is helpful in all the right ways, and always friendly. And beware the point-of-purchase displays, as they are always full of tempting little items. In the back of the store, they do (I believe) custom invitations and stationary, and though I haven't used these services yet, I have the utmost confidence in their ability to deliver quality products of this ilk. read more

This is for the corporate office.... I spent four hours trying to create wedding invitations. They would not save to the basket. Thus I had to create two orders to get most everything ordered. I wrote asking that all parts of my wedding invites be combined into one order. I was told they would have to remain separate, and that only one order would be eligible for the 10% discount. I asked that I be allowed to communicate to a supervisor. It seems misquided to separate the parts of a custom wedding invitation into multiple orders and it would seem in this day and age, that it could be done PaperSource I love your stores, but your customer service and commitment to customers really leaves something to be desired. read more

For our upcoming wedding I knew my fiance would want to design our wedding invites since he is a graphic designer. Together we were able to create a really unique design for our invites. Most of the Asian influenced invitations are for Chinese themed weddings, and I wanted our invitations to reflect a Korean themed wedding. Once we figured out the design we were able to find most of our paper needs at Paper Source (we also purchased some of our paper at an online art supply store). My fiance did such an amazing job with our invites....I guess my review is more on my fiance's work than paper source but if you are doing your own invitations this store really can't be beat. They also have wedding invitation kits available as an alternative. P.S. My fiance has done invites, save the date cards, etc. for his friends weddings too! :-) read more

So, I am a self proclaimed paper lover, so I must love the source of paper-right? Hm-mm. I love the products, I loved that all of the Filofax planners were 40% off, I love the massive amount of card stuffs and stampy stuffs. I don't love the two employees talking to each other across the room on the phone, waking up three flights of stairs and still not finding what I want exactly. The service is OK. The variety is really good. I pass this store an equal amount of times as I pass Paper Boy every week, but I tend to stick to the latter one. I think it is consistency of service breeds consistency of customer. read more

Super friendly staff. You can tell they enjoy their job. The best cards, wrapping paper, and accessory store around. read more

Paper Source - Cards & Stationery Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I wanted to take a minute to Thank Amy for helping me pick out a wonderful gift for a friend of mine. She made a great suggestion, and my buddy loved it for good kid. Thanks so much for the great service, Paper Source is an awesome destination! read more

I am not, by any means, crafty. I don't care for glue or scissors, and while I collect things for scrapbooks, I leave them sitting around long enough until my mom gets annoyed enough to do it herself. I love Paper Source for this exact reason. Their employees are incredibly helpful and not at all pretentious toward those of us who aren't artistically inclined. Paper Source is a fun place to just browse if you are in the area, but it's also a great place to visit if you have a specific purpose. I prefer Papyrus for greeting cards, but Paper Source has beautiful papers and invitations, along with the ability to create unique custom gifts. I helped my friend design her wedding invitations at Paper Source, and everyone was so friendly and accomodating to the fact that she wanted to do them on the cheap. She chose a beautiful paper as an accent and then eggshell-colored paper stock for everything else. Paper Source gave her hints on how to best construct the invitations on her own, as well. I eventually went back to the store to have them custom-make a photo album out of the same paper used in the wedding invitations as a great shower gift. While the album ended up costing about $75, it was beautiful, thoughtful and required no effort from me. Perfect! read more

Thank you, Maggie, for all your help with the decorations for my sister's wedding! I went into the store in a panic, with 10 days to make dozens of paper medallions for the ceremony backdrop. Maggie gave some great advice about how to construct them quickly and helped me order extra-large sheets of paper (a HUGE time-saver for the larger medallions). So grateful that I went into this store and that Maggie was there! read more

