In 2020, as more people worked from home, Richmond-based stationery company Cloth & Paper reached a new audience. Customers from around the globe purchased their customizable planners, accessories and subscription boxes, resulting in a year of unprecedented growth for the company, founded by Ashley Reynolds in 2015.
“We’ve always grown each year by at least 100%, but in 2020 we grew by almost 400%, and that’s predominantly because of the nature of what we sell, as we found in some of our marketing data,” Reynolds says. The rise in sales led to the addition of new employees, growing from 11 in March 2020 to 43 by year’s end.
Cloth & Paper founder Ashley Reynolds
Cloth & Paper sells stationery products ranging from a preassembled 2021 spiral-bound planner to leather agenda covers. Accessories including sticky notes, page flags and notepads are popular items. A signature product is a stylish leather quilted-style planner. “That probably is most iconic to the brand for people that know us,” Reynolds says.
Getting organized and planning ahead can create some calm in a time of disruption. “Planning can be a very therapeutic, anxiety-reducing activity for a lot of people,” she says.
Connecting with customers has also helped to build relationships, such as during Cloth & Paper’s Happy Hours. Every Friday at 3 p.m., Reynolds hosts an online chat where she discusses new products and item restocks. Cloth & Paper emails a calendar of mixed-drink recipes in advance for customers to try during the happy hour. She demonstrates how to make the cocktail of the week for others to follow along.
Reynolds says the business is creating a homeware line, Label 2/52 by Cloth & Paper. Fittingly for its happy-hour event, products such as glassware and other home decor items will be available.
