HERZILEIN STATIONARY - STORY WITH LOVE FOR DETAIL

We were visiting Vienna for our #pckwalk at the Museumsquartier and on this occasion, we did not want to miss the chance to visit the Herzilein stationery store for talking to the managing director Sonja.

Where exactly is your shop located? What does it look like?

We have two shops in the inner city of Vienna – one at Wollzeile, a pretty little shopping street and the other: Am Hof, near the Schottenkirche and surrounded by several wonderful palaces. Both shops are housed in rustically furnished locations with beautiful and well-preserved furnishings from the turn of the 19th to 20th century. The retro look of the furniture creates a very special atmosphere and you feel immediately set in a different time after entering – the old Vienna. We try to underline this feeling of a special and somehow timeless mood with our product selection and the product arrangement. While we keep the interior at Wollzeile in brown and white tones, we like to bring a little more colour to the place Am Hof.

What’s the basic concept of the shop? What’s special about your shop?

The Herzilein stationery store is a modern, minimalistic concept store for paper and leather goods, packaging, greeting cards, and gifts. An insider tip for all those who are looking for something special with the love for detail. Our concept follows the idea of ​​supporting local artists and manufactories as well as bringing small, international and sustainable manufactories with wonderful products from all over the world to the people. Away from the mainstream of mass-produced goods to valued craftsmanship at fair prices. All our products are carefully selected by us and also mostly produced and processed in Vienna. The special thing about us is the carefully curated product selection, but also the fact that we ourselves participate in the production process. We stroll through flea markets and antiquarian stores to discover, for example, books, old photographs and other treasures, which we then process locally by hand. We also offer regional artists and illustrators the opportunity to create something together with us and we even have our own calligrapher, which gives most of our products a certain something and uniqueness. In addition, we have the opportunity to design many of the products individually, according to the customer’s wishes. Our paper is created by hand in a factory in Nepal and further processed here in Vienna. The fact that nearly every one of our products is unique makes us stand out from other stationery stores. But to meet all desires and requests, we also carry some of the well-known designer brands.

In your opinion, how does your shop fit with Pickmotion and the Pickmotion products? How did you become aware of Pickmotion and which products are your favourites?

Pickmotion fits so well into our concept because it has a clear, solid and unmistakable line. The beautiful photos with modern, minimalist imagery are a good complement to our cards, which have their focus more on sayings, texts, and illustrations. A few years ago we became aware of Pickmotion at one of the first fairs where Pickmotion participated. It was clear to us: “We have to have them!”. Even then, as well as today, we like the postcards the most.

How do you use the advantage of being a steady retailer? How do you differentiate yourself from other shops and/or webshops?

Our focus is the retail business because the special atmosphere in the shops can not be felt, experienced and picked up via an online shop. We love the direct interaction and the communication with our customers because in a conversation we can talk to them and understand their wishes – to hear something, what they are really looking for and what ideas and wishes they have for the product they are searching for. An online store can not offer such a shopping experience and customer-oriented, personal service. Compared to other stores we stand out for our special product selection, sustainable, local production and the involvement of artists. We want to offer every customer a very special, unique shopping experience.

So, if you’re in Vienna, do not miss the chance to pay a visit to Herzilein Papeterie in order to bring a very personal and unique gift for your loved ones or yourself! Stopping by and having a chat is worth it – taking something special with you back home is even worth a lot more!