4.5 Since moving to Chicago my wife and I have trusted Maggie, Lauren and the rest of the incredible team at Paper Source Chicago Avenue for every single one of our invitation, stationery and card giving needs. I kid you not. We have this running joke with some of the staff there that I am the store's No. 1 straight male customer considering how often I'm getting something gift wrapped for my wife/mother/sister/friend/wedding/groomsmen/etc. Our wedding invitations, my wife's personal thank you notes, every card we've ever bought, all of those ridiculous novelty gifts, you name it, we get it there. Not to mention that their stock of cards blows everything at Papyrus and all the other competition out of the water. There's this one wedding card with a bride and groom on a dual-person bike in particular. She's in boots with a bottle of champagne and he's peddling with a cigar in mouth... Just see the picture I posted... All the stuff at P.S. is gold... So given the fact that I was enthusiastic enough to actually get on here and write such a rave review for a paper store with truly exceptional service, you're probably wondering why I didn't just go ahead and give them a perfect 5-Star rating... Well, the truth is, Maggie, the store's primary manager deserves five stars; and Lauren deserves five stars, (maybe even six). The store itself deserves it; and honestly, I would have given it five stars, that is... until today, when I had the extreme displeasure of meeting somebody new to the staff who I will refer to from this point on as "Mr. S." Now apparently, Mr. S was 'brought in' from elsewhere and when we first "engaged" so to speak, none of the regulars I normally tend to deal with happened to be around, so I wasn't expecting anything beyond the normal retail employee etiquette. BUT, you would have thought this guy just walked out of a rectal exam, because this condescending, smug sphincter was so rude, and weird, and unhelpful, and unwilling to assist me or look deeper into the two things I needed that I kind of just settled and left the store a bit unnerved and stunned. It hands down was the only time I ever had a bad experience ever in any P.S., let alone Maggie's location. At one point in this super awkward and super uncomfortable situation, I politely asked Mr. S if I could have a piece of string off of a table of disorganized garbage that he had amassed in front of the other customers but he declined my request. It was then that Mr. S. told me that he was the new manager and that he was just following all the rules (Um, I'm pretty sure it's Paper Source, not Nuremberg 1939), and I thought to myself? "Are you for real? I've never met you? You're treating me like garbage. Where is Lauren and how is she not the 'Manager' instead of you? I want to go home and shower now. This is a store very much based on design, aesthetic and customer facing, yet your outfit makes you look the couch from the bad period in the mid to late 1970s you incompetent nitwit. Perhaps a career as telephone service agent for AT&T where nobody sees you and your job is to intentionally not be helpful at all would be a better fit..." Anyways, Paper Source Chicago Avenue is fantastic, they've got everything and there's absolutely no reason at all to go anywhere else for anything that they sell. I just hope that in a similar fashion to the Catholic Church's maneuvering when certain Priests make those "really bad" decisions, that P.S. corporate decides to "rotate" or "transfer" Mr. S to whatever location they see fit far, far, FAR away. In fact, I think the people of Anchorage Alaska are deserving of a Paper Source just as well as everybody else. They might not be part of the contiguous United States, but if the "Great State" is good enough for Sarah Palin, then it should be good enough for Mr. S too. He can go and open up new locations there forever. Cheers! read more

Paper Source - This is one of the "Go-To" wedding cards I get at Paper Source Chicago Avenue. Absolute Gold! - Cards & Stationery Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came in to do a Happy Return and staff was helpful, efficient and friendly, product displays were nicely done and enticing and the atmosphere warm and relaxing. I ended up finding lots of good gifts for under $20 and plan to go back and shop there some more. They had lots of clever and cute items for people I find hard to shop for. read more

Can't say enough good things about Lyndsey. She walked my mom, my sister and I through what we turned into a two hour appointment today, with so much grace and patience. Especially considering she had the three of us coming at her with constant questions and changes. Lyndsey was so sweet and really helped us to fully understand the process of choosing all elements of a wedding invitation. read more

