Meet Mica 12/v’s New Sister Store

Paper Wings, a paper goods store just steps from Mica 12/v, will open its doors this Friday.
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Photograph courtesy of Paper Wings

If the thought of fresh paper, pretty packaging, and fragrant candles is enough to make you salivate, we have the perfect place for you. Opening this Friday, June 28, Paper Wings in Over-the-Rhine is the latest endeavor from the owners of Mica 12/v, the gift shop on the corner of Vine and East 12th streets. While Mica offers a handful of paper goods, owners Carolyn and Mike Deininger have been fielding requests for a more extensive line for years, but the timing wasn’t right. That all changed when a Vine Street storefront became available a few doors away from Mica.

Photograph courtesy of Paper Wings

“We noticed that we were selling more and more paper goods and we couldn’t stock enough of the cards,” Carolyn says. “I’ve always loved stationary stores, fresh notebooks, new pens, all of that, and I love slowing down for a handwritten note as opposed to all of the digital communication we’re doing now. We thought it’d be great to have a space just for that, to expand our paper goods.”

Expand they did. Paper Wings carries the flair and personality that Mica does, both in product offerings and store design. Hand-folded origami cranes and paper planes serve as decoration, and feathered wings are suspended from the ceiling. The combination of natural light and its strategic floor plan makes the store feel as crisp and clean as the new journals that line the shelves.

Paper Wings, of course, will offer traditional paper goods like journals, cards, and wrapping paper, but it’ll also sell affordable artwork, office supplies, and other fun giftables. We’re talking teas, earrings, and Japanese scissors with a magnetic base. “At Mica we sell original artwork as well, but it tends to be paintings [at] a higher price point. So, one of the things about this store is that we wanted it to be very affordable,” Carolyn says. “[Another] big aspect of this store is that we’re trying to make it an experiential shopping experience. We’re having shows each month by local artists that will open on final Fridays, so that will be in the back space.”

Photograph courtesy of Paper Wings

Paper Wings will host its first art show this Friday during its grand opening celebration. From 7 to 9 p.m., guests can appreciate collage work and paper cuts by Cincinnati artist Sara Caswell Pearce. In addition to highlighting featured local artists, Paper Wings will carry Italian artwork that ships flat and you piece together at home. The Italian artwork ranges from dump trucks to deer heads you’d mount on the wall.

When curating products for the store, Carolyn says she looks for items that involve small design lines, local artists, and strong craftsmanship. “Having an art background, what I’m choosing comes more from that perspective than maybe what’s the bestseller for everybody, so we might not be for everybody,” she says. “But I hope that we’ll be for most people.” We have a feeling Paper Wings will be just that.

Paper Wings, 1207 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-421-3500

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