I love paper source. And unfortunately I have the receipts to prove it, because I can never leave without spending a fortune. Oh well, it is worth it as they have the cutest Thank You cards - unique but professional so that I can stand out a little when I send them for interviews. This paper-source is one of the larger ones that I have been to. And the staff was super-friendly - I got greeted at every level of the store (3 floors!). Good selection of Thank you cards. My only beef? No cute cards for "Hello" purposes. They have blank cards, but it's just not the same! read more

If you are creative, this is like the "temple" of creativity! You will not leave there in a hurry because there is SO much to look at! think loads of paper, pens, stamps, ribbon, pens, etc. they even do custom invites that are a little less conventioinal. I love this store, the staff is helpful, and I always leave with a new project! I did my save the dates myself using product from their store, and they turned out fabulous read more

What can I say, this place is a blast. I could come back here over and over just to explore and discover new and delightful items. They have a little of everything. While they do have an excellent and expansive supply of various paper goods from finished stationery, to supplies to make your own custom items. They have a wide selection of ink, stamp pads, stamps, colored pencils and other art supplies. There is a while second floor just to house their raw paper goods. Downstairs is like a flea market in feel, but in reality the items are of the highest order. I could hardly find a single item I did not immediately consider for either myself or as a special gift for someone important to me. They had lamography camera kits which are fun for young and old. I think my favorite items were the handmade, intricately carved and boxed, Oiseaux "toys." Each had an amazingly accurate device to recreate various bird calls. Again, these would be a delight for young and old. Overall the place was a great one stop shop for many unique needs, the atmosphere was calmly energetic and the staff was both attentive and friendly. read more

This is such a fun store--heaven for brides-to-be I'm sure! I remembered this place when I was trying to think of where I could possibly get a small rubber stamp of a pumpkin. I'm planning my wedding and thought having pumpkins on the place cards would be cute to go with my autumn theme...I had been here once before, probably 3 years ago, with my sister and her boyfriend who swears by the place. They took a scrapbooking class back in the day and ever since my sister has churned out such cute scrapbooks. Alas, the only pumpkin rubber stamp they had was a bit too big for my placecards...It's all good, I already have some leaf stamps at home I will use. However, I did find other goodies! The store is two floors, the entrance to the second floor is "blink and you'll miss it." I almost did, but one of the lovely employees pointed me in the right direction. Filled with anything paper-related/crafts you can imagine! Cards, stationary, stamps, ribbon, all different kinds of paper and cardstock, gifts, trinkets, inks, pens, etc, etc, etc. I think you get the idea. I'm not really sure about the organization of the store--it's kinda cluttered but it's all quality stuff. I went on lunch break (noonish on a Wednesday) and the place was pretty busy. Every salesperson I saw was occupied...Which is fine, I guess, I was just exploring. I ended up walking out of there with cute jack-o-lantern gift tags to attach to my bridal party gifts and a small gift box to put a bracelet in. Seven gift tags and the box set me back under $13. So, not bad at all...Some of the things I saw were a little pricey for my taste (example: a pretty simple looking photo album for $80). If you're getting married, totally come here and check out the options they have for invites, table cards, placecards, etc. All that is done already for me, with the wedding being 3 weeks away, but if I could do it over again I'd at least consider using some of their products. read more

I could spend hours (and way too much money) in this store. The employees are always nice and seem genuinely interested in my projects or in sharing their own tips and practices. And the papers and craft items, as well as the premade cards and gifts, are all so pretty. It makes me wish I had more time and money so I could just sit around all day making beautiful crafty things. I got all of my paper goods for our wedding here, and would recommend this to any bride who wants to DIY her invitations, table numbers, etc. I found it to be a more personal and economical choice when compared to buying less interesting options elsewhere. read more

Anything you can think of, Paper Source has it all. Let your creativity run wild! They also offer classes that you can take. Pros: Great selection, helpful staff Cons: Price, Parking read more

I was introduced to this store as a student at Columbia College and it was love at first sight. I used to find any excuse to go into this store and I'd end up spending unncessary money always. Love all th knick knacks and gotta love all that paper, paper colors, paper texture, paper sizes, paper widths, paper flowers, paper boxes, anything paper, they got it and they will teach you to make it! However, it is a bit pricey, you can do all those same projects with cheaper paper, but you will get what you pay for. The paper @ Paper Source, really is beautiful! read more

So I just had to give Paper Source the well-deserved additional star after I attended the Girls' Night Out this past week. From 8-10pm approximately 20 lovely ladies crafted our way through 3 different "creative adventure" themed stations including decorating organic bags, designing collaged postcards & creating a travel envelope. All the neccessary tools & resources were provided, we just had to bring the inspiration. The staff was super-friendly & the catered Bombon sandwiches & sweets were a tastey treat! Oh & the complimentary glasses of wine are always a hit in my book! :) After the final station ended at 10pm, we were provided with another 45 minutes to browse the store & purchase goodies at a 10% discounted price. Score! All that & we were given a bag with notecards & a yellow rose as we exited the store! I already was a fan of Paper Source but this night really (wax)sealed the deal! :) read more

To piggy back on the last comment, I also attended the Paper Source GNO this week. The instructors for the demonstrations were super patient, and the work we did was inspiring. My only issue is that some basic paper products are a little overpriced even with the 10% discount you get that night, and I wish that we had a few more minutes to work longer after the demos...I felt a bit rushed, but maybe I'm a slow poke. The sandwiches were delicious, and the wine was even better. What a treat! I did find the invisible ink pen I had been looking for though (and they didn't look at me like I was crazy when I asked about it.) read more

This place is AMAZING. Great for stationary, stamps and about a million other related things. It looks like they have a lot of supplies for making wedding invitations also. read more

Great selection of cards and paper and trinkets. Would be five stars but it takes SO LONG to ring people up I had to subtract one star. It would be faster to take out a loan from a bank and open my own Paper Source. I actually waited in the line of one today and marveled at the slowness, but the last two times I was in there I just put the things down and left. Life is too short! The key is to just browse until you see there's not anyone at the counter and then go up. read more

I have a thing about paper stores--and office supplies stores--I love them. I love thinking that I could do all these creative things and need to use all these different pens and colors and materials. I never actually do it, but maybe I should start. Anyway, I came in here looking for invitations. I worked with Tina and she was so patient and nice and helpful. She geared us first towards the Paper Source books since they can do lots with invitations and colors and ribbons....We looked through those books and the William Arthur books as well as the Vera Wang books. Once we had a few options, she took the time to price everything in the exact way that we wanted. Then when she came back, my mom and I started to throw some ideas around and Tina was there to listen and offer suggestions. She made up some mock invitations and showed us how it would look. This was very helpful to me because then I could take home the sample and look at it in case I forgot everything. She offered suggestions in different colors and ribbons in different price points. She really took the time to work with us and make sure that we knew all the options. She also told us that Paper Source tries to stay competitive so she offered a way we could do invitations using their services and how they could add different colors and card stock. She wasn't pushy about only using the Paper Source brand...instead she was showing us that it was an option. She let me know when it was a good idea to start ordering invitations. She also took us downstairs to crafty room (is that what it is called?) to show us around and give us more examples. The store is really cute and pretty big--they have so many unique things for every event in your life. I really think that they would be a good option for special birthday parties, weddings, baby events and even just getting your own stationary. They are good store for unique gifts. I really appreciated Tina taking the time to sit with us and make sure that we understood everything that the store had to offer. yay. read more

Future Husband and I wandered in here, completely and totally overwhelmed by all that the Wedding Industrial Complex has to offer in the way of wedding invitations: gocco, letterpress, to rubber stamp or not to rubber stamp, envelope liners, 4-bar, ribbons?! Paper Source saved us. The ladies in the back room were understanding of our distaste for spendy wedding invites, and didn't try to annoyingly upsell us. While some high-maintenance woman and her wedding planner wandered the engraving section yelling into their cell phones and carrying tall non-fat no-foam sugar-free vanilla lattes , Paper Source showed us a box of previously done DIY invites. We ended up leaving with $180 worth of paper, envelopes, rubber stamps, pens, and other paper for 125 wedding invites. Later, we discovered that we could DIY our invitations at Target for $100 less. Still, this place was fun and has a really sweet selection of rubber stamps. read more

They've got all sorts of awesome stuff here. The space is huge and the staff is all pretty friendly. Good paper... the prices can add up but if you stick to the Paper Source brand and avoid the "designer" stuff (ala Kate Spade paper?!), you can get a pretty good deal. read more

Oh Papersource, you always help me out of jams when I'm in need of last minute, witty, artisan cards. To be honest, my card store of choice is Foursided up in Andersonville. However, when time is an issue and I need a card NOW (when I'm at work), I will go to Papersource. This Papersource is a supercute store right on Chicago Ave. I was in need of a Valentines Day card for my husband and a thank you card for a friend. Papersource, of course, came through with both. I found 2 awesome cards for under $10 (cards can be pricey here - I've seen cards up to $7 each). This store also has cute knick knacks, not unlike other Papersources. Lots of owls. I LOVE OWLS. I have to exercise a certain amount of self control whenever I come in here - I am always tempted to max out our credit cards on owl paraphernalia. Anyway, this is a good alternative to the Walgreens/CVS's of the world if you are looking for a unique card for that special someone. read more

One word comes to mind- LAZY! I've come in here many times after leaving the office on my way home to pick up a hole punch or whatever else. Where can I find a hole punch? Upstairs- really upstairs? Because I have all the time in the world to rumage the upstairs. Ever heard of customer service???? Get up off your be-hind and help me find it! Any other normal person that works in sales may actually think to offer a customer some help. Nope! Not the people that work at this paper source. They can't be bothered. If you want to pop in and out- this is not the place for you. But if you have all the time in the world to scope out whatever it is you need for your project and know the stock locations- come shop your heart out! read more

I have always been a fan of the selection and customer service but my most recent experience was less than enjoyable. I came in on a Monday afternoon prior to closing, the store was pretty empty. I am 5 months pregnant and was looking for paper for my baby shower invitations. I went to the back room where I thought a customer was browsing the invitations because they looked at me and didn't say anything and they walked away from the table twice. I struggled between types of paper and unfortunately huffing and puffing a bit because I can't bend very well. It must of irked her enough because she finally looked up at me and asked if I needed help. I did, and she said she would send someone to help. The second employee was nice and helped as much as she could but seemed a bit new. I mentioned needing paper which they didn't have enough of that night to print. The employee found another location with the paper so I decided to pay for my envelopes and drive over. As I approached the counter the same women from the back was at the register and couldn't be bothered to ring me up so she got someone else to help. I quickly paid and dashed to Lincoln Park to pick up the paper and the store had already been closed for at least 30 min. No one gave me a heads up that the store was going to be closed. Thankfully I found the paper I needed somewhere else. read more

I love this store! Ive been to one in South coast plaza, California and let me tell you, that store is huge! So when I got to this store in Chicago i thought it was pretty small and lacked more product diversity. The workers were really nice and helped me choose a planner. Paper Source is the right place to go shop for cute stuff They have planners, calendars, stickers, wall decorations, so many more things! You will want to buy every single thing at the store! Everything is so cute!! It is expensive but some things are worth paying the price! read more

Hmm... They're alright. Nice selection of handmade paper in beautiful patterns. The prices run on the high side, but their selection is large and makes it worth paying a bit extra to get it all under one roof. They also have resume paper, card stock and mass amounts of envelopes but they often tend to be sold out of many varieties, especially the universal colors like off white and cream. But they are good about getting things back in stock quickly. Their upstairs floors are very fun and provide a lot of interesting things to look through. They sell book binding kits and some odds and ends like heavy duty glue brushes and book board, but they lack key essentials like cheesecloth. The kits are nice for a beginner or just someone who wants to make an easy journal, but I wish they had more supplies for the veteran binder. I can not find all my supplies here, and it is sort of a hassle having to go elsewhere for one or two things. I love their selection of stamps and inks and would love to dabble in crafting with them but the prices... I find them daunting. I just fail to see why a small rubber stamp has to be $6. Why? Beautiful invitations though... Lots of nice ideas can be got from looking through their past work portfolios. read more

If you love pens, stationary, wrapping paper, and REAL ribbons as much as I do.. If you succumb to buying totally unnecessary things like playing cards with George Bush's head imposed on a womans body in lingerie and buy greeting cards with no intended recipient at the present time just because you find them totally adorable... You must go here! read more

A+ to Paper Source. They have a great collection of papers. They're helpful when you need them, and gtfo when you obviously don't. They also have a very fun array of impulse purchases near the register, but I won't deduct for that. :) Granted, it's expensive to the regular person that isn't a creative type (and I'm not saying this to sound condescending! But if you're not creative, you're not likely to visit this store anyway, unless you're lost.) read more

Paper Source on Chicago Avenue is the best! Be sure to go there for the most imaginative collection of cards, gift wrap and related goods. The sales staff are friendly and cheerful without being too sweet. Kudos especially to Lauren who always goes the extra mile. You can also drop your Happy Returns here. So make this your destination for cards and announcements. read more

This is my favorite place to buy envelopes. The map envelopes they sold for a long time were the best. Really good prices on envelopes too. And they have more rubber stamps here than I have ever seen in one place in my entire life. Whoa... If only I ever used them. Fun wrapping paper and cards and some fun but kind of expensive gifts. Staff never bothers me while I'm browsing and are always really friendly when I do need help. More Map envelopes please!!! read more

This is where I bought all of the supplies to create my wedding invitations and signage. Great selection, fair prices and high quality materials. The staff gave us tutorials on how to make envelope liners and helped choose all the appropriate sizes. Very pleased. (Note shipping to Canada is $$$ so make an effort to find a paper source when in the US) read more

I've not visited a Paper Source yet that doesn't have very helpful and cheery staff. I stopped by this location to return some craft supplies I had purchased a few weeks ago, but didn't need anymore. But I can't enter the store without looking around a bit at their fun knickknacks and funny cards, so I also picked up a birthday card for a friend. They were swift and efficient in the return and had a pleasant conversation about the card I had chosen. read more

Nice selection of stuff. Staff isn't as nice as the ones located in the Downtown area. Some of the staff here don't greet you or offer help.

I love running errands here for work! The store is fun to explore, I like how it's an old rambling house. This is definitely a good place to get inspired for crafy projects, and they seem to have a good rubber stamp selection if you're into that. I've discovered that they often have a lot of merchandise that isn't out on the floor but they will help you if you ask. For example I was looking for a special folder to use for a presentation but they only had pink and purple on the shelf. When I asked if they had more colors she opened up a cabinet that had every color I could think of, so if you want something in a different color definitely ask. read more

Cupcake band-aids?!?! Cupcake OVEN MITTS??! HECK YEAH!!! Okay, so they have a ton of cute stuff here. Think of the little holiday odds n' ends section at somewhere like Barnes & Noble, and then quadruple it and cover it with pink sequins. That's Paper Source in a nutshell. I come here to pick up the occasional pretty birthday card (expect to pay at least $3.50). But they also have aprons, oven mitts, post-it notes, picture frames, pens, keychains, coffee mugs, and and endless variety of other things that you never ACTUALLY need but get wooed into buying because you fall in love at first sight. If everything here cost 50 percent less, it would get five stars for sure. But it's so darn expensive! I usually limit myself to one card and something random and keep my fingers crossed that the total is under $10. This is also in a super-convenient location if you're waiting for the #66 bus on Chicago Ave and it's really chilly out - just pop in and browse! read more